What does it mean to say that rape is not a crime of passion, but a tool of conquest? In this searing episode, Matika sits down with Chief Justice Sarah Deer—legal scholar, citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and longtime advocate for Native women—to break down the root causes of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIWP) crisis. Together, they trace the systemic failures—from jurisdictional loopholes and underfunded Tribal justice systems to harmful stereotypes and state indifference—that enable violence against Native people to persist across generations.

Sarah shares insights from decades of research, courtroom advocacy, and lived experience. She explains why the word “rape” still matters, how U.S. law continues to reflect colonial patriarchy, and what tribal sovereignty has to do with personal safety. With clarity and care, she connects the dots between land theft, gender-based violence, and narrative erasure—and offers a vision for Indigenous feminist legal theory that centers survivor agency and collective healing.

This is a vital episode for anyone who wants to understand the roots of violence and the pathways to justice in Indian Country.

Learn more about Sarah Deer’s work at sarahdeer.com.

Educational Reading & Reports

• Sarah Deer’s The Beginning and End of Rape is essential reading on how U.S. law enables violence against Native women—and how we can reclaim justice through sovereignty and Indigenous feminist legal theory. Purchase the book here.

• Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans is a 2018 report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights detailing chronic underfunding of Native programs. Read it here.

• Justice Denied: The Reality of the Tribal Law and Order Act by Amnesty International explores how systemic legal gaps harm Native women. View the report.

Advocacy & Action

•The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center offers toolkits, trainings, and support for survivors and advocates working to end violence against Native women.

•The Sovereign Bodies Institute collects data and honors MMIW2S cases, centering Indigenous-led research and action.

•MMIW USA provides direct services and support for families of the missing and murdered, offering healing and justice-centered care.

•The Urban Indian Health Institute provides data, reports, and resources on urban Native health disparities, including MMIWP-specific studies.

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Support the show

Follow us on Instagram @amrpodcast, or support our work on Patreon. Show notes are published on our website, Allmyrelationspodcast.com. Matika's book Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America is available now! T'igwicid and Hyshqe for being on this journey with us.

We are so proud to introduce our newest collaboration: The Old Growth Table, a brand new podcast hosted by Valerie Segrest (Muckleshoot), launching from our home at Tidelands Studio in downtown Seattle. It’s something we’ve been manifesting for years and it’s finally here! 

In this very special episode, we invite you into the first season of The Old Growth Table by airing its premiere episode right here on All My Relations.

Valerie Segrest, Native nutritionist and food advocate, invites us in with teachings about springtime, a season of awakening, when the first wild foods emerge after months of winter stillness. She introduces us to two early spring greens—nettles and dandelions—and shows us how they offer more than nutrition. These are ancestral foods that carry teachings, stories, and ceremony.

With humor, honesty, and deep care, we talk about what it means to rekindle relationships with these foods, especially when those relationships have been disrupted or shrouded in shame. Valerie reminds us that food is not just about nutrients— they offer us wisdom, remembering, and healing.

Valerie also welcomes two powerful voices in Indigenous food sovereignty—Mariah Gladstone of Indigikitchen and Sean Sherman, author of The Sioux Chef—who join the conversation to reflect on what it means to say: Our food is our medicine.

So come join us. Let’s listen, gather, and nourish. 🌿

This is The Old Growth Table. And this is just the beginning.

Please support the work of our amazing guests:

• Mariah Gladstone – Founder of Indigikitchen on at www.indigikitchen.com/  and on Instagram at @indigikitchen
• Sean Sherman – Chef, author of The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen, at https://seansherman.com/  and on Instagram at @siouxchef

Help us grow The Old Growth Table by subscribing, rating, and sharing:
🔗 oldgrowthtable.com
🎧 Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts
📲 Follow us on Instagram: @oldgrowthtable
💌 Share with your community — and let us know how you’re (re)connecting to ancestral foods

Send us your thoughts!

Support the show

Follow us on Instagram @amrpodcast, or support our work on Patreon. Show notes are published on our website, Allmyrelationspodcast.com. Matika's book Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America is available now! T'igwicid and Hyshqe for being on this journey with us.

