identity | A Peace of My Mind

Bazile Panek

August 3, 2021 by johnnoltner

Bazile Panek is majoring in Native American Studies at Northern Michigan University. He is an enrolled tribal member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in Red Cliff, Wisconsin. “There’s all sorts of barriers to existing as a native person. Ever since colonization in 1492, things have been hard for native people. It’s hard just to even exist sometimes. So the power and the resiliency is especially tangible in native people today and you can see that within […]

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: culture, decolonize, heritage, identity, indigenous, lake superior, ojibwe, storytelling, tradition, wisconsin

Leah Prussia

July 13, 2018 by johnnoltner

Leah Prussia grew up in a primarily German-Norwegian family, but as an adult, she embraced her Anishinaabe heritage, as well. Leah holds a master’s degree in social work and works as a college instructor and clinical social worker. She has struggled with depression for much of her life. When she finally found the right combination of therapy, medication, and spiritual practice, she says, “it was like seeing color for the first time.” “When I’m not healthy, how can I be […]

Categories: Podcast • Tags: depression, heal, healing, identity, lonlieness, mental illness, Minnesota, spirituality, sturggle, therapy

Julissa Arce

September 6, 2017 by johnnoltner

Julissa Arce came to the United States when she was 11 years old and became undocumented at age 14 when her visa expired. She paid for a college education by operating a funnel cake stand and graduated with a degree in finance. Using false papers, Julissa landed an internship at Goldman Sachs, was offered a full-time job, and was eventually promoted to vice president. Today Julissa is an American citizen and advocates for immigration reform. “I believe that it’s in gratitude that you […]

Categories: Podcast • Tags: American, California, citizenship, DACA, fear, freedom, hollywood, identity, immigrant, immigration, jobs, undocumented, wall street

Kathy Webb

June 13, 2017 by johnnoltner

Kathy Webb served six years as a state representative in the Arkansas legislature and now is executive director of the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance. An activist all her life, Kathy noticed a shift from working with like-minded activists to the process of compromise she encountered as a legislator. “We are all a whole package, with the pluses and the minuses.” I have always believed that you can make a difference. My mom had this little plaque on her bathroom wall and it […]

Categories: Podcast • Tags: activism, arkansas, compromise, diversity, faith, gender, identity, legislator, little rock, politics

Jarell Wilson

March 22, 2017 by johnnoltner

Jarell Wilson describes himself as black, gay, and Christian. He lives in the South and, at times, he struggles to balance these three identities in a society that he says doesn’t embrace two thirds of them. He believes that people often try to put identities into boxes, and that results in stereotypes that lead to stress and conflict. Yet, at the end of the day, Jarell finds beauty and peace all around him. He finds joy in each of these identities. “Peace comes from […]

Categories: Podcast • Tags: beauty, faith, forgiveness, gender, identity, joy, race, religion, round rock, sacred, texas

Laura Patey

October 11, 2016 by johnnoltner

Laura Patey has been with her partner, Leigh, for 30 years. They have been married since 2004. Together, they adopted two adolescent boys out of the foster care system who are now in their 20s. She has always been interested in advocating for the marginalized in society. She recalls her own struggles of not quite fitting in as she was growing up, and she believes that experience has led her to be a protector of and an advocate for the […]

Categories: Podcast • Tags: adoption, advocacy, Connecticut, connection, foster care, GLBTQ, identity, peace, relationship, stories, vulnerable

	Nila Nealy on Book illustrations
	Jan Selby on Book illustrations
	KATHLEEN MCKAY on Book illustrations
	Heidi Currier on Jeff Rennicke
	Project Sanctuary \|… on I was a Marine

A Peace of My Mind

Building community and bridging divides through portraits and personal stories.

Tag: identity