Join me in this 3-part series as LaNora Parker, great-granddaughter of legendary Comanche leader Quanah Parker, shares her story of leadership, survival, and healing.

LaNora was one of the first women to serve as Vice Chairman and Interim Chairwoman of the Comanche Nation. She reflects on her family’s powerful legacy—her father, Simmons Parker, was a Comanche Code Talker and WWII hero—and how that shaped her path.

She opens up about the painful realities of Native boarding schools, the loneliness, and cultural erasure she experienced, and how Comanche language and hymns remained a source of strength.

Now, as a voice for Native recovery, LaNora shares her personal healing journey and her mission to support sobriety through culture and purpose! Along with her niece, she co-founded Warchief Collection, a non-alcoholic beverage line rooted in Native wellness and resilience. Learn more at warchiefcollection.com

Her words of encouragement for all who are in recovery? “Pray about it. Cry about it. Read about it. Write about it. Talk about it. Be about it.”

Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast

All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/

PART 1

Join me in this 3-part series as LaNora Parker, great-granddaughter of legendary Comanche leader Quanah Parker, shares her story of leadership, survival, and healing.

LaNora was one of the first women to serve as Vice Chairman and Interim Chairwoman of the Comanche Nation. She reflects on her family’s powerful legacy—her father, Simmons Parker, was a Comanche Code Talker and WWII hero—and how that shaped her path.

She opens up about the painful realities of Native boarding schools, the loneliness, and cultural erasure she experienced, and how Comanche language and hymns remained a source of strength.

Now, as a voice for Native recovery, LaNora shares her personal healing journey and her mission to support sobriety through culture and purpose! Along with her niece, she co-founded Warchief Collection, a non-alcoholic beverage line rooted in Native wellness and resilience. Learn more at warchiefcollection.com

Her words of encouragement for all who are in recovery? “Pray about it. Cry about it. Read about it. Write about it. Talk about it. Be about it.”

Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast 

All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/

PART 3

In this powerful 3-part episode, we dive into the tragic legacy of the Wounded Knee Massacre and its connection to the ongoing fight for Native American religious freedom.

My guest, law Professor, Richard Garnett - a Choctaw citizen and expert in religious freedom at Notre Dame - helps unpack what the law *actually* says about Native religious rights, sacred land use, and the balance between tribal sovereignty and U.S. legal systems.

From the Ghost Dance to peyote use in the Native American Church, and from religious Acts and the Constitution, we explore how Native faith practices have been criminalized, protected, and misunderstood throughout U.S. history.

We also discuss the painful irony that Native communities often need specific legislation just to practice their traditions, unlike many other faiths in America. Professor Garnett shares why religious freedom isn't just about individual rights - it's also about land, language, and the deep communal connection to sacred spaces.

If you’ve ever wondered how law students and Professors at places like Notre Dame are shaping the future or how land rights like those at Oak Flat and beyond are tied to religious liberty, this episode is for you.

Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast

All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/

PART 2

In this powerful 3-part episode, we dive into the tragic legacy of the Wounded Knee Massacre and its connection to the ongoing fight for Native American religious freedom.

My guest, law Professor, Richard Garnett - a Choctaw citizen and expert in religious freedom at Notre Dame - helps unpack what the law *actually* says about Native religious rights, sacred land use, and the balance between tribal sovereignty and U.S. legal systems.

From the Ghost Dance to peyote use in the Native American Church, and from religious Acts and the Constitution, we explore how Native faith practices have been criminalized, protected, and misunderstood throughout U.S. history.

We also discuss the painful irony that Native communities often need specific legislation just to practice their traditions, unlike many other faiths in America. Professor Garnett shares why religious freedom isn't just about individual rights - it's also about land, language, and the deep communal connection to sacred spaces.

If you’ve ever wondered how law students and Professors at places like Notre Dame are shaping the future or how land rights like those at Oak Flat and beyond are tied to religious liberty, this episode is for you.

Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast

All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/

In this powerful 3-part episode, we dive into the tragic legacy of the Wounded Knee Massacre and its connection to the ongoing fight for Native American religious freedom.

My guest, law Professor, Richard Garnett - a Choctaw citizen and expert in religious freedom at Notre Dame - helps unpack what the law *actually* says about Native religious rights, sacred land use, and the balance between tribal sovereignty and U.S. legal systems.

From the Ghost Dance to peyote use in the Native American Church, and from religious Acts and the Constitution, we explore how Native faith practices have been criminalized, protected, and misunderstood throughout U.S. history.

