5 Plain Questions

Chris Pappan is an enrolled member of the Kaw Nation and honors his Osage and Lakota heritage. His cited artistic influences are the Lowbrow art movement, Heavy Metal and Juxtapoz magazines, and taps into the American cultural roots of 1970s underground comics, punk, and hot rod cultures. His art literally reflects the dominant culture's distorted perceptions of Native peoples and is based on the Plains Native art tradition known as Ledger Art. A graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe and a nationally recognized painter and ledger artist, Chris' work is in numerous museums such as the National Museum of the American Indian, Washington D.C.; the Tia collection in Santa Fe NM and the Speed Museum of Art in Louisville KY among many other important collections both nationally and internationally. He is represented by Blue Rain Gallery in Santa Fe NM. Chris is currently a board member of the Illinois State Museum and is a co-founder of the Center for Native Futures, a Native American gallery and studio space in Chicago's Loop. He lives and works in Chicago with his wife Debra Yepa-Pappan, and their daughter Ji Hae. headshot photo by Tran Tran Website: http://chrispappan.com/ Center for Native Futures Website: https://www.centerfornativefutures.org/ Unbound: Narrative Art of the Plains https://americanindian.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/item?id=1005

Kahstoserakwathe Paulette Moore is an independent filmmaker and Kanyen'kehà:ka (Mohawk) citizen. She is the founder of The Aunties Dandelion media organization which is focused on revitalizing communities through stories of land, language, and relationships. She spent 15 years in Washington, DC creating films for National Geographic, Discovery Channel, and others. And she a fluent Mohawk speaker (ACTFL Intermediate High). Website: https://www.theauntiesdandelion.com/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4XI2I2r58vb2kVXRr5mKWb LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kahstoserakwathe/

5 Plain Questions returns Wednesday, September 4th. New guests and old friends return.

Joe is back with an update on season.

Secretary Deb Haaland made history when she became the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary. She is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and a 35th generation New Mexican. Secretary Haaland grew up in a military family; her father was a 30-year combat Marine who was awarded the Silver Star Medal for saving six lives in Vietnam, and her mother is a Navy veteran who served as a federal employee for 25 years at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. As a military child, she attended 13 public schools before graduating from Highland High School in Albuquerque. As a single mother, Secretary Haaland volunteered at her child's pre-school to afford early childhood education. Like many parents, she had to rely on food stamps at times as a single parent, lived paycheck-to-paycheck, and struggled to put herself through college. At the age of 28, Haaland enrolled at the University of New Mexico (UNM) where she earned a Bachelor's degree in English and later earned her J.D. from UNM Law School. Secretary Haaland and her child, who also graduated from the University of New Mexico, are still paying off student loans. Secretary Haaland ran her own small business producing and canning Pueblo Salsa, served as a tribal administrator at San Felipe Pueblo, and became the first woman elected to the Laguna Development Corporation Board of Directors, overseeing business operations of the second largest tribal gaming enterprise in New Mexico. She successfully advocated for the Laguna Development Corporation to create policies and commitments to environmentally friendly business practices. Throughout her career in public service, Secretary Haaland has broken barriers and opened the doors of opportunity for future generations. After running for New Mexico Lieutenant Governor in 2014, Secretary Haaland became the first Native American woman to be elected to lead a State Party. She is one of the first Native American women to serve in Congress. In Congress, she focused on environmental justice, climate change, missing and murdered indigenous women, and family-friendly policies.

Chief Arvol Looking was born on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. His primary responsibility is serving as the 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe – a role he was given at the age of twelve making him the youngest pipe keeper in Lakota history. As keeper of the sacred Pipe he also serves as the spiritual leader to the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota Nation and advocates for the restoration of the Lakota Nation's rights to the Black Hills—as guaranteed by the 1868 Laramie Treaty. He grew up in an era of religious suppression, where traditional Lakota ceremonies were outlawed in both the US and Canada from the early 1900's until the Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1978. His family was forced to hold Sundance, sweatlodge, vision quests, and healing ceremonies underground for fear of arrest by the police. Arvol's advocacy of environmental and Indigenous rights and issues has been recognized globally as a recipient of the Wolf Award of Canada, the Juliet Hollister Award, a Non-Governmental Organization with Consultation Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. He is also the author of White Buffalo Teachings and a guest columnist for Indian Country Today. Since 1990, Arvol has also devoted himself to facilitate healing to all people and cultures through several sacred Prayer Rides on Horseback including The Annual Wintertime Chief Bigfoot Memorial Ride to Wounded Knee in order to mend the Sacred Hoop that was broken during the Massacre in 1890, The Unity Ride from B.C. to Six Nations in the early 2000s whose purpose was to heal historical trauma through the land and animals, and since 2005, he has supported and participated on the Dakota 38 Ride that takes place every December from South Dakota to Mankato, Minnesota to honor the memory of the 38 + 2 Dakota men who died under order of President Abraham Lincoln the Day after Christmas in 1862 in what was the largest mass hanging in U.S. history.

