Vanessa Hamilton

Waxe izhazhe wiwita-the Vanessa Hamilton (My name is Vanessa Hamilton)

Umonhon izhazhe wiwita-the Mimite. (My Umonhon name is Mimite.)

Honga wau bthin. ( I am a Honga woman)

 

I am an enrolled member of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska. I am a 3-time graduate of Nebraska Indian Community College (NICC) with associates degrees in Native American Studies, Business Administration, and General Studies. I also received a Bachelors degree from The University of South Dakota in 2017.

I served on the NICC Board of Directors for a year from 2013-2014.

I am the Extension Coordinator at Macy campus, helping with community cultural activities. Because of my interest in Archives and Language Revitalization, as well as continued learning of the Umonhon language and culture, I was part of the group that travelled to Berlin in 2019. I contributed ideas and helped with planning of the Francis La Flesche and Omaha Tribe exhibit.

I will be working closely with our Umonhon Elders and I have “big ears” as my sister used to say, meaning that I will be listening closely and recording what the Elders have to say, so that future generations of our Umonhon niashinga will have access to it.

I have 5 grandchildren, 3 of those grandchildren are Umonhon, and so I am doing my best to pass on our Umonhon language and culture to them, based on my teachings from my family, clan, and Elders.

 

Thate-the udon! (It’s good that you’re here!)