“...kitchen table spaces are those spaces where multiple genders and multiple generations practice kinship, cultivate good governance and create peace.” 

Dr. Anne Carter Walker

Unraveling Empire at the Kitchen Table: Native Women's Wisdom

Registration open now:

5:30 p.m. Reception

6:30 p.m. Experience (online or in-person)

Shari Russell, Presiding Auntie

Join Phillips Theological Seminary as we experience the wisdom of Native Women at the kitchen table. Participants include:

Shari Russell is Anishinaabe/Saulteaux (Nahkawininiwak in our language) registered at Yellow Quill First Nation in Saskatchewan.She is married to Robert and they have three adults sons: Charles, Gavin and Brannon. When their sons were young, Shari reconnected with her biological family and community. This journey of reconnecting to her cultural traditions has been healing and restorative as Shari seeks to engage both her Indigenous identity and faith journey as a follower of Jesus. Shari currently serves as the Director for NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community which has been a rich and rewarding experience.

The Rev. Dr. Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi (she/ella) is Associate Professor of Leadership and Formation and Director of the Vocational Formation Office at Iliff School of Theology. As a Latine scholar-practitioner, Kristina’s current research interests lie at the intersection of congregational leadership, community formation, and decolonial praxis, exploring questions about why and how liberative change unfolds. She is the author of Unraveling Religious Leadership: Power, Authority, and Decoloniality (Fortress, 2024) and co-editor of Explore: Vocational Discovery in Ministry (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022), along with numerous articles and reports. Kristina is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and resides in Aurora, Colorado, on the unceded homelands of the Hinonoeino (Arapaho), Tsitsista (Cheyenne), and Nunt'zi (Ute) peoples.

Erica Littlewolf, Vonȧhe’e, is the Director of Storytelling and Narrative Change at Auburn Theological Seminary. Erica was born into a community rich in oral tradition and storytelling and applies her upbringing to her vocational calling. She has been doing this work professionally for over 20 years in faith communities globally. Erica has done numerous workshops on how church communities can engage with Indigenous communities and repair historical harms. She engages restorative justice within her analysis and has also co-authored a chapter in “Colorizing Restorative Justice.” Erica enjoys spending time with her nieces, dogs and online thrifting.

Dr. Anne Carter Walker (Cherokee Nation; she/her) is Associate Dean of Academic and Student Affairs and Affiliate Assistant Professor of Practical Theology and Vocational Formation at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, OK.  Anne's career encompasses over twenty five years in teaching, theological education administration, ministry, and nonprofit management. Anne holds a PhD in practical theology, an MA in religious education, and an MA in ethics, all from Claremont School of Theology.  Anne is past President of the Religious Education Association (2023-2024), and was an FTE North American Doctoral Fellow. She is the co-author of Nurturing Different Dreams: Youth Ministry Across Lines of Difference (Pickwick, 2014) and of the forthcoming co-authored work Candidly Speaking: Refusing a White Supremacist World through Dialogue and Story (Cascade Press).

Dr. Lisa Ann Dellinger (she, her, hers) currently is the Visiting Assistant Professor of Constructive Theologies at Phillips Theological Seminary, Tulsa, Oklahoma.  She received her PhD in the Theology, Ethics, and History program at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in 2020. Dr. Dellinger’s work utilizes Christian theology, Native American studies, postcolonial theory, and Indigenous feminist/Womanist theory. She is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and Mexican American. Lisa also served as the 2021-2022 Tinker Visiting Professor at Iliff School of Theology, Denver, Oklahoma. She served as a local pastor at New Town United Methodist Church in Okmulgee with the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference of the United Methodist Church.  

Registration is recommended for this event which is open to the public at no charge.