Valencia Herder is from Diné (Navajo) from the community of Hardrock on the Navajo Nation. Her clan is Chíshí; her father’s clan is Tlízíłani; her maternal grandfather’s clan is Dzil T’aa’í; and her paternal grandfather’s clan is Tsé Deeshgizhnii. Her parents are Dan and Lorraine Herder. 

Currently she is the Chapter House Secretary/Teasure for her home community and also assists with subtainable development through the Indigenous Community Enterprises.

She is a graduate of Northern Arizona University with a bachelors degree in Applied Indigenous Studies and minored in Indigenous Health Studies. 

She is also a originating member of the Bioregional Lifeways Network of the Native Movement. In 2007 she was the southwest director of Native Movement Organization. Her work is actively involved in and continues to be involved in sustainability, agricultural practices and working with the land.   

As a junior in the Applied Indigenous Studies program at NAU, she constructed five small greenhouses for the Hardrock Youth Garden Project on the Navajo Nation. Herder hopes to re-establish the connection between human well-being and a healthy environment by integrating traditional knowledge with garden based learning.

News Links:

Center for Health Equality

Hardrock Chapter

Navajo Farms

Women's Earth Alliance

Indigenous Community Enterprises