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Explore how the social construct of race and racial oppression operates at multiple levels with a rotating focus on different social systems. Connect with Austin-area justice movement organizers and everyday people with relevant lived experience to lay out historical context, current affairs, and creative possibilities for a liberated future.
K o o p h d one h d three Hornsby. The views expressed here are not necessarily the views of Co op Radio, its Board of Directors, volunteers, staff, or underwriters.
Speaker 2:Hello, everyone. This is Stacey Fraser, host of Racism on the Levels on Co op Community Radio. Thank you to those of you who are listening here in Austin, Texas on the FM dial 917. And thanks to my extended community everywhere streaming online koop.org. I am really excited to welcome into this space and studio my guest who I will ask to introduce themselves.
Speaker 3:My name is Sky Howell, sheher, and am Native Esape Huron Van Potawatomi and Grand River Bend, Ottawa from the Great Lakes region on my father Raymond's side. And I am also a seventh generation Texan, born and raised in Houston, Texas on my mother Vicky's side. I am a proud parent of an Austin ISD seventh grader, and I am also honored to serve our community as the executive director for the Native American Cultural Center.
Speaker 2:Thank you very much, Sky. Welcome, to the studio. And this is the first time you and I have sat together, so I posted that my heart was doing back flips, which is true. So I also really appreciate you, your willingness to come in with very little notice of invitation without a script or prompting questions, and just trusting that the universe is holding us in in our purpose, and then what we are together to do. So really, wanted to first say that, I have a lot of respect for what you are doing to keep indigenous visibility prominent here in the Austin community.
Speaker 2:And I really hope that part of this conversation will will shed some light for those who aren't as familiar of the efforts that you put into stewarding the community here. So I'll ask you where where would you like to start today? Because the the show Racism on the Levels, I started it a few years ago to really shine a light on how racism and systems of oppression are operating perhaps in in invisible ways to to many who are not thinking about systems day in and day out as I do. So thank thank you University of Texas sociology department in the days of your. Graduated in 2003 there, and we're in a a time of great grieving for the University of Texas and all of the attempted erasure that's happening right there, particularly in the courses and program that I studied there.
Speaker 2:So... Yeah.
Speaker 3:So I think starting from a place of my family story makes a lot of sense. So I was not raised in my culture or with my traditions. I did not, you know, grow up near my family, my tribe. And so it's been a lot of, learning and reconnecting. My dad and his 10 siblings were stolen by the child welfare system when he was only five years old.
Speaker 3:And because of that, we've spent the majority of our adult lives trying to find our family, trying to reconnect with very little information. All that we knew is that we were in Ottawa, Sapi Huron, and Pottawatomie and Grand River Auto... Grand River Band, Ottawa, and that was basically it for a very, very long time. And I remember being, I think, in graduate school researching about the child welfare system, and I was doing a special project. And, you know, I thought my story was pretty unique to my family.
Speaker 3:And then I realized that it happened to millions of families to the point that they had to pass the Indian Child Bluffer Act back in 1979 because 30% of our families were being taken by this system that assumed that native children were better off with white families.
Speaker 2:The the challenge of being on a radio show is the... That that urge that I have to continue to talk and not to appropriately pause and breathe into something very heavy like you just shared. And so thank you for putting your story and voice to to this to to the world to hear. I... I'm curious how did your did your did your father share this with you and and your siblings?
Speaker 2:And how did you... How was your identification identity woven through? And how did that through line persist because it's such a a dandelion in the sidewalk story
Speaker 3:Yeah. To my ears. For sure. For sure. And so, you know, I didn't get to grow up with my dad.
Speaker 3:He had a lot of trauma from his experience being adopted away into a family that was pretty abusive. And so, you know, I didn't really just grow up knowing him or, you know, knowing, again, that side of my family. And whenever I did get to reconnect with him when I was 21, you know, he shared more vulnerably his story and, you know, his hope to be able to find our family. And so we searched and searched for a very, very long time. We went up, I think it was in 2016.
Speaker 3:I was there for a courageous conversations about race, a conference, that I was presenting at, and it was in Michigan. And I thought, you know, let's just make the drive. Let's go down. Let's see if we can find out any information or try to find our relatives. At that time, my dad and I did not get to do that, but what we did get to do was actually go visit the Pokagon van Potawatomi who are having a rising workshop.
Speaker 3:And that day, there was, like, a tsunami. There was, like, a torrential rainstorm. The workshop actually got canceled, but we were like, we're here for, like, twenty four hours. We have to go. So we went.
Speaker 3:We showed up, and we made some great friends. Jennifer Carney, still a beloved friend to this day, you know, told us about the experience of ricing, our community harvest, and, you know, how that is something that our community does. And, you know, using moccasins to be able to stomp on the rice, you know, to be able to get the rice out of the the holes and and be able to come together and to sing and to dance and, you know, make canoes from birchwood bark. It was, beautiful to be there and to be able to put our hands on the trees and be on our powwow grounds. And yet there was still such a longing to know our family because nobody had any information.
