Sept. 22, 2025

Connection with Cultural Roots

Connection with Cultural Roots
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Season 1

Connection with Cultural Roots dives deep into the vital importance of understanding, celebrating, and maintaining ties to one's cultural heritage. Through compelling interviews, insightful discussions, we explore the diverse traditions, values, stories, and experiences that shape our identities, connect us to our past, and inform our future. We uncover the richness and resilience of cultural roots and examine their profound impact on our lives, families, and communities, Maintaining traditions.

ASharpe Outlook is broadcast live Mondays at 8AM PT on K4HD Radio - Hollywood Talk Radio (www.k4hd.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com). ASharpe Outlook TV Show is viewed on Talk 4 TV (www.talk4tv.com).

ASharpe Outlook Podcast is also available on Talk 4 Media (www.talk4media.com), Talk 4 Podcasting (www.talk4podcasting.com), iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, Audible, and over 100 other podcast outlets.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/asharpe-outlook--6643730/support.

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This program is designed to provide general information with regards

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to the subject matters covered. This information is given with

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the understanding that neither the hosts, guests, sponsors, or station

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are engaged in rendering any specific and personal medical, financial,

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legal counseling, professional service, or any advice.

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You should seek the services of.

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Competent professionals before applying or trying any suggested ideas.

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Hello, and thank you for tuning in to a Sharp

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Outlook on pay for HD Radio and Talk or TV.

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I am Angela Sharp, your host our arm chair discussions

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with industry experts will give you the steps, tools and

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information to be successful in business and to prepare you

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to be your best self. Hello, I'm Angela Sharp, and

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I'm so glad you were able to join us. We're

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going to have a really interesting conversation today about connecting

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with your cultural roots, and it's really vital to get

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an understanding, celebrating and maintaining ties to one's cultural heritage.

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Through compelling conversations and insightful discussion, we explore the diverse traditions, values,

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stories and experiences that shape our identities and connect us

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to our past and inform our future. It's hard to

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know where we're going when we don't know where we've

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come from, and it makes it difficult to make the

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right decisions or the right choices. But just going back

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and connecting and getting involved in those cultural things, it

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gives you a real perspective of what's going on in

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your life. So I'm glad you're able to join us

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as we uncover the richness and resilience of cultural roots

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and examine their profound impact on our lives, families, and communities.

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Well here from an expert and elder and every day

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individuals who are actively engaged in preserving and revitalizing their cultures,

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it's very important to keep your culture and to be

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able to share that culture.

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Today.

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I am my guest as Vicky old Man, and she

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is a highly respected cultural and passionate community leader dedicated

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to preserving and promoting indigenous traditions and cultural heritage worldwide.

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With over two decades of experience working in partnership with

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diverse communities, Ickey possesses a profound understanding of the critical

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role cultural heritage plays in fostering individual and collective identity,

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resilience in the face of adversity, and strong social cohesion.

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Vick has been an education facilitator, skilled trainer, working in

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areas like strategic planning, community and organizational development, board development,

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and team building. And as a consultant, she has provided

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technical assistance, curriculum writing, and program coordination in both urban

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and rural environments. She has worked in asset building. Native

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CDFIs nonprofit organizational development train the trainers, communications and coaching,

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and she is founding and managing partner of Seven Sisters

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Community Development Group seven Sisters CDFIVE, serving low income families

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in Native communities, Owner of The Real Native Roots Untold Stories,

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a podcast bringing healing stories to communities and the next generation.

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And I'll tell you this is a wonderful program to

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listen in to and to get educated and also enlightened

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as to how important cultural background and information is. I'd

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like to invite Vicki to join me so we can

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begin our conversation.

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Yata, oh yeah, day hello, hello, hello it is I'm like,

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I'm arriving starings and my ancestors and my cultural groundness.

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Yes, yes, it's so wonderful. It's so wonderful, and it's great.

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I've been watching your show and it's a well, I

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listened to it and I'll tell you, I've just enjoyed

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every moment of you sharing untold like the untold stories,

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stories a different things that aren't written in most books.

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They're stories that are passed down and those are some

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of the best stories you ever want to hear. You know,

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if Hollywood actually wanted to be successful, they'd be trying

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to tap into some of the stories because they're exciting.

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They just grasp every emotion that you have within your

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being and then they bring it to resolution and you say,

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now I know what's in my system. And then you

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have great poems that you always read. Do you have

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a poem for us today?

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I do, and I just want to say yahat, thank

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you so much for bringing me on.

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I just think anytime we can.

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Connect with people deeply and share story, that's medicine in itself.

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And I just ask those anyone who's listening in here,

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just to take a deep breath with us before I

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read the poems.

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So, yeah, deep breath together and excel. I always like.

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To do that because you know, I don't know where

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everyone's coming from, whatever conversation they may have had, or

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what they're sitting with. No one of my favorite authors,

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I love this man. I wish that I met him,

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but he's already in the spirit world. Is Shirt Wogames,

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and I'm reading from a book called What Comes from Spirit.

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He's a great, great writer, and I just I love

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this man. Okay, So here we go. It starts as

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we all have stories within us. Sometimes we hold them gingerly,

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sometimes desperately, sometimes as gently as an infant. It is

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only by sharing our stories, by being strong enough to

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take a risk, both in the telling and in the asking,

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that we make it possible to know, recognize, and understand

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each other.

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That is true. That is so true. And sometimes it

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does take courage to become that vulnerable to share those stories.

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But you know, I've gotten to the place where I

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have to share stories because I know there's someone else

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walking the same path I've walked, and if I can

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help them by sharing my story, I think my life

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was worth living because someone has learned and gathered some

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wisdom from maybe my stupid decisions. But it doesn't matter, good,

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bad or whatever. It was a choice when we're walking

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down the path. We turned right and still left, or

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we backed up or whatever it is.

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You know, Yeah, yeah, absolutely, And I feel like when

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you had shared about our learnings.

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Right.

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I feel like even watching.

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A baby an infant, that is story watching right, And

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as an elder, I receive that acknowledgement.

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As an elder, when I watch a tile, I'm.

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Also receiving and learning from them. Like I feel like

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sometimes it is important we listen to our elders. And

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recently my dad actually was like, we're going back and

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forth and talking and he's like, listen, and I was like,

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like a little like a Chile, I'm like, oh, I'm

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over talking, Papa.

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I need to listen, you know. And it's the same

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thing with the baby.

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A child, they can scream and yell like and they're

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trying to tell us listen, you know, I need something

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or I need to tell you something. And I feel

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like even when we're in nature, nature is also telling

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us that, like listen.

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So I think.

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Wherever we're at on the spectrum of our life journey

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that we are, if we're open, right, if we're open

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and vulnerable to receive, you will get the message. You

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will get the medicine that is needed. And part of

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that is just being fully present and really listening and

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not being distracted. And gosh, that's that's hard these days.

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There's so much going on in so much.

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Destruction, a lot of a lot of noise. There's a

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lot of noise out there, and some some of the

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things going on I refuse to listen to because it's

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not it's not healthy, it's it doesn't promote, you know, positivity,

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And so you know, I'm also cautious of what I

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let into my spirit because even sometimes you know, even

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people that you know, you have to say, oh, you know,

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it's been it's been good, but I got to go

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my route. You need to go the direction that you're going,

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because it's not my place to try to change your mind.

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You'll find that out on your own as you keep

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walking down the journey. But yeah, it's really, really, really important,

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so exploring what it means to be native in a

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modern world, because I noticed recently there's a lot of

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younger and I'm so proud of our youth, the younger

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Indigenous people are. They're coming up strong. Where maybe I

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would have been really quiet and feeling my way, they

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are very vocal now and they are really speaking some

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things and I'm so proud of them. And they're taking

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they're picking up the mantle and their continue and to

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you know, fight the good fight. And they're making the

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noises and sitting down and at the table and making

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sure there is a table for them. I mean, the

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youth is really really doing some great things. So what

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does it What does it mean to you?

