2025 Remembering Our Sisters Fellows give voices to the voiceless, ensuring their missing and murdered relatives are never forgotten
WASHINGTON – The Center for Native American Youth (CNAY) is honored to announce the 2025 cohort of the Remembering Our Sisters Fellowship, a virtual storytelling and digital arts program that supports Native youth with a demonstrated commitment to raise awareness about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit (MMIWG2S+) epidemic.
CNAY equips Fellows with tools, resources, and a platform to advocate for increased visibility and action to end the MMIWG2S+ epidemic and advance policies that help promote safety, cultural strength, kinship support, and generational healing in Indigenous communities. Through this six-month program, Fellows create digital art and storytelling projects that bring attention and awareness to this critical issue.
“We are humbled by the wisdom, compassion and strength brought to this space by the 2025 cohort of Remembering Our Sisters,” said Katy Stewart, Programs Manager. “Every year, we look forward to walking alongside the next generation of leaders as they hone their skills as artists and activists to bring more justice and awareness to the MMIWG2S+ movement.”
Meet the 2025 Remembering Our Sisters Fellows:
- Jori Cowley (Cherokee & Shawnee) of Oklahoma
- Angelina Hinojosa (Pinoleville Pomo Nation) of California
- Carrie Johnson (Chickasaw & Pawnee) of Oklahoma and New York
- Sophia Madrigal (Cahuilla Band of Indians) of California and Massachusetts
- Fabian Mendoza (Muckleshoot Indian Tribe) of Washington and Arizona
- Jaden Shirley (Navajo Nation) of New Mexico and Texas
The Fellowship kicked off earlier this month with Remember Our Sisters Week, where the new cohort came together virtually to discuss their goals and learn from one another, as well as from other influential women working to address the MMIWG2S+ epidemic.
Speakers included former North Dakota State Representative Ruth Buffalo (Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation), PhD Candidate Jamie Yellowtail (Apsáalooke), award-winning investigative journalist and acclaimed “Stolen” podcaster Connie Walker (Cree), photographer of the MMIW Montana Billboard Project Jen Murphey (Chippewa Cree Tribes), National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center advocate Natalie Deanda (Confederated Tribes of Siletz), and Dr. Billie Jo Kipp (Blackfeet Tribe of Montana), a clinical psychologist who was instrumental in developing the original curriculum for Remembering Our Sisters.
“Remembering Our Sisters represents a vital effort to preserve and promote Indigenous narratives, and seeks to inspire resilience and healing within Native communities,” said Dr. Kipp. “By amplifying youth voices, the program fosters a sense of agency and empowerment. Native scholars are encouraged to reclaim their stories and share them with the world, ultimately contributing to a more inclusive understanding of history.”
Throughout the Fellowship, participants receive stipends, technical assistance, mentorship, peer-to-peer learning opportunities and a platform to share and elevate their projects. By amplifying the voices of these young leaders, CNAY aims to drive meaningful change, protect Native youth and honor the lives of Indigenous relatives lost to the MMIWG2S+ epidemic.
