First Voices Radio

"First Voices Radio" is honored to welcome Paul Crane Tohlakai to the show. Paul was born on the Navajo Nation in Arizona in 1950 near Pinon. His life began not without a struggle. He almost succumbed to life threatening illness but survived to become a one of the last of his generation to experience life that others only dream of. Upon finishing high school and attending one year at a university,...

Host Tiokasin Ghosthorse catches up with returning guest Dr. Tink Tinker. Dr. Tinker is the Clifford Baldridge Emeritus Professor of American Indian Cultures and Religious Traditions at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. He is a citizen of the Osage Nation (wazhazhe) and has been an activist in urban American Indian communities for four decades. He joined the faculty at Iliff School of...

From the "First Voices Radio" archive: The words of the late John Trudell are from 1980 but his observations have stood the test of time and still ring true. John (1946-2015) was a poet, a fighter for Native American rights, an agitator, and many other things. But if you were to have asked him which of these descriptions best suits him he would have refused to be pinned down. "Actually I don't con...

Tiokasin's guest this week is Qacung Blanchett. Qacung is a founding member of Pamyua, the iconic tribal funk & Inuit soul crew. Qacung's been making waves for nearly three decades. With a passion that's pure fire, he's dedicated to amplifying Indigenous voices through music, art, and culture. When he's not rocking the stage or producing music, Qacung's leading the charge as Creative Director...

Host Tiokasin Ghosthorse speaks returning guest and longtime friend of “First Voices Radio” Ukumbwa Sauti. Ukumbwa Sauti, M.Ed. is a Consultant, Facilitator, Educator and Program Developer on issues of Anti-Racism, Anti-Patriarchy, Men's Work, Consent and Culture. He has worked with religious organizations, cultural groups and regional organizations and has taught in higher education for 16 years...

Host Tiokasin Ghosthorse welcomes Dr. Sará Yafah King to “First Voices Radio.” Dr. King is a neuroscientist, artist, political and learning scientist, education philosopher, social impact entrepreneur, meditation teacher and story-teller. She is passionate about catalyzing humanity’s capacity to radically and lovingly witness themselves as “intergenerational beings, thereby catalyzing our ability...

Host Tiokasin Ghosthorse welcomes Lorelei Williams. Lorelei is an Indigenous Salish/Coast Salish woman of the Skatin/Sts'Ailes Nations, living in Vancouver, Canada. She is the founder of Butterflies in Spirit and until recently, she also served as the Women's Coordinator at the Vancouver Aboriginal Community Policing Centre, addressing Indigenous social justice issues. In addition, Lorelei has bee...

Host Tiokasin Ghosthorse talks with Max Wilbert, a frequent guest and friend of "First Voices Radio." Max is a writer and biocentric community organizer. He has been part of grassroots political work for 20 years and is the founder of Protect Thacker Pass. Max is the author of two books, most recently "Bright Green Lies: How The Environmental Movement Lost Its Way and What We Can Do About It," pub...

REPEAT SHOW. Host Tiokasin Ghosthorse talks with Dr. Ruby Gibson. Dr. Gibson, a mixed blood woman of Lakota/Ojibwe and Mediterranean descent, has spent the past 40 years dedicated to the craft and science of Historical Trauma reconciliation, cultural healing, and generational well-being among Native and Indigenous peoples. Dr. Gibson founded Freedom Lodge, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, in Rapi...

Host Tiokasin Ghosthorse welcomes Edzi’u, a Tahltan and Tlingit artist based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Edzi’u is an innovative songwriter and composer who paints stories of the past, present and future with textures, elders’ stories, words, and their ethereal voice. Edzi’u is the gentlest balance of...

FROM THE “FIRST VOICES RADIO” ARCHIVE. Host Tiokasin Ghosthorse talked with Rick Hill Sr., a citizen of the Beaver Clan of the Tuscarora Nation of the Haudenosaunee at Grand River. Rick holds a Master’s Degree in American Studies from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is the former Assistant Director for Public Programs, National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution...

Host Tiokasin Ghosthorse welcomes back our friend Charles Lyons for a report on the Brazil and the Amazon. Charles Lyons is a multimedia journalist and filmmaker. He recently completed a feature documentary about former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. In 2023, Charles received a Conservando Juntos/ Earth Journalism Network grant (supported by USAID), to report on the continuing violence due to i...

