Recently I traveled to New Mexico to check out the 2025 SWAIA Indian Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I had the good fortune of Catching up with Kandis Quam (Zuni & Diné Nation) she's an accomplished and talented artist. I first became aware of Kandis when she co-curated the PIVOT Skateboard Deck Art Exhibition in 2022 at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Kandis Quam. is half Navajo and Zuni. Her maternal clan is the Folded Arm People (Bit’ahnii), and she’s a child of the Golden Eagle Clan (Kya’kya’li:kwe). Her maternal grandparents are George Tom and Bahe Tom, while her paternal grandparents are Lamber Homer and Annie Gasper.

Growing up in a family of renowned Native American artists, she accompanied her parents, Jayne and Lynn Quam, to various art markets. This exposure ignited her passion for following in her family’s footsteps and preserving the Quam family legacy of art.

Kandis aspired to be the first in my family to complete college. After graduating from Zuni High School, She enrolled at New Mexico State University-Main Campus. Five years later, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Cultural Anthropology and a minor in American Indian Studies. Once she graduated she returned home to the Pueblo of Zuni, where she dedicated herself to building Natachu INK full-time with her cousin, Elroy Natachu Jr.

In 2022, she embarked on a new journey as an art leader for a youth non-profit organization: Zuni Youth Enrichment Project. Through art and creativity, she has been empowering Zuni youth to develop confidence and cultural awareness. 

Her work in creating and teaching, utilizes visual media and other art forms to bridge the past with the present, fostering positive change through the power of beauty.

Instagram: @rezrainbow

Facebook: @kandisquam

As a motivational speaker he is also founder of Dreams Alive which reaches out to youth and inmates around the country.

Antonio is a member of Isleta Pueblo who began in the entertainment business as a young boy dancing in his family’s Native Tiwa dance troupe touring the Southwest. His acting began in theatre while in elementary school. He studied at the Santa Fe Indian School’s Actors Studio. From there moving into television and motion pictures, he later became co-chair of the Minorities Committee for the Screen Actors Guild NM branch.

He left his entertainment career to study biochemistry at New Mexico State University and then medicine at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Throughout his studies he continued his musical career and was a guest lecturer in music, communications, film and media and native studies programs at various schools and universities around the country. He left his academic studies after receiving news about his ailing grandmother and returned to Isleta.

He is actively involved in supporting the NM movie industry and started his work again volunteering with Native youth programs on and off the reservations stirring up excitement among them about the possibilities of a career in film and television.

Episode Rewind from the LiveStream Ganondagan Indigenous Music & Arts Festival 2025 I got to sit down with TWO LEGENDS in the Game Mr. Derek Miller (Six Nations of the Grand River Mohawk), Musician, Guitar Player and Producer and the ONE AND ONLY Mr. Gary Farmer (Six Nations of the Grand River Cayuga, Wolf Clan) Actor, Harmonica Player and Icon. LEGENDARY Conversation with Two Great Performers!! Episode to be released on Spotify and Wherever Else you get your Podcasts!!

Derek Miller & Gary Farmer

Derek Miller & Gary Farmer have been performing together since 2017, creating a powerful blend of blues and rock and delivering electrifying performances. Their recent collaborations include Miller producing Farmer's album "Lucky 7," which features several songs co-written by Miller, including "Cadillacs Don't Care."

This duo's dynamic stage presence and musical chemistry make them a compelling act that you won't want to miss!

Paige Bethmann is a Haudenosaunee woman (Mohawk/Oneida) and first-time feature filmmaker based in Reno, Nevada. Over the last 10 years, Paige has worked in non-fiction television for various digital and broadcast networks such as ESPN, PBS, Vox Media, Youtube Originals, USA, and NBC. Her directorial debut REMAINING NATIVE premiered at SXSW winning a special Jury Award and Audience Award. In 2024, Paige was named by DOC NYC’s 40 under 40 list of filmmakers to watch. She is a graduate of Ithaca College, with a bachelor’s degree in Film, Television, and Radio from the Park School of Communications.

For Film Information

@RemainingNativeDoc

Film Screening | Remaining Native with Q&A

Wednesday | September 10, 20257 PM

The Little’s One Take Documentary Film Series presents award-winning documentary film Remaining Native on September 10th at 7:00PM.

Anenhaienton “Scattering Corn Man” Joshua Sargent is a Mohawk of Akwesasne, that infamous political oddity situated on the Saint Lawrence River. By day he is a Senior Mindfulness Leader for Holistic Life Foundation, radio producer and personality for 97.3 CKON Mohawk Nation Radio, and on many nights can be found performing Stand Up comedy.Additionally he has decades of experience as a cultural educator and public speaker. He is a certified Permaculturalist, Haudenosaunee Sovereigntist, Activist, A/V guy, computer enthusiast, builder, and experimenter. He lives in a house made of straw, way out in the bush, on the edge of the world, and makes raging unrestrained ADHD work for him. Joshua fostered a comedic edge and timing in his public speaking for many years and began performing stand-up at open mics and local events in 2019, where he joined forces to become one-third of The Aboriginal Outlaws. Amid the pandemic, he and his two comrades birthed “The Aboriginal Outlaws Podcast” into the world to bless Human Kind with hilarity. Joshua crossed paths with future co-host Isaac White on the Aboriginal Outlaws Podcast, spawning the more serious and politically motivated production: Sage Against The Machine, a podcast focused on indigenous politics from Akwesasne and Haudenosaunee Country.