Speaker 3:There was nothing that the tribe could do. My dad's adoption records are closed in Michigan. All the kids who are part of the sixties scoop have sealed records. So there's no way to open those. So fast forward to 2022, we did Ancestry, and we were able to immediately find my cousins, to find aunts and uncles.
Speaker 3:I messaged my cousin. She was so enthusiastic to hear from us. My dad was really nervous and very anxious. Like, is my family gonna accept me? Really had some concerns, but right away, my cousin connected with me with my aunt Gloria.
Speaker 3:And, you know, she just poured her heart out about remembering the day that my dad was taken, that his siblings were taken. She said one day the kids were there. The next day they were gone. Nobody ever knew where they went. So that was four of his siblings.
Speaker 3:And then the next five were able to be placed with my aunt Gloria and raised altogether and raised, you know, in the same location. And so we found out we had family all over in in the hometown that my dad should have grown up in in Allegheny. And we met 40 different family members. My dad met three siblings at the age of 67 in one day at a family reunion on both my grandmother and my grandfather's side.
Speaker 2:Did... You mentioned he was one of 10. And and how many siblings do you do you have? I have one. And was your sibling able to also attend?
Speaker 3:No. He was not able to, but my son was able to go with us.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's wonderful. And so that was four years ago. Right? Putting us into Austin here geographically, so were you were you already before the twenty sixteen Courageous Conversations and and then the visit and the rice ceremony. Thank you for that story.
Speaker 3:It was a beautiful moment, and it was a level of healing Yeah. That me and my dad didn't know that we needed until we experienced it.
Speaker 2:Yeah. It was a beautiful beautiful gift. So in what ways did did your I'm gonna say activism and and always invite me into other ways of describing what we're talking about if if if I say something. Is that a favor? I'm learning and growing and open.
Speaker 2:And did your activism predate that moment? And if so, what was the kenneling? Like, do you have some moments consciousness of where this came through you?
Speaker 3:Yes. I would definitely say the defining moment was, you know, in graduate school whenever I was learning about the systemic nature of this, and it just hit me like a brick wall. And at that time, I was there. It was in Colorado. I went to the University of Colorado and got my graduate degree in educational equity and cultural diversity there.
Speaker 3:It was a really beautiful experience and is very lonely. There was not a native student organization. There was not anyone to really talk about this with except for my dad, you know, and we were able to talk about this. But it was really, really hard, and I was very angry. I came back to Austin, and I started working at Austin Community College and teaching in the student development courses.
Speaker 3:And Native American Heritage Month came around, and of course, there's nothing going on. And so I was like, okay. We need to do something to change this.
Speaker 2:And when was this? Was this That was, like, 2017.
Speaker 3:Okay. Yeah. And so we... I just was able to connect with the Austin Pow Wow and really understand that there's a really big community here, which was so exciting to not just be alone and not to, you know, just hold all of that and and have people who are willing to create space for students, for people who are reconnecting, and and to be able to really hold on to our traditions, learn our traditions, and share those with future generations. Yeah.
Speaker 3:So we... The Austin powwow, how did how did that come about? And then what is your involvement with with the powwow? So that has been... It started over thirty years ago because a group of parents in Austin ISD were very frustrated that their children did not have representation in the school district.
Speaker 3:And so they partnered, and they went to a conference in Washington. They came back, and they are like, let's let's start something here. And so they started the American Indian Education Program. The Austin Powell got started with a nonprofit called Great Promise for American Indians, and it's been going on for now over thirty years. It started out being, you know, at a at a school, and and one of our elders was sharing with me just yesterday.
Speaker 3:Sylvia Jean was saying that the first powwow, it was in, you know, like a school gym, and 2,000 people showed up. Wow. So people who are very hungry to have this community and to connect. And so, you know, now, fast forward, we outgrew that, went to the Burger Center, outgrew that, and now we're at the Travis County Expo Center where, you know, there's about 15,000 people who come out to our powwow now. You know, not just here locally, but we bring in a lot of folks, you know, from all over other states.
Speaker 3:We have about 400 dancers who come with their families and over a 100 native vendors and artisans in our artisan market.
Speaker 2:That is just truly astounding. I have not had the the ability to attend. This will be my first one coming up. It is next month. Yes.
Speaker 2:November 21. Mark your calendars. Save the day, 9AM to 9PM. If you like
Speaker 3:to volunteer, we need some volunteers, especially in admissions to help get that line moving. We need help with hospitality. We're accepting donations for that. And so the Native American Cultural Center is the host of the Austin Pow Wow.
Speaker 2:Okay. And on that note, I want to thank our listeners today for tuning in to Racism on the Levels here on Co op Community Radio ninety one point seven FM, koop.org for folks anywhere. Really appreciate all of you tuning in and I am sitting in conversation and appreciation of Sky Howell. We were just talking about Sky's familial origin stories and and then what ignited and carried through some of the ways that that you Sky are showing up in community today here. And so the Native American Cultural Center, tell me about that origin story.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And and and elaborate as much as as as you feel
Speaker 3:on that. In 2025, we opened the doors to our Native American Cultural Center. We officially changed the name of our nonprofit for Great Promise. It was from Great Promise for American Indians to the Native American Cultural Center to more represent what we do year round. And so we actually have a moving moccasins program that goes to schools, libraries, and museums, works with local businesses and organizations to really spread education that we're still here.
