The work of Margaret Pearce (Citizen Potawatomi) as a cartographer does not separate Indigenous people, stories, culture, and memory from a place that she is mapping. She works with tribes, Native scientists, and culture keepers to bring forth map layers often overlooked by the mainstream. One of her recent projects, “The Cold at Inuit Nunangat”, maps the ways Inuit protect their homelands in northern Canada and how colonization interferes with that connection. Her current mapping project, “Mississippi Dialogues”, depicts the Mississippi River through the perspective of Indigenous people and their stewardship. Pearce was named a National Geographic 33 in March and is a recipient of a 2025 MacArthur Fellowship and genius grant. She is our April Native in the Spotlight.

We’ll also visit with photographer and National Geographic Explorer Kiliii Yüyan (Nanai Hèzhé) about his photography book, “Guardians of Life: Indigenous Knowledge, Indigenous Science, and Restoring the Planet“. The book, which launched in April, is a culmination of photos from his travels to Indigenous communities throughout the globe with a focus on Indigenous connections and stewardship of land.

Tuesday, April 14, 2026 — Native in the Spotlight: cartographer Margaret Wickens Pearce