Jewelry making has been a Reano family tradition for over a century. The Reano family legacy started with Jose Isidro Reano and Clara Lovato Reano. Janie Reano is proudly carrying on tradition. Clara introduced her to jewelry making by teaching her to cut olivella shells to create heishe beads. Then progressing to various stones and shells. Eventually, how to grind, sand and polish the beads. Years later, Janie would expand her skills under her Aunt Angie Owen. Learning the skills at creating mosaic jewelry. In 2016, Janie branched out at making her own style of jewelry. The influence of living in "Green" Oregon gave her the idea to recycle the left-over material used in creating necklaces and mosaic inlay. Janie recycled the material by drilling each small piece then tumbling them for several weeks. Then, 'stringing' up beads using sterling silver wire. The jewelry was debuted at the SWAIA Winter Market 2016. These days Janie collaborates with her mother, Rose Reano. She sells her jewelry year-round at the Palace of Governors in downtown Santa Fe and online at www.kewaparrotjewelry.com . She also participates at SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market and Eiteljorg Indian Market and Festival in Indianapolis Indiana.

Brandon Baity is the Interim Executive Director of the Indigenous Association in Fargo, ND. He is originally from the Twin Cities and moved to the area in 2018. He is a descendant of the White Earth Nation, where his Father and Grandmother grew up. Brandon received his undergraduate degree in social work from the College of Saint Scholastica. He is deeply committed to community organizing, art, music, and learning more about his Anishinaabe culture and language and providing opportunities for other Indigenous community members to learn or teach about their culture. He was a founding board member of the Indigenous Association, and has worked toward the organization's goal of uniting, connecting, and strengthening the Indigenous community in the Fargo/Moorhead region since its inception in 2020. Indigenous Association website: https://www.indgns.org/

Cara Romero, born 1977 (Chemehuevi/ American) In a fine art photographic practice that blends documentary and commercial aesthetics, Cara Romero (Chemehuevi Indian Tribe) creates stories that draw from intertribal knowledge to expose the fissures and fusions of Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultural memory, collective history, and futurity. Romero has held solo exhibitions in the US, UK, and Germany. Her recent group exhibitions include Our Selves: Photographs by Women Photographers at the Museum of Modern Art and Water Memories at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (2022). Her public art projects include #TONGVALAND presented in Los Angeles by NDN Collective (2021); Restoration: Now or Never with Save Art Space in London (2020), and Desert X in the Coachella Valley (2019).  Widely collected, Romero's photographs are in private and public collections including those at the Denver Art Museum, the Peabody Essex Museum, The Hood Museum, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the MoMA, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the MET. Romero was raised between the rural Chemehuevi reservation in California's Mojave Desert and the urban sprawl of Houston. She is based in Santa Fe.

Monica Rickert-Bolter is a Chicago-based visual artist of Potawatomi and Black heritage. Her artwork uses traditional mediums, such as charcoal and pastels, graphic design, and digital coloring to create expressive characters and tell diverse stories. After her undergrad, Monica became involved with Native nonprofits, combining her love of art and education to develop youth programs and resources, including illustrating children's books. She advocates for cultural representation and serves as a consultant for various institutions and organizations. Monica is a co-founder and the Director of Operations at the Center for Native Futures, a Native fine arts gallery that opened in September 2023. Currently, her artwork is featured in exhibitions at The National Museum of the American Indian, The Field Museum, the University of North Carolina Stone Center. Also, she will be collaborating on a public art piece with the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights. Websites: https://www.monicarickertbolter.com/ Center For Native Futures https://www.centerfornativefutures.org/

Cray Bauxmont-Flynn is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and Delaware Tribe of Indians, with ancestral ties to the Wyandotte, Mohawk, Muscogee Creek, and Chickasaw tribes. He currently serves as the Interim Executive Director of the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum, where he has been involved as a Board member and recently as Vice-President.   In addition to his involvement in the arts, Cray runs his own interior design firm “Amatoya” and launched his own furniture collection inspired by his Native American heritage and culture, five years ago. In addition - Cray is also host of two podcast shows, one being "Beyond the Art," which is dedicated to the Native American art world. It provides a platform for Native American creative visionaries to share their personal stories and journeys. The other podcast – “Beyond the Design” is focused on the design industry and its various sectors..as Cray calls it the left side of his brain, fulfilling all aspects of his interest and passions.

Debra Yepa-Pappan (Jemez Pueblo/Korean) is a visual artist and co-founding director of exhibitions and programs at the Center for Native Futures (CfNF), a dynamic contemporary art space in the heart of Chicago dedicated to Native artists. Through her artwork and her work at CfNF she is committed to advocating for positive representations of Native people, and providing a safe and welcoming environment for Native artists to gather, exhibit, and be in community with each other. Website: https://www.centerfornativefutures.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/centernativefutures/ https://www.instagram.com/yepapappan/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/centernativefutures https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=debra%20yepa-pappan

Contemporary Native American artist Kent Estey is an enrolled member of the White Earth Nation of Ojibwe in Northwestern Minnesota. Kent's lineage includes many self-taught artists where black-ash basketry, beading, birch-bark, and fiber artistry were everyday occurrences in his home. Kent's preferred art form is painting with oils, acrylics, and inks. His paintings reflect feelings and emotions through his use of color and movement on the canvas. Kent says, “a lot of the time, the art happens by listening to my feelings. The colors, movement, and elements fall into place, creating something beautiful and intimately meaningful.” Some of his most recent work incorporates rock, metal, and collage on canvas and board. Kent's work has been exhibited in Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Bemidji, Grand Rapids, Duluth, Wahpeton, North Dakota, and other regional exhibitions and galleries in Minnesota. Most recently, Kent was awarded the Region 2 Arts Council Artist Fellowship for 2023-2024 and is serving as board chair of the Manoomin Arts Initiative on the White Earth Reservation. Kent has been an educator for most of his life, living and working in his hometown of Naytahwaush, Minnesota. Photo Credit: Jeremy Simonson

