Tammy Greer of the United Houma Nation

As a member of the United Houma Nation and director of the Center for American Indian Research and Studies (CAIRS) at Southern Miss, Dr. Greer has worked with Southeastern Native tribal members on numerous projects including the formation of CAIRS and the building of a 1000 square foot Medicine Wheel garden located on campus for whom she is the caretaker. She is the faculty advisor for the Golden Eagles Intertribal Society, a Native focused student group on campus who, along with CAIRS, tends the garden, hosts a yearly powwow and organizes two Native Ways School Day events each year.  She works with other gardeners and medicine people as part of a grant from the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), growing food, native plants and distributing those, along with seeds, as part of an effort to regain food sovereignty. Dr. Greer spends her December weekends as the photographer for Indian Santa, travelling to bayou communities so that every child has a photo with Santa as he delivers toys.  Dr. Greer is currently working with the Mississippi INBRE Telenutrition Center to recruit Native students from Mississippi and Louisiana to engage in a summer program in health disparities research.  The focus of her Okla Achukma project is to address preventable chronic diseases in our Southeastern Native tribes in a more holistic way using the traditional teachings of the sacred Medicine Wheel.