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Reclaiming Indigenous Sovereignty (with Wynne Weddell)
683 Plays4 years ago
Our first guest on Nomads at the Intersections podcast is Wynne Weddell, Native American of the Yankton Sioux Tribe. A hiker, nomad, and full-time beadwork artist - Wynne joins our host, Noami, for this in-person interview from the traditional lands of the Pascua Yaqui and Tohono O’odham in the Southwest. Listen as she shares her story of leaving her homeland to follow her nomadic passions in the forests of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Wynne also recounts her experience at the Dakota Access pipeline, shares stories about her great-grandmother as a front-line activist during the American Indian Movement, how Indigenous peoples must lead the conversation on environmental activism, and so much more. Check out our Show Notes for journal prompts that dig deeper into how your story and Wynne’s experience intersect.
ABOUT OUR GUEST
Wynne Weddell is a member of the Ihanktonwon Nation (Yankton Sioux) specializing in beaded adornments, using her platform to raise awareness of environmental & social justice issues being faced in BIPOC communities. She is passionate about environmental advocacy, cultural reclamation, all things rainbow, and working towards a more sustainable future. #LANDBACK
SOCIALS
Podcast @nomadsattheintersections
Community @diversify.vanlife
Host @irietoaurora
Season 1 Co-Host: @anaismoniq
Guest @rainbowmountain_
Stay tuned for the relaunch of Nomads at the Intersections, coming this Summer, 2024. Subscribe in your podcast feed and follow @diversify.vanlife and @nomadsattheintersectionspod to stay in the loop as more updates drop.
Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a 5-star rating in your podcast app, it’ll help other Nomads find us.
Nomads at the Intersections is hosted by Noami Grevemberg
A Diversify Vanlife production
Music by Smart Monkey Music
Podcast Cover Artwork by Karen Ceballos
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Listener Gratitude
00:00:09
Speaker
Diversify Fan Life presents Nomads at the Intersections podcast. Hello, everyone. Welcome back to a new episode of Nomads at the Intersections.
00:00:29
Speaker
We're so, so happy you're here. I just want to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who listened to the pilot and left us some amazing reviews. I read every single one of them and I could really feel the love. It's those five star ratings and thoughtful reviews that will help keep the show going and growing. So thank you so much.
Reflections on the Pilot Episode
00:00:51
Speaker
For those of you joining us for the first time, welcome. I'm Naomi.
00:00:56
Speaker
And I also want to say how grateful I am for all of the reviews as well. In my mind, it doesn't even feel like we recorded a pilot yet, you know, just processing this year, but I just looking back on the whole leading up to it, the weeks leading up to it months really of planning and execution that kept me going when I was feeling super anxious. And I'm just so proud of it and excited that so many people found it relatable. So thank you for the reviews. Beautiful.
Mixed Emotions on Election Results
00:01:26
Speaker
So it's been a hell of a year. It's been a hell of a month since we last recorded the pilot and there's just so much that has happened. We recently went through the longest election day in history and came out with a new president-elect as well as the first female vice president
00:01:50
Speaker
who is also Afro-Indo descent with West Indian roots like me, so I'm really proud of that. Though I feel like I'm still, like you said earlier, I'm still processing a lot from that day and I mean from the past four years. I
Post-Election Concerns and Vigilance
00:02:05
Speaker
guess I'm just relieved to be in a space where I could be processing and a space where I feel like healing can begin, you know what I mean? Yeah, I totally understand.
00:02:18
Speaker
I was happy to share in the joy of everyone else because there was such elation in the streets online. I was entertained by the memes and wanted to really participate in that joy, but I just couldn't. I felt very blah about everything.
Accountability and Societal Issues
00:02:35
Speaker
When they projected him as the winner, there's definitely pride there because I felt
00:02:42
Speaker
that him picking a black woman, especially a mixed black woman with the background that she's had, it seems like she's had some growth. So I felt excited for what they could do, but it's still just like the push for normalcy scares me.
00:03:01
Speaker
especially like the hyper productivity that surrounds what we refer to as normalcy. And, you know, I just feel like we can't get complacent. So I kind of felt like a Debbie Downer that day, but I was really trying to just share in the joy of everyone else.
