Tribal member Tomasina Chupco is featured on the cover of LDL Magazine’s October 2023 issue, which focuses on Indigenous culture.

LDL is a Palo Alto, California-based print and digital publication that highlights entrepreneurs, small businesses, artists, authors, influencers, musicians, photographers, models and community organizers. LDL is the initials of the magazine’s founder, Le’Marqunita De’Sharay Lowe.

“The magazine reached out to me due to [the upcoming] Native American Heritage Month (each November) and the editor asked me to be on the cover,” Chupco, from Fort Pierce, said.

The magazine features a Q&A with Chupco and several other Indigenous People involved in Native issues. Chupco said she does advocacy work on behalf of Indian boarding school survivor organizations and those involved in the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW), like the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center.

“I believe in supporting Indigenous and Black causes in general, with my main focus on MMIW and violence against Native women,” she said.

Chupco, who splits her time between Florida and Georgia, has a doctorate in educational leadership from Lynn University and a degree in alternative medicine. She was previously the training and development assistant at the Native Learning Center in Hollywood. She owns and operates a dual business – Indigenous Intentions and Healing Hokte – focused on wellness/healing, jewelry/beauty, advocacy, consulting and public speaking.”

Chupco said she started the businesses during the pandemic. Her business Instagram accounts have more than 110,000 followers.

In the Q&A, editors asked Chupco about some of the Indigenous causes that are important to her.

“Preservation of Indigenous knowledge and land rights are paramount,” she said. “I’ve worked with various organizations, held workshops, and spoken at conferences to raise awareness and support these causes.”

For the magazine cover, tribal member Stephanie Johns of Brighton, owner of Simply Savage Steffs, designed Chupco’s dress, while tribal member Petra Jewel Battiest of Hollywood, who operates Painted by Petra, did her make-up.

It’s not the first time Chupco has been featured in a magazine. In 2020, Chupco and Cheyenne Kippenberger were on the cover of the February/March “Unconquered Native Women” issue of Native Max Magazine. It was the first time the magazine put Seminoles on its cover.

Chupco and Kippenberger had previously organized the tribe’s first-ever symposium focused on Native trauma and healing in October 2019 – “Healing the Circle in our Tribal Communities.”

Chupco can be reached through her Instagram accounts @IndigenousIntentions and @HealingHokte or via healinghokte.com. To access the October 2023 issue of LDL Magazine, go to ldlmagazine.com.