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M I feel like what it means to me is

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like our ancestors.

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Prayers are showing up.

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You know.

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I think about my grandparents and even my parents and

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they've taught me and how I you know, pray to universe, creator, spirit,

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whatever people use in terms of language. We're always praying

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for currently right, we pray for going forward. We pray

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for our young people. We pray for the generation. We

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pray that they stay in tack and be healthy. So

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I think that one is one of them. In my

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humble opinion is my foundational thought is prayers are being received,

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they're happening, they're in motion. And I also think, you know,

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our young people they're just so they're smart, They listen,

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they observe, and they're also not afraid, which I love

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because they're pushing back on like old ideas, and you know,

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because science also comes into play in showing evidence. And

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this is why I love about our indigenous and our

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cultural ways, is that we have known since time memorial,

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what the land does, we know, what why we do

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certain things, what we believe. People thought they were superstitious,

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and now scientists catching up and realizing, hey, there's some

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validity here with smudging, there's some validity here with you know,

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internal trauma. So when they think of because I remember

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my aunts, like my grandparents and my mother, my aunties.

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When I was caring, they would always say to me, we.

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Care for what you think.

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Be careful what you put in your mind, you know,

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watch be careful with how you move and how much.

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But don't be lazy, you know, because they understood trauma.

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They didn't have those words, but they knew that if

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I was hurting and crying and aching, the baby's going

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to feel that. And the baby's already you know, getting

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that sense. So I feel like young people are also

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learning about somatic work about trauma, historical traumas, societal trauma,

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and they're trying, they're flipping, they're flipping the narrative. They're

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not owning being victims anymore and saying, hey, we have

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we have the medicine, and that's our songs, our prayers

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our language, and I love it when I see young people,

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like on Instagram or on TikTok and they're practicing the

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language and they feel like, I don't know how old

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you are, but you're probably younger than me. When I

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was speaking and try to speak my language, I would

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get shamed, like it was like the elders. Some of

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my relatives would, you know, get on me. They would

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tease me, and then that would make me feel discouraged

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to try practicing. And so I make it a point

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to really try to encourage our people. When you see

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our young people trying encourage them, show them gently, don't

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shame them.

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And I think that's.

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So I'm like, I'm so happy for our young people.

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And I also think though they need to practice more

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listening skills.

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Though yeah, I'm hurd they're listening, but like I said,

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they I mean just recently, they had a canoe journey

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on the blackham A River out here in Oregon. It's

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like one hundred and thirty miles. They paddled that whole

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way and I was like, whoa you know, and nobody said,

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oh you guys, you get up, you go do this.

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They decided themselves and I've been seeing a lot of

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it because I'm in the Stay Outle area, but no

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closer to Portland and near the water, the ocean, the rivers,

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and I see a lot of the journeys being done

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by different tribes so that the youth can find out

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this is what your ancestors endured. So did you be here?

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And it's just incredible, you know, to see that, And

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that's why I love you know, some of the stories

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that you have on your podcast. You know, you know,

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why did you decide to do that podcast?

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So the story is, this is right before covid it

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maybe a year twenty eighteen. A friend of mine on

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Instagram would always see me post little stories on there,

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and then he inboxed me because you should do a podcast,

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And honestly, I had no clue. I wasn't listening to

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any podcast then. So then I researched. I'm like, what

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what am I going to talk about? You know, And

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because my stories back then would just be little journeys

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of you know, me trying something new or experimenting or

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commenting on you know, a dish or whatever, and so

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I really it wouldn't let go of me, you know,

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when creator drops the seed in you of an idea,

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you can't let it go, Like your mind goes back

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00:16:25.320 --> 00:16:29.679
to it and you're like, h there's something here, And.

242
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So I wouldn't it wouldn't leave me.

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And I'm like, okay, I'm hearing you spirit, right. So

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I started researching and then then I really sat with

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what am I going to talk about?

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And then it landed. I was like, Vicky, you love stories.

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You love when your.

248
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Mom tells you her story about going to the dump

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yard when she was little to find toys. And she

250
00:16:53.559 --> 00:16:56.679
tells a story because she says her youngest sister would

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go way down in the dump yard to get the

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best to and one time that happened and the aunts

253
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and uncles are like, let's go. We're going to you know,

254
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dairy Queen or something like that. So they all go

255
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and they there's a lot of kids, and so they

256
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didn't realize my aunt wasn't in there. So they're like,

257
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they realized she's not here. So they go back and

258
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she's standing there crying, but with a really cool doll.

259
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But everybody's seeing their ice cream. So those kind of stories.

260
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I was like, oh my god, and I'm like, well,

261
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IM tell me that story again, and so that I

262
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was like, those are untold stories. Those are stories that she.

263
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Would not share, you know, and my grandmother as well.

264
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I would say, Grandma, tell me the story about that

265
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rock again. So then I was like, Okay, I know

266
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untold stories, but what what's the first half of this

267
00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:49.400
this podcast? So the goal really was to interview. I

268
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didn't even like to use the word interview. It's connect

269
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and tell me story.

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Tell me tell me a moment and time in.

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Your life that was hard or that was special, or

272
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that gave you insight. And I also really believe that

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stories heal. So once that all came together, I bought

274
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the equipment and this is what I was going to do,

275
00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:15.039
was that I was going to pack the equipment and

276
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all my business travels. I was going to stay a

277
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day later or come early and then find local stories

278
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from community people. And then COVID happened, I launched it,

279
00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:29.279
I still did it, and it was really good. And

280
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so now I try to think about, you know, while

281
00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:35.440
I'm in the community, can I get a story or

282
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at least meet somebody to you know, schedule a story

283
00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:40.119
connection going forward?

284
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And I will just say it's been such a joy.

285
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I love it and.

286
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It's a hobby. It's a love it's a love project.

287
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So I'm enjoying it. I do have some ideas about

288
00:18:53.039 --> 00:18:55.599
what I might want to do with it later, but

289
00:18:55.720 --> 00:18:58.279
for now, I'm just you know, doing it when I

290
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can because I.

291
00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:04.759
My day job, which just keeps you pretty busy too.

292
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But it is h that's that's uh. I mean, that

293
00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:13.319
takes us way back to Oista. I know all of

294
00:19:13.359 --> 00:19:16.640
the things I mean, and that's how I remember you.

295
00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:20.920
You were always so involved in you know, training and

296
00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:26.240
training the trainers and sharing knowledge and information, always out

297
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there sharing knowledge and doing capacity building, building up communities.

298
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So they now had the tools, they now had the skills,

299
00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:40.200
they now had the understanding of how to navigate, you know,

300
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in this you know capitalistic you know society. I mean

301
00:19:45.599 --> 00:19:49.640
it's just, yeah, you have done some wonderful work.

302
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And I give you that all to you know, honestly,

303
00:19:57.279 --> 00:20:01.319
I I give that to spirit because I feel like

304
00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:05.200
we're a vessel. So when we're talking and feeling and

305
00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:09.599
expressing like it's information coming through coming out. And I

306
00:20:09.680 --> 00:20:12.680
also give credit to all my mentors, people who have

307
00:20:13.200 --> 00:20:17.119
spent time to shape and encourage me and also pushed me,

308
00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:21.440
and I feel like my lived experience, but also my

309
00:20:21.559 --> 00:20:26.240
connection with my community, which is the community people, the practitioners,

310
00:20:26.839 --> 00:20:29.720
you know, leaders who who saw something in me to

311
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give me enough time and encouragement to continue to do

312
00:20:35.279 --> 00:20:38.160
this work so I can reciprocate that back.

