Seedcast

Who are you? Where are you from? And who’s your mob? 

This new Seedcast Spotlight is coming from friends in Australia, and we love this opening question offered by Lore of the Land, because for Indigenous peoples, where you’re from and who your people are is at the center of stewarding the land we are connected to. 

Lore of the Land is a podcast produced by the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation. In this excerpt, host Sean Appoo (Birri Gubba and Kabi Kabi) interviews Joe Morrison (Dagoman and Torres Strait ancestry) of the Land and Sea Corporation, which helps Indigenous Australians to acquire and manage land and water rights.  

As Joe shares, the land title process in Australia is complicated by requirements to prove sustained connection to land, which has been broken by centuries of discrimination, assimilation, and other types of social and physical violence. Joe shares some of the hurdles related to the formal land title process, the effects of settler colonialism on Indigenous identity, and why it’s important to honor the elders who fought to hard so we could have a chance to be here, carrying forward their stories, knowledge, and important work of healing the planet. 

Special thanks to Joe Morrison for sharing your insights as well as a kind connection to the Lore of the Land team. Thanks also to host Sean Appoo of the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation and Sean Turtur with Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation for generously sharing this episode.  

Learn more:  

• Lore of the Land Podcast 
• Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation 
• Aboriginal Carbon Foundation 

Seedcast is a production of Nia Tero, a global nonprofit which supports Indigenous land guardianship around the world through policy, partnership, and storytelling initiatives.

Enjoy the Seedcast podcast on the Nia Tero website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

Keep up with Seedcast on Instagram and use the hashtag #Seedcast.

“This Earth is an island, just like we inhabit Hawai’i as an island. Island mentality [is] that you live in this place that's confined in geography and limited in resources. Because of that, you depend on the community that you live with to take care of each other and to steward those resources in a meaningful way.” 

Justyn Ah Chong (Kānaka Maoli) is a climate storyteller who guides creative projects in support of Indigenous land sovereignty in Hawai’i. In this episode, Justyn shares the magic of circumnavigating the globe guided only by the wind and stars, on the Polynesian voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa that inspired a cultural renaissance. We also hear excepts from Justyn’s Emmy-award winning film Pili Ka Moʻo, which shares the fight of the Fukumitsu ʻOhana (family) of Hakipuʻu trying to protect their ancestors’ remains from a big corporate ranch.  

Pili Ka Moʻo is part of the first season of our sibling initiative, Reciprocity Project. Watch the entire film here. 

Learn more about the Polynesian Voyaging Society at www.hokulea.com  

The song “Island Views” was provided by Rexie. Hear more of her music here. 

Host: Jessica Ramirez. Producer: Stina Hamlin. Story Editor: Jenny Asarnow 

Seedcast is a production of Nia Tero, a global nonprofit which supports Indigenous land guardianship around the world through policy, partnership, and storytelling initiatives.

Enjoy the Seedcast podcast on the Nia Tero website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

Keep up with Seedcast on Instagram and use the hashtag #Seedcast.

“The land is our mother. The forest is our father. And the river is our blood.” 

Today we share a story of an Indigenous people who fought for their forest – and won. Sungai Utik is a village in the Indonesian province of Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, where people treat nature “as if it is our own bodies.” Since the 1970s, companies have tried to take trees and land, but the village has successfully defended their forest. In this special episode, 18-yr old Kynan Tegar, a Dayak Iban filmmaker from Sungai Utik, shares excerpts from his upcoming film, which he describes as a “love letter” to the forest and river he grew up with. In these clips, hear village elders explain how they heeded the warnings of the omen birds to ward off those who would endanger their forests and way of life. 

Thank you to Dayak Iban elders Apai Janggut, Apai Gadja, and Apai Kudi, whose voices and stories are included in Kynan’s film, as well as this episode. 

Deep gratitude to Kynan Tegar and his filmmaking partners, Muhammed ‘Aldi’ Khatami and Yogi Armada, for sharing audio from their film, which is being made in partnership with the Wayfinders Circle. Wayfinders Circle is a global network of Indigenous communities, including Sungai Utik, and is dedicated to unleashing the transformative potential of Indigenous lifeways, inspiring all people to reimagine development, conservation, and the way they relate to each other and to Mother Earth. The conveners of the Wayfinders Circle are the Pawanka Fund, the World Union of Indigenous Spiritual Practitioners and Nia Tero.
 

Special thanks to our Nia Tero colleagues Joel Cerda and David Rothschild for kind guidance and generous introductions that made this episode possible. 

Host: Jessica Ramirez. Producer and Audio Mix: Jenny Asarnow. Story Editor: Nils Cowan. 

Learn more: 

• Kynan Tegar’s journey on Instagram 
• Kynan Tegar’s work on If Not Us Then Who? 
• Wayfinders Circle 

More Wayfinders Circle Collaborations:

• The Boat of Dreams: How the Achuar Embraced Solar Power 
• Meet the Gabbra People of East Africa Pt 1 
• The Omen Bird Still Sings in Sungai Utik
• Tuhaymani'chi Pal Waniqa (The Water Flows Always) in the Mojave Desert
• The Sacred Essence of Blackfoot Culture

Seedcast is a production of Nia Tero, a global nonprofit which supports Indigenous land guardianship around the world through policy, partnership, and storytelling initiatives.

