Towana Yepa (Jemez Pueblo) comes from a family of gardeners. She’s a business woman who owns and operates her own farm called Corn Pollen Trail Farms in Ponderosa, New Mexico. In this episode, she talks about her origins, the challenges of being an Indigenous woman farmer and filling a need for fresh options in her Native community. I also talk with Tina Archuleta (Jemez Pueblo), owner of Itality: Plant Based Wellness (rapper who goes by MagmaDawta), a health food business that also fills a need for fresh food in the same community.

E41: Towana Yepa — “It very much is in the blood”

The Toasted Sister Podcast is all about Native American food, food sovereignty, people and culture. Hosted and produced by Andi Murphy, Diné journalist.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

In this episode I talk with Natalie Benally (Diné) about her film, “Indigenize the Plate” at a screening hosted by Tiny Grocer ABQ in Old Town Albuquerque. We talk about her journey to Peru for the film and how that inspired her to remember and revitalize traditional family ways of growing and eating. She’s the founder of Tse’Nato’, a digital storytelling company.

E86: “Indigenize the Plate” by Natalie Benally +LIVE RECORDING+

Cherokee chef Nico Albert Williams is just trying to make some corn soup. She’s the executive director of the Burning Cedar Sovereign Wellness in Tulsa (grand opening Sept. 14) and the vocalist for a badass doom/sludge metal band, Medicine Horse (debut album drop Sept. 8). In this music-filled episode, Nico and I talk about storytelling in music, religious horror and how she pivoted from the restaurant chef life to community leader.

E85: Nico Albert Williams – “Give myself some relief”

From the big city of Chicago, I bring you this episode featuring 2023 James Beard Award Best Chef of the Northeast, Sherry Pocknett (Wampanoag). We talk about her win, her battle with cancer and how her past shaped the chef she is today. Photo by Huge Galdones courtesy of the James Beard Foundation.

E84: Sherry Pocknett – “Not Your Average” James Beard Award winner

Things get a little switched up in this episode. This time, my sister, Alisha Murphy, economist for the Navajo Nation Division of Economic Development, takes over an interview with Victoria Largo, new owner of Victoria’s Pizza brick-and-mortar restaurant in Crownpoint, New Mexico, our Navajo Nation hometown. She talks about the real struggles and triumphs of operating a food business on the Navajo Nation. It’s inspiring to hear from this enthusiastic and strong entrepreneurial spirit!

E83: Victoria’s victorious pizzeria

In this episode, I talk with Becky Webster (Oneida Nation), or Rebecca M. Webster, as it’s written on her new book “In Defense of Sovereignty: Protecting the Oneida Nation’s Inherent Right to Self-Determination.” She does a lot of passion work and is a founder of Ukwakhwa: Our Foods, a farm and community learning, cooking, trading and growing space in Oneida, Wisconsin. We start with Oneida history, because, “hey, Oneidas aren’t from Wisconsin…” and move through the origins of the farm, the tribe’s food system and the process of winging it.

E41: Towana Yepa — “It very much is in the blood”

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