About Indigenous Lotus & Our Team
Mission
To motivate indigenous people to live healthier lives by learning to self-heal through mind-body connection.
The Meaning of Indigenous Lotus
The Indigenous Lotus symbolizes resiliency and spiritual awakening. Just as the lotus flower, growing toward the surface, we also grow through our experiences, learning lessons along the way, removing obstacles and overcoming adversities. And as the petals unfold, we too unfold, and become like a lotus rising from the murky waters and flowering into beauty.
Founder & Instructor Bio
Victoria Marie, Wáčhiŋhiŋ Máza Wíŋyaŋ (Iron Plume Woman), is the founder of Indigenous Lotus and enrolled tribal member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate in South Dakota. She is a certified RYT-200 Yoga Instructor, a certified Buti Yoga Instructor, a certified Yoga of 12-Step Recovery Leader and is currently working towards completion of an RYT-500 teaching certification.
During each year, Victoria donates 20 hours of free yoga classes to the community. She has earned an Associates of Science degree in Business Management and is currently working towards her Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration. Her work experience includes a decade of working in education, culture and life skills with youth, young adults, and elders in the Twin Cities Native community. She continues to teach around the nation to motivate indigenous people to live healthier lives by learning to self-heal through mind-body connection.
Community Outreach Coordinator
Deanna StandingCloud is a citizen of the Red Lake Nation of Anishinaabe. She became involved with Indigenous Lotus in the Spring of 2019 by hosting the first annual Indigenous Lotus Yoga Retreat in Prior Lake, MN. StandingCloud is currently a Native Nation Rebuilder with the Native Governance Center, supporting tribal sovereignty through an asset-based, network approach. She is also currently learning the Ojibwe language and collaborating with a group in the Twin Cities area to revitalize the traditional game of Lacrosse. She is a mother, playwright, organizer, artist, community leader, pow-wow emcee, and advocate for Indigenous people. In the spare time she can scrape up, Deanna enjoys spending time with her children, attending traditional ceremonies, going on nature walks, creating art, building community, and cooking yummy food.
Deanna believes wellness should be an imperative priority for Native communities, she says, “Our Native culture is the foundation to set our people on the path to physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being.” If you are interested in connecting with StandingCloud, go to her Linkedin profile at www.linkedin.com/in/deanna-standingcloud79/
Yoga Instructor
Megan Forcia is an enrolled member of the Bad River Band of Ojibwe and a University of Minnesota graduate. While pursuing her bachelor’s in American Indian Studies, Megan became passionate about Food Sovereignty and helped to form a National non-profit organization, the Native Youth Food Sovereignty Alliance (NYFSA). Although her work centered around native community health disparities, it would be years before she would make the connection back to her own experience with chronic pain, stress, and fatigue.
Recognizing that rebuilding healthy Native nations starts at the individual level, Megan has dedicated her life to serving others on their healing journeys and helping them feel empowered to make change. Specializing in SomaYoga, Megan’s teaching combines classic Yoga with the neuromuscular reeducation principals of Somatics, allowing students the opportunity to explore and release chronically held patterns of tension. Megan is currently working towards a degree in Therapeutic Massage as well as a nationally recognized certification as a Nutrition Coach. Today, Megan views reclaiming individual and community health as a radical act of decolonization.