Speaker 3:You know, a lot of times we go into schools and kids are thinking we don't exist or we live in teepees or just have a lot of misinformation and a lot of stereotypes. And so we work to erase that year round in in a lot of different places. And it's not just here. I mean, we've traveled out of state to be able to do this. Our creative director, Nan Blessing Game, has been running the Moving Moccasins for a very long time and all of our creative programs.
Speaker 3:And so whenever I first found the Austin powwow, part of my healing journey was being able to attend the monthly potlucks and learning how to sew, make a ribbon skirt, you know. I made this ribbon skirt I'm wearing today. It's very fun. It's got got a little bling on it for those of you who can't see it, but it's really fun. And, you know, being able to connect with other people who, you know, have have a similar story.
Speaker 3:We have a lot of parallel journeys within our community. And so just learning from that, being a part of those traditions and and those monthly potlucks that we would have, we had an opportunity to move from an office space and to really open up our doors to be able to have a classroom space, to be able to, you know, get a a space for our community to have a place to belong. And so in 2025, we took that opportunity. We partnered with Austin ISD. And originally, we were at Brook Elementary School.
Speaker 3:It's very... It was supposed to be for about two years, and it turned out to be abruptly very, very short term. For those of you who don't know, Brook Elementary School is being sold. And that was a community hub that was trying to be revitalized with a lot of nonprofits there. And, you know, within six months of having our grand opening, we were displaced and had to move.
Speaker 3:Thankfully, we had a place to go in Metz Elementary School, and so we're in a portable there. And we have our weekly workshops there. But since opening the center, we've gone from serving probably about 50 community members a month to over a 150.
Speaker 2:And so what what type of services do you extend to those? You you mentioned sewing already. What are some of the other activities?
Speaker 3:Sure. So we have a weekly work shop called Sew Indigenous. And so it's a space where folks can get together. It's for anybody who wants to learn how to sew, how to bead, how to weave. There's a lot of finger weaving to have a community potluck and play some native games, different things like that.
Speaker 3:And it's an urban intertribal community. So at any given time, you might find folks from maybe 20 different tribes represented because we're all from different places. And so we have that weekly workshop, and we have anywhere from 30 to 60 visitors. It's just totally drop in. So we never know what kind of, you know, creative activities are gonna happen.
Speaker 3:And Nan always calls it therapeutic threads. You know? It's a place that we can come together, a place that we can heal, and that we can, you know, just have some joy, put away the tech, and make regalia, learn how to powwow dance. So since having the Cultural Center, we've had, I think, eight new dancers that learned how to make the regalia, learned how to dance, and get into the powwow circle. And so that was one thing that I never thought that I would do.
Speaker 3:And I entered the powwow circle two years ago at the age of 44.
Speaker 2:Well, I I entered back into Austin in 2021. I left Texas for twenty years, and I'm fifth generation Texan into Karankawa land. Corpus Christi, I was born and raised. And, yeah, I came up here for UT, and then I left for a long time. Yeah.
Speaker 2:California and then New York and then DC and then back to Boston. So I... When I came back five years ago, I really wanted to know and be in authentic grassroots community with other folks. And that's another reason why I started this show to to find out to... For...
Speaker 2:To help people find each other and to be in that... Put the put the tech away spaces to also celebrate our shared humanity around culture and using our hands and food. Talk to me a little more about the food. And do the potlucks happen actually there at Mhmm. Met's?
Speaker 2:Okay. Yeah. Every every week. What... When is it?
Speaker 2:Is it open to
Speaker 3:Two days from four to seven at Metz Elementary School. So please come out. If you like to be crafty, then come and hang out. It's a great, beautiful, beautiful community that we have.
Speaker 2:I was able to attend the opening in 2025, and so thank you for that invitation. I'm looking forward to seeing your new space. The the potluck. So... And you, Oxluck, I'm I'm not as deeply entrenched into some of the the way that the indigenous community is organized.
Speaker 2:So you mentioned the urban intertribal council. Is that correct? Urban intertribal community. So... Can you tell me a
Speaker 3:little bit more about the structure? So now that we have a center, we're able to also hold space for other community organizations like the Chickasaw Community Council, the Cherokee Township, Central Texas Cherokee Township, the Choctaw Community Council, the Native American and Indigenous Youth Alliance, you know, all have a space to be able to gather. And a lot of times on Wednesday nights, there might be, you know, a sidebar meeting or something like that. We also have our monthly potlucks, and we partner a lot of times. And a lot of times, those are at Travis High School.
Speaker 3:We just had a big event, the indigenous people's day celebration at Travis High. And part of that goes back to our food efforts. We're really trying to support food sovereignty, you know, make sure that we can access food in the ways that are meaningful to have the land, to have the space, to be able to, you know, cultivate our foods, to be able to provide our foods, distribute our foods, and and, again, meaningful ways to us using our indigenous recipes and being really in community and connecting to the land and and connecting the food to all of that. And so we have a feast for all program, and that started last spring. And one of our partners with that is STEM sign with Gabriel at the at the lead of that.
