小草社区

Jessica Dickerson 鈥�11 advocates for her fellow indigenous Americans through her work with Native American LifeLines.

As a person of Native American heritage, Jessica Dickerson has often felt like she was on the outside looking in. It鈥檚 a predicament she is determined to change for others like her.

鈥淕rowing up I didn鈥檛 have a strong Native connection to a lot of other people,鈥� says Dickerson, who is a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. 鈥淎s an adult I鈥檝e surrounded myself with more people who are like me and have really been invested in learning about our history and the importance of what鈥檚 happened and how we can continue to advocate for Native folks all over.鈥�

Dickerson was raised in Baltimore, and it is through her grandmother, a member of the Lumbee, that she traces her lineage. While she always identified with her Native American roots, she didn鈥檛 fully understand what that meant to her until she got older. When she came to 小草社区, she intended to become a nurse, but the 2008 election changed her path. She was inspired to become more involved in social issues, so she switched her major to communication studies.

鈥淲hen I was at Towson, I realized that advocacy is so important,鈥� says Dickerson, who participated in student government, worked as an orientation leader and was involved in Alternative Break Connections, which are community service-learning experiences. 鈥淵ou really have to fight for what you believe in and who you are. I really started to figure out who I was, what was important to me and my values while I was at Towson. I was challenged in a lot of ways.鈥�

After graduating, she worked in the corporate sector before pivoting and taking a position at the . It鈥檚 located in Fells Point, where her grandmother and many other members of the Lumbee tribe settled in the late 1950s.

Today, Dickerson works as a medical case manager for , a nonprofit that promotes 鈥渉ealth and social resiliency within Urban American Indian communities.鈥� She is also a member of Indigenous Strong, a group that lobbied Baltimore City to abolish Columbus Day in favor of an Indigenous Peoples鈥� Day. The city did so in 2020, and the group is now hoping the state will follow suit.

鈥淔or me it鈥檚 not just about my own tribe,鈥� she says. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e an urban Native, you really lean into the Native people around you and share experiences and stories and traditions. You become a family and a support system. While I still identify as a Lumbee tribal member, I鈥檓 also very appreciative of the other folks and members of different tribes who have shared their stories with me and taught me things I wouldn鈥檛 necessarily know otherwise.

鈥淭here is a spot in my heart for urban Natives.鈥