Join Indigenous knowledge carriers Melba Checote-Eads (Muscogee Creek Nation of Oklahoma), Nicky Thompson (Seneca Nation) and Táhila Moss (Yaqui Nation) in a conversation about water, healing, activism, and the waterways of Nashville and beyond. This panel is in advance of the Water Blessing and Celebration Event at Wasioto Park on Saturday, May 24 (details below).
About the Panelists
Melba Anne Checote-Eads (Muscogee Creek Nation of Oklahoma) is the state director of Tennessee’s National Trail of Tears Association and a lifelong advocate for Native American issues. She is an ordained minister in Native American ministry, a wife, a mother, a grandmother and a great-grandmother.
Nicky Thompson
Táhila Moss (aka Tahila Mintz) is an Indigenous Yaqui and ancestrally Jewish multidisciplinary artist who engages in paradigm shifting towards ancestral systems of matriarchy and gender equilibrium, and the work of re-membering the strands of knowledge that have been unraveled by colonial interventions. She is a Water Protector and Land Guardian who collaborates with Indigenous communities around the world, particularly Indigenous women, to restore access to ancestral knowledge and promote understanding between communities.
Water Blessing and Celebration Event
Saturday, May 24, 2025, 10:00 a.m.
Wasioto Park (formerly Cumberland River Park), Nashville, TN
The community is invited to gather at Wasioto Park for a Water Blessing led by Táhila Moss, an Indigenous Yaqui artist and cultural leader known for her work reconnecting people to ancestral wisdom.
Rooted in Indigenous tradition, the Water Blessing will honor the waterways running through Nashville through the offering of flowers, cedar, and a guided practice of gratitude and reflection. Open to all, the gathering invites participants to join in an experience of connection, healing, and respect for the natural world.
Albert Bender, a Cherokee activist and writer, will offer a few words alongside other local elders, bringing context and teachings about the significance of protecting and honoring water.
This gathering is free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to bring white, blue, red and yellow flowers to give to the river. Bring a blanket and a picnic if you like!
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