00:03:17
Speaker
Yeah, no, I hear you. I remember, I remember chatting with you that day and texting back and forth and I could feel your energy. And, you know, I guess I had to force myself to feel the joy that day. And I did, I danced and I was excited mostly for like, like you said, having a Black
00:03:35
Speaker
BP elect. You know, I feel like this is a good first step overall, but we have a saying in my country, Trinidad, the journey now starts, which means that there's still a lot of work to be done and a lot of undoing of the damages caused.
00:03:52
Speaker
the
Balancing Joy and Responsibility
00:03:53
Speaker
last four years. And like you said, we can't rely on the winds to change on their own. You know, we have to hold these leaders accountable. We have to continue to do the work and we have to continue addressing the root cause of all the issues that's happened and structural racism, which is white supremacy.
00:04:13
Speaker
Yeah, we need healing. We need healing ASAP, and it sounds cheesy, but it's true. I don't know what we would have become for another four years in 2024. If this is 2020, like, oh my God. So I'm really grateful, don't get me wrong. I understand the need for comfort and escapism and all of those things, but this just feels so important. It's just like we have to pay attention, you know? And I love what Stacey Abrams said.
00:04:41
Speaker
Shout out to her. She said she only gave herself like 17 minutes to celebrate. I don't know why specifically 17. Right. But I was just like, wow, that's that actually that says a lot. Like I feel uses but oh, wow, there is so much work and she's right. Like we celebrate but we keep going. Like you said, it's only just begun.
00:05:04
Speaker
Yeah. And I really liked that. That was the message out there. Breathe, celebrate, but we got work to do. You know, it's like holding each other accountable. And I really appreciated like seeing that constantly popping up on social media and hearing it from my friends that I was talking to. So it's, yeah, that reminder, like, yeah, it's okay for us to feel some joy. We deserve it. It's been so hard these past years and this past 2020, and we deserve to feel some joy. And it's
Introduction to Guest: Winnie of Rainbow Mountain
00:05:29
Speaker
a reminder that I keep telling myself as well, but also like,
00:05:32
Speaker
You know, keeping in mind that the change that we want to see requires a lot of internal work, a lot of interpersonal work and shifting of structural power. And it's our responsibility to each one of us to make sure that we continue pushing for that change. I mean, it requires each and every one of us to continue our anti-racism journey and to check our privileges daily.
00:05:56
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, exactly. And I appreciate that you continue to say that I deserve to feel joy. I appreciate that you keep repeating that. Cause those little reminders that feels corny or woo woo, they mean so much in times when you really need to hear stuff like that. Yeah. And like, I'm currently like, yeah, I'm like currently finishing up the second week of my being full time in my step and beach house.
00:06:26
Speaker
And I moved in like just the day before the election. And I've had such peace, Naomi, like such peace being in there and so much gratitude. I think that is what really got me through other than community. That's what really got me through the election week. I love that. I love hearing that. Yeah, meeting in community, I feel really did help us get through election week, like our team at the First Fight Bandline.
00:06:54
Speaker
diversified my community, it meant everything to me that week. It was really, really the longest election day ever. But I'm really happy to know that you felt some joy and you had peace of mind. So that's really great. And for me, it's like this whole shift that's happening now, I keep, you know, talking to my partner and to my friends and reminding them that love is an action. So it's important for all of us to take action to the end every day.
00:07:23
Speaker
moving forward so that we can see the change that we want in the world. And that's the work we do. So, Anais, this month is Native American Heritage Month. And with everything going on, I feel like it's fitting that this shift is happening during this month as well. Because I feel like, above all, if we are to enact real and lasting change politically, socially, and environmentally,
00:07:53
Speaker
we need to listen to Native people. So for everyone listening, just adding to that message, do boost Native voices, not only this month, but always.
00:08:07
Speaker
Yes,
Winnie's Background and Upbringing
00:08:08
Speaker
it is appreciated. I loved listening to this interview. I can't wait for everyone to hear it. When I hear Indigenous peoples and when I heard Winnie speaking in her own voice and her own language and slang and the historical context,
00:08:28
Speaker
Everything she was saying, I really felt empowered and validated and activated to do more. It was so refreshing to listen to her and what her experience has been like. It made me think, how are we quantifying our value and where are we putting our energy in the things that we value? So I just, I really loved this interview and I can't wait for everyone to hear it. She was amazing.