313
00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:40.880
I feel like if we don't follow and live.

314
00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:45.839
Through our values, that then things don't fully align or

315
00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:48.079
it makes it harder in our life. And I try

316
00:20:48.119 --> 00:20:52.759
really hard to live my life through values in looking

317
00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:58.920
at community, looking at reciprocity, you know, intuition where I

318
00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:01.960
really feel try to listen to what is being said

319
00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:05.039
and really try to follow that then to be in

320
00:21:05.119 --> 00:21:07.759
my head because our head always, our brain wants to

321
00:21:07.799 --> 00:21:10.559
make sense and sometimes things we may not make sense

322
00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:13.279
of it, and so that's where we tap into our body.

323
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And I feel like that's cultural.

324
00:21:15.759 --> 00:21:19.599
Like I think about my grandparents and my particularly my grandparents,

325
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and how I watch them make decisions and how they

326
00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:24.640
move about their life.

327
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They I see them.

328
00:21:26.400 --> 00:21:28.759
When I was little, I would see them and how

329
00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:32.559
they would move and even like healers watching them, and

330
00:21:32.599 --> 00:21:37.160
it's all like intuitive, you know, it's really staying grounded.

331
00:21:37.240 --> 00:21:40.319
And if we're not grounded, and we're shaky and you

332
00:21:40.359 --> 00:21:46.519
know it makes work relationships harder in our life.

333
00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:50.640
Oh yeah, well it's it's like we we end up

334
00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:52.960
we did like you said, we have a we have

335
00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:56.920
a path that was designed m hm this and and

336
00:21:57.559 --> 00:22:02.920
creator has f us made us, tested us, prepared us

337
00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:06.720
to walk this specific path. And getting off of that path,

338
00:22:06.839 --> 00:22:10.640
you're going to have, you know, conflict, and it's going

339
00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:12.480
to make like you said, it's going to make things

340
00:22:12.519 --> 00:22:15.640
harder because that's not the road you're supposed to be on.

341
00:22:15.799 --> 00:22:18.039
That's not the work you're supposed to be doing. And

342
00:22:18.079 --> 00:22:21.200
some of us, we we took on work that it

343
00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:25.319
paid the bills, but it wasn't our purpose. And so

344
00:22:26.200 --> 00:22:29.440
as I tell young people now, you can be spending

345
00:22:29.559 --> 00:22:34.400
an awful lot of years working, make sure it's something

346
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that gives you joy, makes you fulfilled and actually, like

347
00:22:40.759 --> 00:22:46.039
you said, serves others other than yourself, you know. And

348
00:22:46.039 --> 00:22:50.720
and because you kind of want to leave footprints, you know,

349
00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:53.279
you want to leave footprints so that someone's going to

350
00:22:53.319 --> 00:22:55.880
remember your name, they're going to remember what you did,

351
00:22:55.920 --> 00:22:58.720
They're going to remember a story you told. They're going

352
00:22:58.799 --> 00:23:01.640
to remember a poem that was written or a painting

353
00:23:01.680 --> 00:23:06.519
that was painted they're going to remember because, first off,

354
00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:10.160
when you're in the right realm and you're walking in

355
00:23:10.279 --> 00:23:13.680
spirit is guiding you. When you speak, there's an energy

356
00:23:13.720 --> 00:23:17.799
that comes from you that blesses those people so that

357
00:23:17.920 --> 00:23:21.400
they now become energized to do some of the very

358
00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:27.400
same things. And yeah, I'm just listening. It just seems like,

359
00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:30.799
you know, that was something that was just in your

360
00:23:30.920 --> 00:23:36.400
DNA to be out there, you know, working with communities,

361
00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:40.839
bringing things together, bringing skills together, and now bringing the

362
00:23:40.880 --> 00:23:46.359
culture together and telling stories about you know, who who

363
00:23:46.440 --> 00:23:51.279
y'all who we are as people. And I believe in

364
00:23:51.400 --> 00:23:54.880
culture because, like I said, it took me a while

365
00:23:54.960 --> 00:24:00.160
to accept accept it because of just some of the

366
00:24:00.200 --> 00:24:03.559
things that I experienced or I saw when I was

367
00:24:03.720 --> 00:24:08.400
growing up and then moving into a corporate environment being

368
00:24:08.480 --> 00:24:13.640
so strict and so and me being the only woman

369
00:24:13.720 --> 00:24:19.880
there in finance and tech and them actually not wanting

370
00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:21.839
me to be there. But I didn't care because I

371
00:24:21.920 --> 00:24:23.160
was going to be who I was going to be,

372
00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:25.319
And I just let them know, You're not that important.

373
00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:29.519
You are replaceable. In fact, all of us are, so

374
00:24:29.880 --> 00:24:32.759
get you know, get off your high horse and let's

375
00:24:32.880 --> 00:24:36.640
sit down, let's work through some you know, solutions here.

376
00:24:37.079 --> 00:24:40.359
And because you know, I'm just here for my paycheck,

377
00:24:40.440 --> 00:24:42.640
I'm not trying to be friends. So let's let's get

378
00:24:42.680 --> 00:24:46.480
to work. I mean, I really had to put on

379
00:24:46.519 --> 00:24:49.559
a hard exterior to be working in an environment when

380
00:24:49.599 --> 00:24:53.480
it was just all men and and men that did

381
00:24:53.519 --> 00:24:58.319
not want women in their industry. The things that I heard,

382
00:24:58.559 --> 00:25:01.680
you know, and I I spoke, I spoke up. I

383
00:25:01.720 --> 00:25:07.839
remember there was this one VP and so disrespectful. He

384
00:25:07.880 --> 00:25:11.200
would go down the halls and wink at them, at

385
00:25:11.240 --> 00:25:15.400
the women, and they hated it. So I waited until

386
00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:19.279
the CEO flew in from New York. Now this was

387
00:25:19.319 --> 00:25:23.720
a Fortune ten corporation. He flew in for a meeting

388
00:25:24.200 --> 00:25:26.839
and I saw them walking down the hall. I thought,

389
00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:30.119
I'm going to break this habit of his. So when

390
00:25:30.160 --> 00:25:33.240
they were walking towards me, and before I went past,

391
00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:42.920
I winked, Oh man, I'm telling you. Everybody was just flustered,

392
00:25:43.279 --> 00:25:45.559
you know, And I was like, well, bet you won't

393
00:25:45.640 --> 00:25:49.000
do that again. And you know what, never did it again.

394
00:25:49.319 --> 00:25:53.200
Sometimes you even have to you have to understand that's

395
00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:57.519
not how you're supposed to behave towards others. Regardless of

396
00:25:57.559 --> 00:26:00.000
what their color is or regardless of what their color

397
00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:07.759
culture is. Everyone deserves respect, refect respect mine and so yeah,

398
00:26:07.480 --> 00:26:09.119
I've fought a few fights.

399
00:26:09.559 --> 00:26:11.599
I love that I put my hand up because that

400
00:26:11.680 --> 00:26:14.200
means I was like, you mirrored what you did?

401
00:26:14.279 --> 00:26:17.160
Was you mirrored back to him? Look at this behavior.

402
00:26:17.640 --> 00:26:19.920
Yeah, you're doing the only way to make him stop.

403
00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:23.440
And he was just so embarrassed because then the guy

404
00:26:23.599 --> 00:26:28.680
looked at him and I was a standard looking and

405
00:26:27.799 --> 00:26:30.079
I know he wanted to fire me. How are you

406
00:26:30.160 --> 00:26:32.160
going to fire me from Lincoln? That's what you do?

