Staff Spotlight: Bridget Ray
For this spotlight I chatted with Na’ah Illahee Fund’s Director of Strategic Partnerships, Bridget Ray (Ojibwe/Michif). Bridget has worked at Na’ah Illahee Fund for 1.5 years and is a prior board member. She shared what motivates her work, cool upcoming projects and more!
As a wise action shero, can you tell us what wise action is?
For me, wise action is inspired by a memory of when I was very young, maybe five, sitting out in the middle of a field, just watching the grass blow and the insects buzz in and out of the flowers. It was warm, springtime. Being in that moment, connected to the Earth under my body. Feeling in communion with that place, and all the life around me.
So in that way, wise action is our direct relationship with Mother Earth. It’s guided by values of reciprocity and respect, rooted in cultural teachings. That’s my personal definition of it and the generally known definition of it is environmental justice, climate justice, just transition. All move under the umbrella of wise action and that’s where we move with intention, guided by our values and our relationship to the Earth.
What’s your superpower?
My superpower is sorting garbage and people weaving. I can’t weave a basket but I can weave people together. I like to connect people so we have a strong basket of bad-asses looking out for each other and the planet.
You have a long and diverse work history, including non-profit development, tribal planning, and environmental projects. What has been the driving force of your work?
Some of it is circumstantial, being in the right place at the right time. But as my mom’s teacher, Mary Ellen Hillaire (Lummi) would often say, ‘you see a need and fill it’. I like to meet people where they’re at, by really listening first to see if people are able and willing to do a thing and what their version of doing that thing is. The collaborative process is a big part of what drives me.
Na’ah Illahee Fund has many exciting things going on. What current or emerging projects are you super stoked about?
It’s hard to answer this one because they’re all phenomenal! There’s a project underway that’s just emerging, so it’s the brainchild of Asa Wahines with help from Susan Balbas called Sovereignty Hub. It’s basically working in partnership with other Native organizations that are doing similar policy advocacy work, to augment each other’s work in a way that is strategic and impactful. It’s just getting started.
Equally exciting is the E’lip Tillikum Land Conservancy that we are on the verge of launching, stewarded by Lindsay Goes Behind. It’s her passion and, as a tribal planner, I totally support long-range integrated plans to get land and water access back to the people. My viewpoint is that any good project is collaborative. We are working with the Indigenous Seattle Project and other partners. This is a real step towards getting land back and other Native Organizations’ cultural spaces that have meaning and importance. It’s huge.
As a director at a busy non-profit, what are some activities that keep you grounded?
Hanging out with my Mom, having coffee and morning orientation (what day is this? haha), but those kinds of daily rituals… and forest walks, some people call it forest bathing, I think that’s a cool term. Hanging out with my dogs, they let me know when I’ve been sitting on my butt too long. Going to ceremony is super grounding. It’s been super difficult without a canoe journey because that’s the yearly thing that fills up my cup. It really balances me out and maintains my connection to my larger cultural family. But I’ve been absorbing some seriously good books too. Also doing little projects around the house, taking care of myself, eating right, exercising. Well, I could definitely exercise more.
You’ve been part of Blue Jay festivities for years, what experiences do you hope translate into this year’s virtual one?
Sharing food together at a community event is such a wonderful experience that creates conversations that we carry forward and can make lifelong connections during them. So what I’m hoping is that we’ll continue to make connections with people and strengthen existing ties.
However this is an opportunity to bring in new knowledge because now we can share this experience with people Nationwide. We have a lot of programming that is going to be live streamed, food and art, so there will be some of the same elements but in a new way. So I’m hoping that we continue to stay connected to our community and they can learn what we’ve been up to. It’s been an incredible year, we really have a lot to tell. That we can maintain those connections until a time when we can gather again in person.
-Chloe Schierbeck, Communications Specialist