00:09:07
Speaker
All right, everyone. Today, I'm chatting with my friend Winnie of Rainbow Mountain. She's an incredible artist, activist and a fellow nomad. If you've ever seen her work, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Hi, Winnie. I am so, so glad to have you on the show today and Happy Native American Heritage Month to you. Yes, Happy Native American Heritage Month. Thank you for having me. I'm so happy to be here with you. Thank you.
00:09:35
Speaker
Winnie, would you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about you and your nomadic journey? Hi, I'm Deyayawi Winnie in Laxiapi. Hi, my name is Winnie. I'm a full-time beadwork artist specializing in all things rainbow. You can find me on Instagram at rainbowmountain or my website rainbowmountainbeadwork.com. Aside from beading, my passions lie in cultural reclamation and environmental conservation.
00:10:03
Speaker
And my nomadic journey started with growing up on the ancient Sioux reservation. From there, I moved out west to Oregon, where I traveled all around the west coast for six years. I spent a lot of my time getting to know the land through hiking. And now I live on the traditional lands of the Paskayaki and Tohono O'odham in the southwest, where we sit talking today. I spent a lot of my time outdoors, beating and working on our camper build.
00:10:32
Speaker
Oh, that's exciting. You know, I really want to talk to you about your nomadic journey, but before we jump into that, I was wondering if you don't mind sharing a little bit about your background. Where did you grow up and what was it like?
00:10:48
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Like I mentioned, I grew up on a small reservation in South Dakota along the Missouri River. My community was about 1,500 people. I have an extremely large family and most of them live in the area, so large family gatherings have always been a big part of my life. I also come from a long lineage of badass warrior women.
00:11:12
Speaker
So I've always been taught to stand up for myself, the people on the land. I owe a lot of that to my great grandma. She played a prominent role in the AIM movement in the 70s, standing up for Native rights. So I was introduced to activism at a very young age hearing her stories.
00:11:30
Speaker
And the A movement is the American Indian movement. Yeah, absolutely. And aside from that, my younger years consisted of town on the river, going to powwows, playing the dirt at my grandparents house, doing art projects with my cousins, mostly out of things that we would find outside.
00:11:53
Speaker
I ate a lot of dirt. I think that from my health currently. I hear that. Yeah. You know, I would paint a lot as a child.
Education and Native History
00:12:03
Speaker
I've always been very drawn to color. And art's always been an important part of my life. Yeah.
00:12:11
Speaker
More about that time, I went to a public school that was kindergarten through 12th grade. My school is a mixture of native and white students. We had a primarily white faculty. I've been exposed and dealt with racism at a very young age from relating that to the students and from teachers as well.
00:12:32
Speaker
And yeah, although a large majority of students were Native, Native history and history of the land was not taught to us, which is typical for public school curriculum. We were taught the typical white savior complex history lessons. Oh, I hear you.
00:12:50
Speaker
It's really saddening and maddening at the same time because I feel like the education system plays such a big role in maintaining the erasure of Native Americans. And it's really, I think, appalling that even going to school on the reservation, you weren't taught the history of your own people. Yeah, I mean, that's entirely true, Naomi.
00:13:13
Speaker
When you're not accurately represented in the history of this country, it makes it hard to have a sense of identity and connection to your culture. This is
Career Shift to Environmental Science
00:13:23
Speaker
an intentional extension of the erasure of culture and spirituality of Native people. And not long ago, this included forced assimilation, violent boarding schools and outlaw
00:13:36
Speaker
religious practices. But you know, in spite of all that, we're still here, we're thriving, and we're taking our power back. So I know you are an incredible artist and crafts person. How early in your life did you feel that urge to create?
00:13:57
Speaker
Oh, thank you. Well, I've always been a creative person my entire life. I've always enjoyed working on random art projects. I've always been drawn to color. From as young as I can remember, I would repaint and decorate the rooms in my mom's house. Sometimes I wasn't okay, but I just always loved creating a welcoming space. And you went to school for interior design, right?
00:14:23
Speaker
Right, I studied that for several years but after a while I felt the need to do a more fulfilling type of work for several different reasons. I realized design wasn't accessible to people due to the high cost and I wanted to do something more aligned with the environment and from there I transitioned to sustainable design and eventually environmental science.