Speaker 3:And, you know, we work to create a garden space, and we were gonna initially have a community garden at Brook. And then whenever it came up that we were gonna have to move, we had to just kinda shift what we were doing. But it actually became, I think, a better solution. We we we had some workshops on having container gardens. And so being able to distribute, you know, all of the things that people need to have these container gardens and be able to grow where you're planted, you know, is something that we really hold on to because we never know.
Speaker 3:You know? We're gonna have to be transplanted. We're gonna have to move. We know that this move to Metz is a temporary space for us. It doesn't serve our needs.
Speaker 3:We don't have a kitchen there. We don't have the ability to have, you know, cookout, have a grill, or anything like that. And so, you know, it's something that we're really grateful to have the space. And then also, we really have a need like the other cultural centers, the Asian American Resource Center, the African American Cultural Center, the Mexican American Cultural Center. They all have big budgets with the city and have big support.
Speaker 3:We're a small nonprofit with two staff and two interns. And so, you know, to be able to do anything, we have to fundraise for it. We have to get grants. We're always having to work to be able to keep those doors open to keep the lights on.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Who are some of your early advocates? This is moment of giving flowers to some folks who are who are are championing. Please share some some folks who've been
Speaker 3:helpful Yeah.
Speaker 2:Navigating the matrix.
Speaker 3:For sure. For sure. So I would say doctor Stephanie Holly from Austin Community College was really supportive of the efforts to get that Native American heritage month program launched, you know, to get the community connected to create space for students. Nicole Prescott, she's Miami and also has just been newly appointed as a commissioner and a board member for us. And so with the new Native American and indigenous quality of life commission and, Ursula Pike as well, were, you know, a part of that kind of initial sort of an effort that we were making with students.
Speaker 3:And and I would say too to be able to develop this commission, Richard Bondi is a commissioner who really supported and and was reaching out and saying, hey, you know, this would be really good if y'all had a commission. And you know, to really be able to amplify what the needs of our community are within the city.
Speaker 2:You had mentioned to me the recent resolution was made and was it for that very effort is to establish a commission. Mhmm. So congratulations. Yeah. That's a further institutionalizing your efforts, which...
Speaker 2:How did... How long did that process last, and how involved was that to to have that, commission being established?
Speaker 3:We were trying to establish it for the past two years. We didn't really get any traction at first. And then when council member Jose Velasquez came out to our grand opening and really wanted to have a relationship with us, that was, you know, turning point to really have his support. And so when his team got involved in trying to sponsor this and to create that resolution, that is whenever it got to get passed. And so it was passed in May, and we're still having some of our members appointed.
Speaker 3:And we've finally achieved, quorum. So we'll be able to start meeting soon. So we can get excited about that. All... Everyone who's listening out there.
Speaker 2:How often the commissions meet or how?
Speaker 3:So usually it's monthly. And the first thing that we're gonna be doing is having a quality of life study for our community to understand the needs of our community. So folks think, okay. Austin maybe doesn't have native folks. It's not that we're not here.
Speaker 3:We're invisiblized. And so, you we don't have representation in public health metrics and education at Boston ISD. We oftentimes, particularly for people who may check a couple of boxes, like maybe Latino and Native American, then you get lumped into this box called other. You can't serve other. Right?
Speaker 3:And this is not unique to our community. Right? Like, this is something that we see happening over and over and over again and use it as an excuse to say we're not statistically relevant. The reality is there's about 20,000 people who are native, you know, who identify as native in Travis County alone. And then we have, you know, so many more who may be taking a couple of different boxes and...
Speaker 3:Or may not be willing to because it hasn't been safe to. So we have an elder's lunch that we sponsor once a month. It's the second Tuesday of every month from eleven to one. And, you know, beautiful part of that is our elders share a lot of stories, and some of the stories that they share are really hard. They're talking about, you know, how unsafe Austin was for them growing up, how they could not say that they were native.
Speaker 2:What what are... What do you think has shifted? And do you think it's shifting pendulum style back into being more afraid, or do you think that... I suggest a different framing altogether about that. Is this a period of increased repression by the community or increased resistance to the attempts to erase culture?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:I think, you know, we've always been resistors. Right? And so we've always, you know, held on to our cultural traditions even when it was illegal. Like, we had the the religious act, the Indian Religious Freedom Act was passed also in 1979. So prior to that, it was illegal to have our powwows.
Speaker 3:And yet, we continued to dance. We continued to gather. We continued to nourish our community in the ways that we could do. Yeah. Right?
Speaker 3:And so I think that my generation is probably one of the first generations to be able to be loud and proud. And that is because of the work of our ancestors and our elders, you know, to be able to continue our traditions. And and our tribes are also working really, really hard to reconnect and to revitalize our culture and our languages. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:So we are going to take a quick break now for community announcements, and we will be back shortly.
Speaker 1:Business member support for coop comes from Austin Flower Company. To learn how your business can support coop, go to coop.org/support.
