Keynote Speaker

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Shiloh Maples is an Anishinaabe community organizer, seed keeper, and storyteller.

Shiloh Maples is an Anishinaabe community organizer, seed keeper, and storyteller. 

Shiloh has a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Michigan, where she specialized in community organizing. She has completed certificate programs in organic farming and permaculture design. During her time as a student, Shiloh recognized the powerful potential of food systems to heal and transform communities. Since then, Shiloh has been committed to serving the Indigenous food sovereignty movement and revitalizing her own ancestral foodways. For nearly a decade, Shiloh worked within Detroit's Indigenous community to create a food sovereignty initiative that increased access to ancestral foods, offered culturally-based nutrition education, and created opportunities for the community to practice their cultural foodways in the urban landscape.

In 2021, Shiloh was a writer-in-residence at Denniston Hill in upstate New York. In 2022, Shiloh partnered with Whetstone Media to launch her podcast, Spirit Platewhich discusses the social, political, and historical reasons the Indigenous food sovereignty movement is necessary and uplifts the voices of seed keepers, chefs, historians, and community members from across the movement.

Shiloh is currently the Program Manager for Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance.