FELLOWSHIPS

Founder, Walking Bull Story & Culture
alfred@walkingbull.com
they/he

Alfred is an experienced storyteller with a 20-year background in journalism, organizing, communications, development, facilitation, coaching, and professional navigation services. Alfred’s background also includes political organizing for elections, ballot initiatives and Community. Alfred Walking Bull is an enrolled citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, based in Minneapolis, the ancestral homelands of their Dakota cousins. They are Sicangu Lakota, and identify as gay, queer, Two-Spirit and a person of faith in recovery from substance Abuse. In Mni Sota Makoce, Alfred works for Tending the Soil and serves their communities as a member of the OutFront Minnesota Political Action Committee, Out & Sober Minnesota, and Avenues for Youth. They host every fourth Thursday’s edition of Fresh Fruit on KFAI, the nation’s longest-running, weekly, queer radio show. He also writes the Substack In Media Rez, a newsletter written from the intersections of media, Indigeneity, queer/Two-Spirit identity, politics and movement spaces in the in-between that get lost in mainstream narratives.

"I am grateful that Queer Equity Institute exists to strengthen the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities in Mni Sota. Recent history has reinforced for me that so many of the rights and freedoms we fought hard for require dedication to ensure they're not eroded. Leadership in our communities come from every sector, industry, and profession. I'm excited to get to work in supporting our queer community leaders to build bridges of understanding across difference and creating spaces of refuge for our future communities. Wopila tanka eciciyapelo" -Alfred Walking Bull

they/them

Roxanne is a 2018 Bush Fellow, researching 2SLGBTQIA+ Community Centers to understand best practices for a center in the Twin Cities that centers Trans and GNC BIPOC folx. Roxanne's on going work addresses issues of marginalized people. Rox serves as Interim Executive Director for the Minnesota Transgender Health Coalition. Rox has been part of many lgtbq organizations including the Hughes Foundation, RECLAIM for Youth, GLBT Host Home Program. Rox is Co-Founder/Co-Director of RARE Productions.

Rox is perhaps best known for helping build the Power to the People stage at the Pride festival in Minneapolis and operating the now-closed Café Southside, once described as a “radical community hub” for queer Black and brown people. They’ve played a part in numerous 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations and happenings across Minneapolis over decades — organizing around HIV/AIDS prevention, advocating for mental health care and culturally responsive housing for queer youth, amplifying trans voices — always with the goal of creating safer spaces for the most marginalized people.

she/her

Xay Yang is a queer Hmong woman with over 15 years of experience working with Hmong/Southeast Asian families impacted by domestic violence/sexual assault, organizing 2SLGBTQIA+ community members and supporting youth. Xay's experiences span across the board from providing direct service through school-based therapy, community-centered therapy, and advocacy in domestic violence shelters servicing immigrant/refugee women and children. Aside from providing direct services, Xay has also facilitated healing circles locally and nationally, provided 2SLGBTQIA+ competency and culturally specific mental health trainings to service providers, school personnel and county staff. In addition to this, Xay is an active member of the Building Our Future- Queer Contingency, a national campaign focused on ending gender-based violence in the Hmong community with a special focus on gender-based violence in the Hmong 2SLGBTQIA+ community and the recipient of the 2023 Lavender Magazine Community Award.

Xay is super excited to be a part of this inaugural fellowship at QEI, to dream and envision what a leadership pipeline can look like for 2SLGBTQIA+ folks and to create much needed space and access.