In early January 2025, catastrophic wildfires swept through the ancestral homelands of the Tongva, Tataviam, Serrano, Kizh, and Chumash Peoples. National media coverage largely overlooked how our Indigenous relatives were responding, and coping amid the uncontrollable flames, and how they were recovering after.

To document these stories from an Indigenous perspective, we sent our teammate Francisco “Panchó” Sánchez, a Xicano filmmaker and journalist, to Tovangar.  In this episode, he sits down with community members, activists, and organizers so we can hear their experiences and understand this climate crisis from an Indigenous perspective. We are honored to be in conversation with:

– Jessa Calderon (Chumash and Tongva), poet, musician, author of Sisterhood, and Director of The Land, Water and Climate Justice for Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples

– Jolie Varela (Tule River Yokuts and Nüümü), founder of Indigenous Women Hike.

– Vinecea Edwards Esq (Mvskoke), Senior Director of Operations and Strategy at Urban American Indian Involvement (UAII).

– Amy Stretten (Chickahominy), Director of Marketing and Communications at UAII.

– Alexia Palomino Cortez, PhD candidate and Altadena fire survivor.

– Katherine Guerrero-Yañez, adopted Tongva tribal member and Altadena high school teacher.

If settler-colonialism’s land mismanagement is the root of our current climate catastrophe, then the path forward is rooted in Indigenous land stewardship, for we know fire as a relative, water as life, and earth as home. The stories shared in this episode remind us that the work ahead requires us all — not just to respond to crisis, but to return to relationship. To steward, to protect, to show up for each other like family. Because relatives keep us safe.

Learn more and support the work of our guests:
 – Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples: sacredplacesinstitute.org
– Indigenous Women Hike: indigenouswomenhike.com
– Urban American Indian Involvement (UAII): uaii.org

Credits
Reporting, field production and film work by Francisco “Pancho” Sánchez (@videosdelsancho)

Editing by Teo Shantz

Produced by Matika Wilbur

Co/hosted by Temryss Lane

Social Media by Katharina Mei-Fa Brinschwitz

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Support the show

Follow us on Instagram @amrpodcast, or support our work on Patreon. Show notes are published on our website, Allmyrelationspodcast.com. Matika's book Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America is available now! T'igwicid and Hyshqe for being on this journey with us.

In this episode of All My Relations, Matika Wilbur (Swinomish and Tulalip) and Temryss Lane (Lummi Nation) are joined by Gina Amato Lough, Directing Attorney of Public Counsel’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, to unpack the realities of ICE in Indian Country. We dive into the self-made crisis at the southern border of what is now known as the United States, and the dangers that face not just (im)migrant and Native communities, but everyone living here.

With the expertise of someone who has over 20 years of experience working in direct service with asylum seekers, immigrants in detention, survivors of violent crime, unaccompanied children, and victims of notario fraud, Gina guides this conversation with grace in contextualizing where we are right now. She reminds us that the inhumane actions taken by the Trump Administration like the implementation of Remain in Mexico Program and the removal of the CBP App, which eliminated the only lawful way for people to enter the border through – is rooted in U.S. imperialism and has devastating consequences for us all. 

We explore the unintended consequences and ongoing ramifications of our rapidly eroding democracy; how Trump’s deportation machine, if successful, ensures catastrophic consequences for our economy, our education systems, and the base of what supports all our communities. We are reminded that this is not a single issue. ICE in Indian Country impacts all of our livelihoods at every level. 

So, what does it mean to be a good relative right now? 

We must return to solidarity with one another. Gina reminds us that focusing on our shared history, cultures, goals and values binds us, and it is by design that communities of color are pitted against each other. The Trump administration’s “shock and awe” tactics are not just policy decisions—they are deliberate strategies meant to exhaust us, burn us out, and keep us on the defensive. 

So start by staying informed, knowing your rights, and sharing resources in the community. From a monetary standpoint, there are organizations you can support like Public Counsel or ACLU – links to all resources mentioned are listed below. 