This year 5 Scary Questions returns with stories from Kevin Pourier, Tina Tavera, Jeffrey Gibson, Princess Johnson, Candace Stock, Jonathon Thunder, Kalyan Fay Barnoski, Anita Fields, Erin Shaw, Orlando Dugi, Roman Zaragoza, Tom Jones II, Wendy Red Star, Tai LaClaire, Bobby Wilson, Dr. Hollie Mackey, Avis Charley, Janie Reano, Michaela Shirley, John Hitchcock, Cray Bauxmont-Flynn, Debra Yepa Pappan, John Isiah Ppepion, Whitney Johnson, Arik Williams, and Melanie Yazzie.

Just an update on the Halloween stories.

Michaela Paulette Shirley (Diné), MCRP, is Water Edge clan, born for Bitter Water clan, her maternal grandpa is Salt clan, and her paternal grandpa is Coyote Pass clan. She is a program manager for the Indigenous Design and Planning Institute at University of New Mexico. Michaela is a PhD student in the UNM American Studies Department. Her areas of expertise include urban planning, community development, and Indigenous planning, with research interests in community-school relationships, biographies of landscape, Diné studies, critical Indigenous studies, critical regional studies, and hemispheric Indigenous comparative studies. Michaela presents at conferences offering keynotes, leading workshops/community engagement activities, conducting content analysis of community engagement work, and serves on conference committees as needed. She has published about Indigenous planning, creative placemaking/PlaceKnowing, and Diné-centered arts management. Michaela's served 5 years as a School Board Member with the Dził Ditł'ooí School of Empowerment, Action, and Perseverance, a steering committee member of the Planners Network, committee member of the National Tribal Brownfields Networking Group, and co-founder of an artist giving circle, Vital Little Plans. Links: http://idpi.unm.edu/about/people/michaela-shirley.html LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaela-shirley-872760b3

Due to technical issues we are unable to post our episode this week. Stay tuned for the Halloween specials coming up in the next few weeks, and an announcement from host Joe Williams in the coming weeks.

Avis Charley (Spirit Lake Dakota / Diné) is a visual artist born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She earned her BFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Charley is a ledger artist and figurative painter chronicling the evolving Native American identity from pre-reservation period to the present day, from ancestral homelands to the contemporary urban context. Ledger art was Charley's first art form, as she values bringing a woman's perspective into a male-dominated art form. In time, Charley transitioned to oil paintings, centering Indigenous women within modern settings, reflecting the vibrancy of her people's culture. She creates work for future generations as she captures recent stories and experiences. Charley's work is in the permanent collections of the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Minneapolis Institute of Art, and Museum of Contemporary Native American Art.

Larissa FastHorse (Sicangu Lakota Nation) is an award winning writer and 2020-2025 MacArthur Fellow. Her satirical comedy, The Thanksgiving Play, made her the first known female Native American playwright on Broadway at the Helen Hayes under the direction of Rachel Chavkin. Her new plays in 2023 are Wicoun (Cornerstone Theater Company), Democracy Project (Federal Hall), Fake It Until You Make It (CTG Mark Taper Forum), For the People (Guthrie), and the national tour of Peter Pan (Networks). Selected past plays include What Would Crazy Horse Do? (KCRep), Landless and Cow Pie Bingo (AlterTheater), Average Family (Children's Theater Company of Minneapolis), Teaching Disco Squaredancing to Our Elders: a Class Presentation (Native Voices at the Autry), as well as numerous productions of The Thanksgiving Play, making it one of the most produced plays in America. Larissa created the nationally recognized trilogy of community engaged theatrical experiences with Cornerstone Theater Company; Urban Rez, Native Nation, and Wicoun. She and her collaborator, Michael John Garcés, spend years on each project in an Indigenized community engagement process. “The engagement itself is the art form.” These projects have earned them national funding and an appointment to Arizona State University. Larissa's company with Ty Defoe, Indigenous Direction, recently produced the first land acknowledgement on national television for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC and continues to consult for them. They also consult for the largest theater organizations in the country. Larissa also writes in film and television, most recently as a creator for NBC, Disney Channel, Dreamworks, Muse, Netflix and others. She is based in Los Angeles with her husband, the sculptor Edd Hogan, and represented by Jonathan Mills at Paradigm NY. She is especially honored to follow in the footsteps of the last known Native American playwright on Broadway, Lynn Riggs. Photo credit: Conor Horgan Website: http://www.hoganhorsestudio.com/ https://www.guthrietheater.org/shows-and-tickets/2023-2024-season/for-the-people/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/larissafasthorse/

