Fighting For Freedom: The Oneida and Indigenous Connection To Valley Forge

Heather Bruegl is an Oneida Nation of Wisconsin citizen and first-line descendent Stockbridge Munsee. She is a graduate of Madonna University in Michigan and holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in U.S. History. Her research comprises numerous topics related to American history, legacies of colonization and Indigeneity, the history of American Boarding Schools, and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Heather has presented her work at academic institutions, including the University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Bard College, Vassar College, and Brooklyn Law School.

Heather consults for various museums and universities and is a frequent lecturer at conferences on topics ranging from intergenerational racism and trauma to the fight for clean water in the Native community. She has been invited to share her research on Indigenous history, including policy and activism, museum equity, and Land Back initiatives for such institutions as the Tate and the Brooklyn Public Library. Heather opened and spoke at the Women’s March Anniversary in Lansing, Michigan, in January 2018 and at the first-ever Indigenous Peoples March in Washington, DC, in January 2019. In 2019, 2020, and 2021, Heather spoke at the Crazy Horse Memorial and Museum in Custer, South Dakota, for its Talking Circle Series.

Heather is a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, where she studies First Nations Education, focusing on how institutions can support BIPOC museum and cultural workers. Heather is a public historian, activist, and independent consultant who works with institutions and organizations for Indigenous sovereignty and collective liberation.