Kimberly Terrance

Kanerah’taro:roks (She gathers Leaves) Kimberly Terrance is an Indigenous Entrepreneur, Community and Social Development Advocate, Cultural Knowledge Sharer and Truth Seeker. A Kanienkehaka Mohawk Bear clan woman of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy), Kimberly dedicates much of her time and resources to building bridges of understanding while supporting the economic and social development of her people and home territory of Akwesasne where she was born and raised.

With a passion for cultural knowledge and self-actualization, Kimberly has embarked on a multitude of educational, cultural and personal development opportunities with various cultures and communities around the world. Groomed in business and an avid lover of Indigenous Art, Culture and Community, her journey has led her to believe that the winding path to individual and collective harmony requires the ability to make a personal connection while balancing the capitalistic and social realms of today’s society. A mother of two young children and the only daughter of a Deaf mother, Kimberly strongly advocates for the Deaf Native community.

In 2003 she advocated the Intertribal Deaf Council of North America to allow her to host the First Biennial Spiritual Gathering in Akwesasne, recognizing that a connection to the culture and ceremonies was needed atop connection to community. With over one hundred attendees, participants revered the gathering as the most educational and enlightening spiritual experience they’ve had with their own Indigenous Culture in their lifetime. With popular demand, Kimberly helped coordinate and host a second gathering with the Sacred Circle Deaf Native Organization in 2011 with over one hundred twenty attendees. In 2015, she co-founded Project Good Mind to promote inclusivity, cultural knowledge sharing and kindness within her own community and other Haudenosaunee communities by asking participants to agree to use a ‘Good Mind’ in their daily interactions with themselves, others and our Mother the earth.

A Nationally Certified Woman Business Enterprise, Kimberly currently oversees her local fuel and bulk transport company, provides small business consulting services and manages Indigenous World- an authentic Indigenous arts store, technological unifying force and non- profit organization that supports the cultural, social and economic growth of Indigenous communities across North America.

As a member of Konon:kwe (a group of women leaders in her community), she rises to her role and responsibilities as a mother and woman to address modern grievances by working diligently and finding creative and meaningful ways to heal, support and unify not only her people but all people and the planet. Her leadership foundation is rooted in her traditional Haundenosaunee beliefs and her entrepreneurial experience has honed her ability to manage multiple complex issues while staying committed to personal balance. She is fluent in American Sign Language, English and has basic fluency of her native Mohawk Language.

Kimberly holds a BS in Business Administration with minors in Community Health and Native American Studies from the State University of New York at Potsdam and a Professional Business Certificate and Indigenous Peoples Studies from Columbia University. She is an enrolled member of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe and a member of the Mohawks of Akwesasne.