Dr. Hollie Mackey (Northern Cheyenne) is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at North Dakota State University. She recently served as the Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Native Americans and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities. Her scholarship empirically examines the effects of structural inequity in Indigenous and other marginalized populations in educational leadership, law, and public policy using multiple critical frameworks and methodologies. As an experienced policy consultant, public speaker, program evaluator, and community educator, she seeks to use her experiential knowledge as an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne nation coupled with her research, teaching, and service experience to bridge theory and practice as a means of addressing complex social issues from an interdisciplinary perspective. Dr. Mackey holds degrees from Montana State University-Billings (BS, MS), University of Oklahoma (MLS), and Pennsylvania State University (Ph.D.). Website: https://holliemackey.com

Bobby “Dues” Wilson is a Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota artist, dad, and comedian based in Phoenix, Arizona. Bobby was born and raised in the Twin Cities, back when you could still smoke at Ember's Family Restaurant. Bobby's family bounced around motels, apartments, Powwows and shelters through his childhood but there's an olde saying amongst the Siouxan nations: shit happens. Wilson attended the Creative Arts High School where his interests in painting and poetry were heavily encouraged. He participated in youth art programs COMPAS arts in St. Paul, then rode the 16 (94 if you're cashy) to Minneapolis where he trained mural painting like a champ under Roger and Peyton at Juxtaposition Arts. He painted several murals around the Twin Cities and enough graffiti to catch a couple cases. His visual art work can still be seen at the Minnesota Historical Society (I think) and the Chippewa Tribes building on Franklin.  After some heavy life changes that we won't get into it here (go watch Smoke Signals or something), Bobby found himself alongside the 1491s comedy troupe, traveling all accrosst Indian Country making fun of himself for money. Now Bobby works as a writer/producer on television series like Rutherford Falls, Echo (some MCU stuff?), and the Peabody award winning series, Reservation Dogs. He lives with his family, surrounded by the O'odham nations and urban Navajos who make really good tortillas! Did you know O'odham homies call frybread, “popovers?!” What even is that?!

Migizi Pensoneau is a citizen of the Ponca and Red Lake Nations. He was born and raised in Minnesota and attended school at Wesleyan University and received his MFA in Screenwriting at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe NM. Migizi is screenwriter, actor, writer, and producer for film and television, with work for Barkskins, Rutherford Falls, and Reservation Dogs and a founding member of the legendary comedy troop the 1491s. In this conversation we explore his influences and his story from the discovery comedy and B-movies with his brother to the work he is doing today. Support the Writers Guild of America: https://www.wgacontract2023.org/strike-hub

Taietsarón:sere ‘Tai' Leclaire is a Native American actor, comedian, writer. His short film HEADDRESS that he wrote, directed, and starred in premiered at the 2023 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL. He was a Story Editor and actor on the NBC comedy series RUTHERFORD FALLS by Mike Schur, Ed Helms, and Sierra Teller-Ornelas. Tai has been selected as a member of the 2022 Sundance Native Lab and was recently awarded The Indigenous list in Partnership with The Black List. He is a former house performer at Upright Citizen's Brigade Theatre. He's also performed at festivals around the country. Links: https://www.wgacontract2023.org/strike-hub https://www.headdressfilm.com/ Website: https://www.taileclaire.com/

Raised on the Apsáalooke (Crow) reservation in Montana, Wendy Red Star's work is informed both by her cultural heritage and her engagement with many forms of creative expression, including photography, sculpture, video, fiber arts, and performance. An avid researcher of archives and historical narratives, Red Star seeks to incorporate and recast her research, offering new and unexpected perspectives in work that is at once inquisitive, witty and unsettling. Red Star holds a BFA from Montana State University, Bozeman, and an MFA in sculpture from University of California, Los Angeles. She lives and works in Portland, OR.

Hunter C. Old Elk (Crow & Yakama) is the Assistant Curator for the Plains Indian Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wy. Through curation, exhibition development, and teaching, she elevates Indigenous voices in museums and academia. A graduate student at Johns Hopkins University in Cultural Heritage Management, Old Elk holds a BA in history from Mount St. Mary's University in Maryland.

Richard West, Jr. is a founding director and Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian. Richard West is a citizen of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes and a Peace Chief of the Southern Cheyenne. He is also a 2021 inductee in the National Native American Hall of Fame. Prior to his time as the Director of the NMAI and the Autry Museum of the American West, he was an attorney in both New Mexico and Washington D.C. As of 2011 he has served on the board of the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, & Museums. His devotion to community and his incredible vision for leadership has been an inspiration to generations of Native American leaders…and the host of this podcast.

Tom Jones is an artist, curator, writer, and educator, where he is the professor of photography at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master of Fine Arts in Photography and a Master of Arts in Museum Studies from Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois.   Jones' artwork is a commentary on identity, experience and perception of American Indian communities.  For the past 25 years he has worked an ongoing photographic essay on his tribe, the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin.  His current work Strong Unrelenting Spirits are portraits of tribal members, which incorporates beadwork directly onto the photographs.   Jones co-authored the book “People of the Big Voice, Photographs of Ho-Chunk Families by Charles Van Schaick, 1879-1943.”  He is the co-curator for the exhibition and contributing author to the book, “For a Love of His People: The Photography of Horace Poolaw” for the National Museum of the American Indian. His current book project is dedicated to Ho-Chunk baskets and their makers.   His artwork is in forty public collections, most notably:  The National Museum of the American Indian, Polaroid Corporation, Sprint Corporation, The Nerman Museum, The Minneapolis Institute of Art, The Museum of Contemporary of Native Arts, The Museum of Contemporary Photography, and Microsoft.

