Carson is back to the podcast grind!! For my first episode back, I decided to do a summary of my final for my cultural sovereignty class. I dive into the hunter-gatherer narrative imposed on Indigenous people by early settler explorers. I then combat this narrative with critical thinking and PROOF that our people were something far more advanced than hunter-gatherers. I hope ya'll enjoy! I love getting the opportunity to nerd out about these subjects.

Greetings, everyone. My name is Carson Shaver. On July 15th, I had the privilege of interviewing Scott Schuyler, the policy representative of the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe. Schuyler breaks down the challenges faced by an Upper Skagit tribal member in today's society. From dam removal, hunting & fishing rights, to the revival of endangered species, Schuyler knows all.

Lora Pennington is an Upper Skagit tribal member and was a student of Vi Hilbert. Lora is a fluent lushootseed speaker and recalls plenty of Upper Skagit's history.

This episode covers A LOT of content. Lora & I cover the Upper Skagit history including the Boldt decision, and how that divided the tribes. We also discuss language revitalization and the importance of recognizing the differences between southern and northern dialects. Lora also recalls her relationship with her grandmother Vi Hilbert and shares advice to today's youth.

This episode breaks down the purpose of the podcast and the future guests I will be interviewing. I hope this episode helps everyone understand the goals of this podcast, and what I plan to accomplish.