Native Edge

Any questions or comments please send here!

We're back! Episode 21 of The Native Edge podcast is a conversation with Holland and Knight attorney James Meggesto that took place during the closing general session at RES 2025. This was our first-ever live recording, and we hope you enjoy the conversation that Chris and Yvette had with James. 

James discussed his career journey, first thoughts about the new Trump Administration, how Indian Country can advocate for its interests, and potential opportunities for tribes. This episode will be available on our YouTube page - so please make sure to watch it, like so many did at RES.

Holland and Knight has been a longtime supporter of both The National Center and Indian Country and we appreciate James joining us for a live episode. Take a listen, subscribe, and tell your friends!

James Meggesto |
https://www.hklaw.com/en/professionals/m/meggesto-james-t

Holland and Knight |
https://www.hklaw.com/en

National Center YouTube Page |
https://www.youtube.com/@TheNationalCenter 

Support the show

Support The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development |
https://ncaied.org/get-involved/make-a-gift-today.html

Watch on YouTube |
https://www.youtube.com/@TheNationalCenter

This podcast is brought to you in part through the generous support of the Rich Davis and Tylynn Gordon Charitable Fund.

Stay Updated 👇👇
@NCAIED 📲 Web | Monthly Newsletter | Facebook | Instagram |YouTube | LinkedIn | X | TikTok |     

Any questions or comments please send here!

For episode 20, we're joined by Bobby Martin, Program Manager for Navajo Nation Tourism and Tony Skrelunas, Director of the Navajo Nation Division of Economic Development. Yvette and guest host Kyia Jackson sat down with Bobby and Tony during a recent Native Edge Institute in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Bobby and Tony shared some of the Navajo Nation's incredible work in tourism, which has become an important part of its economic development portfolio. They also discuss Navajo Tourism's support for local small businesses and eagerness to partner for future endeavors.

Plus, you can hear Yvette's excitement when recounting the time she stood on corner in a certain small town in Northern Arizona.

Want to learn more about tourism? Join us at next week's Reservation Economic Summit, where Native tourism will be a big topic of conversation. You can also learn more about The National Center's tourism program, linked below. 

Thanks for listening - and tell a friend!

Navajo Nation Division of Economic Development |
https://navajoeconomy.org/

Navajo Nation Tourism |
https://discovernavajo.com/

Contact Bobby Martin |
[email protected]

Native Edge Tourism Technical Assistance Center |
https://nativeedgetourism.org/

Support the show

Support The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development |
https://ncaied.org/get-involved/make-a-gift-today.html

Watch on YouTube |
https://www.youtube.com/@TheNationalCenter

This podcast is brought to you in part through the generous support of the Rich Davis and Tylynn Gordon Charitable Fund.

Stay Updated 👇👇
@NCAIED 📲 Web | Monthly Newsletter | Facebook | Instagram |YouTube | LinkedIn | X | TikTok |     

Any questions or comments please send here!

We're just six days from the Reservation Economic Summit, and that means back-to-back episodes of the Native Edge podcast. Special guest host Nicole Watson steps in for Yvette for a great conversation with Dr. Traci Morris, Executive Director of the Center for Tribal Digital Sovereignty, located within the American Indian Policy Institute at Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law.

Dr. Morris discusses her career path, starting out as a hairdresser and ultimately completing three degrees and becoming a go-to expert on all things related to tribal broadband, including writing a book on the subject that is expected to be released later this year. Dr. Morris will be speaking about tribal broadband as a foundation for economic development on a RES panel on Tuesday, March 11.

In addition, the Spring 2025 cohort of the Indigenous Leadership Academy will be presenting their business pitches at RES on Monday, March 10. RES attendees are welcomed to attend the ILA meeting.

Enjoy this engaging conversation - and see you next week at RES!

Traci L. Morris, PhD |
https://aipi.asu.edu/traci-l-morris-phd

American Indian Policy Institute/Center for Tribal Digital Sovereignty  |
https://aipi.asu.edu/ctds

The Indigenous Leadership Academy |
https://aipi.asu.edu/ila

Support the show

Support The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development |
https://ncaied.org/get-involved/make-a-gift-today.html

Watch on YouTube |
https://www.youtube.com/@TheNationalCenter

This podcast is brought to you in part through the generous support of the Rich Davis and Tylynn Gordon Charitable Fund.

Stay Updated 👇👇
@NCAIED 📲 Web | Monthly Newsletter | Facebook | Instagram |YouTube | LinkedIn | X | TikTok |     

Any questions or comments please send here!

We're back for season 2 of the Native Edge podcast! And we have a great guest to kick off the new season: Onawa Haynes, CEO/Founder of Hozhonigo Consulting - "team of problem solvers."

Since 2015, Onawa and Hozhonigo have helped clients secure over $50 million in vital grant funding for transportation, water infrastructure, education, language revitalization, cybersecurity, and more.