407
00:26:33.279 --> 00:26:36.519
And so, uh didn't do it again, never did it again.

408
00:26:36.720 --> 00:26:39.039
It's like, you know, it's it's just one of those

409
00:26:39.079 --> 00:26:42.440
things and just little little things like that. I remember

410
00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:45.279
of just you know, taking that path and what I

411
00:26:45.319 --> 00:26:49.359
had to do. But I have freedom now, I feel free,

412
00:26:49.839 --> 00:26:53.039
and so now I want to give back information and

413
00:26:53.079 --> 00:26:57.559
things like that. But you know, from your extensive experience

414
00:26:57.599 --> 00:27:01.559
of working with diverse communities, what do you see as

415
00:27:01.599 --> 00:27:07.480
some of the most pressing challenges they face and in

416
00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:13.400
maintaining their unique cultural traditions in today's rapidly changing, an

417
00:27:13.440 --> 00:27:18.759
increasingly globalized world. Do you see any challenges so you know.

418
00:27:18.720 --> 00:27:22.519
I work directly, so I work in two spaces now,

419
00:27:22.599 --> 00:27:29.519
like with organizations directly or with intermediaries that give resources

420
00:27:29.559 --> 00:27:31.720
to these organizations.

421
00:27:32.319 --> 00:27:35.519
And so what I'm finding, particularly with.

422
00:27:35.519 --> 00:27:43.599
Our organizations, like our Native Indigenous nonprofits, particularly that you.

423
00:27:43.559 --> 00:27:46.920
Know, the way we the way they.

424
00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:49.680
Run an organization which is a nonprofit five oh one

425
00:27:49.759 --> 00:27:54.079
C three status was not designed in a cultural lens

426
00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:57.920
by all means. It's it was not set up that

427
00:27:58.039 --> 00:28:01.480
way with us in mind. And so we have been

428
00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:07.400
we have been constantly like code talking right, trying to

429
00:28:07.440 --> 00:28:10.880
figure out how a system that is so boxy and

430
00:28:10.920 --> 00:28:16.640
structured and not with the cultural lens, and how.

431
00:28:16.079 --> 00:28:20.920
To navigate that, and some have you like, you know

432
00:28:21.000 --> 00:28:24.200
they're getting through it, but it's still rigid because when

433
00:28:24.240 --> 00:28:27.680
you think about our culture, we're about relationships.

434
00:28:27.759 --> 00:28:31.880
We're about we're about We're not about scarcities. You think

435
00:28:31.880 --> 00:28:36.599
about nonprofit sector, it's about scarcity, like enough income, We

436
00:28:36.720 --> 00:28:39.680
got to bring in money, and like it's this scarcity mindset.

437
00:28:39.720 --> 00:28:42.799
But when you think from an indigenous list lens, there's

438
00:28:42.839 --> 00:28:43.599
no such thing.

439
00:28:43.759 --> 00:28:46.759
We have plenty. There's plenty here, and.

440
00:28:46.640 --> 00:28:49.640
How we share generously is also different, which is a

441
00:28:49.680 --> 00:28:54.039
different mindset and how provides services. Right, It's like you

442
00:28:54.160 --> 00:28:57.240
have to have certain requirements, you know, you have to

443
00:28:57.240 --> 00:29:00.480
have a certain amount of income. So they have these

444
00:29:00.519 --> 00:29:04.839
strict guidelines. And when you think about how our mindset is,

445
00:29:04.920 --> 00:29:09.240
it's it's no wonder. It's really tricky. So I'm like,

446
00:29:10.240 --> 00:29:15.480
you know, us trying to noodle through the waffle and

447
00:29:15.640 --> 00:29:20.480
how to design. But I'm seeing now more and more organizations,

448
00:29:20.839 --> 00:29:26.160
which I love. They are rewriting their policies. They're rewriting

449
00:29:26.640 --> 00:29:32.400
what they feel is true to their you know, community people,

450
00:29:32.759 --> 00:29:38.240
but their employers. So for example, you know, having time

451
00:29:38.440 --> 00:29:43.400
for ceremony, you know, having time for different like for

452
00:29:43.640 --> 00:29:46.440
self care, whether that means going to sweat or something

453
00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:51.000
like that. Excuse me not having a sense of urgency

454
00:29:51.480 --> 00:29:55.279
looking at their time and how they do their work differently,

455
00:29:55.880 --> 00:29:59.160
not a straight you know, Monday through Friday from eight

456
00:29:59.200 --> 00:30:04.759
to five, you know, And I think they're experimenting. They're experimenting,

457
00:30:04.799 --> 00:30:08.799
and they're also experimenting with structures of their leadership in

458
00:30:08.880 --> 00:30:14.720
terms of their board of directors and trying to look

459
00:30:14.759 --> 00:30:18.200
more of a flat structure and looking at you know,

460
00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:22.799
here are anchors are, here are councils, from different places

461
00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:25.240
that we need to work with versus here are the

462
00:30:25.680 --> 00:30:27.599
you know, five oh one C three kind of board

463
00:30:28.359 --> 00:30:32.559
board status. So I'm seeing folks experimenting their prototyping and

464
00:30:32.599 --> 00:30:36.319
trying things out now because they know what's in place.

465
00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:37.759
It has been challenging.

466
00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:42.160
Oh yeah, oh gosh. And believe me, I'm quite aware.

467
00:30:42.920 --> 00:30:46.559
Being someone who's worked in finance and then worked in tech,

468
00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:52.240
which is all rigid, all boxed in, you know, no

469
00:30:52.240 --> 00:30:56.480
no no ways of maybe changing it or going outside

470
00:30:56.559 --> 00:30:58.720
the box or this, that and the other, I can

471
00:30:58.799 --> 00:31:03.279
see how it Well, it conflicts with a communit community

472
00:31:04.039 --> 00:31:07.799
mindset because you're right, the way they're written, there are

473
00:31:08.119 --> 00:31:11.440
no communities involved. It's like, Okay, these are your funds,

474
00:31:11.559 --> 00:31:13.480
this is what we expect you to do, This is

475
00:31:13.519 --> 00:31:15.519
what we want you to report, this is what we're

476
00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:18.160
going to end up reimbursing. This is what we're not

477
00:31:18.200 --> 00:31:20.960
going to pay for. I mean, just you know, all

478
00:31:21.079 --> 00:31:25.400
these different things instead of saying these are your needs.

479
00:31:25.440 --> 00:31:32.119
However you feel you need to administer this this award

480
00:31:32.200 --> 00:31:36.599
so that you meet your goals and objectives. You know,

481
00:31:36.839 --> 00:31:39.920
as long as the funds are spent on your project,

482
00:31:40.119 --> 00:31:43.319
that's all. That's necessary, but to narrow it down to

483
00:31:43.640 --> 00:31:46.119
you need to see two people. I want how many

484
00:31:46.200 --> 00:31:48.839
people and you know, counting the numbers of people that

485
00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:54.720
actually got served and all those things. How about caring

486
00:31:54.720 --> 00:31:58.480
more about the quality of service instead of how many

487
00:31:58.559 --> 00:32:01.640
numbers you got and that, you know, it's almost like

488
00:32:01.799 --> 00:32:05.920
you you dehumanize even the projects that you're trying to fund.

489
00:32:06.599 --> 00:32:09.480
And it's and I know you have to have rules.

490
00:32:09.519 --> 00:32:11.640
I know you have to have regulations, but you can

491
00:32:11.759 --> 00:32:16.160
have humanity and sensitivity and those rules. I mean, I'm

492
00:32:16.480 --> 00:32:19.279
I've got a lot of people lying up. I'm We're

493
00:32:19.319 --> 00:32:23.559
going to do whatever we can to change the corporate environment.

