Position: Chief Operating Officer
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Organization: North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems
Patina Park is Mniconjou Lakota, with biological family from Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux Tribes, and an adoptive family from the Osage Nation. She currently serves as Chief Operating Officer at North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS), where she helps advance Indigenous food sovereignty and organizational growth. A lawyer and longtime advocate for Native communities, Park’s work has focused on challenging systems that create health and economic disparities for Native people, with particular attention to Native children and families.
After earning her law degree from Hamline University School of Law in 2001, Park represented Native families in child protection and custody cases, served as an appellate court judge for the Prairie Island Sioux Community, and taught Children and the Law and Federal Indian Law at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. She most recently served as Executive Director of Tribal State Relations for Governor Tim Walz and as President/CEO of the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center. Park has also provided national training and consulting on Tribal sovereignty, governance, and Federal Indian law.