00:14:48
Speaker
I felt it was my
Personal Connection to Standing Rock
00:14:50
Speaker
duty to learn as much as I can about our relationship with the natural world and to be the best caretaker I can be for these lands. I want to set an example and help build a better, more sustainable future where we respect and honor the earth, which gives us life.
00:15:11
Speaker
I feel like a really fundamental issue with this country's troubling relationship with indigenous people is the lack of acknowledgement and attention to issues affecting native people. Take, for instance, the issue of the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock, and the struggle surrounding it was one of the few stories concerning indigenous people to enter the consciousness of mainstream America in a significant way.
00:15:41
Speaker
Now, I know that you have a personal connection to Standing Rock. Could you talk a bit about that?
00:15:49
Speaker
Yeah, so the pipeline is very personal for me. It affects the lands I grew up on. My entire childhood and adolescent years were spent on the Missouri River. These waters, they raised me. I have Hongkapong and Hongtuan blood running through me. This couldn't get more personal.
00:16:11
Speaker
The pipeline not only threatens the drinking water supply for millions of people, but also desecrated our sacred sites and breaks treaties. You know, at the time I was living in Oregon studying environmental science.
00:16:27
Speaker
with a strong emphasis on climate change research and I found it really difficult to focus in class with so much injustice occurring on the ground. I really felt the need to be there in person with my family. So I finished finals as early as I could and
00:16:46
Speaker
We left as
Media Coverage and Independent News
00:16:47
Speaker
soon as we could for Standing Rock with our camper van full of medical supplies through blizzard conditions in every state that we drove through. And we arrived to negative 50 degree wide up conditions. That was wild. Yeah, I remember following along on social media when you and your partner went out to Standing Rock in the freezing cold.
00:17:10
Speaker
And I remember anxiously awaiting your updates from you both so that I could reshare because it was really, really difficult to get any information from the media about what was going on out there.
00:17:23
Speaker
Yeah, it was almost non-existent in the mainstream media coverage. And when it was briefly covered, there was no mention of the police brutality occurring. You know, water protectors were being shot at with rubber bullets sprayed with water cannons and freezing temperatures and tear gas all for standing up for our water. And why wasn't this being talked about nationally?
00:17:51
Speaker
Why weren't the dangers, the pipeline posed for our environment being talked about nationally? To me, it really makes you realize where this country's priorities lie. And, you know, at the time, independent news sources and activism on social media played a huge role in sharing the truth of the injustices occurring in real time. And there
Indigenous Voices in Environmentalism
00:18:15
Speaker
was no ignoring that. I agree.
00:18:18
Speaker
I feel like it's definitely an issue that as the fields of sustainability and environmental justice have grown and expanded, we've left out native voices and teachings out of the conversation. And I feel like we must be willing to learn from the examples set by Indigenous peoples who have been doing this for centuries and know this land far better than we ever will.
00:18:44
Speaker
As a non-native person, I feel like it's imperative for us to learn from these practices in order to protect our environment and most importantly, right now, stem the tide of climate change.
00:18:58
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. One example is the fires that have been happening this year just plaguing the West Coast. People are calling for the return of prescribed burns, which have been a practice of Indigenous people for thousands of years, you know, until colonization. The idea of untouched wilderness is a colonial construct that separates humans from nature.
00:19:24
Speaker
And these fires are an example of what happens when we separate the two. The current climate issues we are facing today are a direct result of colonization. Indigenous peoples need to be included in the conversation regarding environmental policies and land management if we're going to reverse the damages. Yeah,
Great-Grandmother's Activism
00:19:45
Speaker
I mean, I agree with this a million times over.
00:19:49
Speaker
So you mentioned earlier that your great grandmother was an activist. I am really, really curious to hear more about her. Can you share? Yes, my grandmother was an incredible woman and was one of the only women on the front lines of the American Indian movement.
00:20:09
Speaker
She played a big role in the Wounded Knee Takeover of 1973, which, if you're unfamiliar, part of the movement was to bring awareness to the US government's failure to uphold treaties and the police brutality that Indigenous communities were being faced with. My great-grandmother was fighting for the same things that we're fighting for today.
00:20:32
Speaker
And yeah, I could go on forever about her, but I'd like to share a little bit of an audio my mother recorded about her. It's very special to me. Absolutely. Thank you for sharing.