This is a call to all relatives—Indigenous and non-Native alike. Keeping our communities safe requires knowing the tactics being used against us and resisting together. We must move beyond defense and take the offensive—leveraging our power through advocacy, spending, voting, and boycotts. Our creativity is more crucial than ever. Together, we are powerful.

• Public Counsel Donation: https://publiccounsel.org/donate/
• ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/ 
• Northwest Immigrant Rights Project: https://nwirp.org/

Send us your thoughts!

Support the show

Follow us on Instagram @amrpodcast, or support our work on Patreon. Show notes are published on our website, Allmyrelationspodcast.com. Matika's book Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America is available now! T'igwicid and Hyshqe for being on this journey with us.

Happy Love Day, Relatives! While Valentine’s Day may be wrapped in candy hearts and Hallmark sentiments, its origins are far from sweet. As NPR’s Arnie Seipel reminds us, its history is "dark, bloody, and a bit muddled." In ancient Rome, Lupercalia—a violent fertility festival—was held from February 13th to 15th, perhaps explaining why red became the color of love.

But today, we shift the focus away from romantic love and toward something deeper: self-love, communal love, and intergenerational healing.

In this episode, we are joined by the incredible Vina Brown, the creative force behind Copper Canoe Woman. Vina, from the Heiltsuk and Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations, is not only an acclaimed jewelry artist but also a scholar, currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where she studies Indigenous food sovereignty and wellness. She is also the co-founder of Rooted Resiliency, a nonprofit dedicated to reclaiming Indigenous wellness practices.

Together, we dive into the messy, powerful, and transformative aspects of love. "Real love is messy," Vina reminds us. "It’s not pretty, it’s not perfect, but that’s what makes it so beautiful." We explore self-care beyond consumerism, moving away from the capitalist version of “self-care”—think retail therapy and spa days—toward a decolonized perspective. Audre Lorde’s words guide us: "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare."

Vina shares the story of her grandmother Elsie, a residential school survivor who embarked on her healing journey later in life, breaking generational cycles by learning to love openly. We discuss the power of community healing, the necessity of platonic love, and the strength in vulnerability. "We don’t heal in silos," Vina says. "We heal in community."

As part of this journey, we’re also hosting Reclaiming Wellness, a community event featuring Indigenous women leaders focusing on movement, meditation, and reconnecting with ancestral knowledge.

Join us as we recommit to self-love, embrace relationality over individualism, and recognize that healing is a lifelong journey. As Vina reminds us, "Our ancestors knew we were interconnected. The land, the wind, the water—they all hold us."

Let’s reclaim love—love for ourselves, our communities, and our lands. Share this conversation, connect with us, and be part of this movement. ❤️

Send us your thoughts!

Support the show

Follow us on Instagram @amrpodcast, or support our work on Patreon. Show notes are published on our website, Allmyrelationspodcast.com. Matika's book Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America is available now! T'igwicid and Hyshqe for being on this journey with us.

Today is the Super Bowl, and while millions gather to watch, we’re here to ask: What are we really watching? In this episode of All My Relations, Temryss Lane (Lummi Nation) and Matika Wilbur (Swinomish & Tulalip) dive into the deep, complex relationship between Native communities and sport.

American football is more than just a game—it’s a battlefield. From its origins at the Carlisle Indian School to its modern-day spectacle of billion-dollar profits, colonial metaphors, and racialized labor, the sport reflects a larger American story. “Football is about violence. It’s about territory. It’s about power,” Temryss reminds us.

We discuss how sports have been both a tool of oppression and liberation for Native athletes, the NFL’s plantation-like structure, the devastating impact of CTE on Black and Indigenous players, and the erasure of Native identity through mascotry (looking at you, Chiefs fans).

“I can’t unsee it. Football is a game where predominantly Black players put their brains on the line for white owners to get richer,” says Matika. “And yet, I grew up watching it with my grandma, pretending to care at Super Bowl parties, and even playing fantasy leagues for years.”

