Aunties on Air...and some Uncles too

Episode 56: Healing Through Laughter with Janelle Niles Laughter has always held a sacred place in our communities. It connects us, heals us, and speaks truths that words alone cannot reach. Today, on Aunties on Air, we sit down with trailblazing comedian Janelle Niles, creator of the all-indigenous variety show Got Land? Comedy . We explore the intersections of identity, the power of taking up sp...

Episode 55: Honoring Tradition and Building Bridges: Art and Wellness in Maine with Amy Hausmann   This week on Aunties on Air, we sit down with Amy Hausmann, Executive Director of the Maine Arts Commission, to explore how creativity serves as a vital tool for personal and collective wellness. From her roots curating public art for the New York MTA to the Commission’s active, healing initiati...

Episode 54: Weaving, Healing and Resilience with Jeremy Frey For generations, our ancestors have woven our stories, our history, and our relationship to the land into the physical fibers of the earth. In a world that often tries to compartmentalize Indigenous art as a relic of the past, our artists are proving that our traditions are living, breathing, and contemporary. Today, we are joined by wor...

REPLAY: Thanks to Our Animals: Honoring the Sacred Gifts of Mother Earth Join us in re-listening to this special episode with John Neptune and Andrea Sockabasin! This episode originally aired last fall and centered around talking about all things sustenance. Aunties on Air wanted to highlight that whether you are a hunter, medicine collector or vegetarian, we believe that you would hear stories th...

REPLAY: When Leaders Lead with Love, We Heal Join us in re-listening to this special episode with Commissioner of Corrections for the state of Maine, Randy Liberty. This episode originally aired this past spring and focused on how leadership is essential for healing, highlighting that the way we lead can be either harmful or deeply meaningful and healing for all involved. Auntie Macy opens the sho...

REPLAY:  "Leaning into Learning": Storytelling in Many Forms Join us in re-listening to this special episode with Mike Sockabasin, which originally aired last fall as part of our "Leaning into Learning" series. This series provided a deeper look at the hard work some of our very own Wabanaki artists, creatives and historical documenters have been taking part in throughout their careers. Uncle Gavi...

REPLAY: "For the Love of" Our Sacred Medicines Join us in re-listening to this special episode with Robin Wall Kimmerer, award winning author, citizen of the Potawatomi Nation, mother, scholar, scientist, and a giver of knowledge. Auntie Lisa opens this special episode with a new introduction, reflecting on our time spent with Robin! Originally part of our "For the Love of" series in February, thi...

Episode 53: Honoring the Land and Building the Future: A Conversation Around CDFI's  We took Aunties on Air to the big stage for our first-ever LIVE podcast recording! Auntie Lisa sat down in front of a crowd of over 300 incredible people at the Oweesta Convening for an unforgettable conversation with Hope Huskey and James Francis. But we didn’t stop there. Auntie Lisa also caught up with folks th...

Episode 52: MMIW: Indigenous Sovereignty and Healing with Lyla June Our ancestors understood that the health of the land is directly tied to the safety and sacredness of our women and relatives. In a system built on extraction, both our earth, our sisters and our relatives have faced deep violence. Today, we are continuing our focus on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) crisis by wel...

Episode 51: MMIW: Healing Through Taking Space In Wabanaki territory and across Turtle Island, our women, girls and two-spirit relatives are the heart of our nations. They carry our stories, our languages, and our future. Yet, the painful reality of the MMIW crisis continues to affect our families and communities deeply. This week, we welcome back a very familiar voice and longtime advocate to the...

Episode 50: MMIW: Healing Through Policy In Wabanaki territory, our women are the heart of our nations. They are the givers of life, the keepers of culture, and the protectors of our future. Yet, for too long, our sisters have been made invisible by systems that fail to see their worth. Today, we are opening a three-part series on our Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) with Maulian Bryan...

Episode 49: Strengthening our Communities through Research, Data, & Sovereignty Indigenous communities across this nation hold deep knowledge on how we heal and how we learn. For many generations, academia and non-indigenous people have told our stories and shared their perspectives on who we are. Today, we have many indigenous scholars who are changing this trend. Increasingly, indigenous people...

