Vanessa Castle is a proud member of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and Tribal Engagement Coordinator at Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group. Listen as we discuss the work she’s involved in, the Elwha Dam removal, and how she takes care of her mind, body, and spirit.

Healing Women Heals Mother Earth is a podcast series highlighting the unique role Indigenous women play in cultural preservation, environmental stewardship, and leadership. Most importantly, we will share how women take care of themselves while being involved in high level advocacy work.

Tune in with Alyssa Macy, a proud member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and CEO of Washington Conservation Action. Listen as we discuss the work she’s involved in, overcoming cancer, and how she takes care of her mind, body, and spirit.

Healing Women Heals Mother Earth is a podcast series highlighting the unique role Indigenous women play in cultural preservation, environmental stewardship, and leadership. Most importantly, we will share how women take care of themselves while being involved in high level advocacy work.

Tokala Tatum is a writer, director, producer, and overall creative descending from the Yakama and Rosebud Sioux Tribes. Tune in to see how he is continuing to push Native American storytelling through different mediums and how his culture and upbringing have influenced his art.

Do you vote?

Setting Sun staff members from different backgrounds all answer one question: Does voting matter?  Discussion from both tribal and non-tribal backgrounds, tune in to find out why we vote!

Dionisio or “Nish” Romero is a Coast Salish artist, carver, and canoe paddler from the Nooksack Tribe in Bellingham, Washington.  After almost 2 years in industry, Nish is a gallery-level carver at just 24 years old.  Nish takes after his great grandfather, Spud Cooper, another master carver.  Listen in as we discuss the carving life, cultural teachings, and how he follows in his grandfather's footsteps.  

During the Bioneers Conference in March of 2024, YTLP members Roy, Free, Raven, and Cyrus were blessed with the opportunity to sit down with Oren and Rex Lyons. Oren Lyons is the Wolf Clan Faithkeeper of the Onondaga Nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. A lacrosse player, father, climate activist, and a highly respected elder across Indian Country, Oren Lyons joins us with his son Rex to speak on democracy, environmentalism, traditional stories, and politics.

Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled tribal member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, which has earned Kimmerrer wide acclaim. Her first book, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing, and her other work has appeared in Orion, Whole Terrain, and numerous scientific journals. In 2022, Braiding Sweetgrass was adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith. This new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earth's oldest teachers: the plants around us. As a writer and a scientist, her interests in restoration include not only restoration of ecological communities, but restoration of our relationships to the land. She holds a BS in Botany from SUNY ESF, an MS and PhD in Botany from the University of Wisconsin and is the author of numerous scientific papers on plant ecology, bryophyte ecology, traditional knowledge and restoration ecology. She lives on a farm in upstate New York, tending gardens both cultivated and wild. 

Alexander is the policy lead for RE Sources’ land use and water protection programs. Alexander completed a graduate program in Environmental Policy at Western Washington University in 2022, where his research focused on how community-driven forest stewardship can help restore the Nooksack watershed. Having grown up in southern Oregon, Alexander graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Philosophy and Political Science. Alexander has worked for numerous conservation nonprofits on various policy issues ranging from public forest management and wildfire mitigation to ecological forest management and climate mitigation. Alexander and his partner spend most of their free time homesteading, floating the river, or rambling through the woods. Alex recently co-created a consortium of activists and advocates called the Whatcom Forest Watch, who worked hard to protect the remaining legacy old growth forests in Washington State. After months of emailing politicians, rallying and campaigning, the WFW saw a victory and the rest of the old growth legacy forests were finally protected. But keeping that victory permanent is what we need to ensure, so spreading more awareness and telling more stories are crucial.

Happy Mother’s Day! Join Wykeklyaa and Roy as they sit down with their mothers to talk about the true essence of motherhood. From cherished memories to the joy and challenges, its a heartwarming episode you won’t want to miss!

NSEA is the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association. Darrell Grey has been the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) Project Manager for nearly 30 years leading conservation projects and managing restoration efforts in his time with the organization.  James Vanderhoort joined NSEA after graduating from Western Washington University and will step into the role of co-project manager as one of Darrell's predecessors. James has spent quite a while following Darrell’s leadership and learning about how to manage conservation projects while they are underway and maintaining the project so that it has a higher chance of being successful. James and Darrell share that this recent year (2023) NSEA planted just over 30,000 Native plants, shrubs and trees in hopes to help combat effects of climate change and habitat loss.