How artist Hadassah GreenSky honors her culture in Detroit

Stateside

Hadassah GreenSky is an artist, activist, and musician. She is also the organizer of the Vibes with the Tribes, an annual Native American and cultural festival held in Detroit since 2020.

You may know her from a viral photo of her and a few fellow dancers in front of the former Christopher Columbus statue in Detroit.

Another one of her projects is a documentary, referred to as The Red Ghetto, which documents the lives of Native American families living in the Cass Corridor. According to GreenSky, those who lived in Detroit all had stories of relatives living in the Cass Corridor.

"I think I heard an auntie once say there was over 120 different nations once represented in the city of Detroit, and there's still remnants of that," said GreenSky. "But, there's no, like, historical documents that talk about this. It's all just stories that all of us have."

GreenSky has also been vocal about water rights. This year, they are organizing a Prayer Walk for the Water on Indigenous Peoples Day, Oct. 14 from 1-5 pm on Belle Isle in Detroit. The event is in commemoration of Grandma Josephine Mandamin, who, as an elder, walked around all of the Great Lakes, several times.

GUEST:

Hadassah GreenSky, artist, community organizer, curator, cultural worker, indigenous futurist working as a visual and music artist, dancer, bead artist, seamstress, graphic designer, photographer, videographer and model

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