This July, McKaylin Peters of the Menominee Nation embodied the spirit of leadership and community engagement through a month filled with cultural representation, athletic mentorship, and civic involvement. One of her proudest moments came at the UNITY Conference in San Diego, where the Menominee Youth Council attended for the very first time. Formed in February, the council was co-founded by McKaylin to provide Menominee youth with opportunities she wished she had growing up. “I wanted to provide Menominee youth an opportunity I didn’t have growing up that I know they would benefit from,” she shared.
In addition to her leadership in youth organizing, McKaylin dedicated time to sports mentorship as the head coach of the Tribal Storm’s 12U girls traveling softball team. This first-year team represents multiple Tribal Nations in Wisconsin, including Menominee, Stockbridge, Oneida, Potawatomi, and Bad River. Coaching allows her to remain actively connected to youth in the community while giving back through mentorship and teamwork.
Her dedication to cultural representation shone at the premiere of Sacred Wisdom, Sacred Earth, where she represented the Menominee Tribe and brought two fellow youth council members. The documentary featured the tribe’s chairman and elders, and McKaylin valued the chance to ensure younger voices were present at such a meaningful event.
McKaylin also took part in the Wolf River Development Company Golf Outing, where her team placed second in the women’s flight. She viewed this event as not only recreational but an important opportunity to support her tribe’s business ventures and maintain strong partnerships vital to her work.
A significant professional accomplishment came when she organized the Menominee Tribal Legislature’s annual retreat in Michigan. From planning with legal and administrative teams to incorporating UNITY-inspired icebreakers, McKaylin ensured the retreat was a success. The positive feedback from legislators affirmed her ability to create a productive and engaging environment for her community’s leadership.
Her month also included emceeing the Menominee Education Department’s graduation ceremony, supporting the chairman in crafting his keynote address. Additionally, she engaged in business development conversations about launching a tribal maple sugar enterprise, contributing historical research by gathering family stories on traditional tree tapping practices.
McKaylin closed the month preparing for the Menominee contest powwow at the Woodland Bowl, one of the most respected in the region. Alongside attending multiple legislative and committee meetings, she continued to seek ways her Earth Ambassador project could align with community priorities. Her July was, in her own words, “a month of giving back… to help wherever I am needed.”
The UNITY Earth Ambassador program empowers Native youth leaders from across the country to develop and lead environmental service projects rooted in both traditional ecological knowledge and modern sustainability practices. The 2025–2026 cohort, of which McKaylin is a part, represents diverse Tribal Nations and regions, each working on unique initiatives ranging from water rights advocacy to food sovereignty and clean energy education. Together, they are building a collective movement of young Indigenous environmental leaders who are protecting the planet while strengthening their cultural connections for future generations.