indigenous led Advanced Research

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NATIVE HEALTH MATTERS VP

CEO CHEROKEE GENETICS  

Tim Houseberg, a Cherokee Nation citizen, was born and raised in Stilwell, Oklahoma. He attended Stilwell Public Schools and Northeastern State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Management. Tim began his career with the Cherokee Nation in 1991 and served in Environmental Programs for Natural Resources.

Tim's first assignment was working with EPA Region 6 to develop the first Treatment as a State for Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Solid Waste program for any U.S. Tribal government.

Tim is a co-author of the 1993 Cherokee Nation Environmental Protection Act. In addition, he went on to help the establish Inter- Tribal Environmental Council which still exists today and continues to build the technical capacity for Tribal governments to manage and protect their natural resources and shared environments.

He has worked with 38 Tribes to-date to develop their Tribal programs and policies in natural resources and environmental protection

Tim is committed to growing the capacity both technically and legally for Tribes to protect their remaining natural resources as well as restore resources thought lost to environmental crimes.

Currently, Houseberg is a board member of the 501(c) 3 Native Health Matters Foundation a Stilwell, Oklahoma, based Cherokee Community Organization.

In addition, Tim serves as a part of the Agronomic research team. In January 2018, the research team became the first university backed agronomic hemp study in the United States.

In 2020, Tim became a member of a global hemp research group. The group is a multi-national collection of university studies that analyzes specific cultivars of hemp performance around the world.

 SR. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST       Mr. Hatley oversees environmental programs, water and air quality monitoring projects, write quality control instruments, conduct culturally based risk assessments, and conduct hazardous waste site investigation. 

Mr. Hatley is a co-founder of LEAD Agency, Inc., a grassroots group in northeastern Oklahoma, and served as the Board President from 1997-2003.  Hatley has been appointed by Oklahoma’s previous Governors to serve on the Hazardous Waste Management Advisory Council for the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality from March, 2007 - Apr. 2014. From Oct. 2007-14, Mr. Hatley served on the Board of Directors for Oklahoma Sustainability Network, and serves on the Steering Committee for the Western Mining Action Network, including the tribal caucus. WMAN serves grassroots organizations dealing with the impacts of hard rock mining & fossil fuel extraction in the lower 48 states, Alaska and Canada. In addition, Mr. Hatley served on the Health and Human Service's Regional Health Equity Board for Region 6, 

Apr. 2011- Aug. 2015. 

Mr. Hatley's Awards 

Carrie Dickerson Lifetime Achievement Award 

 Terry Backer Award 

Waterkeeper Alliance "River Hero," 

Mr. Hatley has a B.A. degree in Human Development from Westminster College (Fulton, MO)/Flaming Rainbow University (Tahlequah, OK) and a M.A. Political Science from OK State Univ. (Stillwater, OK) he is ABD Environmental Science Ph.D, OK State Univ. (Stillwater, OK).

 Supply Chain Development Director at Native Health Matters Foundation and Subcommittee indigenous Production Trade Alliance Swan Ray is a Supply Chain Development Specialist for University of Minnesota Extension’s Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (RSDP). As a member of RSDP’s Statewide Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems team, Ray provides technical assistance for regional food system and sustainable agriculture projects and acts as a conduit between Greater Minnesota community members, university researchers and industry partners. Her current work includes end-to-end commercialization strategy and supply chain development for emerging oilseeds and identity-preserved small grains, including hemp, winter camelina, specialty soy, hulless barley, winter barley and specialty wheat. Recent focus has been on assessment of processing capabilities and capacity in the upper Midwest, including onsite engagement with processors and product developers to better identify opportunities and address processing barriers for small-scale and BIPOC farmers. Engaged in hemp supply chain development since early 2019, Ray has continually sought to understand the needs of hemp producers and processors, identify supply chain bottlenecks and obstacles to industry growth, and spur research to address industry challenges. Ray facilitated the first-ever Minnesota Hemp Producer Survey in 2020 and is an active participant on two national working groups for the Hemp Feed Coalition, a multi-stakeholder group working toward FDA approval for hemp ingredients as animal feed to open new markets for hemp and hemp coproducts nationwide.  Ray has over 20 years of experience working in various supply chain and marketing roles within the natural foods industry for companies such as Whole Foods Market, National Co-op Grocers and New Chapter. She holds a MS in Supply Chain Management from Carlson School of Management and a BS in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota.  Working group participation: • Hemp Feed Coalition, Ingredients and Production Animals, 2020-2021 •

