Sage Loyema Innerarity
Sessions at the Sierra Nevada Tribal Summit 2026
Panel: Biocultural Credit Economy
Monday, October 191:30–2:30 pmHardrock Live
The Sierra Nevada bioregion is one of the most biologically & ecologically diverse areas in North America. Moreover, it is home to 41 federally recognized tribes and 30 non-federally recognized tribes whose stories, languages, and traditions are inextricably interwoven with our lands, waters, and more-than-human-kin. Historically, however, environmental economics have centered narrowly on species and habitat conservation, failing to account for the knowledges & cultural contexts of Native and Indigenous people.
The biocultural credit economy framework recenters relationality and reciprocity, incentivising conservation actions which center the knowledges, priorities, and wellbeing of Native communities. In this session, panelists will explore models, lessons learned, and best practices for developing holistic biocultural credit economies. Participants will reflect on how their institutions are evolving to become better partners in this emerging space, and how we might collectively move toward non-extractive, future-focused models of conservation finance.
Sage Loyema InnerarityModeratorIone Band of Miwok Indians
Keir Johnson-ReyesOsage Nation
Regine MillerHeadwaters Environmental Inc.
Will Madrigal, JrCahuilla Band of Indians
Brian WallaceNisenan | Washoe
Panel: Nation Builders Cross-Panel Synthesis: Where Fire, Water & Story Meet
Monday, October 193:45–4:45 pmHardrock Live
Facilitated large-group synthesis; Nation Builder panel moderators report out; identifying shared commitments across all five themes
Autumn HarryModeratorNorthern Paiute
Noah WilliamsEastern Sierra Land Trust
Twyla PiatoteNez Perce
Haiwee FredericksNüümü, Newe, & Wá∙šiw (Paiute, Shoshone & Washoe)- Sage Loyema InnerarityIone Band of Miwok Indians
Aspen CarrilloYerington Paiute | Washoe
Biography
Sage Loyema Innerarity (she/her) is a Northern Sierra Miwok storyteller, writer, and citizen of the Ione Band of Miwok Indians from Elk Grove, CA. Sage graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College with a BA in English and American Studies, and was awarded the George Rogers Taylor Prize for her Summa-Recommended thesis entitled “Stealing the Fire: (Re)claiming, (Re)telling, and (Re)covering Miwok Creation Stories and Oral Histories.” In May 2025, she received her MS in Library and Information Science with concentrations in Cultural Heritage Informatics & Archives Management from Simmons University School of Library Information Science. Sage is also an 2023 alumna of Native Americans in Philanthropy’s Native Youth Grantmakers program, and a recipient of the Society of American Archivists’ Mosaic Scholarship.
Innerarity currently serves as the Native American Fellowship Program Director at the Peabody Essex Museum. She comes to PEM with a passion for storytelling, and a desire to leverage the resources and collections held by colonial institutions for the benefit of cultural revitalization initiatives in Indigenous communities. She believes that stewardship and authorship of our information is essential to Native sovereignty. Innerarity’s goals are to support emerging Native leaders as they develop their skills, and to ensure that they have direct access to the resources and knowledges necessary to tell their own stories on their own terms.