We are on a summer break until June 7th with Tome Jones II and back full time on July 5th with all new episodes to ride us through Season 4. And stay tuned, as HUGE episodes are coming.

Actor, director, & producer Román Zaragoza currently stars in CBS' award nominated comedy series “Ghosts.” Zaragoza instantly became a fan favorite as Sasappis, a blunt troublemaker who tries to fill eternity by having a little fun & creating some drama. The series debuted on CBS in October 2021 to critical acclaim, with media calling it “charming” (Paste Magazine), stating that a “CBS comedy about the diverse spirits haunting an upstate manor is scary good” (The Wall Street Journal) & declaring that “it's a superb cast full of fresh faces dropping quotable one-liners left & right” (TVLine). The Television Critics Association Awards also h&ed the comedy two nominations: Outst&ing New Program, & Outst&ing Achievement in Comedy in 2022. “Ghosts” premiered season two on September 29, 2022. In film Zaragoza serves as a producer on the short “This Is Their Land,” which premiered at the Dances with Films Festival in New York City on December 2, 2022. The film takes place during the Modoc War of 1872-73, follows the brave Modoc Civic Leader Captain Jack as he negotiates for peace in his homeland against the U.S. army, & the sacrifices he makes for the sake of his people. “This Is Their Land” is currently on the festival circuit. As a director Zaragoza most recently co-directed a music video entitled “Change Your Name” for artist Raye Zaragoza, one of his two sisters, which was inspired by their mother's life & the intersectionality of changing names during the immigration process. Born in New York City, Zaragoza was raised in a melting pot of culture. He identifies as mixed race, being of Akimel O'otham & Mexican descent on his father's side & Japanese & Taiwanese descent on his mother's side. His father, acclaimed actor Gregory Zaragoza & mother, college business professor Shirley supported Zaragoza's love for the arts from a very young age, with one of his earliest childhood memories spending time backstage watching his father star in the 1999 Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun, alongside the legendary Bernadette Peters. Zaragoza & his family moved to Hell's Kitchen when he was nine, where he would take the subway to school & pass by all of the major Broadway shows, which would become a huge influence on his future career. By the time Zaragoza turned eleven, his parents moved the family to the west coast, settling in southern California where he continued taking acting, dance, singing, & improv lessons. When Zaragoza was fifteen, he began working with Native Voices at the Autry, the only Equity Native American Theatre company. It was there that he met his mentor, R&y Reinholz, who made an influential impact on Zaragoza's life as well his show “Off the Rails” at Native Voices which was later selected to go to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Zaragoza attended Cal State University Northridge where he graduated with a degree in Film Production. He is a proud member of CSUN's American Indian Student Association & continues his involvement post-graduation. While in college, he took time to go work with the prestigious Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF - 2017, 2018, 2019) where he was able to further hone his craft. Zaragoza notes that his time working with the company aided in discovering more about his identity, specifically his racial identity, bringing characters to life that were a vessel for Native, Asian, & mixed identities. Upon graduation & finishing his time with OSF, Zaragoza landed his biggest role to date, starring on CBS' “Ghosts.” Zaragoza writes essays & poetry focusing on mixed representation in film, television, & theatre. On the charity front Zaragoza has supported a h&ful of organizations over the years including Seeding Sovereignty, Black Lives Matter, Return to the Heart Foundation, & IllumiNative, an initiative created & led by Natives to challenge the negative narrative that surrounds Native communities & ensure accurate & authentic portrayals of Native communities are present in pop culture & media.

Orlando Dugi is a Dine fashion designer based out of Santa Fe New Mexico. Self taught and incredibly driven   ORLANDO DUGI is a made-to-order fashion brand located in Santa Fe, New Mexico and lead by designer, Orlando Dugi himself. Dugi's designs are elegant, timeless, and intricate, often involving many hours of hand-embroidery and embellishing.   Dugi's been exhibited at the Denver Art Museum, Wheelwright Museum, Museum of Indian Arts and Culture amongst others. He has received numerous awards and recognition at places like the SWAIA, and Cherokee Art Show, Heard Museum Guild Art Show.   This podcast is hosted in part by First American Art Magazine, the leading journal of Native arts, which is celebrating its 10-year anniversary covering ancestral, historical, and living arts by Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Website: https://orlandodugi.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/orlandodugi/?hl=en Twitter: https://twitter.com/orlandodugi?lang=en

Gerald Cournoyer: Sending A Voice through September 30th, 2023 https://plainsart.org/exhibitions/gerald-cournoyer/ Northern Plains Summer Art Institute 2023 applications due May 1st 2023 https://plainsart.org/northern-plains-summer-art-institute-2023/ Indigenous Art Fair Saturday, May 13th, 2023