00:20:47
Speaker
So Graham has been a fighter since she started raising seven girls by herself after leaving an abusive relationship. I'm not even sure how old your grandma was, but I think Jeannie was a baby. She learned about AIM and wanted to help protect her people. She would go to the AIM meetings all the time. She had a big 38 that she kept in her purse. She always told me that I was not to touch it.
00:21:16
Speaker
the guys in AIM and especially like Rosamene's and Dennis Bates and she truly was there for the fight. You know, she wasn't interested in the rest.
00:21:26
Speaker
She helped run guns into Wounded Knee back in 1973. She was part of the courthouse takeover in Sioux Falls, the Minnehaha County Courthouse. She actually got arrested for that, but she got out of that one. I was too young, so I'm not quite sure how she did that, but she got lucky and got out of there. She's never been afraid
Ongoing Native Issues
00:21:47
Speaker
to stand up for herself. That's what she taught me.
00:21:51
Speaker
from when I was a little girl and this couple kept staring at us at sunshine and...
00:21:57
Speaker
making comments about having to be by those dirty people. And Graham got up and chewed them out. She wouldn't take any shit. And she was very proud of being Native, never ashamed of who she was. That was one of the best things that she taught me, to be very proud of who I am, to always feel the steps that went before me that let me take the steps that I take today. She was amazing.
00:22:22
Speaker
and the strongest person that I knew. She never let anything stop her. She decided she wanted to teach. She went back to college in her 50s, went to Augustana, one of the hardest academic schools that we have in our state, got a degree. You know, that was grand. She was just amazing.
00:22:39
Speaker
amazing all the way around. And she believed in fighting and taking care of what we have, including fighting her own tribe, her own council anyway. She raised Cain with a few consuls throughout the years. If they were trying to do stuff that she thought was shady or wrong, grandma's willing to speak her mind and she'd put herself behind her words. She wasn't just, I'll talk. She was amazing when she really was.
00:23:06
Speaker
Hopefully that's a little for you. Love you, baby. That was really powerful and beautiful, Winnie. Thank you for sharing such a special thing with us.
00:23:18
Speaker
So often in this country, I feel like non-native people see the issues affecting indigenous peoples as something of the past, not as issues happening now in the present day. And of course, there's an ugly history surrounding the US and indigenous relations.
00:23:38
Speaker
But clearly, issues like those affecting the Lakota Sioux at Standing Rock are proof that these issues are still happening to this day. In fact, the more you look into the history of the relationship between the United States and its indigenous peoples, the more you will see that it's filled with broken promises and abuses. Yeah,
Land Acknowledgments and Native Rights
00:24:02
Speaker
definitely near me.
00:24:04
Speaker
a lack of representation or acknowledgement of Native peoples by the government causes a misconception that injustices to our communities are a thing of the past. For example, the United States government has failed to honor more than 500 treaties made with tribal nations throughout all of US history. I would highly encourage listeners to learn more about this and the true history of the so-called United States
00:24:34
Speaker
Mm-hmm
00:24:35
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I feel like we've seen the effects of this all over the world. The information is there, you know, where we see that colonization leads to the erasure of indigenous people, of their cultures, their languages, and their histories. And from the perspective of a Black woman, I feel like healing can only begin when we acknowledge the horrific past.
00:25:05
Speaker
People need to know the truth and also recognize the major contributions that Native peoples have made and continue to make in this country. Yeah, it's it's fucked up, but I feel a major shift happening collectively. And guess what? We're stepping into our power and we're writing a new narrative. Oh, amen to that.
00:25:32
Speaker
So land acknowledgements have become a practice in recent years at universities. Some organizations have started doing them, as well as within the road travel community. I've started doing this on my personal platforms on social media. We're doing it on the Diverse by Van Life platform, as well as at events we host.
00:25:54
Speaker
That being said, I feel like it's far from a commonplace practice. And perhaps it's
Nomadic Lifestyle and Indigenous Representation
00:26:01
Speaker
not always apparent to people why it's an important thing to do, particularly for us nomads and travelers. So my question is, can you tell me about land acknowledgments and why they're important?
