A few weeks ago, Kristy Grigas stood at the base of Mount St. Helens as a guest of the Cowlitz Tribe.
While she expected to hear about the Washington mountain’s significance to the tribe, it was the silence that was louder than any voice.
“They use this as a place to practice spiritual guidance so each person was asked to remain quiet and listen to the land,” she said. “What I heard was magical. The wind was so loud, it just spoke to you. It was incredibly moving and I’ve been pinching myself ever since.”
Grigas’ eagerness to learn more about Native American traditions and lands is more than just a personal quest. It informs the work she does every day for Williams as a manager of permitting.
“Many of the projects we plan require working with tribes and reaching agreements. I want us to have relationships and an understanding of the cultures of Indigenous peoples before starting to talk about our project needs,” she said. “We need to know their obstacles and opportunities and how we can partner in their communities.”
Grigas also is a member of Williams Indigenous Peoples Council and Native Employee Resource Group (ERG).
The council is developing a formal policy that outlines goals and guidelines for how Williams should interact and relate to Indigenous groups. The Native ERG is an employee-led group that seeks to foster connections among Native employees and allies like Grigas.
“I was already volunteering as the Williams liaison for Tulsa Native American Day when the ERG was created so I just stepped right in to help the team create the vision and help with whatever I could,” she said. “Two years later, I am still participating in both groups.”
For Native American Heritage Month, the ERG is hosting several events for employees including a session with Assistant Chief Jack Austin, Jr., of the Choctaw Tribe about the new Disney series Echo, a TV show largely shot in Oklahoma about the first Native American superhero in the Marvel universe.
Grigas also is a regular volunteer at Euchee Butterfly Farm. Located just outside Tulsa, the farm is home to the nonprofit Tribal Alliance of Pollinators.
“Every year I ask my team to find opportunities for stewardship for the environment,” she said. “The butterfly farm originally had great interest to us as a way to explore and educate ourselves on pollinator species and what we can do during right-of-way restoration to help bee and butterfly species.”
That relationship has evolved to Grigas leading teams of volunteers cleaning and cataloging seeds, planting pollinator waystations and with STEM and educational events. Additionally, Williams has provided grants for the nonprofit to buy refrigeration, a generator and a potting shed.
She said she looks for opportunities to understand interconnections and interdependencies between natural resources and local communities.
“My goal is to advocate for always being better in educating ourselves in the cultures of the different tribes and building relationships. I want to add value by being an ally, being that voice.”
Learn more about careers at Williams and our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion on Williams’ website.