Speaker 4:Support for co op comes from Seedling, a local nonprofit serving over 500 Central Texas children impacted by parental incarceration through individual mentoring in a school based setting. Volunteer mentors are trained to step into their role with compassion and skill to help Seedling kids build the resilience necessary to overcome challenging circumstances and fulfill the promise of their young lives. To learn more about volunteer mentoring and to donate, visit seedlingmentors.org.
Speaker 5:The second Monday of our ir are proud proud people.
Speaker 1:Lives.
Speaker 6:We
Speaker 5:had a median household income of $59,000 and earned less than those who lived outside of Native or tribal lands. Please join coop throughout October as we honor Native Americans and their resilience to preserve land, spirit, and tradition. Together, we will rediscover indigenous peoples and remove the mask of settler colonialism.
Speaker 7:Hey, it's Dean here from Audio Graffiti, the show that brings you chilled sounds without much concern for genres or borders. Tuesdays at noon on Co op ninety one point seven, Austin, Texas.
Speaker 6:Dakota means friend, friendly. The people who gave that name to the Dakotas have sadly never been treated as friends. The people whose language was used to name the Dakota's in Minnesota and Iowa, Oklahoma, Ohio, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and other states. The Native American tribes, the people who were here before us, long before us, have never been treated as friends. They have been treated as enemies and dealt with with more harshly than any other enemy in any of this country's wars.
Speaker 6:The original sin of this country is that we invaders shot and murdered our way across the land, every Native American we could and making treaties with the rest. This country was founded on genocide before the word genocide was invented, before there was a war crimes tribunal in The Hague. When we finally stopped actively killing Native Americans for the crime of living here before us, we then proceeded to violate every treaty we made with the tribes, every single treaty. We piled crime on top of crime on top of crime against the people whose offense against us was simply that they lived where we wanted to live. We don't feel the guilt of those crimes because we pretend they happened a very long time ago in ancient history, and we actively suppress the memories of those crimes.
Speaker 6:But there are people alive today whose grandparents were in the business of killing Native Americans. That's how recent these crimes are. That we still have Native Americans left in this country to be arrested for trespassing on their own land is testament not to the mercy of the genocidal invaders who seized and occupied their land, but to the stunning strength and the five hundred years of endurance and the undying dignity of the people who were here long before us. The people who have always known what is truly sacred truly sacred in this world.
Speaker 2:You are listening to Racism on the Levels here on Co op Community Radio, ninety one point seven FM streaming online everywhere koop.org. I am sitting in blessed conversation with Sky Howell. And Sky, what were we just listening to?
Speaker 3:Yeah. I wanted to share one of my favorite artists. And I think when we talk about this, revitalization, I think that our communities are having. It's so important because of the artists, because of the musicians, because of, you know, the ways in which we're reclaiming what has been stolen from us, our our food ways, you know, all of the different things. And Superman is, you know, a a rapper.
Speaker 3:He is from current agency Montana. And he is really, really gifted and, you know, really speaking truth to power, really naming the things that need to be named, and also helping us heal, you know, and and being really encouraging. And so he's a really great role model. We have so many beautiful books now, children's books that I didn't have growing up, that are written by Native authors. So we're reclaiming our stories and and telling them, you know, from our perspectives.
Speaker 3:So here in Austin ISD as a parent, I remember starting out with my son in kindergarten and talking to his teachers about, like, hey. What are you gonna teach for Thanksgiving? You know? What's the stories that you have? And, you know, just wanted to share if if we can share anything or if there's a book that we can read together for the students, happy to do that.
Speaker 3:And most of the time, teachers were really excited and also did not have any contemporary understanding of native people. And so after years and years of advocating with the school district to say, we need some better not antiquated curriculum because students are learning the exact same thing that you and I learned, you know, that our parents probably learned in Texas history, and that's about it. Again, that relegates us to the past. And so finally, we wrote some grants. And we got some grants from Humanities Texas, Texas Commission for the Arts.
Speaker 3:We partnered with UT Austin, Native American Indigenous Studies with Central Texas Cherokee Township, with the Native American Cultural Center, and we're able to create curriculum. It's not a whole lot. We just got a little bit of funding, but we did two lessons to start out in STEM, two lessons in English language arts. And, again, that highlights and amplifies what's going on here in our local community so students can learn about the powwow and actually go out to the powwow. You know?
Speaker 3:So students can, you know, learn about force motion and energy and the teak's alignment with some indigenous technologies. You know, make some prototypes of using stickball or doing the outlet and things like that that students hadn't been reduced to by and large if they're not native, and to also, you know, again, us in a contemporary way. So now we've done... We're on our third year of that. We started with fifth grade.
Speaker 3:We're... Went to sixth grade and now onto seventh grade this year. And so it's been a really sort of a... An enlightening moment to understand, well, we needed to be creating the curriculum the whole time as opposed to asking people who don't know how to do it, who haven't been trained, who don't... Aren't coming from our our perspective to be able to do something that they shouldn't be doing really.
Speaker 2:What will the... Back to the the commission and the the the establishment of the commission. What what what does the commission allow or give authority to to move in the direction of making this work infused throughout Sure. As the as the as the norm.
