Speakers & Presenters - NMU Indigenous Perspectives Symposium

Dr. Evan Tlesla Adams is a Coast Salish physician & actor from Tla’amin First Nation near Powell River, BC, Canada. Best known for his role as Thomas Builds-The- Fire in the Miramax film SMOKE SIGNALS. He completed his Medical Doctorate at the University of Calgary & a residency in the Aboriginal Family Practice program at UBC in Vancouver, Canada. He was a recent Harkness Fellow at the John A. Burns School of Medicine in Honolulu, HI, & is currently the Assessment Lead for the National Circle for Indigenous Medical Education (NCIME) in Canada.

Dr. Melanie Nadeau (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Bear Clan) is the Vice Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Indigenous Health at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences. Her work centers on Indigenous evaluation, data sovereignty, and community‑driven public health research, with a focus on strengthening Tribal research capacity and advancing Indigenous health sovereignty. She serves on multiple national initiatives supporting Indigenous-led research, governance, and innovation.

Dean S. Seneca, MPH, MCURP, serves as the CEO of Seneca Scientific Solutions+, a Public Health and Urban and Regional Planning LLC. In this position, he provides capacity building assistance for Tribal Nations, States, Regions, Cities and Territories in economic and community development that embraces the concepts of “healthy places for healthy people.” Services provided include public health policy, program, training & science; strategic/master planning; community, economic development; grant writing; architectural site planning & building design; performance programing; health research; data collection & management; and program evaluation.

Areas of health expertise include epidemiology, chronic and infectious diseases, emergency preparedness and response, environmental health, social determinants of health, and global health. Mr. Seneca is considered a national subject matter expert on “Indigenous Health Disparities” and holds a Core Investigator appointment in the Office of Health Equity Research at the University of Rochester Medical Center and an adjunct instructor position in the Department of Public Health Sciences. Also, Mr. Seneca holds adjunct faculty positions at the University of Buffalo, School of Public Health and Health Professions and the School of Architecture and Planning. Previously, Mr. Seneca served as a Senior Health Scientist in the Partnership Support Unit within the Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His main responsibilities were to build CDC’s national public health partners ability to provide greater capacity building assistance to state, tribal, local, and territorial health departments.

Mr. Seneca is a non-enrolled Seneca from the Cattaraugus Territory. He has over 20 years of experience in the field of infectious disease outbreaks having been a first responder to Anthrax, H1N1, Ebola, Zika and now Covid19. Before arriving to CDC, he held the position of Tribal Planning Director for the Seneca Nation of Indians. US Army Reserves, 3rd Medical Command, Company Commander, 345th Entomology Detachment, served until 2007. Received both of his master’s degree(s) from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Dennis Dunlap is an enrolled member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. He is Wolf Clan. He is a retired US Army veteran, and the husband of Donna Dunlap. They have been life partners for 47 years and business partners for 15 years. Dennis’ herbal journey began years before he retired from the service. Family members came to the Dunlap’s for various health issues, asking for sustainable, natural ways to combat minor maladies with herbs as opposed to synthetic drugs. They stepped up to the plate, and designed a line of products, made out of necessity and love. These products became the backbone of their business, Native Blend. As presenters at the Indigenous Perspective Symposium, Dennis and Donna will bring years of experience to instruct and demonstrate the traditional way of making a proper salve. They will include a worksheet with step-by-step instructions, website links for resources, and helpful tips on how to make a superior product.

The Teal Lake Singers are an Anishinaabe big drum and singing group based in the Marquette, Harvey, Ishpeming, and Negaunee area. Over the years, they have become one of the most familiar and trusted voices at community and cultural gatherings across the Upper Peninsula, called upon time and again to sing at regional powwows and to honor traditional spaces with their presence.

Their music carries forward a way of life where traditional singing and storytelling around the drum served as the heart of community social life, offering a gathering point where teachings, memory, and connection were passed on through song. To sit with the Teal Lake Singers is to hear that tradition carried forward, where the big drum is a heartbeat, a medicine, a way of keeping community and ceremony connected across generations. Wherever they sing, the space becomes rooted in respect.