We work to end human and animal suffering in our communities while honoring Tribal sovereignty and our traditions.
Crowheart Butte on the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming
By empowering Tribal leaders and families, we help create solutions that protect the health and welfare of our animals and sustain the strength of our people.
Kashia Coastal Reserve, California
We provide the resources needed to care for our dogs and cats, facilitate systems for lasting change, and passionately advocate for our survival.
Buffalo on Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, North Dakota
When we care for our four-leggeds in this way, we begin to heal the broken circle in our communities.
Wind River Reservation, Wyoming
Our Mission
To restore, protect, and honor the human-animalconnection within Native communities.
Our Vision
Decolonize animal welfare on Indian reservations.
Why We Exist
As Native Americans, we have shared special relationships with dogs for millennia, celebrating them in our stories, songs, and traditions. We believe that people and animals deserve to live together in health and safety.
But today, there are no animal health or welfare systems on Indian reservations. The federal government provides veterinary support across America—except in Indian Country. This critical failure impacts entire communities.
Many reservations have free-roaming dogs who lack care, appear abandoned, or run wild. Many dogs are beloved family members who also suffer without veterinary care. The lack of animal care harms not just animals but also our public health, family economies, and mental and spiritual well-being.
This inequity is traumatic. But it also offers us a powerful way forward. By empowering Tribal leaders and families to develop their own solutions for animal welfare, we can create meaningful, systemic change. Addressing animal welfare goes beyond caring for animals; it’s a pathway to strengthening Tribal Nations, tackling complex issues, and fostering a healthier future for all Native people.
OUR STORIES
Josh and Smoke
Our People
The Native American Humane Society (NAHS) belongs to Indian Country. Founded ten years ago by Diana Webster, JD, an enrolled member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, NAHS is led today by a Board of Directors and executive team who are all Native. We are an organization of Tribal members whose work for Tribal communities has earned the trust and respect of Tribal leaders.
Leadership
Board of Directors
Dr. Michael Yellow Bird, PhD
President
Dr. Michael Yellow Bird, PhD, an enrolled member of the MHA Nation (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara), is a former Dean and current Professor at the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Manitoba. He is an international thought leader on the effects of colonization, methods of decolonization, Indigenous mindfulness, and the cultural significance of Rez dogs. His scholarship can be found in numerous articles, books, book chapters, and research reports, including his most recent article, Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation Perspectives on Rez Dogs on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota, U.S.A (2023), and his forthcoming book Rez Dog Meditations.
As a youth, he immersed himself in stories about dogs reading books such as Where the Red Fern Grows, Old Yeller, Call of the Wild, The Incredible Journey, Desert Dog and many others. Over the years, Dr. Yellow Bird has rescued and cared for many Rez dogs and a few Rez horses and cats. The first dog that he rescued and cared for was a Rez pup he named Sam who was known and loved by the entire community. His family currently care for two rescued Rez dogs named Takara (Japanese: meaning treasure) and Cayha (Indonesian: meaning the light).
Tudor A. Montague (Quechan)
Vice President
A graduate of Haskell Indian Nations University and the University of Kansas, Tudor has a strong background in environmental work, having spent the early part of his career serving Tribal communities and non-profit organizations throughout Arizona. He founded his company, Spirit Mountain Roasting Co. in 2015 and recently opened the first “Indigenous from seed-to-cup” coffee shop on his Nation, which promotes sustainable practices. Mr. Montague is actively involved with his community in advocating for resilient food systems. He is also a member of the board of directors at Native Seed Search, an organization dedicated to preserving Indigenous agricultural heritage through the protection and use of traditional seeds.
In addition, Mr. Montague serves on the board of directors of Indigihub, which is an organization that aims to empower Indigenous communities through culturally informed, sustainable solutions that prioritize self-sufficiency and long-term success. Animals have always been a part of his life, and he currently has one dog, two cats, a desert tortoise and several chickens. During the cool months of winter in the low desert, he enjoys gardening and hiking.
Sonya Begay, MIS
Treasurer
Sonya Begay, MIS, is an enrolled Member of the Navajo Nation, is of the Bitter Water clan and born for the One Who Walks Around clan. She is the Senior Programs and Projects Specialist at the Navajo Nation Division of Natural Resources and the inaugural Animal Services Coordinator of the Navajo Nation. Sonya has a deep and well rounded understanding of the needs of Tribal communities and governments from her many years of public service, including her past roles within the Navajo Nation Office of the Controller, Department of Diné Education, and Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President.
The multi-disciplinary, multi-jurisdictional projects that Sonya has helped facilitate to protect Diné communities include an initiative for Missing and Murdered Diné Relatives, and an ongoing initiative to improve animal welfare services throughout the entire Navajo Nation, whose external boundaries are located within Arizona, New Mexico and Utah and include 13 counties. Sonya grew up with dogs and is now raising her two children with three dogs of their own— a Red Heeler named Coco, a Red Heeler mix named Buddy and a Miniature Pinscher named Lulu.
Danielle J. Mayberry, J.D.