00:26:15
Speaker
Yeah, so land acknowledgements are a simple act of recognizing and respecting Indigenous peoples as traditional stewards of this land, which is long overdue, but it's a good first step in the healing process. And I encourage people to get to know whose land you occupy and familiarize yourselves with the history of that area. Mm-hmm.
00:26:42
Speaker
And just so we're clear, we're certainly not saying that land acknowledgments are enough in and of themselves, but they can be a first step in adoption of an intentionally inclusive attitude towards the indigenous peoples of this continent, right?
00:27:00
Speaker
Right. So for example, a deeper level would be changes in the public school system and representation of Indigenous peoples and the erasure of our history.
00:27:14
Speaker
Currently in the US public school system, we're not taught the true history of this country. We're taught to look up to these white founding fathers who were slave owners and who have statues all over this country. And all this is doing is whitewashing our history as the original inhabitants of this land and its glorifying racist murders.
00:27:37
Speaker
I think the government needs to be torn apart and rebuilt to uphold a system that accurately represents Indigenous people and all of the many other races that make up this so-called land of the free. So that connection to Standing Rock, as well as the realizations that led you to change course from interior design, those things seem to have put you on an entirely different path.
00:28:07
Speaker
Talk to me about your
Peace and Perspective Through Travel
00:28:08
Speaker
nomadic experience and how that played into these other things that were happening in your life. Yeah, so like I was saying, I grew up in a very small, real community that I felt was racially divided. Growing up, I dealt with racism my entire life.
00:28:25
Speaker
I never really felt that I fit in or belonged in such a close-minded community. I never felt that I could fully express myself. I craved adventure, diversity, inclusion. You know, from as young as I can remember, I've always been drawn to the forest.
00:28:44
Speaker
And it's interesting because originally our tribe was pushed out of the woodlands of northern Minnesota into the plains where we currently reside. And my heart has always felt at peace amongst the moss covered ground and trees and rivers. So at age 21 I packed nothing but a suitcase and headed west for Oregon where I lived for six years while
00:29:11
Speaker
traveling all around the western side of the country. All the while I was studying environmental science, further deepening my appreciation for the land and the relationship between humans and the environment. Yeah, although the plains are my homelands, I know that my people moved around the seasons and are not going to stay in one area designated by the US government. So you were traveling around with your partner at this time, right?
00:29:40
Speaker
Yeah, throughout the years I've traveled all around, primarily living out of our 84 VW van again. It's really hard for me to be in one place and I entirely thrive on the road. I crave the unknown and enjoy experiencing a taste of what life is like in other parts of the country and around the world. To me, I think life begins outside of your comfort zone.
00:30:10
Speaker
And living out of a van can sure as hell be uncomfortable at times. Sure you know. Oh, I know.
00:30:20
Speaker
But it certainly is rewarding to have your house with you wherever you go. And I've been everywhere from Alaska down to Costa Rica on a very bare minimum budget. And I've always just made it work. And
Challenges of Indigenous Nomadism
00:30:37
Speaker
I'm in my late 20s and I've already experienced a life rich in experience. And I want other indigenous youth to know that all that you dream is possible.
00:30:49
Speaker
and within reach and our powers and capabilities are limitless. That's a beautiful message and I totally resonate with that craving of the unknown and I feel like for me my comfort zone is being uncomfortable now since living in a van for over five years so I totally resonate with that. I feel that.
00:31:14
Speaker
And I also remember meeting you at Descend on Bend in Oregon. I had been on the road for six months at that time. And that was my first encounter with the nomadic community. And I remember you being one of the first person I met. So that's such a special memory for me meeting you there.
00:31:34
Speaker
Yeah, I'm so grateful for a friendship that has developed over the years. I remember being so excited to meet you. I looked around at the gathering we were at and noticed I didn't see any other POCs.
00:31:51
Speaker
I felt relief in connecting with you. And for several different reasons, the event we met up sat wrong with me. I mean, there was a TV set up and a craft day making dreamcatchers for kids. And the appropriation levels were high. And it was an unfortunate step into the van life community with this being one of my first experiences. I remember that.
00:32:22
Speaker
Yeah, the Descend on Bend experience to me felt very inauthentic and felt like people were commodifying a way of living. I certainly didn't feel that people were respecting or honoring the land they were on. I craved authenticity and to meet other travelers that looked like me. Yeah. I'm curious to know about your specific experience as an indigenous nomad.