Learn more about Onawa's career, which started in pageantry, and her tireless work to help Indian Country. Plus, you'll hear more about the upcoming Reservation Economic Summit, where Onawa will be formally launching the Tribal Funding Registry, as well as where we'll host Native Edge Institutes in the coming months.

Thank you for listening, and tell your friends! We will have several episodes coming out this week ahead of RES, so stay tuned. And if you're at RES, we'll be set up near the registration desks for you to learn more about the podcast, so stop by!

Hozhonigo Consulting |
https://www.hozhonigo.com/

Tribal Funding Registry |
https://www.tribalfunding.org/

Support the show

Support The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development |
https://ncaied.org/get-involved/make-a-gift-today.html

Watch on YouTube |
https://www.youtube.com/@TheNationalCenter

This podcast is brought to you in part through the generous support of the Rich Davis and Tylynn Gordon Charitable Fund.

Stay Updated 👇👇
@NCAIED 📲 Web | Monthly Newsletter | Facebook | Instagram |YouTube | LinkedIn | X | TikTok |     

Any questions or comments please send here!

For Episode 17 of The Native Edge podcast, E. Skye Byrd and Kyia Jackson sub in for Chris and Yvette to talk about shopping Native, particularly around the holidays. They welcomed the founders of Scottsdale, AZ-based Native Art Market Denise Rosales and Heather Tracy to talk about their business and career journey - and of course to share some of their amazing products.

Plus, everyone brought in some of their favorite Indigenous-made apparel and discussed some of their favorite artisans, all of whom are listed below. Of course, listening doesn't do them justice; stay tuned for the video version of the podcast that will be posted in the coming days on The National Center's YouTube channel, where you can see the quality and creativity yourself.

We hope you enjoy - and make sure to shop Native this holiday season. We'll see you in 2025 for a new season of The Native Edge podcast. Thank you to everyone who made 2024 a success!

Businesses talked about:

Native Art Market
https://www.thenativeartmarket.com/
IG: Native Art Market

Copper Canoe Women
https://www.coppercanoewoman.com/

Meka Clothing
https://www.mekaclothing.com/

Indigenous Land
IG: IndigenousLand

Relative Arts NYC
https://www.relativeartsnyc.com/

OXDX
https://www.oxdxclothing.com/

Asdzáá Stardust
IG: asdzaa_stardust
https://asdzaastardust.myshopify.com/

Eighth Generation
https://eighthgeneration.com/

Still She Lives
https://www.stillshelives.com/

ASEP Design
https://www.asepdesigns.studio/

Glittering World Gal
IG: Gilitteringworldgal

Lynnette Haozous
https://www.lynnettehaozous.com/
IG: Ihaozous

Still She Lives
IG: Stillshelives
https://www.stillshelives.com/

Avery Apparel Company

Support the show

Support The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development |
https://ncaied.org/get-involved/make-a-gift-today.html

Watch on YouTube |
https://www.youtube.com/@TheNationalCenter

This podcast is brought to you in part through the generous support of the Rich Davis and Tylynn Gordon Charitable Fund.

Stay Updated 👇👇
@NCAIED 📲 Web | Monthly Newsletter | Facebook | Instagram |YouTube | LinkedIn | X | TikTok |     

Any questions or comments please send here!

For episode 16, we welcomed renowned journalist Mark Trahant to the studio for a conversation about his storied career, from a tribal high school basketball radio announcer to interviewing a President of the United States. Mark is currently Editor-at-Large at Indian Country Today, and over his five-decade career he has worked across both Native and mainstream media, and even had stints in government and academia. 

We hope you enjoy the discussion and learn about the future of journalism, and what to expect from a new administration taking over in Washington. Mark is also working on a new book about Native women leaders in the 20th Century.

Support the show

Support The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development |
https://ncaied.org/get-involved/make-a-gift-today.html

Watch on YouTube |
https://www.youtube.com/@TheNationalCenter

This podcast is brought to you in part through the generous support of the Rich Davis and Tylynn Gordon Charitable Fund.

Stay Updated 👇👇
@NCAIED 📲 Web | Monthly Newsletter | Facebook | Instagram |YouTube | LinkedIn | X | TikTok |     

Any questions or comments please send here!

In Episode 15 - and the fourth installment in our Native American Heritage Month series - we welcome Dr. Jeremy Garcia and Dr. Valerie Shirley from the Indigenous Teacher Education Program at the University of Arizona.

Chris and Yvette lead a wide-ranging conversation about Indigenous education and the origins of ITEP, as well as Dr. Garcia and Dr. Shirley's book Indigenizing Education. They share their approach on how they prepare undergraduate students to create culturally-rooted curriculum, drawn from their own culture, origin stories, philosophies, and languages. We hope you listen - and tell your friends to download!