Episode 48: Live from the Wabanaki Spring Social In this special episode, the Aunties come to you live from the 28th annual Wabanaki Spring Social! Our hearts are so full after a day of being together with our community. From the incredible vendors to all of the wonderful traditional food that kept us going throughout the day, the energy was bright, healing and a beautiful way to kick off the spri...

Episode 47: When Leaders Lead with Love, We Heal Leadership is essential for healing. The way we lead can either harm or heal. Today, we will be talking with Randy Liberty, Commissioner of Corrections for the state of Maine. Randy is a leader who “sees people” and believes in the potential of all. “Liberty’s Prison” is Randy’s newly released book that discusses stories of service and leadership. P...

Episode 46: Springing into Community: Join Us for the Wabanaki Spring Social Spring is a time of renewal, growth, and gathering! In this episode, the Aunties dive into the excitement of the upcoming Wabanaki Spring Social. We’re sharing what we love most about this time of celebration, connection, and Wabanaki culture. Whether you’ve joined us before or this is your first time, we’re inviting ever...

Episode 45: "For the Love of" Our Sacred Medicines Join us in finishing out our “For the Love of” series with a show centered around our Sacred Medicines! Each week, the Aunties have been highlighting the things they love. We are holding on tight to love in 2026 and focusing on relationships and healing. Today, we will be talking with Robin Wall Kimmerer, award winning author, citizen of the Potaw...

Episode 44: "For the Love of" Our Food Systems The Aunties have said this before- the creativity and brilliance of indigenous people must be seen by all. The lack of visibility of Native people in our country has been detrimental to all of us. Indigenous food, health, education, and environmental systems are ones of balance and healing for all, including Mother Earth. The Aunties welcome a returni...

Episode 43: "For the Love of" Our Waterways As we know, love heals. When we love and receive love, every cell in our bodies benefit. We are celebrating all of the things we are grateful for and love. Mother Earth offers us abundance and all the things we need to be well. Today, we are celebrating our waterways. Water is life. Over the past several years we have prioritized profit over the wellness...

Episode 42: "For the Love of" Our Mother Earth As we know, love heals. When we love and receive love, our bodies and relationships benefit. We are celebrating all things we are grateful for and love. Mother Earth offers us abundance and connects. Today we are celebrating her. Mother Earth and all her abundance must be both respected and protected. Today, we are going to talk to Dr. Tony Sutton, an...

Episode 41: The Power of Storytelling: Language, Community, and Wabanaki Heritage As the Aunties mention in our previous episode, we are replaying Uncle Roger Paul from Season 1, "For the love of Storytelling."  Uncle Roger Paul is a Passamaquoddy citizen, dynamic storyteller, educator, elder, fluent Passamaquoddy language speaker and so much more. Whether this is your first or your second time li...

Aunties on Air: The Power of Storytelling: Connecting You to Culture, Learning & Love The power of storytelling is clear. It can transport us to different places and times, introduce us to cultures that are not our own, and bring us together for connection and learning. We will have two shows during these cold winter months, our storytelling season. Today, we have Aunties Lisa and Nancy in the stu...

Aunties on Air: Honoring Where We Have Been And Where We Are Going As 2025 comes to a close, we are honoring our accomplishments and our struggles. Each year offers us the opportunity for learning, connecting, and serving each other and Mother Earth. We will reflect on all things and begin to discuss the year we are entering. The Aunties are excited to be with listeners as we ring in the new year...

Aunties on Air: We've Been Keeping a Storytelling Secret... The Road to Radio On this episode of Aunties on Air, Auntie Lisa and Auntie Nancy share their thrilling journey into the world of live radio. You'll hear their stories about the adrenaline rush of being on air and how stepping out of your comfort zone can lead to some truly incredible growth. Enjoy a selection of songs by Allen Sockabasin...

Aunties on Air: "Leaning into Learning": Storytelling in Many Forms The creativity and brilliance of indigenous people is seen throughout every sector of society. From art to science and everywhere in between, indigenous people are taking up and creating space to shine in ways never witnessed before. Some say it is the time to foster indigenous thinking and values, offering more healing and abunda...

Aunties on Air: The Voices of Our Ancestors We continue to lean into learning with Dwayne Tomah after his visit with us in our "Leaning into Learning" series where we spoke with him about our language! Throughout history, we have seen significant contributions to Wabanaki culture and language, with each contribution deserving discussion and visibility. Today, in the studio, we welcome back Uncle D...