Executive Director Health Wellness 

Native Health Matters 

SJ Johnson, is a well-respected and dedicated healthcare professional, specializing in clinical nursing and has spent much of her career primarily within the Native American/ American Indian reservation. Her experience and quality initiatives have driven her to develop Integrative Healthcare Solutions, LLC. She is currently serving as organization President and working as a strategic partner to clients who want to develop their leadership stakeholders and management team cohesion. She thrives at working as a liaison, providing collaboration oversight, and planning next step solutions that improve delivery and consistency to various organizations and systems. 

Her experience began inside the United States Department of Health and Human Services, SJ served as a Clinical Nurse Case Manager on various projects including the broad initiatives to redirect entire primary care service units’ methods of delivery of care. She was the spear head clinician tasked with accurately translating and delivering materials and procedures to support work across different tribes. 

Her work included daily direct roles among the White Mountain Apache Tribe, the Tohono O’Odham Nation Tribe, Colorado River Tribes, Pasque Yaqui Tribe, and now returns to Oklahoma Territory to serve her own Tribe Cherokee Nation among the other great Nations within the reservation. SJ has devoted and challenged herself to work as an advocate for holistic health and education. Her experience in healthcare has been the jumping point and background that has inspired her work with Native Health Matters. SJ focuses on delivering preservation education and holistic measures to improve awareness of pre-removal culture.

SJ is a Matriarch in her own right, yet her mother is of Full-Blooded Cherokee descent. She is the granddaughter of Keetoowah Nighthawk Society Members of Marble City Indian Territory. SJ is a member of the Anitsiskwa or Bird Clan. It is historical knowledge that this clan is responsible for being the messenger between earth and heaven or more accurately the People and the Creator. 

SJ received formal education at Locust Grove Public Schools in the heart of Cherokee Nation, she studied the Art of Nursing in Tulsa OK and later completed her Bachelor of Art in Communications at Rogers State University. She worked toward completion of her Master of Science in Nursing Leadership and Management before returning to Oklahoma. She currently resides within the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reservation in Wagoner OK with her children and cat Gibbie.

Special Program

Andrew's professional background and experience as a journeyman in skilled trades is complimented by his personal commitments to human rights as applied in educational, cultural & environmental matters.  His academic interests include Environmental Ethics, Religious Rights and Freedoms, Innovation in Education, Philosophy of Science, Applied Economics, Economic Utility and Behavioral Economics

Hemp Rope Bridges is now the name of an ongoing project with Native Health Matters that started in an article on his blog 2019.  The historical significance of rope illustrates some of the challenges to accurately assessing the value and impact by early human preference for selecting cannabis fibers.  

Scientists have speculated that rope making tools made from bone and ivory were in use 40,000 years ago. Scientific interpretation shows the indications of wear by continual use over time on the tool suggested a practical use: fiber forced through the holes could produce four strands of rope with a right-hand twist that could in turn be fashioned into a larger rope.  The scientists used a bronze casting of the tool to make 10 feet of Rope in 15 minutes. 

The conceptual model for Hemp Rope Bridges has evolved from a marketing idea into a toolkit for education and research.  Innovation in commercial applications for Industrial Hemp is part of the projects core objectives.  Coordinated Programs is always open to proposals for research, projects, and potential collaborations.