The Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health’s Great Lakes Hub in Duluth, located at 1915 South St. near the Duluth Labor Temple, just sent out an announcement of Indigenous Stories of Strength, a website collecting stories of life under COVID-19.

The local story is summarized below and worth a look.

Jessica Gidagaakoons Smith is a proud Two-Spirit member of the Bois Forte Band of The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. She is a member of the criminal justice honor society and is graduating with her BS in Legal Studies/ First Nations Studies in December 2021. She has just begun her masters program in Tribal Administration and Governance at the University of Minnesota Duluth. She is a dedicated activist and advocate for social and systemic change and is committed to helping her people by using her experiences and trauma to fight for justice, the safety, wellbeing, and equality of Indigenous people. Jessica is passionate about raising survivor voices and Two-Spirit voices. She believes survivors and families should always come first. All the work Jessica does is for her people.