After moving from Mexico City to the United States, Xavier Tavera learned what it felt like to be part of a subculture- the immigrant community. Subjected to alienation has transformed the focus of his photographs to share the lives of those who are marginalized. Images have offered insight into the diversity of numerous communities and given a voice to those who are often invisible. Tavera has shown his work extensively in the Twin Cities, nationally and internationally including Germany, Scotland, Mexico, Chile, Uruguay and China. His work is part of the collections of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Plaines Art Museum, Minnesota Museum of American Art, Minnesota History Center, Ramsey County Historical Society and the Weisman Art Museum. He is a recipient of the McKnight fellowship, Jerome Travel award, State Arts Board, and Bronica scholarship. Website: https://www.xaviertavera.com/

Erin Shaw is a painter of borderlands, the spaces between worlds. As a visual storyteller, the child of an Oklahoma farm, Shaw tills the rich soil of dichotomy through her masterful uses of color, iconography, and story. As a Chickasaw-Choctaw artist, she creates in a state of tension, suspended between two worlds where both solemnity and humor pervade her art. She finds that truths are revealed in unanticipated ways, and trickster often appears throughout her work. The artist earned her BFA in studio art from Baylor University and her MFA from the University of Oklahoma. She is Assistant Professor of Visual Arts at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, AR, an international speaker, and a featured artist in Visual Voices: Contemporary Chickasaw Art, among other exhibits in the U.S.

Born in Oklahoma, Anita Fields is a contemporary Native American multi-disciplinary artist of Osage heritage. She is known for her works which combine clay and textile with Osage knowledge systems. Fields explores the intricacies of cultural influences at the intersections of balance and chaos found within our existence, explaining that “The power of transformation is realized by creating various forms of clothing, coverings, landscapes, and figures. The works become indicators of how we understand our surroundings and visualize our place within the world.” In this way, the early Osage concepts of duality, such as earth and sky, male and female, are represented throughout her work. Her sculptures have been featured in many solo and group exhibitions, including the 2020-2021 Weaving History Into Art; The Enduring Legacy of Shan Goshorn, Gilcrease Museum, Form and Relation: Contemporary Native Ceramics, Hood Museum, Dartmouth College, the 2018-2020 Hearts of Our People, Minneapolis Institute of Art, and the 2018 Art for A New Understanding: Native Voices, 1950's to Now at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Her work was also included Who Stole the Teepee? at the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian, New York, and the 1997 Legacy of Generations: Pottery by American Indian Women at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC., Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Arkansas. Her work can be found in several collections, such as the Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian, the Museum of Art and Design, New York City, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, and the Heard Museum, Arizona. Fields was a 2017-2019 fellow with the Kaiser Foundation Tulsa Artist Fellowship program and is currently a 2020-2023 Tulsa Artist Fellowship Integrated Arts Grant awardee. Fields was the invited artist for the 2021 Eiteljorg Museum of Contemporary Art Fellowship. Fields was recently named a 2021 National Endowment of the Arts Heritage Fellow and a 2021 Anonymous Was A Woman award. In 2022 she received a Francis J Greenburger award. Website: https://www.anitafieldsart.com/about

Princess Daazhraii Johnson (Neet'saii Gwich'in) is a writer/director/producer/actor living on the traditional territory of lower Tanana Dene lands in Alaska. She is humbled to build upon the work of so many other Indigenous creatives that have helped break trail for authentic representation in media. She is a Sundance Film Alum, a Nia Tero Storytelling Fellow, and Emmy-nominated writer and former creative producer for the Peabody award-winning PBS Kids series "Molly of Denali". Her short Gwich'in language film "Diiyeghan naii Taii Tr'eedaa", was named one of the 'brightest starts' at ImaginNative Film Festival and can be viewed at Reciprocity.org. She is currently in development for her first feature length film through her production company, Deenaadài Productions. Reciprocity.org Molly of Denali https://pbskids.org/molly

Kalyn Fay Barnoski (b. 1990, Cherokee Nation enrollee, Muscogee Creek descent) is an interdisciplinary artist, musician, curator, and educator from Oklahoma. Centering Indigenous and decolonial methodologies, their work focuses on self-location, community-building, collaboration, and empathy through the use of music, publication, storytelling, and contemporary craft.  In every endeavor, they see their practice as a way to find the ways in which we all intersect and to build bridges of understanding between. Their practice is “for you, for me, for us, for we.”  Kalyn Fay Barnoski holds an M.F.A. from University of Arkansas (2021),  an M.A. from The University of Tulsa (2016), and a B.F.A. from Rogers State University (2012). Kalyn has worked with Peabody Essex Museum, Philbrook Museum of Art, Gilcrease Museum, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, The Momentary, Eiteljorg Museum, along with others, and performed, exhibited, and facilitated workshops both nationally and internationally. Links: Websites: https://www.kalynfay.com/ https://www.kalynbarnoski.com/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2ojhmBnnR44AHdtGGK8f9q  Bandcamp: https://kalynfay.bandcamp.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/kalynfay/?hl=en

Diana is the Executive Director of the National Indian Education Association out of Washington DC. Through her passion and enthusiasm for supporting Native students, Diana has been a key driver in expanding NIEA's work beyond the halls of the U.S. Capitol to communities across Indian Country. She has helped shaped broader teacher hiring initiatives, created more opportunities for visits to tribal communities, acquired millions in grant funding for NIEA, testified before the US Congress in support of Native education, and inspired professional trust and collaboration among staff, colleagues, organizations and Native nations across the country. Her work has ensured that Native students have the best possible outcomes and educators have the best possible resources to support their efforts. Cournoyer directs the staff in carrying out the organization's Strategic Plan which includes: Advocacy; Building Tribal Education Capacity; Culture Based Education; Skilled Teachers and Leaders; Establishing Educational Standards, Assessments, and Accountability; and Post-Secondary Success.

