Tue, Mar 19, 2019
Kelly Holmes, a member of the Cheyenne River Lakota Nation, joins us for the Native Hope Podcast. As the founder of the Native Max Magazine [NMM], a creative platform focusing on indigenous fashion, she speaks on topics relating to identity, self confidence, creativity, passion, the beginning of her career in modeling and fashion, as well as the origins of NMM. She describes having conflicts with her personal self-esteem as a youth; it was not until she was sixteen years old that she foresaw a fuller and more accurate vision of herself, having been "discovered" by a model scout at a pow wow. There began her passion for expression, human form and aesthetics. Having been described by her classmates growing up in an urban environment as "exotic", she has worked to eliminate the cultural stereotypes surrounding indigenous people, by encouraging indigenous representations in media. Inspired by her mother, she shares her approach to the misconception that Native people no longer exist, through non-violence and the sharing of stories, culture, and language of indigenous people.
Tue, Mar 26, 2019
Ria Thundercloud, of the Sandia Pueblo and Ho-Chunk Nations, is a young professional dancer. Representing various dance mediums, from traditional to classical, she vocalizes her journey within self-expression. She was first welcomed into the dance circle at the age of four-years-old with a pow wow initiation. At that age she also began dancing the traditional Pueblo style and by thirteen, after watching a professional dancer on stage, was inspired to study jazz, ballet and classical dance. She regards the differences in her tribal practices, describing the Pueblo (a high desert people) as being "placed-based Natives," and the Ho-Chunk as "woodland and nomadic Natives". It is important for her to embody both of these tribes in separate energies, working to not "intersect" them, for both tribes are on their "own paths". Her view on dance as "a transforming universal language" is quite beautiful, as she reminds us that it takes intuition, connection to spirit, and "intention to earth," to break the stereotypes that surround tribal nation.
Tue, Apr 2, 2019
Kali "KO" Mequinonag Reis, a Seaconke Wampanoag boxer, joins us on the Native Hope Podcast. As a former 3x Middleweight World Champion in boxing-the first indigenous woman to hold this title, she describes fighting as her "version of prayer". Having Grown up in the Eastern part of Turtle Island, she recalls her early years before she discovered her calling as a fighter. KO regards fighting as her "job" and feels that this is what she has been placed here to do. She uses this form of expression as a means of perseverance, having been wrongfully assaulted in her neighborhood at the age of twelve. Taking the energy of this experience, she gravitated towards this self-defense discipline. She channels many energies when she is in the ring, "mustering" up the weight of genocide, MMIWG and sadness, which she releases while she fights. Challenges outside expectations and perceptions of race and strives to balance her life, working towards gratitude and humility.
Tue, Apr 9, 2019
Viki Eagle, a member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, is a Photographer, Photojournalist and the Director of Native American Community Partnerships at the University of Denver. By day, she works to aid and mentor incoming indigenous students in their pursuit of an undergraduate degree. However, during her off-time, she is devoted to her long-term project, Real Life Indian, where her focus is to showcase the true accounts of modern indigenous life. Inspired by her personal love for metal music and culture, she describes having felt alone in her gravitation to this genre, having grown up in an urban atmosphere. It was not long until she found other indigenous people like herself, primarily on the Navajo Nation, living their lives within the metal lifestyle, producing their own music, making it their own entirely. Drawing the connections to metal and the oral tradition, she sees Natives in metal as an example of "self-determination and an act of sovereignty." The subjects she photographs are primarily self-taught musicians, and she is drawn to their willingness to create, defying the "obstacles and challenges on the reservation."
Thu, Apr 18, 2019
Christopher Mike Bitah, known publicly and professionally as "Def-i," joins us on the Native Hope Podcast. As a talented hip-hop artist and MC, he shares his journey to finding his style of expression, which for him started many years ago. His music has been enjoyed and celebrated throughout the Navajo Nation, the greater United States, and the world. Featured on the popular hip hop music news platform, Sway in the Morning, he has come to be recognized on a meaningful level. There are no limitations to his passion, as he has ventured out of the USA to Nigeria, Africa, as an artist educator through Next Level USA. Def-i believes in the importance of raising the camaraderie in the Indigenous community, as communal support can raise the vibration of our vast tribal nations. Obstacles are part of every worthwhile journey, and he speaks of how he overcame them with the level of honesty so respected in his music.
