About the Authors

About the Authors

Danielle Hill, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Citizen, Hawk Clan. Mother of five children, Julian, 17, Anysa 14, Maple 5, Quill 4, Tulsi 2, and wife of David Greendeer, Ho-Chunk/Narragansett. We are an art family and enjoy spending our days, crafting, painting, building, making wampum jewelry and spending days and nights at the beach. As a writer, farmer, crafter, dancer and artist I always find inspiration from museum archives and collections. When the children go to bed, I spend time looking at old photographs and imagining what life our ancestors lived. Through the silence, I find motivation to create new imagery and stories. I am also a seed steward of the King Philip Corn, a historically Wampanoag heirloom corn variety stolen during the King Philip War but now rematriated back into Wampanoag soil. When I am not out in the corn field or in the gallery, you can find me teaching a Native Food Systems Course for UMass Amherst Stockbridge school of Agriculture. The future for me is to continue to merge my love of art and corn.

Alexis Bunten

Alexis Bunten, PhD, is an Alaska Native writer, media maker, consultant and educator. Her first book, “So, how long have you been Native?” Life as an Alaska Native Tour Guide” (2015) won the Alaska Library Association Award for its originality, and depth. Her writing has appeared in “First American Art Magazine,” “Cultural Survival Quarterly,” “NMAI Magazine,” and in many academic journals. Her first childrens’ book, Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun’s Thanksgiving Story, co-authored with Danielle Hill and Tony Perry, will be published with Charlesbridge Press in 2022.

Alexis has won awards for her work from the US National Science Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation, among many others. She has also been featured in Forbes, the Washington Post and the Seattle Times. Alexis lives in Monterey, California with her husband, daughter, 3 dogs, cat and lizard. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, studying DNA and creating cultural tours.

Anthony Perry (Chickasaw) grew up in Oklahoma and now lives in England with his wife and two young children. This is his second children’s book.  His first children’s book, Chula the Fox, brings 18th century Chickasaw history to life and is being adapted into a film.  He works as an analyst in the National Health Service in England and volunteers with hospitals in Pakistan to improve health services. He loves history and enjoys spending time with his family and traveling.

Perry has an undergraduate degree in comparative religion from Dartmouth College, a master’s degree in public health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a master’s degree in public policy from Birkbeck College, University of London.

Garry Meeches, Sr. (Anishinaabe) was born on the Long Plains reserve in southern Manitoba, Canada. His style is reminiscent of the plains style of art and evokes the Eastern Woodlands tradition. He lives in Connecticut, and this is his first picture book.