Jonathan Thunder (b. 1977) Thunder infuses his personal lens with real-time world experiences using a wide range of mediums. He is known for his surreal paintings, digitally animated films and installations in which he addresses subject matter of personal experience and social commentary. Jonathan is an enrolled member of the Red Lake Band of Ojibwe, and makes his home and studio in Duluth, MN. He has attended the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, NM and studied Visual Effects and Motion Graphics in Minneapolis, MN at the Art Institute International. His work has been featured in many states, regional, and national exhibitions, as well as in local and international publications. Thunder is the recipient of a 2020-21 Pollock – Krasner Foundation Award for his risk taking in painting. Since his first solo exhibit in 2004, he has won several awards for his short films in national and international competitions. His painting and digital work is in the permanent collections of multiple Museums and Universities. thunderfineart.com www.instagram.com/jonthunder/ www.facebook.com/JonathanThunder/

Chef Candace was born in Minnesota and lived on the white earth reservation until she moved out east with her mother in 2005. Finishing her culinary education at the Culinary Institute of America she has worked her way down the east coast and is now home in Fargo ND. She move back to the Midwest to be close to family and her culture. Candace moved home to share her passion for food and agriculture and hopefully be a support to those who aim to do the same. BernBaum's Website: https://www.bernbaums.com/

(From the Stephen Friedman Gallery) Jeffrey Gibson's work fuses his Choctaw-Cherokee heritage and experience of living in Europe, Asia and the US with references that span club culture, queer theory, fashion, politics, literature and art history. The artist's multi-faceted practice incorporates painting, performance, sculpture, textiles and video, characterised by vibrant colour and pattern. Gibson was born in 1972, Colorado, USA and he currently lives and works in Hudson Valley, New York. The artist combines intricate indigenous artisanal handcraft – such as beadwork, leatherwork and quilting – with narratives of contemporary resistance in protest slogans and song lyrics. This “blend of confrontation and pageantry” is reinforced by what Felicia Feaster describes as a “sense of movement and performance as if these objects ... are costumes waiting for a dancer to inhabit them.” The artist harnesses the power of such materials and techniques to activate overlooked narratives, while embracing the presence of historically marginalised identities. Gibson explains: “I am drawn to these materials because they acknowledge the global world. Historically, beads often came from Italy, the Czech Republic or Poland, and contemporary beads can also come from India, China and Japan. Jingles originated as the lids of tobacco and snuff tins, turned and used to adorn dresses, but now they are commercially made in places such as Taiwan. Metal studs also have trade references and originally may have come from the Spanish, but also have modern references to punk and DIY culture. It's a continual mash-up.” Acknowledging music as a key element in his experience of life as an artist, pop music became one of the primary points of reference in Gibson's practice: musicians became his elders and lyrics became his mantras. Recent paintings synthesise geometric patterns inspired by indigenous American artefacts with the lyrics and psychedelic palette of disco music. Links: Instagram: @jeffrune Websites: https://www.jeffreygibson.net/ Portland Art Museum: https://portlandartmuseum.org/exhibitions/jeffrey-gibson-they-come-from-fire/

Minneapolis-based artist, Maria Cristina (Tina) Tavera investigates the constructions of racial, ethnic, gender, national and cultural identity via numerous mediums including printmaking, installation, and public art. Tavera is a dual citizen with Mexico and the United States. Her artwork focuses on the Latinidad within the United States by examining cultural signifiers determined by our society on how people define themselves and their cultures in everyday life. Tavera holds a Master of Leadership in the Arts from the Humphrey School and a BA in Spanish and BA in Latin American Studies from the University of Minnesota. She has received fellowships and grants: McKnight Visual Artist Fellowship, Bush Leadership Fellowship, Shannon Leadership Institute, Smithsonian Latino Museum Studies program, Museum of Modern Art-New York, Forecast Public Art, Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council (MRAC), and Institute of Mexicans Abroad (IME). Tavera has exhibited nationally and internationally, and artwork can be found in the collections of the City of Minneapolis Public Art, Weisman Art Museum, Fargo Plains Art Museum, Oglethorpe Museum, Tweed Museum of Art, Minnesota History Center, and the Biblioteca Central de Cantabria, Santander, Spain. Her writings have been published by the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, as well as in a book titled, Mexican Pulp Art. Website: https://www.mariacristinatavera.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/tina.tavera/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tina.tavera/ Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Cristina_Tavera

Kevin Pourier is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, has been carving Buffalo horn on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota for about 20 years. Pourier is one of the only artists in the country working in the medium of incised buffalo horn. The works he produces carry forward Lakota artistic practices for creating spoons, vessels and other every day items of sublime beauty from the horns of the revered animal. His carvings reveal the beauty he sees in the world around us, utilizing imagery intent on inspiring thought, growth and creating the opportunity for education. Kevin's award winning art has been collected by major museums and private collections worldwide. His work has been shown in Paris, New York City, Los Angeles, Denver and Kansas City. He is the recent recipient of the prestigious Best of Show Award at the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts show held annually at Santa Fe, NM 2018. Links: Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/kevpourier 
Twitter: @kevinpourier Instagram: @kevinpourier Websites: kevinpourier.com

