Bozeman Magazine

Tinworks Art: In Conversation brings together artists, writers, scientists, and creative thinkers from various fields to discuss the topics of our time. Monthly from March through June, Tinworks will convene thought leaders from the region and beyond for a pilot series On Food and Farming. The conversations have been developed in consideration of artist Agnes Denes’ new work, Wheatfield—An Inspiration. The seed is in the ground, presented at Tinworks for the 2024 exhibition season, and in collaboration with Mary Stein, a community leader in sustainable food systems endeavors and recently retired program leader of the Sustainable Food and Bioenergy Systems degree program at Montana State University. Tinworks Art: In Conversation are ticketed evening events, open to the public, hosted by The Rialto Theater in downtown Bozeman. Mariah Gladstone (Blackfeet, Cherokee) grew up in Northwest Montana. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Environmental Engineering and returned home where she developed Indigikitchen. Gladstone has been recognized as a "Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellow" through the First Nations Development Institute, a "Culture of Health Leader" through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and an MIT Solve Indigenous Communities Fellow. She serves on the board of the FAST (Food Access and Sustainability Team) Blackfeet. Gladstone completed her Master's degree at SUNY - ESF through the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. Jill Falcon Ramaker (Anishinaabe: Turtle Mountain Ojibwe) directs the Buffalo Nations Food System Initiative at Montana State University, an education and research initiative in support of intertribal food sovereignty aligned with the Buffalo Treaty. The initiative serves the Buffalo Nations biocultural region of the Northern Plains and Rockies including three Canadian provinces and five US states, and also through the new Indigenous Foods Lab founded this year in Bozeman. She is Assistant Professor of Community Nutrition and Sustainable Food Systems at MSU. Her research lies in the restoration of balance in human-natural systems, buffalo return, Indigenous land practices, heirloom seed propagation and stewardship, the buffalo culture seasonal round, cultural identity, Indigenous wellness, and biocultural diversity. Ramaker is a mother of three and a member of Minweyweywiigan Midewiwin Lodge, Roseau River First Nation, MB.