About the Team
Oral History Collection Team:
Eric Hemenway, Native Oral History Consultant
Eric Hemenway is an Anishnaabe/Odawa from Cross Village, Michigan. His mother is tribal citizen Peggy Hemenway. Eric is the Director of Repatriation, Archives and Records for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. Eric oversees the management, collecting and preservation of historic documents and materials for the tribe. These materials are used to support LTBB government functions, its citizens and educational initiatives, such as; museum exhibits, media, curriculum, publications, historical interpretation, signage, web content and presentations. Collaborations on exhibits have included the National Park Service, state of Michigan, Mackinac State Historic Parks, Emmet County, Welt Museum Wien Vienna, Austria and the Harbor Springs History Museum, as well as other museums. Educational partnerships include: Harbor Springs Public Schools, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Harvard, Yale and Aquinas College. Eric has also extensive work experience under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. He currently sits on boards for the Michigan Historical Commission, Central Michigan University Clarke Library and Little Traverse Conservancy. Eric is a former board member of the Michigan Humanities Council, Michigan Historical Society, Emmet County Historical Commission, National NAGRPA Review Committee, Harbor Springs Historical Museum and the Michigan Commission on the Commemoration of the Bicentennial of the War of 1812. He is the recipient of the Grand Rapids Public Museum Casey award 2010, Harbor Springs Chamber of Commerce Community Service Award 2015 and Michigan Humanities Council Humanities Champion of the Year 2019.
Lily Jiale Chen, Project Manager/Oral Historian
Lily Jiale Chen serves as project manager and lead oral historian on the 20th Century Indigenous Michigan Project. Lily is a writer/activist in the field of museum decolonization. She is a doctoral student in American Culture at the University of Michigan and Assistant Curator at the Detroit Historical Society. She graduated with a B.A. in Sociology and Critical Race & Ethnic Studies from the University of Chicago in 2017 and a Masters in Public History from Wayne State in 2023. Lily is honored to live and work on the Native lands of Waawiiyaataanong with her wife, 2 cats, and pup.
Cheyenne Travioli, Oral Historian
Cheyenne E. Travioli serves as oral historian on the Native Michigan Stories Project. She is a doctoral student in American Culture at the University of Michigan. She graduated with a B.A. in Art History with a double minor in museum studies and Native American studies from the University of Michigan in 2018 and a M.A. in History from Eastern Michigan University in 2022. Cheyenne is an avid activist in the field of 19th and 20th indigenous history, passionate about her indigenous identity and strives to educate those around her about indigenous matters past, present, and future.
Online Exhibition Team:
Maria Nuccilli, Project Librarian
Maria is Project Librarian for Native Michigan Stories, and Interim Assistant Dean of Discovery Services at Wayne State University Libraries. She holds a Master of Library and Information Science, a Graduate Certificate in Information Management, and a Bachelor of Arts in Honors English, all from WSU. She currently serves as Senior Director for Events and Initiatives for the Visual Resources Association. Outside of her work in Information Science, Maria is a musician and plays drums with several local groups.
Denisa Molnar, Graduate Student Assistant
Denisa Molnar serves as a Graduate Student Assistant on the Native Michigan Stories Project. She is an international student from Romania currently undertaking a master's degree in history at Wayne State University. She graduated with a B.A. in Commercial Photography from University of South Wales (UK) in 2014 and a Masters in Documentary Photography from the same university in 2022. Denisa is pursuing a career in Archiving and Curation here in Detroit.
Admin Team:
Karen Marrero, Principal Investigator
My name is Karen Marrero and I am the principal investigator on this project. I am also an Associate Professor of early North American and Native American history at Wayne State University in Detroit and an Associate of the L. R. Wilson Institute for Canadian History at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. My book, Detroit’s Hidden Channels: The Power of French-Indigenous Families in the Eighteenth Century explores the essential role played by Indigenous and French kinship networks in the development of Detroit, a region where Anishinaabe, Wendat, Myaamia were established well before the arrival of Europeans. In my teaching and writing, I am committed to centering Native voices in the history of Detroit and the Great Lakes.
Lillian Wilson, Project Manager
Lillian Wilson, PhD, is the project manager for Native Michigan Stories. As the Humanities Career Diversity Postdoctoral Fellow at Wayne State University, Dr. Wilson leads the Wayne State Humanities Clinic, a graduate internship program that supports nonprofits and museums in Detroit. As a historian of the 19th and 20th century United States, Dr. Wilson has contributed to public history programs at the Smithsonian Institution, the Freer House, the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House, and the Detroit Historical Museum, where she led the Detroit ’67 oral history project. She lives in metro Detroit with her husband, son, and beagle.
Valerie Lamphear, Administrative Assistant
Valerie Lamphear works in the Department of History office at Wayne State University. She has studied Environmental Science and is currently working towards an Art degree at WSU – to align with her interest of joining nature and art as one. Sustainability efforts and preservation of natural wonders are important in her realm.