She:kon, Kio’riwa:ri ionkiats, wahkskarewake tanon Akwesasne tki’teron. My name is Meg Martin and I am bear clan from Akwesasne. I am a graduate in Communications and Media Production from Villanova University with my Bachelor of Arts. During my time at Villanova I have participated in numerous productions from short films, Villanova athletics promotional content, to making Social Justice documentaries about loss of culture and identity in Akwesasne, the epidemic of period poverty the women of Siaya, Kenya face, and the land rights of the Afro-Indigenous people in Salvador, Brazil, and most recently two documentaries set in the Philippines with a parallel with the Shinnecock Indian Nation, one focusing on indigenous and ancestral land rights, and the other climate change and pollution and it’s drastic effect on small island communities.

Part of what I enjoy about Communications and Media production is the ability to market and reach people through stories that can bring a wider cultural and social understanding to the masses, while showing stories that are typically not represented correctly in the mainstream media. At Villanova I have also been able to co-found the schools first Native Indigenous Students Association, alongside two of the only other Indigenous students enrolled.  At the moment we are actively trying to create a land acknowledgement ,which Villanova Current lacks, in order to create an initiative to increase the population of Indigenous students that are not only enrolled on campus but also, to be given an adequate scholarship package. I strive to use my knowledge in filmmaking, marketing, media relations and communication to strengthen the fight and tell stories within communities and individual facing systemic oppression worldwide.

Nia:wen’kowa.