494
00:32:24.279 --> 00:32:27.039
So one thought came to my mind recently, and that

495
00:32:27.240 --> 00:32:32.519
is looking at the nonp nonprofit arm and when you

496
00:32:32.519 --> 00:32:36.920
think about our communities before these systems were in place,

497
00:32:37.960 --> 00:32:42.839
we were in smaller community hubs, right, like family pods,

498
00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:47.000
you know, and then you know clan pods, name pods.

499
00:32:47.160 --> 00:32:50.880
And when we were living in that format, we helped

500
00:32:50.920 --> 00:32:51.319
each other.

501
00:32:51.400 --> 00:32:54.519
So if people went hunting, people come back and then

502
00:32:54.559 --> 00:32:58.880
they disseminate, you know, to everyone, not just to the family.

503
00:32:58.920 --> 00:33:00.440
They thought about the whole family.

504
00:33:01.759 --> 00:33:07.599
So back then I feel like we we were providing

505
00:33:07.680 --> 00:33:13.720
these needs and services and gaps that we don't have

506
00:33:13.799 --> 00:33:17.240
as much now, Like I know, communities are still trying

507
00:33:17.279 --> 00:33:20.480
to bring that like build that connection. It's the connection

508
00:33:20.559 --> 00:33:23.519
of the community to support and help one another. And

509
00:33:23.559 --> 00:33:27.559
what happened is, you know, the nonprofit you know, comes

510
00:33:27.599 --> 00:33:31.160
into this system like, well there's a need because people

511
00:33:31.200 --> 00:33:35.440
were starting to isolate and not provide service or help

512
00:33:35.480 --> 00:33:36.200
with one another.

513
00:33:36.480 --> 00:33:37.720
So that disconnect.

514
00:33:38.160 --> 00:33:40.960
You know, it's a strategy, right, a disconnect of putting

515
00:33:41.119 --> 00:33:46.240
us in different places, cutting off resources. And so now

516
00:33:46.319 --> 00:33:49.799
we have the nonprofit nonprofit sector trying to fill that

517
00:33:50.240 --> 00:33:53.400
when in essence, we can really do that for each other.

518
00:33:53.440 --> 00:33:58.319
But part of that is us reconnecting, us coming back

519
00:33:58.359 --> 00:34:03.559
into community, us working and helping one another. So then

520
00:34:03.839 --> 00:34:06.599
you know, the nonprofit you know, doesn't need to be

521
00:34:06.839 --> 00:34:11.119
in that place. It's like it's filling that gap. And

522
00:34:12.159 --> 00:34:15.079
you know, and what had happened though, is the disconnect.

523
00:34:15.599 --> 00:34:20.280
And so what I'm noticing particularly now is that a

524
00:34:20.320 --> 00:34:24.679
lot of organizers and community are realizing we're trying to

525
00:34:24.719 --> 00:34:30.400
be placed in a space of fear of being isolated

526
00:34:30.519 --> 00:34:33.599
and not being in community, and we need to go

527
00:34:33.760 --> 00:34:37.039
back to being in community. That's why our ceremonies are

528
00:34:37.079 --> 00:34:40.039
so important, because that's when we're there. We're quiet, we're praying,

529
00:34:40.119 --> 00:34:42.360
we're connected, We're in a whole different mindset.

530
00:34:42.360 --> 00:34:44.719
We're not thinking about work. Right.

531
00:34:44.760 --> 00:34:47.400
And then the last thing I'll just say about the

532
00:34:47.400 --> 00:34:51.199
intermediars've been working with a lot of foundations and funders.

533
00:34:52.119 --> 00:34:54.760
There's a lot of interest in the past six years

534
00:34:54.800 --> 00:34:59.360
of them wanting to do work in our communities. And

535
00:34:59.440 --> 00:35:02.719
at the very beginning, I ask them, is your board

536
00:35:02.760 --> 00:35:05.639
on board? Do you have a plan? Is this just

537
00:35:05.840 --> 00:35:08.519
a moment or is this a long term strategy? If

538
00:35:08.599 --> 00:35:11.159
you don't have any of these things in place, or

539
00:35:11.360 --> 00:35:14.039
have you all did some cultural training, training about our

540
00:35:14.079 --> 00:35:16.840
people in the community, do you got any of these things,

541
00:35:16.960 --> 00:35:20.840
then you've got some work to do, because we don't

542
00:35:20.840 --> 00:35:24.039
want people coming in for a moment because it seems

543
00:35:24.079 --> 00:35:26.719
sexy or it's a requirement, like a checkof and then

544
00:35:26.760 --> 00:35:31.920
they leave after a couple of years. Right. So so anyway,

545
00:35:32.039 --> 00:35:36.519
there is interest, and there's also hesitation because they're like,

546
00:35:36.960 --> 00:35:38.760
we know we've done harm, but we don't know what

547
00:35:38.840 --> 00:35:43.679
to do. So that's an interesting, you know shift that

548
00:35:43.760 --> 00:35:45.280
I've seen when I.

549
00:35:45.239 --> 00:35:46.840
Knew you back then.

550
00:35:48.519 --> 00:35:53.639
Six years of you know, philanthropy funders are wanting to

551
00:35:53.760 --> 00:35:56.079
but they're not sure, and they also know that they've

552
00:35:56.119 --> 00:35:59.000
done harm and they don't want to do more harm,

553
00:35:59.239 --> 00:36:00.800
but they still got a long ways to go.

554
00:36:01.280 --> 00:36:04.760
Yeah. Well, and the thing is if they and I'm

555
00:36:04.800 --> 00:36:08.960
just going to put this out there, if you're wanting

556
00:36:09.039 --> 00:36:14.480
to do something in the communities, then you need to

557
00:36:14.480 --> 00:36:17.400
bring people from the community to sit at the table

558
00:36:17.719 --> 00:36:20.719
to plan, to help you with the planning, to help

559
00:36:20.760 --> 00:36:23.760
you with with the design of the program you're trying

560
00:36:23.800 --> 00:36:27.199
to do, to help you with finding out what really

561
00:36:27.320 --> 00:36:32.239
is is needed. You know, you've decided without even talking

562
00:36:32.280 --> 00:36:37.039
to someone what the need is, instead of bringing people

563
00:36:37.079 --> 00:36:41.559
to the table coming up with a whole plan together

564
00:36:42.360 --> 00:36:45.159
that now you can be successful. But when if you

565
00:36:45.199 --> 00:36:47.840
don't know anything about the culture, you know nothing about

566
00:36:47.840 --> 00:36:51.400
the traditions, you know nothing about the historical trauma, you

567
00:36:51.519 --> 00:36:55.719
know nothing about the economics that's there. I mean, you

568
00:36:55.840 --> 00:36:59.480
know nothing about the hierarchy, you don't know anything about it.

569
00:36:59.559 --> 00:37:02.239
You don't know about the community. And then you want

570
00:37:02.280 --> 00:37:09.719
to come in and uh and help because you know, yes,

571
00:37:09.800 --> 00:37:12.480
there has been harm, there's been a lot of harm.

572
00:37:13.000 --> 00:37:14.639
But then what you need to do is go to

573
00:37:14.679 --> 00:37:19.880
the leaders of those communities and get information and better yet,

574
00:37:20.440 --> 00:37:24.159
find out exactly what's needed, and then find out who

575
00:37:24.199 --> 00:37:30.760
would be best to facilitate that program from your community.

576
00:37:31.079 --> 00:37:35.360
How about that. You know, we've got to sit at

577
00:37:35.400 --> 00:37:38.199
the table or you're not going to be successful. So

578
00:37:38.280 --> 00:37:41.760
bring us to the table, not after you've made decisions,

579
00:37:41.920 --> 00:37:45.159
but at the beginning of the thought process, and then

580
00:37:45.199 --> 00:37:48.719
it would be a lot more successful. I know that.