Speaker 3:Right. Right. So the commissions give recommendations to the city manager and particularly around budgets and, you know, the the outcomes that we want for our community. And so, you know, we have no resources at all from the city unless we have a sponsor or unless we write a grant. And so this will have an opportunity for us to talk about, you know, what do we need from Austin Public Health as they are creating their five year strategic plan where, again, there's no mention of Native American at all in statistics or demographics for our health and wellness.
Speaker 3:So we're working to, you know, in partnership with them at the same time, working on public health. We really wanna get Indian services down here because right now, to be able to access free health care, Indian health care services for people who are tribally enrolled. They have to go back either back to their tribe or drive, you know, a couple hours to Dallas, potentially. And if you're in a health care crisis, you know, that's not the time to take a three hour or a six hour drive.
Speaker 2:That's that's such a structural barrier.
Speaker 3:Yes. Yes. And so we do have a little bit of a model for that. Austin Travis County Integral Care actually has a therapist. They partner with Texas Native Health to be able to have a practitioner that offers free therapy services for native people in our community.
Speaker 3:So, you know, if if you're in need of mental health services and you're native, even if you're not enrolled, this is a service that is available to you. So, you know, please reach out. You know, we're always here to help and support that too for anybody who may be out there listening and not aware of these services. And then, you know, looking at education, of course, you know, we're working with the school district to try to have that representation there. We now have a Native American and indigenous education program back.
Speaker 3:There was a hiatus for about five years when there was no grant funding there, and so the school district didn't have it anymore. But what this program does is actually any Austin ISD student who's tribally enrolled also has access to SAT fee waivers for college application fee waivers, to be able to go to tours on colleges, and, you know, a lot of different things from that, plus, you know, knowing about all of our community events that we have. And so that's something that's really important for families to be able to understand as well. And then cultural preservation. If you were to go for a walk in Michigan, for example, I'm walking along the river and I'm seeing these beautiful murals, I'm seeing these vignettes of our stories.
Speaker 3:Right? Our Potawatomi stories. Here, there's nothing. You go to Seattle? I do.
Speaker 3:Right? Same thing. Right?
Speaker 2:My roomie, my son and I took a thirty day road trip throughout New Mexico, Northern New Mexico. And we visited the Pueblo. We spent a lot of time in Navajo land. We spent five days in Taos and came back with that stark observation that wow, we're we're really there is nothing but improvement in terms of visibility culturally and and artifacts. So what are some of the...
Speaker 2:And I'm keep think I keep thinking of Danielle Lianez and I keep thinking of of him and when I moved back five years ago he was one of the very first people visibly that was just always in community promoting and and and and just continuing to put tender into the fire.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And he worked so closely with city council. We know him, you know, as an activist for so many things. Right? But also, he really made sure that indigenous people's day was something that was celebrated, you know, and was really working very much closely with the city to be able to have a festival around that.
Speaker 3:And so one thing that we've done is, you know, try to bring that back, you know. So we're in our second year of having an indigenous people's day celebration. In fact, the last time I saw him was last year at our celebration, and I was just thinking about him the whole time and missing him.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. I think of the... Yeah. I've I've lived in DC for a while, and so I was there at the the Native American, Museum at the Smithsonian for events. And and the herd in Phoenix is was long time one of my favorite museums and and I would love to see, a cultural center, the Native American Cultural Center take over in one of these many buildings like like Palm Palm Elementary, the campus, somewhere like that.
Speaker 2:Is that something that you have visions of and that you or do you have a different vision for where the Cultural Center may live more
Speaker 3:permanently? Yeah. So we, you know, we're really open to whatever we can get that meets the needs of our community. And so we're just happy to have a place that we call home at this point. And, you know, of course, we're dreaming big.
Speaker 3:And so with Palm School, you know, being available and there's all this outreach of, you know, what can we do with this space. And, you know, so we have suggested to the committee, and many of our community members have created the survey to, you know, maybe advocate for us to be there along with other aligned nonprofits. And so we hope to be able to move there if that can be a possibility. But we're working with the county, we're working with the city, you know, and working with a lot of foundations and, you know, private individuals who, you know, really wanna see us be able to thrive. And I think, you know, with having the center, we've illuminated who we are in that visibility.
Speaker 3:And so we have got... You know, I I mentioned we have the weekly workshops. We also have our monthly elders luncheons. We've also got our feast for all programs. We also have community, like, health and wellness program that we have, where we do community walk and run from Metz down to Festival Beach Food Forest, and back is about a mile.
Speaker 3:And so on a Sunday, you know, you'll see about 30 folks gathered there with the indigenous movement crew, you know, being able to go and get some exercise, going for a walk or going for a run. And so there's kind of a neglected space of trail, I would say, from Bushbone, which Daniel Ioannis was so key in Yes. Advocating for that, all the way down to Festival Beach Food Forest. There's not really much going on there. It's within walking distance to us.
Speaker 3:So we would love to be able to work with Parks and Rec. We also have a partner Essentials Creative who does a lot of art in mural spaces.
