Cassius Spears

TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Narragansett

PANEL: Indigenous Farm to Table

BIOGRAPHY
Cassius Champlin Spears Sr. has dedicated his life to the preservation of Narragansett culture throughout New England and the world. He has served as Cultural Advisor for numerous educational projects, including the PBS documentary “We Shall Remain – After the Mayflower.” Spears has remained active in the practice of ethnobotany, traditional home building, and has demonstrated eastern woodlands culture at powwows, museums, college campuses, and film sets across North America. In 2014, Cassius and his wife formed the Narragansett Food Sovereignty Initiative, a farm-based organization devoted to reclaiming food and cultural ways for Narragansett people. They currently own and operate Ashawaug Farm in Ashaway, RI.

Spears’ passion for healthy traditional lifeways led to the establishment of the Narragansett Food Sovereignty Initiative­ in 2014, a farm-based organization with a primary focus on sustaining a healthy community through traditional lifeways and relationships inherent to Tribal people. He currently owns and operates Ashawauf Farm in Ashaway, RI. Spears represented the Narragansett community in Marrakech, Morocco, at the COP22, UNESCO preconference, sharing the effects of climate change from the Narragansett perspective. He was appointed to serve on the Regional Tribal Conservation Advisory Committee(RTCAC) and the National Association Conservation District (NACD) Tribal Policy Group for the Eastern Region. He is a 2017 Intercultural Leadership Institute (ILI) Fellow and a fellow of NACD’s Next Generation Leadership Institute (NGLI). In addition, he also serves on the Native Land Conservancy and is President of Rhode Island Association Conservation District (RIACD).

Dawn Spears

TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Narragansett

MEDIUM: Clothing, Diverse Arts, Painting/Illustration

PANEL: Indigenous Farm to Table

ARTIST STATEMENT
Dawn Spears (Narragansett), the Director of the Northeast Indigenous Arts Alliance (NIAA), is a multimedia artist whose work is infused with cultural symbolism and the vibrant colors of our natural world, and farming is part of her art. She also supports the Indigenous artist community through facilitating art markets and other opportunities that increase the visibility and vitality of Indigenous arts and culture. For more than twenty-five years, Dawn has worked to support Indigenous arts as an artist, educator, demonstrator, and organizer. Dawn produced two of the largest and most significant markets in New England, the Indigenous Fine Arts Market East in 2016 and the inaugural Abbe Museum Indian Market in 2018. She returned to the production area in 2024 with the Abbe Museum’s inaugural event, the Dawnland Festival of Arts & Ideas. She is a 2020 Assets for Artists grantee, a 2015 RI State Council for the Arts (RISCA) Master Apprenticeship grantee, and was the Community Artist in Residence at the New Bedford Art Museum in 2021. Dawn has exhibited at the most prestigious Indian art markets across the country, including the American Indian Arts Marketplace at the Autry Museum in Glendale, CA, the Heard Museum Indian Fair & Market in Phoenix, AZ, and the SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market in Santa Fe, NM. In 2024, her art was featured on the USDA’s National Native American Heritage Month poster. Dawn currently sits on several advisory’s (Brown University, Yellow Farmhouse, Tomaquag Museum) and serves on her town’s Conservation Commission and the State’s Farm Service Agency County Commission. She continues to work consulting regionally and nationally, supporting arts programming and business training for artists.

An active member of her tribal community, Dawn served as the Narragansett Indian Tribe’s Tribal Secretary for two terms and currently serves as chair of the Narragansett Indian Tribal Election Committee and vice chair for the Economic Development Commission. In 2014, Dawn and her husband formed the Narragansett Food Sovereignty Initiative, a farm-based organization devoted to reclaiming food and cultural ways for Narragansett people. They currently own and operate Ashawaug Farm in Ashaway, RI. Dawn also enjoys her role as mother and grandmother. Dawn's work within her family, community, and in the arts is driven by her belief in the preservation and education of culture and traditions.

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Dr. Anthony Sutton

TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Passamaquoddy 

PANEL: Indigenous Farm to Table

BIOGRAPHY
Anthony Sutton, PhD, is Passamaquoddy from Sipayik. He is an Assistant Professor of Native American Studies and Food Systems at the University of Maine and Faculty Fellow at the Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions. Tony’s work focuses on historical and contemporary aspects of Wabanaki foodways, both unpacking the histories that have shaped lands, waters, and species central to Wabanaki foodways, to the present by centering Wabanaki visions for the restoration of foodways and fisheries.

Jasmine Thompson Tintor

TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Penobscot Nation

PANEL: Indigenous Farm to Table

BIOGRAPHY
As a proud citizen of the Penobscot Nation, Jasmine Thompson Tintor is an educator, activist, and enthusiast within food sovereignty across the Wabanaki lands. She first started her work in food sovereignty with Eastern Woodlands Rematriation as well as Nibezun, working in various projects relating to food preservation and culture. Currently, they work alongside Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness as the Food Sovereignty Educator, supporting a variety of Tribal organizations through seed and food projects. As a board member for Niweskok, they collectively create space for decision making and leadership goals. 

Jasmine works to create spaces where people can learn about food initiatives, climate action, water rights, nature conservation, education, and equality. Their passion for farmed and foraged organic whole foods extends into their very own 'pop up' restaurant Kathadin Kitchen, that is bringing a mix of traditional and contemporary Indigenous cuisine to the forefront of east-central "Maine." Jasmine believes fostering connections between communities will always be the top priority, no matter the hurdles or red tape. Jazz has made work a lifestyle, balancing family, community, culture, wellbeing, and direct action for a better future for all peoples, for the next seven generations.