00:32:51
Speaker
Are there any ways you felt that your experience was different from the common representations of nomad and van life culture?
00:33:00
Speaker
Yeah,
Reclaiming Native Culture
00:33:01
Speaker
throughout my travels and throughout the community, there has been an overly blatant notice of lack of representation of POCs in general, let alone fellow Indigenous people living on the road. This has been both uncomfortable and discouraging, yet empowering at times, knowing my lifestyle doesn't fit into societal norm.
00:33:26
Speaker
I'm forever pushing the boundaries of this type of way of living and carving my own path. Always hopeful to find community along the way. Yeah, I'm definitely always hopeful for community and I resonate with so much of what you're saying because the lack of representation you mentioned here is exactly what drove me to create Diversify Vanlife and ultimately led to this podcast, both with the goal of expanding that representation.
00:33:55
Speaker
And that's why I'm really happy to be talking to you today and sharing our conversation during Native American Heritage Month, because I know that here in America, for Native peoples, you've had elements of your cultures stolen and misused for centuries. So my question for you is like, how are you personally reclaiming those elements of your culture that have been taken and exploited?
00:34:25
Speaker
Absolutely.
Beadwork as Expression and Activism
00:34:26
Speaker
Thank you for acknowledging that and I'm grateful to be here with you having these incredibly important conversations. There's not enough of it, you know. Reclamation for me has been learning my traditional language, including plant medicine as a form of ceremony into my day-to-day life.
00:34:47
Speaker
prayer and healing through beating and spending as much as my time as I can outdoors, connecting to the land. These are all forms of reclamation for me. Just waking up and celebrating my brown skin every day is a form of reclaiming my roots. That's beautiful. Thank you for sharing that.
00:35:11
Speaker
You mentioned your beadwork as a part of reclamation for you. I'd love to talk more about it. And for our listeners who might not be familiar with Winnie, she does beautiful beadwork, which you can check out on her page at rainbow mountain underscore. So Winnie, please tell me about how you got into beadwork and more than that, you actually started your own business.
00:35:36
Speaker
Thank you. My beadwork journey began while living in Alaska with a desire to just feel more connected to my culture and to be able to make art from anywhere while I'm traveling. I'm primarily self-taught and I draw a lot of my inspiration from nature and just the beauty of life itself.
00:36:03
Speaker
The meaning of beating to me has transformed over time and soon I began beating full time and to me it's become an outlet for dealing with social justice and environmental issues. I use bright colors and imagery as a reminder to find joy and happiness every day.
00:36:24
Speaker
Bead by
Cultural Appropriation and Support
00:36:25
Speaker
bead, I send out prayers for the wearer, prayers of happiness and protection. I'm entirely grateful to be connected with so many incredible humans through my work. Well, I absolutely love your beadwork. I own a beautiful pair of your earrings. I call them my power earrings, so when I feel like I need to step into my power, I put them on so I can feel the love and the power when I wear them.
00:36:54
Speaker
So anyway, I've seen you share a phrase on social media from time to time that's really stuck with me by from inspired natives rather than native inspired. And I also feel sometimes it's hard to tell where inspiration stops and appropriation begins. Can you tell me what that phrase means to you and how we can recognize cultural appropriation?
00:37:20
Speaker
Yeah, so this is something I experienced and come across on a weekly basis.
00:37:27
Speaker
non-natives profiting off of native culture. I can't tell you how many accounts are online of indigenous designs being sold by white folks. It's entirely frustrating. I mean, you're right, there is a fine line between inspiration and appropriation. So with that, I ask that you get inspired by your own culture rather than taking from another.
00:37:53
Speaker
appropriation affects the livelihood of Indigenous peoples in many ways. People are abusing and misusing designs and time medicines that are safer to us, and it needs to stop. I ask that you do the research and support Indigenous creators rather than supporting the erasure of our culture by buying from non-Natives. Yeah,
Social Media and Community Building
00:38:19
Speaker
and I mean, it's stealing. You're stealing from another culture.
00:38:23
Speaker
Winnie, I feel like we have so much in common. And one of the things is how we both utilize social media, not only as a tool in the work we respectively do, but also as a tool to help build and maintain community. Can you talk a little bit about that? Because I know you don't have a completely straightforward relationship with social media and technology. I mean, neither do I. So I mean, who does, you know?