Speaker 2:And this is... If you saw the promo for the show, this was Sky's creation there from Essentials Creative. Right? Is that the... Where that workshop took place?
Speaker 3:Oh, yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Exactly.
Speaker 3:And so, you know, through that partnership, you know, with... We've got a a few other community partners who are interested in this idea of having some art on the trails, you know, having some of those stories on the trails. So, you know, we're working together to be able to make this happen and, you know, get some visibility even if it's just starting in this this one space.
Speaker 2:Yeah. If you're just tuning in, you're listening to Racism on the Levels on Co op Radio. Thank y'all for listening from all over beyond Turtle Island even, koop.org. And I'm a radio head, so I love I take great comfort in the fact that we community powered radio here at occupies ninety one point seven FM on the dial. So I'm thinking about Festival Beach, Food Forest, and the I 35 expansion, and some of the continued climate injustices that are occurring here.
Speaker 2:And I'm curious guy how you how you're approaching climate injustice and gentrification continued gentrification here in Austin.
Speaker 3:Sure. So, know, really we're we're a center that is focused on, you know, building a thriving community. And so with our feast for all program and that food sovereignty efforts, you know, educating folks about what is happening here, you know, with the city of Austin food plan, for example, right, there's a lot of opportunities to get involved, to volunteer, you know, to support efforts. One of our partners, Doug Martin, he's also a commissioner with Central Texas Cherokee Township, has got a lot of 3 Sisters Gardens, Saint... At Saint Edward's, at some different school locations, and, you know, across the community.
Speaker 3:So any efforts should be able to, you know, really develop at the community level, at the relationship level to then move into that systemic level through those relationships. So, you know, a lot of times we'll have people invite us out. They wanna do a land acknowledgment, you know, for an opening ceremony. They have no relationship with us whatsoever. So we talk about how can we be in right relations with the native community.
Speaker 3:What does it really mean, you know, to share and understand, you know, who were the original stewards of this land, you know, and who continues to occupy this land? And so that is one thing that we do too, and part of our educational efforts is to have workshops and, you know, work with organizations who are interested in being in right relations with the native community. And I think in that partnership and those relationships and not just having... You know, taking a box that we've done this land acknowledgment or, all of these many things. You know, working together with people in our community to be able to make the changes that we need and that we can do within our sphere of influence.
Speaker 2:Yeah. You you mentioned to the the the waterway there there on the East Side along the Colorado River and I think about Dogs Head and I think about you as keeper of the waters. How trying to form my question here which is you know this this is vital to our our life here all of us here in Austin for this river to be nurtured and not steamrolled
Speaker 3:Yeah. I development. You know, when we go back to the point of these commissions, they aren't here to check a box. There are processes that should be gone through before huge developments like this take place. So, you know, how do we really make sure that our commissions have teeth that, you know, there is some accountability to the communities that are most impacted first and foremost about any decisions that are made within our city?
Speaker 3:The
Speaker 2:person who is listening to this conversation right now and may not know what the next step to do to be in right relation with indigenous folks here in Austin you've given plenty of suggestions of how people can plug in What about those who may not be able to attend an event? Maybe they have chronic health conditions, maybe they have, you know, other, you know, abilities that prevent them from doing that. What are some of the what are some of the other creative ways that people can nurture and be in right relationship? Yeah. So I think
Speaker 3:it starts with educating yourself. You know, a lot of times people come to us, you know, for a history lesson or whatever. Right? Like, you know, take the time to educate yourself. And I I think also make sure if you are reading articles, you know, that have to do with our community, make sure that it's by a native author.
Speaker 3:You know? Reading books or anything to do. You know? That's really that first point. If you have the ability to, you know, hire folks, you hire Native.
Speaker 3:Right? Buy Native. You know? Our artisan market has over a 100 vendors. You know, there's no reason to go on Amazon or Walmart or whatever, right, for that.
Speaker 3:And, you know, I think also letter writing campaigns are really super important. And so, you know, some things that we need to be working on with the school board as we have new school board members coming on is really advocating to say, hey. You know, when are we gonna have demographics to be able to measure our... The educational goals for our Native American and indigenous students who currently have no educational goals in 2026.
Speaker 2:What does a a letter writing campaign today look like from a mechanics standpoint? Elaborate on some of that. What is what is that?
Speaker 3:So I think that, you know, the first step, right, is not to just go rogue and do nothing alone. Right? And so connecting with us, you know, directly and fostering that relationship. You know? You can reach out.
Speaker 3:You can find our information. You can follow us on Facebook, Native American Cultural Center, Austin Pow Wow as well. And then we also have TikTok, Instagram, you know, all the different ways to plug in. We also have email. You can email us directly, info@Austinpowwow.net.
Speaker 3:But, you know, find a way to plug in and to build on that relationship. You know? And and a lot of times too, it's easy to get stuck in this story of generational trauma. We're really focused on generational healing, and we need people to get on board with that. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And that's such an attractive thing to think about anyway. Right? Like, let's let's heal together. What a concept. Yeah.
