Featuring Earth Ambassador: Néepa Hyde (Shinnecock & Onondaga, Midwest Region)
Fresh off the 2025 National UNITY Conference, Néepa Hyde wasted no time putting her leadership into action. Just one week later, she began working with Dream of Wild Health’s Garden Warriors program in Hugo, Minnesota—a life-changing experience that deepened her connection to land, language, and cultural healing. “This month has inspired me in so many ways,” she shared.
As part of her service work, Néepa spent her days planting trees, cleaning produce, preparing native medicines, and debugging plants—but her time in the garden was about much more than labor. Through daily mentorship with Seneca elder Hope Flanagan, she received teachings on the environment, traditional medicine, and Indigenous resistance. “While at the farm, I learned so many things from Seneca elder Hope Flanagan,” Néepa said. “She informed me about muscle and clam revitalization projects in the St. Croix River… She shared a water prayer song with me, which I now continue to use to thank the water for the life it gives us.”
Hope also encouraged Néepa to integrate seed bombs into her Earth Ambassador project—an idea Néepa is now excited to pursue. This sustainable method allows her to prepare seeds in advance, with plans to distribute them back home in her own Shinnecock community.
Garden Warriors also offered rich cultural and educational opportunities, particularly in language revitalization. By the end of the program, youth introduced themselves in Ojibwe, Dakota, or Ho-Chunk—a powerful display of pride and resilience. “It was a beautiful thing to watch my friends learn their language and later say it with pride as they introduced themselves,” Néepa reflected. These moments underscored her belief that food sovereignty is inseparable from cultural sovereignty.
As part of the program, Néepa visited Wozupi Tribal Gardens, a 30-acre farm run by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. She toured their greenhouses, maple processing center, orchard, and pollinator gardens—all designed to feed and sustain the local community. “Wozupi is a great example of what I want to bring back to the Shinnecock community,” she said. “I want to have a circulation of healthy food in the community, and Wozupi has done a great job of it.”
In addition to hands-on farm work, Néepa participated in nutrition classes, where she learned recipes and healthy food group practices to bring back to her family. But her leadership impact doesn’t stop in the garden—she was recently approved to speak at the World Food Forum in Rome this October, where she will share her vision for Indigenous youth, sovereignty, and climate action on the global stage. “The future is bright for Native youth,” she said.
The UNITY Earth Ambassador Program cultivates Indigenous youth leaders like Néepa Hyde who are planting the seeds of cultural revitalization, environmental stewardship, and intergenerational healing. This year’s cohort is leading by example—reconnecting to the land, uplifting community knowledge, and reclaiming pathways forward through tradition, voice, and vision.