George Ironstrack is a citizen of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and the Assistant Director of the Myaamia Center at Miami University. He has participated in Myaamia language renewal projects as both a student and a teacher since the mid-1990s. Examples of his work can be found on the Myaamia Community Blog: aacimotaatiiyankwi.org.

George will be a guest at the:

Indigenous Music & Arts Festival

Saturday & Sunday | July 26-27, 2025

TIME: 10 AM - 6 PM

PRICE: Free Admission (donations welcome)

LOCATION: Ganondagan State Historic Site

In the All Our Relations Tent, we’re proud to host artists and performers from the Myaamiaki - Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, celebrating their rich traditions and creativity. Haudenosaunee artists and knowledge keepers will offer demonstrations, sharing their expertise and cultural insights.

Dr. Rainer Hatoum, Provenance Researcher for the Anthropological Collections of the Municipal Museum Brunswick, Germany and Michael Galban (Washoe and Mono Lake Paiute) Ganondagan State Historic Site Manager and Director of the Seneca Art And Culture Center discuss Hessian Mercenary Collections from the Revolutionary War Period. Rainer is organizing an exhibition in Brunswick Germany. These items may have originated in and around the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Valley region with influences tracing back to Haudenosaunee and Anishnaabe origins. These items have been beautifully preserved and are some of the oldest collections in Europe that originated from North America.

This is an interesting conversation and I encourage you to watch with the video on. You will be able to see the Objects being discussed.

https://whichmuseum.com/museum/stadtisches-museum-braunschweig-brunswick-26136

#revolutionarywar #nativeamericanart #hessianmercenaries #germany #indigenouspodcast #indigenousart #quillwork #moccasins #nativearts #haudenosaunee #hessian #brunswick #braunschweig

In this episode we welcome back Michael Galban (Washoe and Mono Lake Paiute) Director of the Seneca Art And Culture Center and Site Manager of Ganondagan State Historic Site. On July 19-20th Ganondagan will be co-sponsoring a Cradle Board Special during the Marvin "Joe" Curry Veterans Pow Wow at the Seneca Allegany Resort on the Allegany Seneca Nation Territory. Head Iroquois Man Dance Jordan Smith (Mohawk Nation) and his wife Kehala Smith are partnering with Ganondagan to sponsor the Cradle Board Special at the Pow Wow. Michael Galban provides a bit of background on the tradition and meaning of a Cradle Board Special and also his knowledge and understanding of Pow Wow culture. He has recently gotten back into Pow Wow dancing as a Southern Straight Dancer. Give it a listen, I think you will enjoy this podcast.

On June 21st We sat down with Mohawk director Katsitsionni Fox (Akwesasne Mohawk, Bear Clan) and Onondaga seed keeper Angela Ferguson (Onondaga Nation, Eel Clan) The Friends of Ganondagan hosted a double feature film screenings of "Kanenon:we - Original Seeds" and "Tentsitewahkwe - Again We Pick it Up.

Both women are inspiring Mothers, Teachers, Artists, Seed Savers and Community leaders. I enjoyed this conversation and really enjoyed the films Filmed and Produced by Tsionni Fox.

For Film Screening Updates check Facebook and Instagram

Follow on Facebook: Kanenon:we - Original Seeds

Instagram: Lifegiverspottery

kanenonweoriginalseeds.com

Cindy Lynn Martin

Eahwahewi (Six Nations Cayuga, Turtle Clan) 

Haudenosaunee Author and Cultural Resource Developer

She works to create Haudenosaunee traditional health resources for enhancing overall well-being. Drawing on a deep well of cultural knowledge, She’s developed tools like the Reconnection Journey Through the Tree Rings to support individuals' and families' journeys toward mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional harmony.

She is actively contributing as a speaker and author, she’s embraced the role of stewarding her heritage, ensuring traditional teachings as a path to wellness.

In January Cindy was given 3-6 months to live as she has been diagnosed with a rare form of Cancer. She has gone through Chemo Radiation treatments and so far with both Western and Traditional medicines She is Still Going Strong!! She shares her courageous story with me and she inspires me to be better.

Outside of her speaking engagements and community work Cindy is a Coach, a singer, a paddler, photographer, Writer, Firefighter and a Skilled Archer.

Cindy has written and created a children’s book entitled “If My Paddle Could Sing” a book for paddlers and their children. Additionally she authored the books “The Protector of Peace” and “Recover, Rebuild, Reclaim Self” available on Amazon.

If My Paddle Could Sing

https://a.co/d/fUj1MTl

The Protector of Peace: A Haudenosaunee Story

https://a.co/d/4cWjV2q

Recover. Rebuild. Reclaim Self.: The Empowerment of Eahwahewi'

https://a.co/d/a41Hfk6