Speaker 2:So I'm curious about also some of the carceral system, and we we've talked about a lot of systems on today already, but are there any inroads yet or is there area of opportunity for helping reentry and and those who are indigenous and been... Have been impacted by the criminal injustice system, as I say.
Speaker 3:Yes. And that's not something that we're doing directly, but I know grassroots leadership for sure does. And so, you know, when somebody comes to our center and they have a need, if we aren't able to directly connect them with that resource by something that we're doing, we want to be able to refer them to the right place, you know. So, again, that strength and partnerships is really important, but knowing that, okay, you know, there's an organization that really specializes in this in particular. Particular.
Speaker 3:And then the other thing is is with our... The teach... Things that we're teaching, right, in our in our classes, for example, you know, our students are coming in. They're learning how to have these skills, right, to be able to sew, to be able to bead, to be able to make their own crafts or their art. Right?
Speaker 3:And then that's something that you can have an opportunity to vent. You know? So we also had a vendor's market at our indigenous people's day celebration or at the powwow. Right? So there's opportunities for entrepreneurship that don't have a lot of barriers to them.
Speaker 3:Know? So we've got everything that you need when you come out to our workshops. We've got the sewing machines. We've got the beads. We've got the supplies.
Speaker 3:We get a lot of donations. It's another way that you can help. You know, we have an Amazon wish list as well. We have got, you know, wish lists going on for some of the program supplies. Because, again, this is all coming out of our pocket, and every single rib...
Speaker 3:Ribbon skirt comes with... Needs two yards of fabric and as much ribbons. Right? So
Speaker 2:Do you have a relationship with Austin Creative Reuse?
Speaker 3:Yeah. So we actually... We go there a lot, but we don't have really a formal partnership. So, hey, if you guys are listening, let's get connected.
Speaker 2:I bet so. What are some other areas that you would like to have a partnership with, but you just haven't found that right dance partner yet? Can you think of any other areas?
Speaker 3:You know, I I am really looking forward to learning more about what the Joint Commission, the work of the Joint Commission does, and understanding more about the governance process and practices. Like, we don't wanna reinvent the wheel. We want to connect in with other commissions and understand more about what they're doing and really, you know, have more partnerships with our other cultural centers that are here in town. We all kind of, you know, do our own thing, but how can we work together? So, you know, at Fiesta was the first time we went out to the Mexican American Cultural Center, and we had a performance there at Pawa dance performance.
Speaker 3:And it was just so beautiful to be out there and to be together. And so I'm really looking forward to developing that partnership. You know, I I also wanna come back to early champions as well within our community and honor some of our elders. Sylvia Jean, I think I had mentioned her earlier. Ken McGriffy Grant, who also hosts
Speaker 2:Yes. The Of course.
Speaker 3:Right? You know, not only his show, like, amplifies the native culture and community. But he was one of the first people, you know, who started the powwow as well.
Speaker 2:Hi, Ken. Thank you, Ken.
Speaker 3:Yes. And so, you know, there's there's a lot of people. You know, Becky Martinez, Maria Martinez, part of our Tiny Tots committee board members, Melanie Tsai, you know, Jessica Scott, Marcel Navarro, Joel Navarro. So many people who have been a part of the work that we're doing and Austin Powell for for decades. Susie Morales, Dia Morales, you know, holding it down in in different areas to make sure that we can, you know, continue on no matter what obstacles might come our way, you know.
Speaker 3:So
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:All very important. And Amy Talman. And so many others that I probably haven't named, but I just wanna, you know, make that Yeah. That that shout out.
Speaker 2:Yeah. We're... This is this is perhaps too too big of a nut to crack in the two minutes we have remaining, but...
Speaker 3:We'll have to come back for another. Please.
Speaker 2:Please. Finish chapter. And also, I guess my my my last closing question for you today, because it's very time sensitive, is how can people find information about the upcoming election, from the perspective of the indigenous, community? What... Do you have any thoughts or ideas as people are starting to educate themselves on who they're going to vote for?
Speaker 3:Yeah. So, you know, there's there's a lot of great news sources out there in Indian country and that, you know, that we kind of follow or connect with. And so, you know, I think, again, going back to that educating yourself and making sure you know what the source is and that it is, you know, a verified source, for example, is is a really important thing to do and get out and vote. Make sure that you're... You know, I know we've passed that registration period now, but, you know, also, you know, if there's ways to help, you know, give your neighbor a ride to the polls or or whatever needs to be done, you know, like, how can we connect together and and realize that we are interdependent and interconnected with each other.
Speaker 3:Sky, thank you so much for your time. Thank you for everything you're doing. Thank you for
Speaker 2:the love you're putting out to everyone through your efforts. So I think that's all we have time for today. I give thanks to Michelle Manny Scott, who's sitting here engineering the show today so I could sink deeper into conversation with Sky. And, yeah, see you at the powwow. See you at the powwow next month.
Speaker 2:Austinpowwow.net. Thanks y'all. Remember, love is the highest level. See you next time. Up next is democracy now.
Speaker 2:My glad. And and thank you, Shojinka Rahim for providing. I let my light shine the music you're gonna hear on the way out.
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