Confluence Podcast

Today, we get to hear traditional stories from Ciarra Greene (Nimiipuu/Nez Perce Tribe). Her academic background is in chemistry and environmental science. In this episode, Ciarra shares traditional stories about her homelands in what we now call Idaho and eastern Oregon and Washington. She also explains the values and lessons those stories can mean for us today.

“Salmon have always kept their word…” In this episode, we talk with filmmaker WoodrowHunt a Klamath/Modoc/ Cherokee descendent and Bobbie Conner, a member of the Confederate Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and Executive Director of the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, about Hunt’s recent film, Salmon’s Agreement.

In this episode two members of Northwest Indigenous nations, David Lewis and Teara Farrow Ferman discuss the history of the Columbia watershed and new efforts to improve wildlife habitat and water quality.

On this episode of the Confluence Story Gathering Podcast we dive into the current cultural discussion on monuments and who tells the stories behind monuments, to ask how do we memorialize our history today? Three Indigenous women who live in the Pacific Northwest joined us for this discussion, Bobbie Conner, Deana Dartt, and Emily Washines. About the Speakers: Bobbie Conner is an enrolled member at the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla and director of Tamástslikt Cultural Institute on the Umatilla Reservation. Deana Dartt is Coastal Chumash and Mestiza--descending from the Indigenous peoples of California--and has worked as a curator at several museums. Emily Washines is an enrolled Yakama tribal member and board member of the Museum of Culture and the Environment.

In this episode we explore the concept of monuments with the help of three Indigenous women who live in the Pacific Northwest. Bobbie Conner is an enrolled member at the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and director of Tamástslikt Cultural Institute; Deanna Dartt is Coastal Chumash and Mestiza--descending from the Indigenous peoples of California--and has worked as a curator at several museums; and Emily Washines, is an enrolled member of the Yakama Nation and board member of the Museum of Culture and the Environment. This discussion starts here and continues in part 2 next week.

In this episode, speakers discuss a recent documentary on Native American food sovereignty called “Gather.” Our conversation includes two of the people featured in the film: Nephi Craig, a chef from the White Mountain Apache Nation in Arizona, who opened an Indigenous café as a nutritional recovery clinic and Samuel Gensaw, the co-founder of Ancestral Guard, a group of environmental activists from the Yurok Nation (Northern California), trying to save the Klamath River. Mary Lee Jones, a traditional gatherer, and member of the Yakama Nation, who has coordinated traditional food seminars throughout the Pacific Northwest, hosted the discussion.

As America re-examines its relationship with history, many of us are taking a new look at the people who have been held up as heroes of our past. Monuments are being replaced, including the statue of Marcus Whitman that is in the US Capitol, soon to be replaced by a statue of fishing rights activist Billy Frank Jr. Writer Sarah Vowell dives into this on the 2nd episode of Season 2 of Confluence Podcast,

America’s relationship with history is changing and, with it, our views of public monuments. In this episode, writer Sarah Vowell talks about how we express our stories and values in public places, and how to find joy in the darkness. Vowell is the New York Times’ bestselling author of seven nonfiction books on American history and culture in which she examines the connections between America's past and present. She was the guest speaker for a Confluence Conversation in May, 2021 in a partnership between Confluence and Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA. Sarah Vowell joined us by Zoom from her home in Bozeman, Montana.

The Redheart Memorial Oral History by Confluence

Listen for a short update on the podcast, including information about our upcoming special episode and where we're appearing next.

Two family members, Emily Washines (Yakama)and Josiah Pinkham (Nez Perce), discuss finding resilience, comfort, and strength in times of challenge.

In this episode, the speakers discuss being a voice for the orcas, salmon, and the waterways they live in. Listen to the episode to learn from Washington State Representative Debra Lekanoff (Tlingit), Klickitat Tribal Elder Wilbur Slockish, and James Holt, (Nez Perce) the Executive Director of the Buffalo Field Campaign on how to care for these important members of our ecosystem.

How are orcas connected to salmon? In this episode Washington State Representative Debra Lekanoff (Tlingit), Klickitat Tribal Elder Wilbur Slockish, and James Holt, (Nez Perce) the Executive Director of the Buffalo Field Campaign discuss the orcas, salmon, and waterways that bring and grace to our region and how they require committed caretakers – now more than ever.

Answering the question, “Who Gets to be an American?” Elizabeth Woody, Chuck Sams and Patricia Whitefoot talk about how to help people become more American, through an Indigenous lens.

Answering the question, “Who Gets to be an American?” Elizabeth Woody, Chuck Sams, and Patricia Whitefoot talk about the complex nature of US citizenship, the sovereignty of tribal nations, the responsibility to the land, the kinship network to the non-human elements of the land, and the relationship to the world.

How can we maintain cultural traditions throughout the pandemic and draw on them for strength? Join Emily Washines (Yakama) and Chuck Sams (CTUIR) to hear first-hand stories of the different ways Tribes have responded. This podcast episode will go beyond statistics and headlines to consider the daily lives of Native people as they confront what, for them, is the most recent pandemic.

Indigenous communities in our region have been hit disproportionately hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Join Emily Washines (Yakama) and Chuck Sams (CTUIR) to hear first-hand stories of the different ways Tribes have responded. This conversation will go beyond statistics and headlines to consider the daily lives of Native people as they confront what, for them, the most recent pandemic. Emily Washines is an enrolled Yakama Nation tribal member with Cree and Skokomish lineage. She speaks Ichiskiin (Yakama language) and other Native languages. A scholar, with a Master’s in Public Administration, her research and work in film, writing, speaking and exhibits focuses on the Yakama War, Native women, traditional knowledge, resource management, fishing rights, and food sovereignty. Yakima Herald-Republic lists her as Top 39 under 39. She is a board member of the Museum of Culture and Environment, Artist Trust, and Columbia Riverkeeper. Emily lives on the Yakama reservation with her husband and three children Chuck S

In this episode of the Confluence Podcast, Robin Wall Kimmerer speaks to Confluence about unlearning the settler view of land and listening to the land.

In this episode of the Confluence Podcast, Robin Wall Kimmerer asks the audience to consider what the earth asks of us and how we can do right by the land. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants, which has earned Kimmerer wide acclaim.

Parallel Lives - Part 2 by Confluence