Ty Defoe

TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Ojibwe + Oneida Nations

PANEL: Native Arts, Culture, & Technology

BIOGRAPHY
Ty Defoe (giizhig) – he/we – is a citizen of the Oneida and Anishinaabe Nations and a proud member of the Indigiqueer/Two-Spirit community. A Grammy Award-winning interdisciplinary artist, writer, and sovereign story trickster, Ty moves fluidly across mediums and movements. His work has been recognized with fellowships from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, MacDowell, Sundance Institute, and as a Trans Futurist with the Pop Culture Collaborative. Ty is also a recipient of the Jonathan Larson Award, a Grammy Award, and the Helen Merrill Playwriting Award. Ty creates across landscapes—from rural communities to Broadway stages to the metaverse—building relationships that center Indigenous and decolonial futures. He currently serves as Professor of Practice at Arizona State University and Writer-in-Residence at PACE. Deeply rooted in indigi-futurism and cultural traditions, Ty has learned storytelling, hoop dancing, and flute playing from his mentor, the late Kevin Locke. He considers himself a shape-shifter, bending in and out of artistic forms to challenge Western binaries and honor the celestial force of rainbows. Ty loves the color clear and mood rings.

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Emma Hassencahl-Perley

TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Wolastoqey

PANEL: Native Arts, Culture, & Technology

BIOGRAPHY
Emma Hassencahl-Perley is a Wolastoqey visual artist, arts writer, educator and curator from Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation) in New Brunswick. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Mount Allison University in 2017. In 2022, she completed a Masters of Art in Art History from Concordia University. Emma's artwork reflects her identity as an ehpit (woman) and a Wolastoqiyik citizen of the Wabanaki Confederacy. Her artistic themes explore water, the cosmos, Wabanaki feminisms, and the Wabanaki double-curve motif, symbolizing life cycles and relationships, including nationhood and community. These motifs serve as both a cultural and aesthetic foundation in Emma's practice, connecting ancestral Wabanaki material culture with contemporary digital storytelling techniques.

In addition to her art practice, Emma is the Curator of Indigenous Art at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Dwayne Tomah

TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Passamaquoddy

PANEL: Native Arts, Culture, & Technology

BIOGRAPHY
Dwayne Tomah is a Language Keeper, he is a teacher of the Passamaquoddy language and culture. He is the youngest fluent speaker of the Passamaquoddy Tribe and has served on the Tribal Council.

He has also worked with Animal Planet on a segment called Winged Creatures, highlighting the history of the Thunderbird. His life has been dedicated to working on the language and culture preservation, he has edited the Passamaquoddy dictionary and worked to help create the Apple ~ Passamaquoddy Language App. He shares Native legends through song and dance.

Dwayne is currently  working with the Library of Congress on translating the Passamaquoddy Wax Cylinders. These recordings are the first recordings in the world of Native languages. They were recorded in 1890 by Jesse Walter Fewkes, who borrowed the device from the inventor Thomas Edison. Dwayne has also been involved in repatriation and Land Back issues. He shares historical truth regarding The Doctrine of Discovery by an Indigenous perspective.