Secretary
Danielle J. Mayberry is the Principal Law Clerk at the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Courts located in Akwesasne, New York. She also serves as a trial level judge for the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone located in Northern Nevada. She has published law review, book chapter, and journal articles discussing the Indian Child Welfare Act, Western Shoshone sacred sites and the application of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, justice tools within Tribal judiciaries, and matters related to Tribal governance. Danielle is an enrolled Tribal member of the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone. Throughout her life, Danielle has had pets and she currently enjoys her four cats, Lily, Zelda, Hugo, and Tarzan.
Hon. Carrie Garrow, J.D., M.P.P, Chief Judge, Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Courts
Judge Garrow is a citizen of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe and a leader in the development of Tribal justice systems who understands and applies traditional indigenous principles, including restorative justice, in her scholarship and in her Tribal court work. Chief Judge of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe’s Tribal Courts since 2016. Judge Garrow also serves as an Associate Justice for the Penobscot Nation’s Appellate Court, and President of the National American Indian Court Judges Association. She has helped train many Tribal courts throughout Indian Country and authored Tribal Criminal Law and Procedure (2nd edition) with Sarah Deer, as well as written several articles on Tribal law and governance.
Dr. John Trujillo, DVM
Dr. John Trujillo, DVM is a veterinarian of Hispanic and Navajo descent who grew being told that “Injuns and Mexicans don’t go to vet school.” Growing up with large and small animals on a remote ranch in Northeast New Mexico, he heard veterinarians always give his father the same answer when his father asked them for help to treat his sick or injured animals. “It would cost you more to fix them than they are worth.” As a child, John prayed for all of the sick and injured animals to make it through the night. They never did. Despite being steered away from taking advanced math and science in high school, because “Injuns and Mexicans only need business math,” Dr. T pursued a career in veterinary medicine. He is a much beloved small animal veterinarian in Baltimore, MD who is now celebrating his 40th year in practice.
Executive Team
Brandy Tomhave, J.D.
She/her/hers
Executive Director
Brandy is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and a veteran of Capitol Hill whose Tribal policy accomplishments all begin the same way—Brandy visits Tribal homes in the deep rez to hear from families how federal neglect impacts them. For the past two decades, she has carried these conversations to Washington, DC to help lead the groundbreaking campaigns that created such pioneering programs as Tribal wellness courts, the Tribal Transportation Self-Governance Program, and the Indian Health Service program for the treatment of HIV/AIDS.
Brandy also helped stand up the first cancer treatment center in Indian Country and change the federal policy that previously discriminated against Tribal health care providers by refusing to reimburse them for chemotherapy and high cost specialty drugs. She trained for those battles on the roller derby track, where she learned to take hard hits and never stop. Her own dog, Luke, is just as tough. A Catahoula Leopard Dog (a breed bred by Choctaws to hunt bear and boar in the swamps), Luke survived both a Houston kill shelter and Hurricane Harvey.
In August 2024, Brandy became just the second Executive Director of the Native American Humane Society (NAHS) to help Tribes build out their own systems for animal wellness and end the suffering that federal neglect causes Tribal families and their four-leggeds. As NAHS Director, Brandy authored “Bone of Contention,” a white paper about the consequence of the federal government’s failure to manifest its Tribal trust responsibility to provide veterinary and animal welfare services on Indian reservations. Her husband, Jeff, and son, Benairen, are enrolled members of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikira Nation who remind Brandy that joy is an act of resistance.
Serena Steiner
She/her/hers
Director of Operations
Serena Steiner is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and the inaugural Director of Operations (DO) at the Native American Humane Society (NAHS).
A graduate of Towson University whose art studies required her to push back on colonial ideas of what is “Native American Art,” Serena is an original thinker who knows how to get things done. A passionate advocate of equity in Indian Country, Serena has served at both Peebles Kidder Bergin & Robinson LLP and the Navajo Nation Washington Office to help operationalize legal campaigns needed to protect Tribal sovereignty and self-determination.
Serena has also served at the National Native American Bar Association in Washington DC, enabling her to bring more “do” to her role of DO here at NAHS. Believing there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear, Serena is an avid camper and hiker. She and her beloved but dearly departed dog of 19 years, Bianca, explored together the natural beauty that lies beyond the DC Beltway. Her cat, Cotton, now participates with Serena in all things NAHS.
Our Ground Team
KJ Roberts
They/them/theirs
Tribal Ambassador and Creative Manager
Jeanne O'Brien
She/her/hers
Pet Transport Manager and Non-Tribal Ambassador
Cristina Lucas
She/her/hers
Special Projects Coordinator
Dawn Jewell
She/her/hers
Education Consultant
Brandy Loveless, MSN
She/her/hers
Health Consultant
Kat Burnside
She/her/hers
Communications Specialist
Our Partners
Through our partnership with PetSmart Charities, we’ve provided life-saving care for dogs and cats on reservations and developed strategies for transformative, scalable change across Indian Country. Together, we’re changing lives.
Stand with us
We are not just fighting for dogs and cats. We are fighting for our own humanity.