More information on the topics discussed in this podcast:

ITEP Website | https://itep.coe.arizona.edu/

Indigenizing Education | https://www.infoagepub.com/products/Indigenizing-Education

Donate to ITEP | https://give.uafoundation.org/results?id=a3b513d3-05ea-4cb8-8931-ff45a5a52a70

Support the show

Support The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development |
https://ncaied.org/get-involved/make-a-gift-today.html

Watch on YouTube |
https://www.youtube.com/@TheNationalCenter

This podcast is brought to you in part through the generous support of the Rich Davis and Tylynn Gordon Charitable Fund.

Stay Updated 👇👇
@NCAIED 📲 Web | Monthly Newsletter | Facebook | Instagram |YouTube | LinkedIn | X | TikTok |     

Any questions or comments please send here!

For episode 14, we welcome Sherry Black, who has a long history in advancing economic development throughout Indian Country. Sherry talks about her early involvement with Native Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), the importance of board representation and networking, and her extensive work across Native organizations and philanthropy, including the Johnson Scholarship Foundation.

This is the third episode in our Native American Heritage Month series. We hope you check them all out - and also learn more about some of the organizations with which Sherry is involved. Looking for other ways to support The National Center? Consider supporting us - and wearing your support for Native-owned businesses - by purchasing a specially designed t-shirt celebrating Native American Heritage Month! All proceeds go to support The National Center's programming.

Learn more:

The Johnson Scholarship Foundation
First Nations Development Institute
Junior Achievement USA
Native American Agriculture Fund
Native CDFI Network
Native Americans in Philanthropy
First Peoples Fund

The Native Edge podcast is produced in part through the generous support of the Rich Davis and Tylynn Gordon Charitable Fund.

Support the show

Support The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development |
https://ncaied.org/get-involved/make-a-gift-today.html

Watch on YouTube |
https://www.youtube.com/@TheNationalCenter

This podcast is brought to you in part through the generous support of the Rich Davis and Tylynn Gordon Charitable Fund.

Stay Updated 👇👇
@NCAIED 📲 Web | Monthly Newsletter | Facebook | Instagram |YouTube | LinkedIn | X | TikTok |     

Any questions or comments please send here!

On Episode 13 of The Native Edge podcast, Chris and Yvette welcomed Fawn Sharp to The National Center's headquarters in Mesa, Arizona. Fawn is well-known throughout Indian Country from her time as President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and leadership in Quinault Indian Nation and Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians.

Fawn shares her path to leadership; her incredible local, regional, and national efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic; advocacy in combatting climate change; current role as a board member of the Nature Conservancy; and how the rest of the world can learn from Indigenous peoples and culture.

The interviewed was recorded over the summer, but we wanted to releases it during Native American Heritage Month. Throughout the month, we are selling a customed designed t-shirt encouraging you to buy Native throughout the month. All proceeds go directly to support our incredibly programming. Click here to purchase a shirt!

Support the show

Support The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development |
https://ncaied.org/get-involved/make-a-gift-today.html

Watch on YouTube |
https://www.youtube.com/@TheNationalCenter

This podcast is brought to you in part through the generous support of the Rich Davis and Tylynn Gordon Charitable Fund.

Stay Updated 👇👇
@NCAIED 📲 Web | Monthly Newsletter | Facebook | Instagram |YouTube | LinkedIn | X | TikTok |     

Any questions or comments please send here!

Thank you for listening to The Native Edge, and Happy Native Heritage Month! We will be releasing shows weekly, starting with episode 12 featuring a conversation that Chris and Yvette had with Hud Oberly during a recent Native Edge Institute in New York.

Hud, a Ralph Lauren model and Founder and Creative Director at Here's to You, is no stranger to The National Center. He is a 40 Under 40 honoree, speaker at RES, and was on a panel at the New York NEI.

Learn more about Hud's journey and his passion for uplifting Indigenous art and creatives. Plus, a big plug for the benefits of the 40 Under 40 program (nominations for the 2025 class due soon!). Check out some of the programs and organizations discussed below. As always, thank you for listening - and tell your friends!


Here's to You

Native Forward Scholars Fund

UNITY

40 Under 40 Program Nomination Form

2025 Reservation Economic Summit

2024 Native American Heritage Month T-Shirt

Daryl Domingo | https://is.gd/cxAQMB

Support the show

Support The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development |
https://ncaied.org/get-involved/make-a-gift-today.html

Watch on YouTube |
https://www.youtube.com/@TheNationalCenter

This podcast is brought to you in part through the generous support of the Rich Davis and Tylynn Gordon Charitable Fund.

Stay Updated 👇👇
@NCAIED 📲 Web | Monthly Newsletter | Facebook | Instagram |YouTube | LinkedIn | X | TikTok |