About Us

IndigenousAF members and its volunteer Board of Directors seek to preserve traditions and create opportunities for a thriving Indigenous community. We celebrate Indigenous cultures through free public arts projects and event programming, which also provides opportunities for local artists. IAF fosters creativity by providing space for people to connect with their heritage, learn about others, and ensure that a rich tapestry of cultures continue to flourish into the future.

Strengthening Ourselves and Others

Respect and reciprocity are key pillars that support our community building. This includes solid planning, communication, and keeping our commitments to show up for others. Our Board is all-volunteer and fundraising efforts provide stipends for our college/student interns.

  • President

    Michael I. Collins is currently the President of IndigenousAF (IAF Inc.) and is a registered nurse in the state of Nevada.  Originally from Kansas City, Kansas, Michael has roots with the Muscogee (Creek) and is a conscientious veteran who served 7 years in the U.S. Army.  Collins holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and has practiced nursing for over four decades and has been an asset to many communities in Las Vegas.  As a nurse in the 1980s and 1990s, Collins fought on the frontlines of the HIV epidemic and courageously served many in the LGBTQ+ community during the height of the AIDs crisis.  Although Collins retired from nursing in 2020, he still volunteers his time and expertise, most recently with COVID vaccination efforts.  He is an advocate for strengthening the health care system and has pushed for many social justice issues over the years.  Michael is also a respected elder and mentor to many within the Las Vegas African American and Native American communities.

  • Vice President

    Tammi Tiger is an enrolled member of Choctaw Nation and a descendant of the Muscogee Nation (Bear Clan).  She is the Director of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians’ Tribal Education Initiative with UNLV’s College of Hospitality. Tammi has over 25 years of public service experience, beginning with the Department of Public Works in Clark County, NV. She is a strong community organizer, serving with several Indigenous groups, including UNLV’s Native American Alumni Club, Native Organizers Alliance, and Native Voices Rising. Tammi is currently Vice President of IndigenousAF (IAF Inc.) and is also on the Nevada Indian Commission. She formerly served on the Board of Directors with the Las Vegas Indian Center and was recognized with the LVIC Community Service Award in 2004. The Board of Clark County Commissioners honored her in 2021 with "Tammi Tiger Day" on Indigenous Peoples Day, for her help designating the observance of the day. She holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration, and is mom to Trevon, who is also a UNLV graduate.

  • Secretary

    Fawn Douglas is an Indigenous artist and enrolled member of the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe. She also has roots with the Moapa Paiute, Cheyenne, Creek, and Pawnee. She is dedicated to the intersections of art, activism, community, education, culture, identity, place, and sovereignty. Within Fawn's art-making and activism she tells stories in order to remember the past and also to ensure that the stories of Indigenous peoples are heard in the present. Her studio practice includes painting, weaving, sculpture, and performance. She currently does art and cultural consulting through Nuwu Art, works part-time as a Cultural Engagement Specialist with Meow Wolf, and is completing her Master of Fine Arts at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Through the MFA program, she teaches classes in the Department of Art and has curated exhibitions at UNLV, including the 2021 Ah'-Wah-Nee exhibition. Fawn also hosts and regularly participates in a number of community events, exhibitions, interviews, performances, and other projects.

  • Treasurer

    A.B. (Aaron) Wilkinson is an associate professor of history at UNLV. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College, completed the Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences (MAPSS) at the University of Chicago, and earned his PhD in History at the University of California, Berkeley. He teaches courses on Colonial North America and early U.S. History. He also has research and teaching interests in African American history, Native American history, Ethnic Studies, decolonial theory and critical race theory in the wider Americas and Caribbean. Professor Wilkinson specializes in studies of mixed-heritage peoples and ideas surrounding ethnoracial mixture in the wider Americas and the United States. His first book, Blurring the Lines of Race and Freedom: Mulattoes and Mixed Bloods in English Colonial America, explores the historical origins of U.S. mixed-race ideologies in the seventeenth and eighteenth-century colonial period.  Aside from his academic work, Wilkinson works to serve and support cultural preservation and revitalization programs.