We also discuss the painful irony that Native communities often need specific legislation just to practice their traditions, unlike many other faiths in America. Professor Garnett shares why religious freedom isn't just about individual rights - it's also about land, language, and the deep communal connection to sacred spaces.

If you’ve ever wondered how law students and Professors at places like Notre Dame are shaping the future or how land rights like those at Oak Flat and beyond are tied to religious liberty, this episode is for you.

Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast

All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/

PART 3

In this new season of Native ChocTalk, I sat down with Tiffany Baker, the heart and hands behind Bakers Bar Soapery!

Tiffany shares her powerful journey of tracing her Choctaw ancestors — all connected by one common thread: the land. From uncovering family allotments and the deep sentiment of holding onto family land, to the tangled stories of district agents, guardianship scams, and the feisty squabbles between Choctaw mammas — with a bit of Tamaha, Oklahoma town gossip sprinkled in too!

Tune in to hear how Tiffany weaves her family’s past into her modern-day business, creating soaps that carry the love, land, and legacy of her people — and maybe a bit of Tamaha mischief too.

 Listen now and get inspired by the strength that runs through the land — and the families who keep it alive.

 

Native ChocTalk Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast 

All Podcast Episodes:  https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/

PART 2

In this new season of Native ChocTalk, I sat down with Tiffany Baker, the heart and hands behind Bakers Bar Soapery

Tiffany shares her powerful journey of tracing her Choctaw ancestors — all connected by one common thread: the land. From uncovering family allotments and the deep sentiment of holding onto family land, to the tangled stories of district agents, guardianship scams, and the feisty squabbles between Choctaw mammas — with a bit of Tamaha, Oklahoma town gossip sprinkled in too!

Tune in to hear how Tiffany weaves her family’s past into her modern-day business, creating soaps that carry the love, land, and legacy of her people — and maybe a bit of Tamaha mischief too.

 

Listen now and get inspired by the strength that runs through the land — and the families who keep it alive.

Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast 

All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/

PART 1

In this new season of Native ChocTalk, I sat down with Tiffany Baker, the heart and hands behind Bakers Bar Soapery!

Tiffany shares her powerful journey of tracing her Choctaw ancestors — all connected by one common thread: the land. From uncovering family allotments and the deep sentiment of holding onto family land, to the tangled stories of district agents, guardianship scams, and the feisty squabbles between Choctaw mammas — with a bit of Tamaha, Oklahoma town gossip sprinkled in too!

Tune in to hear how Tiffany weaves her family’s past into her modern-day business, creating soaps that carry the love, land, and legacy of her people — and maybe a bit of Tamaha mischief too.

 Listen now and get inspired by the strength that runs through the land — and the families who keep it alive.

Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast 

All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/

It started with a murder...but what followed was silence. And for one Choctaw family, that silence lasted for generations.

In this gripping two-part series, we dive into a mystery that stretches across time - a broken bloodline, a forgotten story, and the journey to uncover the truth. It begins with the unsolved killing of Adam Wilkins, who served as a Choctaw Indian Police and interpreter — and the great-grandfather of my guest, Amy Lemmer.

Still, as we’ve seen in true Choctaw fashion, this isn’t just a story about loss - it’s about legacy. Because Amy’s family didn’t let that tragedy define them.

In the previous series, her father, Woodrow Wilkins, Jr., gave us a window into a nearly 100-year life — telling stories of his childhood, his first picture show, his service in the military, and the deep cultural threads that tie their family to Choctaw history.

Now, Amy steps in to pick up where the silence began - and perhaps, where healing begins, too.

Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast

All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/

It started with a murder...but what followed was silence. And for one Choctaw family, that silence lasted for generations.

In this gripping two-part series, we dive into a mystery that stretches across time - a broken bloodline, a forgotten story, and the journey to uncover the truth. It begins with the unsolved killing of Adam Wilkins, who served as a Choctaw Indian Police and interpreter — and the great-grandfather of my guest, Amy Lemmer.

Still, as we’ve seen in true Choctaw fashion, this isn’t just a story about loss - it’s about legacy. Because Amy’s family didn’t let that tragedy define them.

In the previous series, her father, Woodrow Wilkins, Jr., gave us a window into a nearly 100-year life — telling stories of his childhood, his first picture show, his service in the military, and the deep cultural threads that tie their family to Choctaw history.

Now, Amy steps in to pick up where the silence began - and perhaps, where healing begins, too.

Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast

All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/