How to Contact the ARPA Noošonke Team
Nate Poyfair,
ARPA Noošonke Project Manager
Email: npoyfair@miamination.com
Phone: (918) 541-1300
Madalyn Richardson,
Cultural Arts and Education Content Specialist
Email: mrichardson@miamination.com
Jordan Poyfair,
Communications & Media Specialist
Email: jpoyfair@miamination.com
Introduction:
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Noošonke team is responsible for providing community members access to healthy foods and related food knowledge, as well as heritage-specific outdoor, socially distanced activities, and online education programming. The team works hand-in-hand with the CRO, CREO, and eemamwiciki teams in creating learning materials and programming.
Noošonke Team Members:
ARPA Noošonke Project Manager
Nate is a Miami University (Oxford) graduate with a BA in History and possesses a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. Previous experience in the business world, as well as participation in tribal events and programming, has enabled him to formulate plans and lead in creating distance learning materials. As employees of the Cultural Resources Office, Nate and the ARPA team help to maintain COVID-safe distance learning for in-person and online events.
Nate began working with the tribe in the summer of 2016 as a camp counselor for the summer youth programs eewaansapita and saakaciweeta. He continues his work with the youth programs and volunteers at various events the tribe holds. During the spring of 2022, Nate began working for the CRO as a Special Projects Researcher, a position aimed at researching the tribe’s history. As of October of 2022, Nate moved to his role as Project Manager for the ARPA Noošonke team and will continue until the fall of 2026. Nate hopes to continue to learn from the cultural leaders of the Miami Tribe to evolve as a cultural citizen into someone that helps to preserve Myaamia language, culture, and heritage that we as a community have worked so hard to revitalize.
Cultural Arts and Education Content Specialist
In this position, Madalyn is responsible for creating and designing publications used by the tribal community in distance learning. As a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Design graduate with a certification in Spanish from Missouri Southern State University, she combines her love of culture, organization, and art to create effective communications and publications for the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma.
Madalyn began working for the tribe in October 2021 as the Myaamia Makerspace Coordinator, and later, in August 2022, she transitioned into her current ARPA position. This utilizes her abilities in social media communications, newspaper publication, book design, and project management. “The variety of my work with ARPA is both challenging and enjoyable. Projects range from designing garden plots to postcards to the newspaper. I’m grateful to be a part of a team passionate about continually learning and sharing cultural news and curricula with the Myaamia tribal community.”
Communications & Media Specialist
Jordan joined the CRO and ARPA teams after studying UI/UX design and web development at Miami University. She previously worked doing some freelance design and social media development and growth before finding the opportunity to work with the Miami Tribe. As she continues to interact with the tribal community and increase her cultural knowledge, she learns and understands the wants and needs of community members which assists her with her job of building a new tribal website.
Jordan began working for the tribe in the summer of 2022 with the task of assessing and auditing the tribal website and social media outlets. After much time, effort, planning, and invaluable insight and guidance from the entire CRO team, and assistance from countless departments, she successfully redesigned the look and functionality of the Miami Tribe’s site. While continuous maintenance and updates to the site will be needed, she will next move into a role of digital media creation and optimizing social media channels.