Enjoy the Seedcast podcast on the Nia Tero website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

Keep up with Seedcast on Instagram and use the hashtag #Seedcast.

We’re overjoyed to share with you an episode from 5 Plain Questions, a podcast hosted by Joe Williams (Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate). In this episode, Joe talks with Jeffrey Gibson (Choctaw/Cherokee), an artist who exemplifies the care of community and the sharing of resources that makes a difference for so many Indigenous peoples for collective benefit. Jeffrey speaks about the progression of his art, from his formal training as a painter to his more recent work in immersive installations incorporating “a lot of materials that I would find in the vendor circuit of powows.” 5 Plain Questions is a project of the Plains Art Museum in Fargo, North Dakota, and we’re grateful to host and producer Joe Williams for sharing this episode with us. 

Learn more about:  

• Jeffrey Gibson, Guest 
• Joe Williams, Host 
• 5 Plain Questions 
• Plains Art Museum 

Seedcast is a production of Nia Tero, a global nonprofit which supports Indigenous land guardianship around the world through policy, partnership, and storytelling initiatives.

Enjoy the Seedcast podcast on the Nia Tero website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

Keep up with Seedcast on Instagram and use the hashtag #Seedcast.

We’re asserting joy in this conversation about Black and Indigenous solidarity work in the climate justice movement. Seedcast’s Executive Producer Tracy Rector talks with global leaders who are connecting Black and Indigenous communities in their shared work toward building a healthier society and Earth for all. Reverend Lennox Yearwood Jr. is President and CEO of U.S.-based Hip Hop Caucus, which activates the Hip Hop community to create racial justice, healthy communities, and a sustainable planet. Leo Cerda (Kichwa from the community of Serena in the Ecuadorian Amazon) is at the center of global climate change and Indigenous rights conversations as the creator of the Black Indigenous Liberation Movement, a coalition of collectives, peoples, grassroots organizations, and social movements across Turtle Island and Abya Yala (North and South America) counteracting racism, discrimination, violence, colonialism, extractive industries and the ravages of racial capitalism. 

Hosts: Jessica Ramirez & Tracy Rector. Producer: Stina Hamlin. Story Editor: Tracy Rector 

Resources: 

• Rev. Yearwood on Instagram
• Hip Hop Caucus: Website + Instagram + Podcast 
• Leo Cerda on Instagram 
• Black Indigenous Liberation Movement: Website + Instagram 
• Leo Cerda featured previously on Seedcast  

Seedcast is a production of Nia Tero, a global nonprofit which supports Indigenous land guardianship around the world through policy, partnership, and storytelling initiatives.

Enjoy the Seedcast podcast on the Nia Tero website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

Keep up with Seedcast on Instagram and use the hashtag #Seedcast.

Na esteira de uma mudança política no Brasil em direção à justiça ambiental e aos direitos indígenas, o ativista e DJ Eric Terena (do povo indígena Terena) compartilha neste episódio de Seedcast como a música pode contribuir para o bem coletivo. Ele conta a história de como aprendeu a integrar suas identidades de ativista, comunicador e artista, e como suas colaborações com llideranças indígenas como Sonia Guajajara e Celia Xakriabá podem ajudar na conscientização sobre os direitos indígenas em todo o mundo. A produtora Marianna Romano nos traz esse episódio desde São Paulo e uma versão em português desse episódio será compartilhada anas próximas semanas. Apresentadora: Jessica Ramirez. Produtora: Marianna Romano. Editor de histórias: Jenny Asarnow. Produtor Executivo: Tracy Rector. 

Assim como a arte e a música são parte integrante do movimento pelos direitos indígenas, a música é central neste episódio. As faixas em destaque de Eric Terena são: 

• Tetchi'arü'ngu (Remix) por Eric Terena e Djuena Tikuna (Assista ao vídeo aqui) 
• Resistência Indígena (ft. Celia Xakriabá), destaque neste conjunto do Acampamento Terra Livre 2021 
• Inversões de Eric Terena e Gean Ramos Pankararu (Ouça aqui) 

Saiba Mais: 

• Siga a Mídia India no Instagram 
• Ouça mais da música de Eric no SoundCloud 
• Saiba mais sobre o trabalho da produtora deste episódio, Marianna Romano 

Convidamos você para o nosso episódio com Nara Baré em português aqui!

This episode can be enjoyed in English as well. Listen here.

Seedcast is a production of Nia Tero, a global nonprofit which supports Indigenous land guardianship around the world through policy, partnership, and storytelling initiatives.

Enjoy the Seedcast podcast on the Nia Tero website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

Keep up with Seedcast on Instagram and use the hashtag #Seedcast.

“If I want to make films about things I want to see, why not make them?”  - Sky Hopinka

In our first Seedcast Spotlight of the year, Sky Hopinka  – visual  artist, filmmaker, educator, and MacArthur Fellow – speaks with Maori Karmael Holmes on Blackstar’s Many Lumens podcast about centering the stories Indigenous artists want to share and sidelining viewpoints of dominant white culture and artist spaces. 