Host Tiokasin Ghosthorse welcomes back our dear friend Manuel Rozental for an update and riveting, important conversation. Manuel reports to us from Colombia. Dr. Manuel Rozental is a long-time Colombian activist, researcher and community organizer. Manuel has been involved with grassroots political organizing with youth, Indigenous communities, and urban and rural social movements for four decade...

Host Tiokasin Ghosthorse welcomes Marley Shebala back to the show. Marley Shebala, Diné and A:shiwi (or Zuni), is an investigative journalist, photographer, videographer and blogger. Marley talks about the continuing, alarming issue of transporting uranium waste across portions of the Navajo Nation, which already started several years ago. Without any notice, the transportation of uranium waste is...

Host Tiokasin Ghosthorse speaks with Marcie R. Rendon (White Earth Ojibwe) about her new book, “Anishinaabe Songs for a New Millennium,” which was recently published by the University of Minnesota Press. Marcie was included on Oprah Winfrey’s 2020 list of 31 Native American authors to read. She has written numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, including the Cash Blackbear mystery series, the t...

Guest Host Anne Keala Kelly (Kanaka Maoli) speaks with Dan Taulapapa McMullin — an artist and poet from Sāmoa i Sasa'e (American Samoa) and an expert on the subject of the colonization of Pacific cultures. Keala and Dan spend time talking about American exploitation via tiki bars, a subject that Dan explored in his film, “100 Tikis.” “100 Tikis” is a 45-minute film/video appropriation art piece, p...

Tiokasin speaks to two guests from Friends of the Akwesasne Freedom School in Akwesasne, NY. Alvera Sargent is Snipe Clan of the Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne, a mother of two, and grandmother to four amazing grandchildren. Alvera has worked with the Akwesasne Freedom School (AFS) since 1997 in various capacities until 2007. At that point, she moved on to manage the Friends of the Akwesasne Freedom S...

REPEAT SHOW. Tiokasin speaks with Dr. Paulette Steeves (Cree-Métis). Paulette is an Indigenous archaeologist with a focus on the Pleistocene history of the Western Hemisphere. In her research, Paulette argues that Indigenous peoples were present in the Western Hemisphere as early as 100,000 years ago, and possibly much earlier. She has created a database of hundreds of archaeology sites in both No...

Tiokasin is joined by two guests for the full hour. Hataałiinez Wheeler is a very modern kind of crooner: a pensive, deep-voiced troubadour whose serene surf-country songs tap into the hope and despondency of a new generation. The music he makes as Hataałii — a Navajo term that means “to sing,” a fitting diminutive of his given name — is at turns witty and world-weary, sunny but endearingly solips...

In this special edition of “First Voices Radio,” Host Olivia Clementine interviews Tiokasin Ghosthorse for “Love & Liberation with Olivia Clementine,” a podcast about relationship and consciousness: exploring wisdom in relating with ourselves, each other and our greater world. For nearly 20 years, Olivia has been immersed in the exploration of relationships and spiritual nature. She works with...

Host Tiokasin Ghosthorse’s guest for the full hour on Sunday is Chief Arvol Looking Horse. Chief Looking Horse was born on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. His primary responsibility is serving as the 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe – a role he was given at the age of twelve making him the youngest pipe keeper in Lakota history. As keeper of the sacred P...

Host Tiokasin Ghosthorse talks with Max Wilbert, who is a frequent guest on "First Voices Radio." Max is a writer and biocentric community organizer. He has been part of grassroots political work for 20 years and is the founder of Protect Thacker Pass. Max is the author of two books, most recently "Bright Green Lies: How The Environmental Movement Lost Its Way and What We Can Do About It," publish...

From the FVR archives: Host Tiokasin Ghosthorse catches up with our friend Dr. Manuel Rozental for the entire hour. Dr. Manuel Rozental is a long-time Colombian activist, researcher and community organizer. Manuel has been involved with grassroots political organizing with youth, Indigenous communities, and urban and rural social movements for four decades. He is part of an initiative: Pueblos en...

Returning guest and longtime “First Voices Radio” friend Doug George-Kanentiio (Akwesasne Mohawk) was born and raised at the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne. Doug attended school on and near the reservation before enrolling at Syracuse University and then the Antioch School of Law. Doug was a co-founder of the Native American Journalists Association (now the Indigenous Journalists Association) befor...

Steven Schwartzberg is a former candidate for Congress in the Illinois 5th District, a former director of undergraduate studies for international studies at Yale University, an instructor in political science at DePaul University, and the author of “Arguments over Genocide: The War of Words in the Congress and the Supreme Court over Cherokee Removal.” His great-grandparents on his mother’s side we...