Jill Mackin, a doctoral candidate at MSU specializing in Indigenous food systems and land practices is featured in the Jill Mackin from Montana Woman magazineNovember, 2019 issue of Montana Woman Magazine. Mackin discusses her lineage-- Native Turtle Mountain Chippewa (Ojibwe) -- the struggle for recognition for Native peoples, and battling the stereotype of not being “Indian enough.” She was raised Catholic and received her Master’s degree in Catholic Theology, but still recognized that there was a disconnect in her prayer life. Mackin says: “there were experiences and blood memory things that would come to me—my connection with land, water, sky, animals.” After participating in an Ojibwe Midewin ceremony in Manitoba, which were made illegal in the U.S. and Canada for about 100 years after European colonization, Mackin felt connected to her Indigenous heritage in a new and meaningful way. The damage done by colonization needs deep reparation work, and Mackin stresses that one way to start the healing process is by simply listening to one another. 

Be sure to grab your copy of Montana Woman Magazine at the MSU Women’s Center or other outlets to read this terrific and inspiring article on MSU’s Jill Mackin!