Staff
Robert Vetter
Robert Vetter, M.A. is an anthropologist and educational consultant, with Native American Studies as his area of specialization. He began his ethnographic fieldwork among Native Americans in 1980 while a graduate student at the University of Oklahoma. In addition to his work with children, Robert has also taught courses and workshops for teachers through SCOPE and Teacher Centers throughout Long Island. He has served as an instructor for courses taught at SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Farmingdale, Southampton College, and the University of Oklahoma.
His adult and children's travel programs have taken participants for cultural immersion experiences in Native cultures throughout Indian Country, including New York (Iroquois/Haudenosaunee), Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota and Wisconsin. These programs have been featured in: the New York Times, Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, Newsday, Child Magazine, McCall's, NBC's Today Show, and the Travel Channel's Lonely Planet series. Along with his adopted Kiowa uncle Richard Tartsah Sr., he is author of the book Big Bow: The Spiritual Life and Teachings of a Kiowa Family.
Maddi Cheers
Maddi Cheers has been teaching theater, dance and multicultural games for over 30 years. As an actress, storyteller and games specialist she has developed programs for children and adults as well as training programs for teachers and recreational leaders.
Maddi is co-creator of Funfit, a popular family fitness program in the D.C. metro area. She is also a founding member of The Women's Theatre Project in Baltimore, MD and Co-Creator and director of Tiramisu Theater of Truth on Long Island, NY.
For the past 20 years she has traveled extensively throughout Indian Country within the United States and has studied with Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), Cheyenne, Lenape and other Native American elders in order to authentically bring their cultures to life. Maddi is a graduate of Towson State University with a B.S. in Theater Arts.
Monica Colberg
Monica is originally from Pennsylvania. There she developed and directed a program dedicated to designing educational experiences that promote ecological awareness, conservation, research, and reverence for the natural world. Her work served as a bridge for the preservation of current world cultures, offering guest instructors and speakers from a myriad of ancestral backgrounds to share cultural heritage and traditions.
She lectures for universities, historical societies, and conferences. She has piloted curriculum-based educational programs for both elementary and secondary schools. Her work with inner city youths was featured by KDKA TV Pittsburgh. Programs designed by Monica have been sponsored by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Pennsylvania Humanities Council/Federal State Partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Pennsylvania Partners for the Arts, and the Benedum Foundation.
She recently moved to New York to be closer to young and growing members of her family and was delighted to meet and work with members of the Journeys crew.
Amalia Drewes
Amalia Drewes is an Artist who is responsible for creating this website. She graduated from Parsons School of Design in 2015 with a BFA in Illustration. In 2018 she started teaching Reggio, nature based learning for early development, and has taught at USDAN since 2020 as a Painting and Drawing teacher. At Journeys Into American Indian Territory, she is a storyteller and clay-pot instructor.
Her art is motivated and inspired by Nature, Divine Femininity, and Universal Oneness. She believes that through deep respect and gratitude for nature we can find equality and peace between all living things.
Jamie Reason
Jamie Reason is an enrolled tribal member of the Eastern Cherokees of Georgia and is a member of the Southeastern Cherokee Council. He is an award-winning artist who specializes in traditional wood carving and painting. Among many other awards, he received first, second, and third place for carved painted wooden ceremonial boxes at the Gallup Intertribal in 1999 at Red Rock, New Mexico. In 1992, he received the designation of “Master Artist” from the Southeastern Cherokee Council. A lifetime Pow-Wow dancer, Jamie was also a founding committee member of the Paumanauke Pow-Wow.
Jamie has been the subject of numerous newspaper articles including the New York Times, Newsday, the American Indian Community House Newsletter, The Indian Trader, and many more. Jamie credits his grandfather for a great deal of the traditional Cherokee knowledge and teachings that have inspired and guided him in both his personal and professional life.
Jayden Oliver
Jayden Oliver is a member of the Kiowa and Caddo tribes of Oklahoma as well as having African American ancestry. She is the great granddaughter of Richard Tartsah, a highly respected Kiowa medicine man. She is a descendant of Big Bow, a Kiowa chief in the 1800's. Jayden is a former college athlete who played basketball and received a scholarship at MidAmerica Nazarene University, where she received her B.A. degree.
Marianne Franzese Chasen
Marianne Franzese Chasen MS, MA is a New York State Certified Teacher and a Creative Arts Therapist. She is the co-founder of Kid Esteem Inc., a non-profit agency dedicated to the emotional and social well-being of children and families. She is the director of cultural arts and innovations at the Kid Esteem Montessori School and she is the author of the book The Sacred Weave of Mothering (Aslan 2002).
Marianne is inspired by the relevance and beauty that the teachings of Journeys into American Indian Territories provide for character development and leadership training. She joins the team to promote the empowerment of children by helping them to connect to the individual gifts they bring to their community.