Tue, Apr 23, 2019
Haley Laughter, a member of the Navajo Nation [Dine], is the owner and founder of Hozho Total Wellness, a mobile yoga studio catered to bringing healing and physical vigor to indigenous populations. She describes her journey to finding healthful benefits and mental perspective through the practice of yoga. Having experienced a heart-wrenching breakup that "felt like a divorce," she needed an outlet for transpiring these heavy emotions. Her first experience was within the realm of hot yoga, which she recalls as being very physically intense. However, being naturally drawn to self-challenging situations, she kept it up. The persistent nature within herself aligned her with this important calling, in which she says she "found a safe space" to express the energy surrounding her personal pains. Through yoga she learned how to "recycle energy rather emotion, turning low emotions into something good." Now as an instructor, she regards the importance of mind over nerves and breaking insecurities.
Wed, May 8, 2019
Kevin Madalena, an accomplished geologist and paleontologist from the Jemez Pueblo Nation, joins us in this Native Hope Podcast episode. Bridging the gaps between Indigenous awareness, spiritual obligation, and science is a lofty but worthwhile pursuit. What can be perceived as entirely separate and possibly conflicting human awareness happens to be the aspects of his personal life and calling. His natural love and "fascination for rocks and fossils" began at a very young age, as he recalls reading numerous books gained from his father's work at the Smithsonian. Kevin reminds us that Indigenous peoples were natural scientists, as the ancient Pueblo were entirely aware of the presence and power of the dinosaurs. This understanding was known long before it was "discovered" and accepted in the mainstream non-Indigenous realm. Madalena calls out the male dominance in academics within the larger Western world, as well as its effects on his tribal community; he aims to dismantle this structure, encouraging the realignment to the original matriarchal leadership practices. He works currently in the area of environmental justice for the Bears Ears National Monument with the Utah Dine Bikeyah as a Community Outreach and Field Researcher.
Tue, May 28, 2019
n this Native Hope podcast episode, we speak with Yvonne "Tiny" Decory, a strong Lakota woman from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. She has made it her life mission to aid in combating the issue of Indigenous suicide. As a member of the BEAR [Be Excited About Reading Program], she works to encourage the "celebration of life" through literacy, performance art, community outreach and counsel. She shares with us her unique approach to counseling, steering away from common forms of shaming the individual in need; she expresses listening and empowering people to live is more effective than stating that they have no reason to be distressed. It is important for us to listen to the stories of others, though they may be painful and covered in layers of hurt. Through expression and the use of personal voice, life can be fully embraced and our trials overcome. One can survive as long as they refrain from being silent. Take the initiative to listen with heart and speak from the heart.
Tue, Jun 4, 2019
Blake Poquette, a proud member of the Cherokee Nation, joins us on the Native Hope Podcast. He has spent years working as a stunt man and stunt coordinator for many Hollywood film productions, including the feature film, Cowboys and Aliens. He takes the time to share with us, topics concerning the need and importance for Indigenous representation in filmmaking, in both Hollywood and in independent realms. Coming from the unique background of growing up in Oklahoma to "seizing opportunity" in Los Angeles, his transition to the big city was more than worth it. It takes courage, faith, endurance, and a clear vision to make a dream come true in a different part of the country, but it is an unavoidable part of his distinctive job. Join us, as Blake shares tips for success and his hope for the future.
Tue, Jun 11, 2019
Ryan Young, a Two Spirit Ojibwe artist from the Lake Superior Chippewa Nation, joins us on the Native Hope Podcast. As a modern indigenous artist and intellect, Ryan sheds light on the importance of gender fluidity, personal pronouns, "reclaiming space," the heterosexual construct of blood quantum, the gender neutrality of the Creator, and their recent accomplishment with the Eighth Generation, "Two Spirit Blanket." Two Spirit is the reclaimed Indigenous way of describing a member of the LGBTQ community and has been accepted long before the influences of binary, traditional Western perimeters of gender classification and identity, which Ryan explains. Ryan prefers to be referred to as "they or their," as they describe not being able to be classified as male or female but rather embodying both the feminine and masculine energies. They feel it to be of utmost importance to call out the marginalized aura that surrounds the Indigenous two spirited population, reminding everyone that "we define ourselves."
Tue, Jun 18, 2019
Felicia Nez, a female-identifying Navajo [Dine] multimedia, experimental artist, joins us on the Native Hope Podcast. Aside from sharing her personal journey within her field of work, she explains the nature of her mediums and themes that are at their core. She has taken it upon herself to explore her place within academia, as well as bringing an institutional critique to the table. Felicia has a Bachelor's degree from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Filmmaking and Animation and is currently studying Experimental Art at the University of New Mexico. She has expanded upon her art forms into areas of clay work. Felicia is honest when she speaks of her personal trials in life, as she believes truth is the pathway to reclamation. Her work centers around "re-evaluating the meaning of being an Indigenous artist," her interpretation of the regressive nature of the concept of "decolonization," and "reclaiming abstract, landscape, and representation of the female body."