00:38:52
Speaker
Yeah, honestly, I've always been put off by technology and social media. I yearn for the days of foot gums. I do remember those. I had one. Yeah, it has its downfalls, but it also has its positives.
00:39:10
Speaker
I think the biggest thing for me has been the sense of community I found through it. I'm connected to people all over the world that I likely wouldn't be without it. Most importantly, I'm connected to so many powerful Native voices on social media.
00:39:26
Speaker
who are out there doing the damn thing. Instagram is giving indigenous peoples a really great platform to do great work from promoting their businesses and just growing into our power. Every day I'm
Community Strength and Personal Growth
00:39:45
Speaker
hella inspired by the work I'm seeing done. So I think being able to virtually connect for that reason.
00:39:55
Speaker
Yeah. And I feel even more grateful for social media in the sense of 2020. I mean, this year, like you mentioned, creating a sense of community. The diversified van life community I feel this year has grown even stronger and more powerful in taking up space and having a voice. So that's something that I'm really grateful for as well.
00:40:18
Speaker
And I've also been following a lot of Indigenous activists, many that you recommended to me and I've been learning so much and I'm so grateful for that. So I feel like in general, social media is a really great tool in that sense. Like the knowledge is out there. It's right at your fingertips. If you have a phone, you know, you have the opportunity to learn. I feel like there's just no more excuses for not knowing the truth because it's out there.
00:40:46
Speaker
Winnie, I am so so happy to have you on the show. Thank you so much for sharing so vulnerably and honestly and powerfully with me. I'm buzzing right now from this conversation and I'm so so excited for our listeners to hear what you have to say.
00:41:07
Speaker
But we're not done yet. Before we go, I'd like to ask you a couple of questions that we're asking of all of our guests on this season of Nomads at the Intersections. So, the first question is, what strengths have you felt yourself tap into in 2020?
00:41:27
Speaker
Well I'm sure everyone can relate to this but 2020 has been hell of a year and I've struggled with my mental health because of it but this has also forced me to face myself and has only made me grow more and more into myself each day with these struggles and
00:41:50
Speaker
To me, I think although this year has been rough, I've never felt more of a sense of community and the strength of a community is stronger now more than ever. And to
Vision for an Inclusive World
00:42:03
Speaker
me, that's a strength I'm feeling personally.
00:42:07
Speaker
Yes, indeed. Gosh, there's so much of what you're saying that I'm resonating with here because I feel the same. I feel closer to the community than ever before and that is a strength. That is such a powerful thing and allowing ourselves to lean into that too. So yeah, thank you for sharing that.
00:42:27
Speaker
Okay, so second and fair warning on this one. It's a very open-ended question, but I'd like to ask you what you think a truly inclusive world would look like. So, if you could finish the following statement. In a truly inclusive world,
00:42:47
Speaker
In a truly inclusive world, to me, treaties would be honored, indigenous sovereignty upheld and respected, and we would be included on any decisions regarding the land and politics. Beautiful.
Closing and Call to Action
00:43:05
Speaker
Thank you so much for that, Winnie. Is there anything else you'd like to share before you go?
00:43:14
Speaker
You know, I would want to leave listeners with a quote that has stuck with me for the past few days. A quote from Melanin Westgoki on Instagram. Dear settler state, we will continue to dismantle you until Black liberation and Indigenous sovereignty are realized.
00:43:40
Speaker
Thank you for tuning in to Nomads at the Intersections podcast. We are so happy you joined us. We'll return with the full episode in your podcast feed in one month. But we got you covered until then. Connect with us on Instagram at nomadsattheintersectionspod and at diversify.bandlife for exclusive extras you won't see anywhere else.
00:44:01
Speaker
Also, check out the show notes for our favorite quotes from this episode, as well as a few journal writing prompts. We even created a playlist for our nomads out there. Y'all, it's a whole vibe. If you haven't already, hit that subscribe button and follow our host on socials, at Irie to Aurora and at Anais Momi. Nomads at the Intersections is a rival media production with special thanks to Busted Slate Media, music by Smart Monkey Music.
00:44:32
Speaker
If you enjoyed this episode, leave us a five star rating on Apple podcasts or Google play and mention nomads at the intersections or diversify van life in your review.