581
00:37:48.800 --> 00:37:51.760
I know that. You got to you know, you've got

582
00:37:51.800 --> 00:37:54.199
to change your mindset on how you've been doing business.

583
00:37:54.639 --> 00:37:57.400
If you want to do something somewhere, you need to

584
00:37:57.440 --> 00:38:00.239
bring the people in that you want to do the

585
00:38:00.280 --> 00:38:05.000
work with. Because you're not dealing with children. You're dealing

586
00:38:05.039 --> 00:38:08.840
with adults. So they have ideas, they have thoughts, and

587
00:38:08.880 --> 00:38:14.719
they know what works. I yeah, I've been there. You know,

588
00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:16.320
I've been through all of that.

589
00:38:19.280 --> 00:38:23.760
It's hard work, and I'll also say it's it's also

590
00:38:23.880 --> 00:38:29.519
rewarding when an organization, whether it's our native group or

591
00:38:29.639 --> 00:38:35.039
the non native organizations, make headway. Even the small winds

592
00:38:35.039 --> 00:38:39.679
are like yay, you know, particularly in this environment, and

593
00:38:40.760 --> 00:38:42.239
you know, I just have to hand it to our

594
00:38:42.280 --> 00:38:46.039
people like we do so much with so little, and

595
00:38:46.079 --> 00:38:50.599
we are so freaking amazing and creative. We have we have,

596
00:38:50.880 --> 00:38:53.599
we have challenges and we're still working through it, and

597
00:38:53.880 --> 00:38:56.519
I have hope, and I, as I said earlier, I

598
00:38:56.599 --> 00:38:59.800
believe some of these prayers are you know, some of

599
00:38:59.840 --> 00:39:01.599
the that are happening is because of the prayers that

600
00:39:01.639 --> 00:39:03.519
are parents.

601
00:39:03.920 --> 00:39:07.559
Yes for us, Yeah, I mean, we're just you know,

602
00:39:07.679 --> 00:39:14.360
a continuation of what the ancestors designed many many years ago,

603
00:39:14.440 --> 00:39:17.840
and we're just carrying it on. You know, sometimes you

604
00:39:17.920 --> 00:39:20.960
don't know why you're thinking the thought, but it's like

605
00:39:21.000 --> 00:39:25.119
you hear something and it's like, yeah, that's right, that's

606
00:39:25.119 --> 00:39:27.559
what I really need to do. And it's just like

607
00:39:27.880 --> 00:39:31.800
you're just continuing the work that was started and uh.

608
00:39:31.840 --> 00:39:35.599
And it's something that's just totally outside of the normal

609
00:39:35.840 --> 00:39:39.480
education programs and different things like that. It's just so

610
00:39:39.480 --> 00:39:44.320
so different, so different. And what specific ways does cultural

611
00:39:44.480 --> 00:39:49.599
education contribute to fostering a strong sense of identity, belonging

612
00:39:49.679 --> 00:39:53.360
and self esteem because there's you know, there's some youth

613
00:39:53.440 --> 00:39:57.719
that still seem i mean, just from what I'm reading

614
00:39:57.760 --> 00:40:01.519
and things, they don't seem to be connected to their

615
00:40:02.159 --> 00:40:07.320
cultural traditions there and they don't have an identity. Oh,

616
00:40:07.400 --> 00:40:11.039
they're struggling with trying to get identity. Can you think

617
00:40:11.079 --> 00:40:18.679
of some just some ways to get connected and be

618
00:40:18.760 --> 00:40:21.800
able to have that sense of identity and belonging.

619
00:40:23.519 --> 00:40:31.039
I think, honestly, it really has to start with their desire.

620
00:40:31.079 --> 00:40:34.960
We talk about the word vulnerability, and it's vulnerability in

621
00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:39.679
both places and like reaching out, but also for individuals

622
00:40:39.760 --> 00:40:44.239
in the respective communities to also reach out to to see.

623
00:40:43.920 --> 00:40:45.679
Like there's a need here.

624
00:40:46.440 --> 00:40:50.639
And I found out recently here in Albuquerque, there's a

625
00:40:50.719 --> 00:40:53.880
program where they were teaching young people how to butcher.

626
00:40:54.440 --> 00:40:58.360
And anyway, my mom knew that person, and so she goes.

627
00:40:58.199 --> 00:40:59.519
I'm gonna go over there. He told me to come

628
00:40:59.519 --> 00:41:00.000
to go eat.

629
00:41:00.559 --> 00:41:06.000
So she goes with him and come to find they

630
00:41:06.119 --> 00:41:08.280
hired somebody to teach him how to butcher.

631
00:41:09.039 --> 00:41:11.880
He was really late and my mom.

632
00:41:11.719 --> 00:41:16.719
My mom is a master butcher. She's seventy five years old. Boy,

633
00:41:16.800 --> 00:41:19.159
they give her the knife and she was there teaching.

634
00:41:19.199 --> 00:41:22.840
She didn't even expect to be teaching. But sometimes I

635
00:41:22.840 --> 00:41:26.679
feel like those kind of opportunities are like I was like, Mom,

636
00:41:27.079 --> 00:41:30.039
you should get involved, you should go there. Because she's retired,

637
00:41:30.400 --> 00:41:32.400
she lives with me, and you know, I'm like, mom, you.

638
00:41:32.320 --> 00:41:34.760
Should do that. You know. She's like, I can't do it,

639
00:41:35.119 --> 00:41:37.800
and I'm like, yes, you just did. You butchered her sheep.

640
00:41:37.559 --> 00:41:41.320
For everybody, and they were and the young people were

641
00:41:41.360 --> 00:41:43.760
just so intrigued, and she was talking about why you

642
00:41:43.840 --> 00:41:47.599
can't do because they had the sheep tied up for

643
00:41:47.679 --> 00:41:50.760
a while and it was getting hot and you're supposed

644
00:41:50.760 --> 00:41:52.840
to do this early in the morning, you know, walking

645
00:41:52.840 --> 00:41:57.440
about the science of it and then anyway. So that's

646
00:41:57.480 --> 00:41:59.840
an example of like there are things in our backyard

647
00:42:00.079 --> 00:42:03.760
we don't even know about, programs and people who are

648
00:42:03.800 --> 00:42:05.960
there to help, and part of it is taking the

649
00:42:06.000 --> 00:42:09.679
first step. I think we as individuals too, Like I

650
00:42:09.679 --> 00:42:13.400
have two young young men, my boys, twenty seven and

651
00:42:13.440 --> 00:42:16.800
twenty three, and I do my part to try to

652
00:42:16.840 --> 00:42:22.760
like say something in Navajo to them, or send maybe

653
00:42:22.800 --> 00:42:27.519
a video about someone who's talking about maybe the money,

654
00:42:27.559 --> 00:42:30.360
the coyote and where it goes. You know, I tell

655
00:42:30.400 --> 00:42:34.400
them those things. But what's important is repetition. They need

656
00:42:34.440 --> 00:42:36.960
to hear it, they need to practice it, you know,

657
00:42:37.119 --> 00:42:40.960
learning a song, practicing your language, even if it's one

658
00:42:41.039 --> 00:42:42.199
or two words, you know.

659
00:42:42.880 --> 00:42:44.519
Putting that because your body.

660
00:42:44.760 --> 00:42:48.719
It's in your DNA and we just have to practice.

661
00:42:49.159 --> 00:42:53.039
And I think there's so much content out there, it's amazing.

662
00:42:53.440 --> 00:42:57.039
You cannot say you don't know. It's right at our fingertips.