We hold the contradictions of loving sport, recognizing its harm, and pushing for better. “Sports teach us belonging,” Temryss says. “It’s why Native people are damn good at them.”

Watch the Super Bowl if you must, but listen to this first. And for the record—Go Eagles. 🦅

Send us your thoughts!

Support the show

Follow us on Instagram @amrpodcast, or support our work on Patreon. Show notes are published on our website, Allmyrelationspodcast.com. Matika's book Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America is available now! T'igwicid and Hyshqe for being on this journey with us.

In this episode of All My Relations, Matika Wilbur (Swinomish and Tulalip) and Temryss Lane (Lummi Nation)—sit down with Indigenous rights attorney Gabe Galanda (Round Valley Indian Tribes) to discuss the mounting legal threats to Tribal Nationhood, citizenship, and sovereignty. As executive orders and court cases attempt to undermine Native status and question our birthright citizenship, we unpack what’s happening and what’s at stake.

Together, we explore the legal history behind Native Citizenship, from Elk v. Wilkins to the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, and how the Supreme Court continues to challenge the political status of Tribal Nations. Gabe highlights the ongoing erasure of Indigenous identity under U.S. law, warning that Native people remain "sub-citizens," not universally protected by the U.S. Constitution, and that our status exists at the mercy of an act of Congress. He raises the unsettling reality that if a simple majority of Congress were to revoke the 1924 Citizenship Act, we could once again be placed in legal limbo.

We also turn inward, examining how Tribal policies around blood quantum and disenrollment are eroding our sovereignty from within. Gabe points out that over 70% of Tribal Nations still use blood quantum—a colonial, racialized construct—to determine belonging. We ask ourselves how we can continue to argue for our political status while using a racial measurement to determine our own citizenship? If we don’t address these internal challenges, are we eradicating ourselves before the government even has the chance?

This episode is an urgent call to rethink Indigenous citizenship and belonging before external forces dictate our future.

Join us in this critical conversation. Please share this episode, support Native-led media, and continue the fight for Indigenous rights. Consider becoming a Patreon subscriber to help sustain these discussions.

Big thanks to our team at Tidelands, our Patreon supporters, and all of you listening. Until next time… All My Relations.

Send us your thoughts!

Support the show

Follow us on Instagram @amrpodcast, or support our work on Patreon. Show notes are published on our website, Allmyrelationspodcast.com. Matika's book Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America is available now! T'igwicid and Hyshqe for being on this journey with us.

In this deeply insightful episode, we are joined by Professor Robert A. Williams Jr. (Lumbee), a distinguished legal scholar and advocate for Indigenous rights, to explore the enduring significance of treaties, how they impact both Native and non-Natives, and why it is crucial we continue to talk about and teach our treaties to future generations.

Professor Williams guides us through the profound ways treaties represent commitments under both local and international law, and ground us in the sacred responsibilities we hold to one another and the land. January 22nd is Treaty Day in Washington State so we want to take space to honor our ancestors for the protections they secured, safeguarding our rights to self-determination, and remind each other that the treaties they fought for continue to have great significance in Tribal sovereignty today.

This conversation with Professor Williams is a powerful reminder that treaties are sacred and we are part of a generational commitment to being in good relation.

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You can find more of Professor William Jr.'s work at https://law.arizona.edu/academics/programs/indigenous-peoples-law-policy

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Additional resources to learn more about treaties:
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples | Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD) 

News Articles:
Understanding the importance of the Point Elliott Treaty - Salish Current

Native Values Impacting Treaty Making | Teacher Resource - National Museum of the American Indian

A Nation of Treaties - National Endowment for the Humanities  

Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations | NMAI Magazine 

Since Time Immorial Curriculum Treaty Resources 

Media:
Films about Treaty Day by Children of The Setting Sun

What If The U.S. Honored Its Native Treaties? 

Read the treaties: 

How to Find Treaties, National Indian Law Library

Read the Treaty of Point Elliot, January 22, 1855

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Credits:
Editing and production by Teo Shantz & Francisco

Send us your thoughts!

