Life Skills Training

The Ohketeau team is happy to share that we have had another wonderful and fun training with community members from across our Indigenous communities.

9 new people are now trained in Life Skills and will soon take a training in a newly developed Indigenous curriculum to compliment it. It is based on the Circle Tied to Mother Earth DPH booklets also created by local Indigenous Elders a decade ago.

Look for these folks when you’re desiring to engage your youth in programming that will support a healthy lifestyle and important skills that will allow them to be confident leaders in the future.

Thank you to all who participated, shared, and enhanced the training with just being you. We can’t wait to hear about all your sucess!

Gratitude to Native American LifeLines Boston for hosting us in their beautiful new center. Make some time to see it if you haven’t yet. There’s onsite parking, sit and have a snack, pick up some supplies and hang out with good people. These partnerships where we uplift one another and the resources we provide is how we will truly make an impact.

And a huge thank you to our Life Skills trainer who the group decided to call Mrs. K. Her words, “I learned more from this group than any other group I’ve taught.” She looks forward to returning for another round in the future.

This programming would not be possible without our HRiA funding, donations from individual community members and a one time donation from Unity Circles. Huge thank you to all those who shared the opportunity. Your share makes a difference and can be the access someone needs.

Opportunities

Ohketeau offers an array of opportunities, take a moment to see what we are offering this month:

Natives Run! Youth!
February 21, 2026
This youth event will be held in Worcester, MA.

With this event we will uplift and celebrate youth who are determined to better their lives through sports such as running. In collaboration with our Natives Run advisory board, we will provide the youth who show up with a variety of tools and insight they may need to pursue their own path to health and wellness.

Save the date and sign your kids up!
Youth 9-21
All participating youth get a free pair of sneakers
Fun relay race and other games!

Contact: Reina@Ohketeau.org

ohketeau womxn’s group

We are grateful for Northampton Arts center for their continued support and reparations efforts allowing us to use space.

This month we are hosting a poetry workshop!
Sunday February 8th
3:00pm - 5:00pm

All new members must fill out an online registration form. Email info@Ohketeau.org for any questions.

A Word from Our Director

These are the days that test what we believe, that separate performance from principle, and remind us that even in dark hours, the future is still listening. Our children are watching. In a time when voices are raised and hearts are weary, let us choose something beyond anger. Let us choose one another. Healing does not begin in governments or institutions. It begins in the quiet decision to see each other as human again. Beneath every label, every fear, every wound, there is a person who wants safety, dignity, and to be heard. We have all known loss and a form of struggle. That shared fragility is not our weakness, it is the doorway to compassion. Unity does not mean Sameness. It means standing together without demanding that everyone’s story be identical. It means listening without preparing a rebuttal. It means allowing pain to be acknowledged, not compared. Peace grows where understanding is given room to breathe. Let us be the generation that lowers the temperature. That refuses to pass hatred down like inheritance. That teaches our children strength through kindness, courage through empathy, and power through restraint. The future is not built by those who shout the loudest, but by those who heal what others believed was beyond repair. May we speak with care. May we act with conscience. May we remember that every step toward one another is a step away from division.

Aquene
Larry S Mann

Natives Run!

Announcing our 2026 Runners

Ohketeau is Proud to present the four runners this year for the Boston Marathon. This will be our second year creating space for indigenous athletes to run on historic trails in partnership with the Boston Athletic Association.

If you see folx out and about, congratulate them! This is a great achievement! Taubotne to our Natives Run Advisory board for making the difficult choice of who would run this year. We are so thrilled to see so much enthusiasm and good energy surrounding this groundbreaking initiative.

Kristen Wyman
Hassanamisco Nipmuc Tribal Citizen

Thawn Sherente Harris
Narraganset Tribal Citizen

Carissa Mckinney
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Citizen

Apemesim Galipeau
Penobscot Nation

Show Your Love!

Our organization needs your donations in order to continue the important work that we do! You can also help us by volunteering or considering our organization as an internship placement! Any amount helps!

Please support us in providing the classes and workshops that we provide, in hiring local Native people to teach traditional skills, and in providing educational opportunities for allies.

It is through this community work that we all will forge a greater future for Native people in the North East.

Celebration Space

Natives Run! Youth

A young Taino runner named Munah Lee Nieves - Flores . Her Indigneous Taino name is Katikuya. She ran a 200 meter and 4x1. She won 3rd in one, and 1st place in another. We have our eyes on this spirited youth!

Performances

Esme Iolana appears in her local production of Finding Nemo! Her Indigenous Taino name is Tureyako! is looking forward to participating in youth event!