Cecelia Rose LaPointe joined the University of Alabama virtually on April 22, 2021 as part of our Guest Speaker Series. As an activist and community organizer, LaPointe spoke on the incorporation native practices in the recovery journey.
Nigig-enz Baapi nindizhinikaaz. Ajijaak doodem. Kchiwiikwedong miinawaa Mashkiziibi nindonjibaa. Naaminitigong nindaa.
My name is Little Laughing Otter. I am crane clan. I come from the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibway. I live in the Land Beneath the Trees (Manistee, MI).
Cecelia is Ojibway/Métis and is Mashkiziibi (Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibway or LaPointe Band of Ojibway) and Kchiwiikwedong (Keweenaw Bay Indian Community). They are enrolled in Mashkiziibi and maintain a strong community affiliation to Kchiwiikwedong. Cecelia is the Founder and Executive Director of the Native Justice Coalition. They are also the Founder and Owner of Red Circle Consulting and Waub Ajijaak Press. They identify as Two-Spirit based in their Ojibway culture from an old school and decolonial framework. Their poetry and writing is featured in 25 anthologies, booklets, chapbooks, dissertations, exhibits, journals, magazines, and online Indigenous-Native publications.
They have a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and a Master of Arts in Environmental Leadership from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. Other cool facts include: (1) quintessential traditional Anishinaabe runner (2) sobriety – 11 years strong and (3) they are proud to be Generation X.
