Memengwaa Paap

Memengwaa was born and raised on the Lac Courte Oreilles band of Lake Superior Ojibwe Reservation located in the northwest region of Wisconsin. Memengwaa is a fluent Ojibwe speaker and attended WOLI (Waadookodaading Ojibwe Language Institute) for 8 years. After graduating from high school in 2022, she moved to the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area to pursue higher education at Augsburg University, where she is currently studying American Indian studies.

In the summer of 2024, Memengwaa was an intern at Four Sisters Urban Farm where she had the opportunity to explore what urban farming looks like and what food sovereignty means.. Through the internship, Memengwaa had the ability to engage in her own interests, one of them being the medicinal uses of native herbs and plants.

Memengwaa shows advocacy and support for food access, Indigenous language revitalization, and the importance of cultural involvement for Indigenous people.

In her free time, Memengwaa enjoys reading Indigenous literature and going on long walks.