663
00:42:58.320 --> 00:43:01.719
But the best I think is find people in your community,

664
00:43:01.800 --> 00:43:06.239
finding programs that do the learning, the lived experience, like

665
00:43:06.320 --> 00:43:07.199
the butchering sheep.

666
00:43:07.280 --> 00:43:07.440
Right.

667
00:43:07.519 --> 00:43:09.840
I know there's I recently found out there's somebody who

668
00:43:09.880 --> 00:43:13.719
does rug weaving, and I'm learning, and I'm like, I

669
00:43:13.800 --> 00:43:16.320
want to take that hat so I can sharpen my skills.

670
00:43:16.719 --> 00:43:19.679
So I think being in the arts is like as

671
00:43:19.800 --> 00:43:23.360
Indigenous people, art and music is like in our DNA.

672
00:43:23.679 --> 00:43:25.840
It's going into.

673
00:43:25.559 --> 00:43:29.400
That because it's healing and you just don't know what's

674
00:43:29.440 --> 00:43:30.400
going to come out of that.

675
00:43:31.719 --> 00:43:35.440
Oh, I tell you I had. I took vacation years ago.

676
00:43:35.880 --> 00:43:38.639
I was going to bring my mother, but she got

677
00:43:38.679 --> 00:43:40.920
ill and wasn't able to travel. But I spent two

678
00:43:40.960 --> 00:43:46.400
weeks there at Navajo and Hope, and then I went

679
00:43:46.519 --> 00:43:50.840
over to New Mexico and oh my gosh, the rugs

680
00:43:51.239 --> 00:43:55.039
are just incredible, Oh my goodness. And then I, you know,

681
00:43:55.679 --> 00:44:00.519
got a lot of turquoise and silver and love the

682
00:44:01.199 --> 00:44:05.679
blue corn flour and making bread from it and corn

683
00:44:05.760 --> 00:44:09.440
bread from it, and and you know, the beans. And

684
00:44:10.079 --> 00:44:14.239
I recently was looking for choke cherries and it's like,

685
00:44:14.320 --> 00:44:18.360
oh my goodness, it was just it's just you know, incredible.

686
00:44:18.639 --> 00:44:18.840
You know.

687
00:44:19.000 --> 00:44:25.480
Right now, a lot of the tribes have their website

688
00:44:25.559 --> 00:44:32.159
where you can take lessons language lessons online, so the

689
00:44:32.599 --> 00:44:35.960
youth can can those that you know don't know the

690
00:44:36.039 --> 00:44:39.679
language can learn the language. A lot of the elders

691
00:44:39.760 --> 00:44:42.840
have gone in and actually written a book. If they

692
00:44:42.880 --> 00:44:45.719
have them on Amazon, then they can get the you

693
00:44:45.760 --> 00:44:50.320
know books that they can take the lessons, but then

694
00:44:50.360 --> 00:44:54.079
they actually have you know, someone actually doing the annunciation

695
00:44:54.400 --> 00:44:56.679
and all of that stuff, so they can learn the

696
00:44:56.760 --> 00:44:59.960
language if they don't have someone who's speaking it, you know,

697
00:45:00.079 --> 00:45:03.519
on a regular basis at home, so they can you know,

698
00:45:03.639 --> 00:45:07.800
capture it. But so they have opportunities now and then

699
00:45:08.159 --> 00:45:10.960
I think in some of the some of the schools

700
00:45:11.360 --> 00:45:15.679
they're taking teaching language also so that they don't lose

701
00:45:16.440 --> 00:45:19.360
you know, the language and part of the culture and

702
00:45:19.360 --> 00:45:20.000
stuff like that.

703
00:45:21.239 --> 00:45:22.920
Yeah, you know, when you're saying that, it made me

704
00:45:22.960 --> 00:45:25.280
think about like when I grew up, right, my my

705
00:45:25.440 --> 00:45:29.039
parents were a part of the relocation they got pulled away.

706
00:45:29.079 --> 00:45:31.920
My mom, I think, when she's seven, got pulled from

707
00:45:31.920 --> 00:45:35.719
her home and was placed in Shemaha Orgon and her

708
00:45:35.880 --> 00:45:38.360
her her history was really rough.

709
00:45:38.599 --> 00:45:41.440
It was not pretty. It was rough.

710
00:45:41.920 --> 00:45:46.159
Her mom died when she was like seven, really young.

711
00:45:46.480 --> 00:45:51.039
So and my dad his his was so different. He

712
00:45:51.159 --> 00:45:53.320
was very culturally he grew up in a very culturally

713
00:45:53.360 --> 00:45:58.480
grounded home, and he got placed in organ not organ

714
00:45:59.000 --> 00:46:02.920
utah Ogden when he was more like, I think in

715
00:46:02.960 --> 00:46:03.760
tenth grade.

716
00:46:03.559 --> 00:46:06.559
Where he started first grade. It was tenth grade.

717
00:46:06.960 --> 00:46:09.440
Anyway, The point of what I'm making here is like

718
00:46:09.760 --> 00:46:14.639
I remember when I was little. I remember my mom

719
00:46:14.679 --> 00:46:19.320
was saying, you're learning English. It's important because she would

720
00:46:19.360 --> 00:46:22.719
get beaten, you know. So those are her stories, and

721
00:46:23.880 --> 00:46:28.079
I'm the next generation. And I realized I spoke pretty

722
00:46:28.079 --> 00:46:30.159
good Navajo when I was growing up. But then when

723
00:46:30.199 --> 00:46:32.239
I went away to college and I don't practice it,

724
00:46:32.239 --> 00:46:36.599
it got really choppy trying to like practice it again

725
00:46:36.639 --> 00:46:39.960
with my mom and again it's like coming back to practice.

726
00:46:40.039 --> 00:46:43.280
And at one point I would blame like, will you

727
00:46:43.320 --> 00:46:46.920
guys blame me my parents? You practice with us, If

728
00:46:46.960 --> 00:46:48.760
you guys talk to us in Navajo, we'd be like

729
00:46:49.000 --> 00:46:50.679
you know, you know, expert.

730
00:46:51.280 --> 00:46:53.599
And then I realize, now I'm at the age where

731
00:46:53.599 --> 00:46:55.760
I'm like, I have no one to blame but myself.

732
00:46:55.880 --> 00:46:59.760
I can learn it. There's tools there. I just practiced it,

733
00:46:59.840 --> 00:47:03.719
and you know, practice with my parents, and there's still hope.

734
00:47:04.159 --> 00:47:08.039
So I leave that with anyone who is learning the

735
00:47:08.280 --> 00:47:11.400
wants to learn the language. There's hope that people out

736
00:47:11.440 --> 00:47:13.360
there who are willing to teach. It's just up to

737
00:47:13.559 --> 00:47:18.320
us to make that decision to incorporate the language back

738
00:47:18.400 --> 00:47:21.440
into our day to day and the songs and the

739
00:47:21.599 --> 00:47:25.079
art and the music and the food. As you were saying,

740
00:47:25.960 --> 00:47:27.840
food is an art, it's medicine.

741
00:47:27.920 --> 00:47:32.239
And so there's so much around us. We have no.

742
00:47:32.239 --> 00:47:37.760
Excuse, right And the thing is what I've after all

743
00:47:37.840 --> 00:47:43.440
these years I've been here in the earth, I realized

744
00:47:43.480 --> 00:47:53.840
that especially Native indigenous peoples, they understand not only the earth,

745
00:47:54.800 --> 00:48:00.440
but the gifts from the earth, the roots, the play ants,

746
00:48:00.840 --> 00:48:07.119
the trees, the leaves, the different parts of plants and things,

747
00:48:07.159 --> 00:48:11.159
the healing that comes from just the nature. This out there.