Kay WalkingStick is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. She is a Cherokee/Anglo landscape painter has had over 30 solo shows in the US and Europe.  Her work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum in NYC, the Museum of Canada in Ottawa, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, The Newark Museum in Newark, NJ, the Whitney Museum of American Art, The National Museum of the American Indian, DC, The Smithsonian American Art Museum, DC, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore MD, and many other museums across the country.  Hales Gallery represents her work in NYC and Europe.   WalkingStick was a full professor at Cornell University for 17 years where she taught painting and drawing. She is now an Emerita Professor. She was given an honorary doctorate by both Pratt Institute and by Arcadia University. She is a fellow of the National Academy of Design and the American Academy of Arts & Science.   In 2015 her retrospective of 75 paintings and drawings covering the years from 1970 to 2015 opened at the Smithsonian, National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.  After closing the exhibition traveled to five venues across the country. The show was listed by Hyperallergic on-line Magazine as one of the best 15 exhibitions to open nationwide in 2016.  The NY Times gave the exhibit a full-page review written by Holland Cotter when it was shown at the Montclair Museum.   WalkingStick and her husband, artist Dirk Bach, live and paint in a townhouse in Easton, Pa.  WalkingStick had an exhibition of her recent landscape paintings at Hales Gallery in February and March 2022. Website: http://www.kaywalkingstick.com/ Hales Gallery https://halesgallery.com/artists/138-kay-walkingstick/overview/

Thank you for an incredible season. Be sure to check out elevenwarriorarts.com for more details.

Goota Ashoona is is a third generation Inuit artist. She is a multimedia artist, and a part of Canada's premiere Inuit art family, the Ashoona's of Cape Dorset. She was born in Cape Dorset and raised in an Inuit outpost camp at Lona Bay on the southwest coast of Baffin Island. She now lives in Winnipeg with her husband, Bob, and twin sons Joe and Sam.

Indigenous Art Fair on Saturday November 19th, 2022. Over 30 artists selling their work and crafts. Food for sale. Free screenprinted shirts designed by John Hitchcock Dance group demonstrating Northern Plains dance styles.

Liza Black is a citizen of Cherokee Nation. Cherokees have three federally recognized tribes: Eastern Cherokee Band of Indians, United Keetoowah Band, and Cherokee Nation. Cherokee Nation claims Black as a citizen. Cherokee homelands are in the Southeast of what is now called the US, but most of our tribe was forcibly relocated to Indian Territory in the 1830s. Currently at UCLA, Black is completing her book manuscript: How to Get Away with Murder: A Transnational History of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. How to Get Away with Murder provides seven case studies of women and girls, including one trans woman. Although at UCLA, Black remains an Assistant Professor of History and Native American and Indigenous Studies at Indiana University where she is slated to be tenured in spring 2022. In 2020, Black published Picturing Indians: Native Americans in Film, a deeply archival book making the argument that mid-century Native people navigated the complexities of inhabiting filmic representations of themselves as a means of survivance. Black has received several research grants over her career, including the pre-, doc and post-doc fellowships from the Ford Foundation; the Institute of American Cultures at UCLA fellowship; and the Cherokee Nation Higher Education Grant. Website: https://www.lizablack.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/_liza_black Picturing Indians: Native Americans in Film https://www.amazon.com/Picturing-Indians-Native-Americans-1941-1960/dp/149623264X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YKNT0MQ6KIII&keywords=liza+black&qid=1667432077&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjAwIiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=liza+black%2Caps%2C132&sr=8-1

In the final installation of 5 Scary Questions host Joe Williams speaks with friends and family as they share stories from their experiences.

Join us for part two of this star-studded event. Dallas Goldtooth, Raven Chacon, Loren Waters, Jana Schmieding, Chad Charlie, Dakota Mace, America Merideth, Kathleen Ash-Milby, Savannah Tallbear, Tanya RedRoad, and Pte/Buffalo Man returns with another astonishing story.

Part 1 of our annual Halloween series. Our past guests have shared strange and scary stories.

Tanya RedRoad (Little Shell Band of Chippewa Decedent of Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa)owns a small catering business Tee's Taco's. She also currently works as the director of Toxic Taters Coalition. She has done advocacy and activism in many sectors that face systemic challenges for Indigenous communities. Those areas include, Domestic and Sexual Violence, Substance Use Challenges, Mental Health Concerns, Public Health initiatives around wellness for women including Native Women Speaking an HIV initiative, Youth programming in community efforts including Founder of FM Healthy Native Kids, ICWA(Indian Child Welfare Act), Land defending and water protection. Tanya does a variety of community work with the Indigenous population to identify gaps and to be a voice to ensure the Indigenous perspective is heard.  Tanya enjoys going to powwows, cultural ceremonies and cooking for the community. Tanya appreciates learning other cultures, while sharing hers. But most importantly is a mother of three and an auntie mom to her nephew and niece. Tanya also has two grandsons Ethan and Ezra. FB: https://www.facebook.com/teesfrybreadtacos Email for events: TeesTacos@gmail.com