SPRING SEMINAR
SERIES
2023

Ty was born on the Lake Traverse Reservation in northeastern South Dakota, and is of Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa descent. He is a graduate of Chadron State College (B.S.), South Dakota State University (M.S.), and Kansas State University (Ph.D.). Currently, Ty is a Vice Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow within the department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management at Texas A&M University. His research interests include the fields of Wildlife Management and Landscape Ecology. This work addresses questions that provide insight into the relationships between wildlife, native environments, and contemporary human-modified landscapes. He is committed to fostering a diverse learning environment to promote stewardship of our natural resources and training of future wildlife professionals. This semester he is teaching Techniques of Wildlife Management and Traditional Ecological Knowledge Seminar. Ty is also currently the Program Coordinator for the Native Student Professional Development Program administered by the Native Peoples’ Wildlife Management Working Group of The Wildlife Society.

Henry P. Huntington earned his bachelor’s degree in English at Princeton University and his master’s and doctorate in Polar Studies at the University of Cambridge. He is the owner of Huntington Consulting, in Eagle River, Alaska, and also the Arctic Science Director for Ocean Conservancy. Huntington’s research interests include the regulation of subsistence hunting in northern Alaska, traditional ecological knowledge of beluga whales and bowhead whales, Iñupiat and Inuit knowledge and use of sea ice, and assessing the impacts of climate change on Arctic communities and Arctic marine mammals. He has contributed to numerous Arctic Council assessments and published several books and dozens of scientific papers. Huntington was co-chair of the National Academy of Sciences committee on emerging research questions in the Arctic and a member of the Council of Canadian Academies panel on the state of knowledge of food security in the North. His conservation work includes helping achieve the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement and promoting sound governance of shipping and other human activities in Arctic waters. He has made long trips in the Arctic by dog team, open boat, and snowmobile.

Lydia is wolf clan from the Kanien’kehá:ka, more commonly known as Mohawk. She has a degree in History from Oregon State University, and has been working in nonprofit administration since transitioning from her career as a baseball play-by-play announcer. Lydia did not grow up hunting, but HOC co-founders Thomas and Jimmy encouraged her on her journey, thus establishing HOC’s proof of concept for the Mentorship Program. Lydia’s compassion for animals, the planet, and people is what drives her dedication to Hunters of Color’s mission. Lydia believes this work helps to restore the onkwehonwe (First People) balance with nature through hunting, caretaking, and land sovereignty. Lydia leads seminars on Indigenous history and antiracism. In her spare time she enjoys reading autobiographies, camping, and fishing.

Mateen Hessami is a wildlife ecologist who supports Indigenous communities in Western Canada with monitoring, recovery, and management of species such as caribou and moose. Mateen is also a proud citizen of the Wyandotte Nation, Canada, and the USA. He is passionate about weaving his diverse culture and education into the work he supports. Mateen earned his B.S. at the University of Montana and his M.S. at the University of British Columbia - Okanagan.

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Paige works for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters in Science Applications and the National Native American Programs where she serves as the Indigenous Knowledge and Co-stewardship Coordinator. During the first two decades of her career, Paige focused on the science of wildlife ecology and management. Throughout this time, she maintained her passion for elevating the role of Indigenous Peoples in the wildlife profession. She has served in numerous leadership positions with The Wildlife Society’s Native Peoples’ Wildlife Management Working Group focused on increasing the number of qualified Indigenous students to serve as Tribal wildlife biologists and represent Tribal interests to state and federal agencies and the larger conservation community. In her current role, she has worked to evaluate how the Service provides financial assistance to Tribes and represents the Service in the development of Federal guidance and Departmental policy for the consideration and inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge in federal activities. She has also worked to step down recent policy on co-stewardship with Tribes, Alaska Native Corporations, Alaska Native Organizations, and the Native Hawaiian Community. Paige is honored to support Service efforts to engage with these groups in the co-stewardship of public lands and waters. Paige is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation of Oklahoma and resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma with her son.

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Sarah Rinkevich received her Ph.D. in Wildlife Conservation from the University of Arizona’s School of Natural Resources and the Environment in 2012. Her research focused on a reintroduced population of Mexican gray wolves on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, homeland to the White Mountain Apache Tribe. Dr. Rinkevich received her Master’s degree in 1991 from Humboldt State University where she studied habitat preferences of Mexican spotted owls in Zion National Park, Utah. She has worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Endangered Species Conservation since 1993 and currently works in the Branch of Recovery and Restoration. Dr. Rinkevich works extensively with Tribes on management and conservation of threatened and endangered species on Tribal lands within the Southwest.