BlackStar uplifts the work of Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists through their podcast, their film festival, and much more. Enjoy this episode, keep an ear out for the new season of Many Lumens, and subscribe on your favorite platforms. 

Special thanks to Maori and Sky for generously sharing this conversation, and to other members of the BlackStar team who made this spotlight possible, including Imran Siddiquee, Irit Reinheimer, and Mariam Dembele. 

Learn more about:  

• BlackStar  
• Many Lumens Podcast  
• Sky Hopinka 
• COUSIN 

Seedcast is a production of Nia Tero, a global nonprofit which supports Indigenous land guardianship around the world through policy, partnership, and storytelling initiatives.

Enjoy the Seedcast podcast on the Nia Tero website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

Keep up with Seedcast on Instagram and use the hashtag #Seedcast.

"Black Indigenous people of color in the 21st century are navigating the digital space and grounding ourselves in joy, community, beauty, skincare, dancing, and storytelling, all through connection to land.” - Lofanitani Aisea  

Did you say "influencer"? Seedcast’s first ever Artist-in-Residence, Lofanitani Aisea (Black and Tongan, Modoc, Tahlequah Cherokee, and Klamath tribes), has gone viral on TikTok for her stories that celebrate her cultures and shine a light on others. Lofanitani speaks with Laura Obregón Cañola (Colombian of Indigenous / Embera Katío descent), another influencer who shares stories on TikTok to uplift Indigenous Colombian artists, decolonize folklore, and mobilize mutual aid resources.  As Lofanitani explains, “storytelling, and undeniably uplifting our rights as Indigenous peoples, is vital in nurturing our connection to land and culture.” Host: Jessica Ramirez. Producer and 2022 Seedcast Artist in Residence: Lofanitani Aisea. Mentor and Audio Editor: Stina Hamlin. Story Editor and Sound Mix: Jenny Asarnow.  

Follow Lofanitani and Laura (Pülasü.co)  on TikTok. 

Seedcast is a production of Nia Tero, a global nonprofit which supports Indigenous land guardianship around the world through policy, partnership, and storytelling initiatives.

Enjoy the Seedcast podcast on the Nia Tero website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

Keep up with Seedcast on Instagram and use the hashtag #Seedcast.

On the heels of a political sea change in Brazil toward environmental justice and Indigenous rights, activist and DJ Eric Terena (of the Terena Peoples) shares how music is being used for the collective good. He tells the story of how he learned to integrate his identities as an activist, journalist and musician. His collaborations with political leaders like Sonia Guajajara and Célia Xakriabá raise awareness about Indigenous rights worldwide. Producer Marianna Romano brings us this episode from São Paulo and a Portuguese version will be shared later this spring. Host: Jessica Ramirez. Producer: Marianna Romano. Story Editor: Jenny Asarnow. Executive Producer: Tracy Rector. Voice-over: Felipe Contreras. 

[Este episódio também pode ser apreciado em inglês. Ouça aqui.]

Just as art and music are integral to the movement for Indigenous rights, music is central to this episode. Featured songs by Eric Terena are: 

• Tetchi'arü'ngu (Remix) by Eric Terena and Djuena Tikuna (Watch the video here) 
• Indigenous Resistance (ft. Célia Xakriabá), featured in this set from Acampamento Terra Livre 2021  
• Inversões by Eric Terena and Gean Ramos Pankararu (Listen here) 

Learn more: 

• Follow Mídia India on Instagram 
• Hear more of Eric’s music here 
• Learn more about the work of the producer of this episode, Marianna Romano 

Seedcast is a production of Nia Tero, a global nonprofit which supports Indigenous land guardianship around the world through policy, partnership, and storytelling initiatives.

Enjoy the Seedcast podcast on the Nia Tero website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

Keep up with Seedcast on Instagram and use the hashtag #Seedcast.

Seedcast is back on March 15 with a new season, and host Jessica Ramirez will continue guiding us through a whole new series of stories at the intersections of Indigenous land guardianship, culture, and rights. Indigenous peoples protect 80% of the world’s biodiversity, and Indigenous cultures, knowledge, and practices of reciprocity are the best guide to the future we all want to live in. 

In Season 3, we’ll go around the world to hear from Indigenous peoples who want to grow our knowledge together. Featured voices include Laura Obregón Cañola (Colombian of Indigenous / Embera Katío descent), Lofanitani Aisea (Black and Tongan, Modoc, Tahlequah, and Klamath tribes), Leo Cerda (Kichwa community of Serena in the Ecuadorian Amazon), and Eric Terena (Terena People of Brazil). Featured song: Tetchi'arü'ngu (Remix) by Eric Terena and Djuena Tikuna.  

Seedcast is a production of Nia Tero, a global nonprofit which supports Indigenous land guardianship around the world through policy, partnership, and storytelling initiatives.

Enjoy the Seedcast podcast on the Nia Tero website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your other favorite podcast platforms.

Keep up with Seedcast on Instagram and use the hashtag #Seedcast.