748
00:48:11.840 --> 00:48:15.400
Not rushing to some doctor and start taking those pharmaceuticals,

749
00:48:15.400 --> 00:48:20.360
but there's medicine in you know, a particular bean or

750
00:48:20.360 --> 00:48:23.679
in a particular root, or in a particular plant, or

751
00:48:24.280 --> 00:48:27.920
And in fact, I was trying to learn it from

752
00:48:28.440 --> 00:48:33.159
a lady from Warm Springs years ago. She helped me

753
00:48:34.320 --> 00:48:38.559
and gave me some advice and roots and things. And

754
00:48:38.639 --> 00:48:41.760
when I had all sort of colitis and I had

755
00:48:41.800 --> 00:48:45.360
been on medication for eighteen years, she gave me this

756
00:48:45.639 --> 00:48:51.480
devil's claw and I never had another episode. And it's

757
00:48:51.480 --> 00:48:54.800
been almost forty years. I've never had another episode. And

758
00:48:54.840 --> 00:49:02.199
it is such a vile disease. And so I practice

759
00:49:02.880 --> 00:49:06.679
teas and roots and plants. I got a pantry full

760
00:49:06.800 --> 00:49:10.679
of that's my medicine cabinet. And I tell the doctors,

761
00:49:11.079 --> 00:49:13.360
don't talk to me about pills. Just tell me what's

762
00:49:13.400 --> 00:49:16.719
the problem is, and I will find something to take

763
00:49:16.920 --> 00:49:19.639
that is going to make my body healthy because I'm

764
00:49:19.679 --> 00:49:21.679
not going to do the pills and all of that

765
00:49:21.719 --> 00:49:24.599
stuff with the side effects again. And so I think,

766
00:49:25.280 --> 00:49:31.280
I think, you know, other cultures are missing out when

767
00:49:31.320 --> 00:49:37.599
we're not communicating between indigenous peoples, you know, from different

768
00:49:37.760 --> 00:49:42.320
you know places, because some know medicines, some know you

769
00:49:42.360 --> 00:49:46.400
know the earth and maybe you know mining or something

770
00:49:46.400 --> 00:49:51.440
like that and doing it without destroying the water. Some

771
00:49:51.559 --> 00:49:54.800
know you know other particular things, and we would be

772
00:49:54.920 --> 00:50:01.719
able to probably be healthier, happier, more sound, more peaceful people.

773
00:50:02.360 --> 00:50:07.599
If we were communicating with each other's cultures, we would

774
00:50:07.639 --> 00:50:10.519
be grasping all of the knowledge and all of the

775
00:50:10.559 --> 00:50:14.159
wisdom of the creator. But you know, there's just been

776
00:50:14.199 --> 00:50:18.280
so many, so many things that have happened. It makes

777
00:50:18.320 --> 00:50:24.679
it very difficult to say you don't have a reason,

778
00:50:25.239 --> 00:50:28.000
you know, to feel the way you feel. Well, okay,

779
00:50:28.559 --> 00:50:31.800
then I'm just gonna understand that you just don't know

780
00:50:31.800 --> 00:50:33.920
what you're talking about. Then maybe I need to tell

781
00:50:33.960 --> 00:50:37.960
you a few stories and then we can talk. But

782
00:50:38.280 --> 00:50:42.320
I think probably, you know, I think all the time,

783
00:50:42.400 --> 00:50:47.039
how can we as individuals and communities, you know, actively

784
00:50:47.559 --> 00:50:54.480
create more inclusiveness without being harmed, and more welcoming and

785
00:50:54.519 --> 00:50:58.559
respectful spaces so that we can all share. We need

786
00:50:58.719 --> 00:50:59.960
to learn from one another.

787
00:51:00.440 --> 00:51:05.639
Yeah, it starts with It starts with themselves. Everybody has

788
00:51:05.639 --> 00:51:09.239
a responsibility in how they show up in whatever spaces

789
00:51:09.280 --> 00:51:12.039
they are, whether it's in a relationship and a home

790
00:51:12.760 --> 00:51:15.960
and a business and a community. It starts with self,

791
00:51:16.519 --> 00:51:21.840
and it starts with people working on themselves. Looking at

792
00:51:21.880 --> 00:51:24.480
the mirror, Like the mirror you know, like looking at

793
00:51:24.519 --> 00:51:28.840
like ooh, I don't like that, right, and accepting who

794
00:51:28.920 --> 00:51:33.360
you are, loving yourself, trying not to beat ourselves up.

795
00:51:33.840 --> 00:51:38.559
You know, heal the past. It's done. So how do

796
00:51:38.639 --> 00:51:39.559
I move from here?

797
00:51:40.119 --> 00:51:40.320
You know?

798
00:51:40.440 --> 00:51:44.519
I all of us have been through heartbreak, oh people,

799
00:51:45.119 --> 00:51:49.840
And but there's learning. Those those relationships were learning, right,

800
00:51:49.920 --> 00:51:52.920
even like we've gone to the next plane.

801
00:51:54.039 --> 00:51:56.079
We have to start with us.

802
00:51:56.480 --> 00:51:59.039
Yes, And I'm going to just read this real quickly

803
00:51:59.719 --> 00:52:02.760
by Richard so here goes.

804
00:52:03.239 --> 00:52:05.039
Creator does not tell us.

805
00:52:05.000 --> 00:52:11.480
Who to love, only that we learn how love is spiritual.

806
00:52:12.000 --> 00:52:15.920
It comes from the spirit place. There is no color there,

807
00:52:16.440 --> 00:52:22.800
no gender, no skin, no history, no time, no right,

808
00:52:23.039 --> 00:52:28.760
no wrong, no better, no best, and certainly no politics.

809
00:52:29.360 --> 00:52:32.239
Is a place of pure love. It is our common home,

810
00:52:32.320 --> 00:52:35.920
and we all return to it someday. So it's our

811
00:52:36.079 --> 00:52:37.320
soul's mission.

812
00:52:37.039 --> 00:52:38.039
To learn love.

813
00:52:38.599 --> 00:52:41.639
Remember that we spring from love, and houl your loved

814
00:52:41.639 --> 00:52:45.079
ones close. When you trust your life to Creator and

815
00:52:45.159 --> 00:52:49.159
become willing to take the next indicated step, all matter

816
00:52:49.280 --> 00:52:53.960
of miracles become possible. I remain in slack jaw wonder

817
00:52:54.119 --> 00:52:56.400
at the richness of my life.

818
00:52:56.599 --> 00:53:01.320
Oh that's a beautiful poem, and that is the last

819
00:53:01.360 --> 00:53:04.639
word to close our show. Thank you so much for

820
00:53:04.679 --> 00:53:08.159
being with us today, Vicki, and thank you everyone that

821
00:53:08.360 --> 00:53:12.400
tuned in, and please join us again next week at

822
00:53:12.519 --> 00:53:16.280
eleven am Eastern time eight am Pacific time at a

823
00:53:16.480 --> 00:53:24.599
Sharp Outlook and whatever you do, stay informed. I want

824
00:53:24.679 --> 00:53:27.320
to thank you for joining us on a Sharp Outlook.

825
00:53:27.800 --> 00:53:31.159
We have been informed and energized to take the next steps.

826
00:53:31.639 --> 00:53:35.159
We have posted links to websites and videos to learn

827
00:53:35.239 --> 00:53:38.880
more on today's topic. Please join us again next week

828
00:53:39.199 --> 00:53:43.320
for another thought provoking conversation right here on key for

829
00:53:43.800 --> 00:53:48.320
HD Radio and Talk for TV. Listen to the podcast

830
00:53:48.480 --> 00:53:54.000
on all the podcast apps, and until next week, stay informed.