News

Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper Katey Zimmerman made a return to a conference celebrating Secotan Alliance’s longstanding earth ethic and its relevance to modern environmentalism.

“In the Spirit of Wingina 2: Our Women, Our Words, Our Water” was held in Manteo and Nags Head last weekend, with the goal of educating the public about indigenous values of the late-16th century Algonquian leader.

“Last year, the focus was about bringing environmental groups and indigenous people together,” Katey said. “This year was a continuation of that, with an additional focus on women’s roles in tribes and celebrating women today.”

Host of the conference, Secotan Alliance … And Beyond, was formed in 2023 to honor Chief Wingina, leader of the Roanoke-Secotan tribe that occupied the Albemarle Peninsula. This year’s conference featured lectures, panel discussions, oral traditions, performances and film screenings. 

Katey was invited to be a part of the Contemporary Earth Ethic Panel discussion.

“This was an opportunity for those of us working in the environmental field to share our perspectives about what it means to support a contemporary environmental earth ethic, meaning the values of protecting land and water,” Katey said. “I think there’s a lot that we can do with our platform at Sound Rivers and our member base to also continue to bridge that gap between indigenous communities and environmental organizations. We need to make those partnerships in order to spread those values of the sacredness of our land and water and the need to protect them.”

Katey says her goal is to continue to collaborate with the people she’s met through the event, as well as share the indigenous history and values in a coming podcast.

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