Future Secotan Alliance Events
In the Spirit of Wingina 2: Our Women…Our Words…Our Water
Join us for two days as we explore Chief Wingina’s Secotan Alliance and general indigenous environmental history. This year we focus on and celebrate the unique leadership roles of our women yesterday and today…all through the diverse use of interactive education, performing and musical arts, language and film…FREE! (Event appropriate for ages 16 and up)
Pre-register for this event. CLICK HERE
Friday & Saturday May 30-31, 2025 | Outer Banks, NC
May 30: 12-5 PM Virginia S. Tillett Center, Multipurpose Room. Manteo, NC
May 30: 7-10 PM Jennette’s Pier, Oceanview Room. Nags Head, NC
May 31: 9 Am-4:30 PM College of the Albemarle, Dare. Rooms 1,2 & 3. Manteo, NC
Keynote Speakers:
Dr. Helen C. Rountree. Professor Emerita of Anthropology at Old Dominion University. Dr. Rountree is widely recognized for her scholarly groundbreaking work on Native American societies. And this is particularly evident in her published material that illuminates the roles of Indigenous women in governance, community life, and cultural preservation. Among her many publications that exemplify such work is her most recent release “Manteo’s World” and an earlier work “Indians of Southern Maryland”.
Dr. Karen Ordahl Kupperman is a distinguished historian specializing in early American and Atlantic world history. She is Professor Emerita at New York University and has written extensively on the interactions between European colonizers and Indigenous peoples in the 16th and 17th centuries. Her notable works include “Indians and English: Facing Off in Early America”, which won the American Historical Association’s Prize in Atlantic History, and “Roanoke: The Abandoned Colony”.
Support Speakers
Dr. Gabrielle Tayac (Piscataway) is Associate professor, Department of History and Art History at George Mason University, Consult Curator, Smithsonian American Art Museum, contributing author, “Native Prospects: Indigeneity and Landscapes” and more specifically ”Speaking Sovereignty; Powhatan’s Mantle”.
Dr. Crystal A. Cavalier (Occaneechi) is Co-Founder and Director of “7 Directions of Service”, an Indigenous non-profit missioned in protection of our environment and sacred homelands. Her doctoral research centered on MMIW (missing & murdered indigenous women) connected to gas and oil pipelines, she is the author of a children’s book, “Bean Woman” under a pen name, Criss Wynters. Full Bio - CLICK HERE
Lisa Rider is the Executive Director of Coastal Carolina Riverwatch. She has a BS from NC Central University. She has spent two decades in environmental advocacy and justice programs and founded the NC Marine Debris Symposium. Among her many achievements are: “Women in Leadership Excellence Award” and “NC Environmental Educator of the Year”. She also serves on the Advisory Board to the College of Arts Social Sciences and Humanities at NC Central University. Full Bio - CLICK HERE
Dr. Arwin Smallwood (Tuscarora) is Dean, College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities at NC Central University. He is the author of “Bertie County: An Eastern North Carolina History” as well as many other well respected scholarly works. He is in high demand as an expert on Tuscarora life in and around the NC Coastal Plane and particularly so on the early cultural intersection between African and Indigenous Carolina Sounds peoples.
David Rahahę́·tih Webb (Tuscarora) is the author of a new book “Indigenous Carolinians A History from Original Peoples to Present day Tribes” and previously an award-winning work “The Spanish Seminole”. He is the executive director at Muddy Sneakers, Outdoor Classroom. David is an indigenous rights activist and captivated our audience last year with a session on the Tuscarora dialect and culture. Full Bio - CLICK HERE
Tammy Woodward, Executive Director, Outer Banks History Center, Moderator
Cathy Steever, BOD Secretary, Co-Moderator
Program Contributors
Warren Perkinson, Indigenous Hand Drum
Barbara Miller (Miami Tribe of Oklahoma), Education and Marketing Director, Frisco Native American Museum and Natural History Center
Marilyn Morrison, Chief, Roanoke Hatterask Tribe
Brian Chance, Chief, Machapunga Tribe
Sandra Hope, Director of Saving the Circle, Producer, (short film) “Unity - Cockacoeske’s Dilemma”. Mary Waddell & A’lice Myers-Hall, BOD Saving the Circle
Michelle Lewis, Peace Garden Project, Outer Banks Environmental Film Festival
Local/Regional Dignitaries: TBA
Entertainment: The Benjie Porecki Trio
Program Schedule & Times
Friday, May 30: Virginia S. Tillett Center
11:30 AM Registration
12:00 – 1:00 PM Welcome, Introduction, Land Acknowledgement, Outer Banks Promise, Meditation, Alliance Signing, Sponsor Acknowledgement
1:00 PM Dr. Helen Roundtree: 16th-Century Coastal Indigenous History, Environment & Roles of Women
2:00 PM Dr. Karen Ordahl Kupperman
3:00 PM Dr.Gabrielle Tayac
3:30 PM Dr. Crystal A. Cavalier (Overview for Day 2)
3:45 PM Lisa Rider (Overview for Day 2)
4:00 PM Dr. Arwin Smallwood & David Webb (Overview for Day 2)
4:15 Panel Discussion, Q&A
4:45 Adjourn: Reconvene 7:00 PM Jennette’s Pier, Nags Head, NC
Friday (continued) Jennette’s Pier, Oceanview Room (2nd Floor) | Nags Head, NC
7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
An Evening of Indigenous Drum & Flute, Jazz & Indigenous Poetry
Desserts & Beverages (No Alcohol)
Saturday, May 31: College of the Albemarle Dare: Manteo, NC
(9:00 AM-4:30 PM)
9:00 AM-9:30 AM Registration; Coffee, Tea, Danish, Sweet Breads
9:30 AM-10:00 AM Welcome, Introduction & Announcements
10:00 AM Sandra Hope, film, “Unity - Cockacoeske’s Dilemma” Room 1
10:00 AM Lisa Rider & Dr. Crystal Cavalier, Indigenous Earth Ethic & Environmental Activism, Talk 1 Room 2
10:00 AM Dr. Arwin Smallwood Room 3
11:00 AM Sandra Hope, film, “Unity - Cockacoeske’s Dilemma” Room 1
11:00 AM Dr. Crystal Cavalier & Lisa Rider, Indigenous Earth Ethic & Environmental Activism & MMIW Talk 2 Room 2
11:00 AM Dr. Arwin Smallwood Room 3
12:00 Noon Lunch Break
1:00 PM Indigenous Carolinians: Our Women, Our Words, and Our Water (Webb) Room 1
1:00 PM Indigenous Earth Ethic & Environmental Activism Talk 2 (Parsons & Speaker TBA), Room 2
1:00 PM Indigenous Earth Ethic & Environmental Activism Talk 1 (Cavalier & Rider), Room 3
2:00 PM Indigenous Carolinians: Our Women, Our Words, and Our Water (Webb) Room 1
2:00 PM “Indigenous Women Environmental Leaders” Panel (Rountree, Kupperman, Tayac, Cavalier) Room 2 & 3
3:00 – 4:00 PM General Panel Discussion: Our Women, Words & Water. How do they all connect? All speakers Room 1 or Lobby
4:00 – 4:30 PM | Evaluation, 2026 Program Agenda & Closing Remarks. Room 1 or Lobby
Event Sponsors
This project sponsored by the following:
The Secotan Alliance and our valued partners
• Outer Banks Visitors Bureau
• Outer Banks Community Foundation
• Friends of the Outer Banks History Center
• Dare Arts
