Native ChocTalk

It started with a murder...but what followed was silence. And for one Choctaw family, that silence lasted for generations. In this gripping two-part series, we dive into a mystery that stretches across time - a broken bloodline, a forgotten story, and the journey to uncover the truth. It begins with the unsolved killing of Adam Wilkins, who served as a Choctaw Indian Police and interpreter — and t...

Part 3 This May, as we celebrate Choctaw veterans, I’m proud to feature Woodrow Wilkins on Native ChocTalk — a proud Choctaw veteran whose life is a blend of service, culture, and resilience. From stories of military service to memories of wagon days, wild onion dinners, Choctaw hymns, flower sack dresses, and watching his first picture show, Woodrow brings the old days to life with heart and humo...

PART 2 This May, as we celebrate Choctaw veterans, I’m proud to feature Woodrow Wilkins on Native ChocTalk — a proud Choctaw veteran whose life is a blend of service, culture, and resilience. From stories of military service to memories of wagon days, wild onion dinners, Choctaw hymns, flower sack dresses, and watching his first picture show, Woodrow brings the old days to life with heart and humo...

This May, as we celebrate Choctaw veterans, I’m proud to feature Woodrow Wilkins on Native ChocTalk — a proud Choctaw veteran whose life is a blend of service, culture, and resilience. From stories of military service to memories of wagon days, wild onion dinners, Choctaw hymns, flower sack dresses, and watching his first picture show, Woodrow brings the old days to life with heart and humor. But...

This month, for Memorial Day and Military Appreciation Month, we honor our Native American veterans. Did you know our Native people serve at the highest rate per capita of any group in the U.S.? Yet, Native veterans also face some of the highest suicide rates, often twice the national average. Factors like historical trauma, limited access to culturally relevant care, and the lingering effects of...

This month, for Memorial Day and Military Appreciation Month, we honor our Native American veterans. Did you know our Native people serve at the highest rate per capita of any group in the U.S.? Yet, Native veterans also face some of the highest suicide rates, often twice the national average. Factors like historical trauma, limited access to culturally relevant care, and the lingering effects of...

Part 6 In Honor of Memorial Day: This series is dedicated to our Native American veterans—our warriors—who have served with honor, courage, and an unshakable commitment to protect this land and its people. With Father’s Day around the corner: We also honor our fathers and our future warriors - our young men. Long before Choctaws were farmers and business people, they were WARRIORS. Here to talk ab...

PART 5 In Honor of Memorial Day: This series is dedicated to our Native American veterans—our warriors—who have served with honor, courage, and an unshakable commitment to protect this land and its people. With Father’s Day around the corner: We also honor our fathers and our future warriors - our young men. Long before Choctaws were farmers and business people, they were WARRIORS. Here to talk ab...

In Honor of Memorial Day: This series is dedicated to our Native American veterans—our warriors—who have served with honor, courage, and an unshakable commitment to protect this land and its people. With Father’s Day around the corner: We also honor our fathers and our future warriors - our young men. Long before Choctaws were farmers and business people, they were WARRIORS. Here to talk about thi...

PART 3 In Honor of Memorial Day: This series is dedicated to our Native American veterans—our warriors—who have served with honor, courage, and an unshakable commitment to protect this land and its people. With Father’s Day around the corner: We also honor our fathers and our future warriors - our young men. Long before Choctaws were farmers and business people, they were WARRIORS. Here to talk ab...

Part 2 In Honor of Memorial Day: This series is dedicated to our Native American veterans—our warriors—who have served with honor, courage, and an unshakable commitment to protect this land and its people. With Father’s Day around the corner: We also honor our fathers and our future warriors - our young men. Long before Choctaws were farmers and business people, they were WARRIORS. Here to talk ab...

In Honor of Memorial Day: This series is dedicated to our Native American veterans—our warriors—who have served with honor, courage, and an unshakable commitment to protect this land and its people. With Father’s Day around the corner: We also honor our fathers—thank you for your strength, guidance, and love. To our young men. You are the future. We hope you’ll tune in and remember: - You are impo...

In this final episode of my conversations with the great grandchildren of the heroic Comanche leader, Quanah Parker, we open with a moving moment: Sandra, great-granddaughter of Quanah Parker, reads a heartfelt letter from her father, Baldwin Parker, Jr. — a message of strength, legacy, and deep-rooted pride. Did you know that Quanah Parker was not only a fierce Comanche leader but also a savvy bu...