Support the show

Follow us on Instagram @amrpodcast, or support our work on Patreon. Show notes are published on our website, Allmyrelationspodcast.com. Matika's book Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America is available now! T'igwicid and Hyshqe for being on this journey with us.

Indigenous Data Sovereignty: Collective Rights & Responsibility features Dr. Tahu Kukutai (Māori) and Dr.Dr. Desi Small-Rodriguez (Northern Cheyenne and Chicana), with commentary from Dr. Keolu Fox (Kanaka Maoli), in a detailed exploration of the question: What is Indigenous data sovereignty, and what does it truly mean for Indigenous Peoples?

Mega corporations now trade data as their primary currency, and while subversive, our Indigenous relatives recognize the extreme consequences and harm that comes from losing control of our stories, and therefore our data. As every action leaves a digital footprint, opting out is not a feasible choice. Around the world, Native communities are addressing these extractive systems, resisting their impacts, and fighting the good fight to create tangible systems to exercise sovereignty and protect Indigenous peoples, lands, and communities.

Dr. Dr. Des and Dr. Tahu remind us that the concept of  “individual” data is an illusion. The decisions we make in digital space carry real consequences– not only for ourselves, but also for the land and our communities. For those of us who aren’t data scientists or daily activist warriors, this conversation serves as a grounding reminder that we are still part of this fight. Our understanding and ability to discuss these ideas create ripple effects that contribute to the broader movement.

From discussing tangible steps to assert our true Tribal sovereignty and self-determination by bringing data servers to Tribal lands, to fighting for law and legislation about accessing existing Indigenous data controlled by the states and governments, or to exploring ways we can use our existing Indigenous frameworks and protocols to humanize the data into stories that are accessible and relevant to our communities, this conversation elevates the realities of the Indigenous data sovereignty revolution and its impacts on our collective contemporary survival. 

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Editing & All the things by Teo Shantz

Episode artwork by Ciara Sana

Film work by Francisco Sánchez

Send us your thoughts!

Support the show

Follow us on Instagram @amrpodcast, or support our work on Patreon. Show notes are published on our website, Allmyrelationspodcast.com. Matika's book Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America is available now! T'igwicid and Hyshqe for being on this journey with us.

Reproductive Justice: Birthing The Next 7 Generations

In this episode, we sit down with Camie Jae Goldhammer (Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyaté), BirthKeeper, Reproductive Justice advocate, and founder of Hummingbird Indigenous Family Services, to define, discuss, and explore how Indigenous birthing practices, breastfeeding, and community care intertwines to combat colonial and capitalist systems of oppression that disproportionately affect Indigenous, Black, and, Brown people. 

The maternal mortality rate of American Indian and Alaska Natives is 8 times higher than white Americans, with 80% of deaths being preventable. Before Hummingbird was founded, there were no resources in the Pacific Northwest specifically for Native parents and families. Camie shares her own birth journey and how it led to her career serving over 3,000 Native moms and parents.

This conversation with Camie is a love letter to Native mommas, parents, and communities as she shares her wisdom as an Indigenous Lactation Consultant and Full Spectrum Doula, having co-created the first and only lactation counselor training created for Native people by Native people. Hummingbird’s mission is to have healthy Indigenous babies being born into healthy Indigenous families being supported by healthy Indigenous communities. Our Indigenous reproductive justice is healing not only the future generations but also the ones that have come before us. 

This conversation is especially close to our hearts at All My Relations as Matika’s baby #2 is on the way, and resources like Hummingbird Family Services are so crucial to the reclamation of our birthing stories and practices.

Tune in for an unforgettable episode on reclaiming Indigenous birthing practices and reproductive justice . 

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Episode artwork by Ciara Sana & Matika Wilbur

Editing by Teo Shantz 

Films by Francisco Sánchez

Send us your thoughts!

Support the show

Follow us on Instagram @amrpodcast, or support our work on Patreon. Show notes are published on our website, Allmyrelationspodcast.com. Matika's book Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America is available now! T'igwicid and Hyshqe for being on this journey with us.