The Mill City Times Interview: Kristy Ornelas, Project Coordinator for Women of the Mississippi

Article by Becky Fillinger

The National Park Service (NPS) made a call out to highlight women’s influence on parks - “the visionaries and trailblazers who dared to imagine a different future” - in celebration of the centennial anniversary of the 19th Amendment. Locally, the Mississippi Park Connection (MPC) and Mississippi National River and Recreation Area answered the call by collecting the stories and highlighting the women who’ve had an impact on the Mississippi River, which became Women of the Mississippi River. Kristy Ornelas, AmeriCorps VISTA Service Member, tells us about the genesis of the project and how the resulting interactive map and stories continue to grow. We wish her all good things in her emerging career. 

Kristy Ornelas 

Q:  Kristy, I know you’ve been involved in a very interesting project. Please tell our readers about the Women of the Mississippi project.

A:  This project is very much a collaboration between Mississippi Park Connection (MPC), my employer, and the National Park Service (NPS). The Women of the Mississippi River project commemorates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment by highlighting women who have had great impact on the Mississippi River in Minnesota, particularly in the Twin Cities corridor. Our aim is to contribute to the larger narrative of the history and interpretation of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. In 2018, I did a semester on the river (called River Semester at Augsburg University) paddling her for 100 days and it was the worst -  and the best - experience of my life thus far. I discovered a passion I never knew existed within me and that journey changed my whole life. Since then I have sought out stories and people that can relate to my experiences because before that semester, I thought the outdoors was not a place for people that look like me. That is simply not true! That is why this project is so important to me, because it will hopefully help others see that the Mississippi River and her surroundings were influenced by not only women, but women of color. They, too, have a space in the outdoors and have contributed to all her glory. Their stories must be heard, acknowledged, and shared.

Q:  How did you come to work on this project? Did you design it?

A:  At the start of 2020, the National Park Service made a call for parks across the nation to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. All across the country, parks are commemorating in their own way. Locally, this inspired us to look for stories about women connected to the Mississippi River, and thus came the Women of the Mississippi River. Anna Waugh, my direct supervisor, had started collecting names of individuals who impacted the River. She also had some volunteers who had agreed to write some stories. When I began my service year as an AmeriCorps VISTA member at Mississippi Park Connection, Anna handed the project over to me. When I took over the project, I began coordinating more volunteers, getting more names, and decided the direction of the project. I envisioned an interactive map and NPS staff helped me achieve just that and improve my project.

Ramona Kitto StatelyQ:  The interactive map is such an interesting and useful tool – congratulations! Did you interview the living representatives mentioned in the project?

A:  Thank you. Yes! I personally interviewed Ramona Kitto Stately and Congresswoman Betty McCollum who were both amazing and have incredible stories. Some of the volunteers also interviewed women such as Peggy Lucas and Sharon Sayles Belton. A lot of the women are historical figures and thus could not be interviewed, but the volunteers did an incredible job researching them.

My interview with Ramona Kitto Stately impacted how I view the river and made me rethink everything I had learned about Minnesota history. Conversations with her always left me with questions about what else textbooks had left out and what textbooks had lied about. Her story made me respect the water for all that it is. The Mississippi River is not just a body of water, but rather an entity with her own story that has also been colonized. Ramona showed me there is still so much I have to learn about the land we call our home and about my own identity. I am extremely grateful to and for her.

Betty McCollumCongresswoman McCollum inspired me to want to keep working on environmental efforts. Her story reinforced what Ramona had taught me, that the river we all love has her own story. Congresswoman McCollum’s story taught me the amount of work that has been put into the river and not only the importance of it, but its impact as well.

Q:  How is the project funded?

A:  Mississippi Park Connection felt that this was an important project to invest in. The funding came through the generous support of our donors and members. People volunteered to research and write the stories and we very much appreciate it because The Women of the Mississippi River project would not be possible without them. If you’d like to donate or become a volunteer, you can learn more on our website parkconnection.org.

Q:  How are you letting the public know about the project?

A:  MPC’s Instagram has several posts promoting the project and there are some occasionally on our Facebook page too. One of our posts had a comment from a teacher who was excited to share this project with his students. That validated my hopes for this project! I was super excited to read that and realize the potential of this project as a teaching tool. It is also featured on MPC’s monthly newsletter. There are also several opportunities for people to find out about our volunteer opportunities in the park while social distancing. The project is also hosted on the National Park Service page and we are hoping that more media outlets will pick it up. We also look forward to park rangers incorporating these stories into their interpretative talks on their tours such as the Lock and Dam other programs on the river. We’ll post updates on the project on our social media and at the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area National Park site, too.

Q:  Kristy, what's next for you?

A:  The hope for the Women of the Mississippi River project is that it continues to grow and inform. As for me, I will finish my AmeriCorps VISTA service year at MPC next June and do not know where life will take me from there.  I am open to all of the possibilities ahead of me either here in Minnesota or elsewhere. My aspiration is to continue working in the outdoors and continue to uplift marginalized voices. I hope I encounter new opportunities as my service year ends in 2021! 

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About Becky Fillinger

I’ve been a resident of the Mill District only since July 2019, but have visited the Guthrie, the Farmers Market, restaurants and friends in the area for many years prior to making the leap to Minneapolis. I’ve lived in many places (and climates) in the US and can testify that our cultural events, bicycle and hiking trails, parks and green spaces, museums, diverse neighborhoods and wonderful restaurants put Minnesota and Minneapolis high on my best places list. I’m a member of the Mill City Singers and look forward to our choir practices and performances.

One of my main interests is community - a very broad concept. For me it means bringing people together with common interests to form meaningful relationships. I look forward to reporting on businesses and individuals in our neighborhoods. Feel free to drop me an email at becky_fillinger@hotmail.com with your thoughts and ideas for stories.