In part 6 of this series, you’ll continue the Journey into the life, legend, and legacy of Quanah Parker — last chief of the Comanche, warrior, spiritual leader, and protector of Native tradition. You’ll learn from his descendants about: - The powerful story of Quanah’s fight to preserve the sacred use of peyote through the Native American Church, and his pivotal role in protecting Indigenous reli...

In Part 5 of Native ChocTalk’s powerful series on the legendary Comanche warrior Quanah Parker, his descendants share intimate stories about his mother, Cynthia Ann Parker—known to the Comanche as Na'ura (1827–March 1871). Taken captive at just 9 years old during the Fort Parker Massacre of 1836, Cynthia Ann was raised by the Comanche people, eventually marrying Chief Peta Nocona (also known as Pu...

PART 4 “Don’t let go of one foot in one place and one foot in the other. Don’t ever forget who you are. You are Comanche, you are Indian. You are a Parker.” - Jacquetta Parker, proud great-granddaughter of the legendary Comanche warrior Quanah Parker, sharing his timeless wisdom and guiding his descendants as they navigate the complexities of two very different worlds. In Part 4 of this series, wh...

PART 3 They were the Comanche, or Numunuh—meaning "The People"— and they were the undisputed "Lords of the Plains," fiercely guarding their vast homeland across Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico. Masters of horseback warfare, they resisted westward expansion as the U.S. government pushed settlers into their territory. In an 1836 raid on Fort Parker, nine-year-old Cynthia Ann Parker...

According to the American Addiction Centers: "The rate of alcohol use among Native Americans is significantly higher than in other ethnic groups. The rate of Native Americans with an alcohol use disorder is higher than that of the total population. And one in ten young Native Americans (ages 18–25) has an alcohol use disorder.” What if there were a Native-owned, alcohol-free alternative that not o...

"Don’t forget what was sacrificed. And keep fighting in the ways you can. You are still occupied. You are still here. You are born of real survivors. So go live.” These are the powerful words from my guest, comic book artist Jim Terry (Ho-Chunk), in his book “Paper Cut”. I really enjoyed this casual conversation with Jim, who lives not far from me in Chicago. He opened my eyes to the history and p...

"Don’t forget what was sacrificed. And keep fighting in the ways you can. You are still occupied. You are still here. You are born of real survivors. So go live.” These are the powerful words from my guest, comic book artist Jim Terry (Ho-Chunk), in his book “Paper Cut”. I really enjoyed this casual conversation with Jim, who lives not far from me in Chicago. He opened my eyes to the history and p...

According to the American Addiction Centers: "The rate of alcohol use among Native Americans is significantly higher than in other ethnic groups. The rate of Native Americans with an alcohol use disorder is higher than that of the total population. And one in ten young Native Americans (ages 18–25) has an alcohol use disorder.” What if there were a Native-owned, alcohol-free alternative that not o...

PART 2 "Don’t forget what was sacrificed. And keep fighting in the ways you can. You are still occupied. You are still here. You are born of real survivors. So go live.” These are the powerful words from my guest, comic book artist Jim Terry (Ho-Chunk), in his book “Paper Cut”. I really enjoyed this casual conversation with Jim, who lives not far from me in Chicago. He opened my eyes to the histor...

Part 3 March is Women’s History Month, a time to honor the powerful stories of women throughout history. So today, we’re celebrating both history and healing! Join us as Sharon Day, a member of the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe, shares her ancestral stories and her work leading healing water walks. Wondering what a water walk is? Tune in to discover its significance, along with Sharon’s inspiring jour...

March is Women’s History Month, a time to honor the powerful stories of women throughout history. So today, we’re celebrating both history and healing! Join us as Sharon Day, a member of the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe, shares her ancestral stories and her work leading healing water walks. Wondering what a water walk is? Tune in to discover its significance, along with Sharon’s inspiring journey of...

March is Women’s History Month, a time to honor the powerful stories of women throughout history. So today, we’re celebrating both history and healing! Join us as Sharon Day, a member of the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe, shares her ancestral stories and her work leading healing water walks. Wondering what a water walk is? Tune in to discover its significance, along with Sharon’s inspiring journey of...