Tim Ryan is an expert on heritage skills, tool making, and the history of intermontane tribes of the Northwestern United States. He's currently the Department Head of Cultural and Language Studies (CALS) Program at Salish Kootenai College where he teaches classes on Indigenous STEM. tim_ryan@skc.edu ~ Like this show? Leave us a review here ... even one sentence helps! And if you leave your Twitter handle we'll be sure to thank you personally! You can also Support the Show on PayPal ....
Feb 02, 2023•2 hr 11 min•Ep. 40
Today we talk about a word that's captivating to some, terrifying to others, and controversial in many ways... Wild. We go over the definition, etymology, our own opinion, and various perspectives from other writers that have touched on the words wild, wilderness, and nature. Enjoy! ~ Links and Resources: Tending the Wild The Wilderness Act Dudley Edmondson Ralph Waldo Emerson A Sand County Almanac The Trouble with Wilderness Definitions Etymology The Black & Brown Faces In America's Wild Pl...
Jan 20, 2023•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 39
Although a difficult topic to talk about, we both realized that thanatology was important enough to do an entire episode on. This field of study is associated with a wide variety of disciplines that include everything from sociology and anthropology to medical professions like working as a mortician or a medical examiner for a police department. In this episode, we go over the history of thanatology, some of the dominant philosophies, and our own opinions on this important but seldomly discussed...
Dec 09, 2022•1 hr 54 min•Ep. 38
We're back! In this episode, we go over some updates and where the podcast is heading. ~ Like this show? Leave us a review here ... even one sentence helps! And if you leave your Twitter handle we'll be sure to thank you personally! You can also Support the Show on PayPal .
Nov 25, 2022•28 min•Ep. 37
This is a recording from the Montana Environmental Educators Association 2020 Annual Conference, where we presented to a group of educators across Montana who were interested in learning about ethnobotany. We went over definitions, our perspectives, and some practical tips that we thought were important to understand. And we thought this would be a good time to share this as a podcast since the seasons are changing and a lot of people just finished having big dinners with lots of delicious foods...
Nov 28, 2021•48 min
We're back! And we're beginning our brand new season with a fun Halloween episode. We share stories about the Deer Woman, go over the differences between horror and terror and then wrap it all up by giving some of our favorite recommendations for spooky movies to watch this season. Enjoy! Oh yeah! HEADPHONES RECOMMENDED... ~ Links and Resources: Like this show? Leave us a review here ... even one sentence helps! And if you leave your Twitter handle we'll be sure to thank you personally! You can ...
Oct 31, 2021•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 36
Happy New Year! We're glad to be back. On today's podcast, we have a conversation about a concept called Seasonal Rounds. This idea is something expressed in one form or another by all humans and even people in the cities can't escape it. The changes we've observed in the seasons are one of the biggest influences we have upon any changes in our behavior so we thought it would be fun to explore it NDN Science Style... We dive into this topic with our own stories from Montana and discuss some of t...
Jan 09, 2021•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 35
Patrick Yawakie has been working on food sovereignty and voter awareness for years, and we finally got him on the show. We talked about lots of stuff including life, love, his current project called Decolonize Turtle Island, and as always, his three tips for being Indigenous in the modern world. Enjoy! ~ Links & Resources: People's Food Sovereignty Program Decolonize Turtle Island ~ Like this show? Leave us a review here ... even one sentence helps! And if you leave your Twitter handle we'll...
Dec 12, 2020•2 hr 18 min•Ep. 34
This event was so epic! It's almost impossible for us to truly wrap our minds around but we do our best on today's episode. Although there have been other events of comparable size, this was potentially the largest flood event in Earth's history. The only other event that's potentially larger happened in Siberia. This "lake" carved a path through the Rocky Mountains that still frames the landscape around places like Missoula and Camas Prairie, MT. Enjoy! ~ Links & Resources: Red Earth, White...
Nov 28, 2020•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 33
He's a fellow GIS nerd, future chief of his people, and currently working on studying coastal land loss to help those that are most at risk of the dangers of sea-level rise. Today we welcomed Devon Parfait onto the show and although Annie wasn't able to be there, we're glad to highlight his story. Here are some of the main ideas we talked about: - Devon's research on coastal land loss and its impacts in Louisiana - How he got into GIS and his love of science - His childhood experience with findi...
Nov 14, 2020•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 32
We realized that we needed to do a bit of an update about where we've been over the last year and although we meant to keep it short, we started talking politics... you know how that goes. We talked about life, love, and sadness. We share about what we've been up to and where we're going, and then we went down the political rabbit hole for about twenty minutes. Enjoy! ~ Like this show? Leave us a review here ... even one sentence helps! And if you leave your Twitter handle we'll be sure to thank...
Nov 07, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 31
We're back! And thank you so much for all of the support over the past year while we've been reorganizing, reenergizing, and generally getting our shit together. This episode is all about scary stories. Enjoy! ~ Links and Resources: List of Indigenous Scary Movies Shudder (Stream Scary Movies) ~ Like this show? Leave us a review here ... even one sentence helps! And if you leave your Twitter handle we'll be sure to thank you personally! You can also Support the Show on PayPal ....
Oct 31, 2020•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 30
This is a special Halloween episode, where Annie's father Gene Sorrell shares his spooky stories on cryptids and ghosts. The topic of this episode is just looking at mythical creatures and beings from a cultural historic cryptozoological worldview. There are many indigenous people that have passed down stories over many generations. The episode will give a brief overview to help listeners learn about the science that they may have never heard about. Main Ideas: - Definitions for Cryptozoology, c...
Oct 31, 2019•47 min•Ep. 29
This is a live recording of Annie Sorrell and Tommy Mackey at the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) 48th Annual Conference in Lexington, Kentucky on October 17, 2019. The topic of this session was focused on the diverse interests in environmental science that have grappled with the differences between mainstream quantitative science and qualitative Indigenous science. This hands-on presentation is for education practitioners who have questions about what these differ...
Oct 20, 2019•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 28
Today we had Neil Patterson Jr. on the show. Although Annie wasn't able to be there, it was a lot of fun and we're glad to be able to highlight Neil and his story. He's done all sorts of things and has experienced a lot in his life. He went from only wanting to hunt and fish to teaching about Indigenous issues and traditional ecological knowledge in a university setting. Neil's had quite the journey and continues to contribute to academia, to science, and to a vision for better futures for all p...
Oct 06, 2019•1 hr 47 min•Ep. 27
On today's episode, we took a different approach to this big topic and worked with Selina Kenmille , her son Leighton Wise Spirit, and Heather Atwin to have a round table discussion instead of the usual back-and-forth we have between just the two of us. We touch on all sorts of topics ranging from fry bread and Indin' tacos to suicide awareness and coping tools for everyday life. This was a heartfelt episode that was fun, and sad, and inspired both of us to be better people. Enjoy! Here are some...
Sep 22, 2019•2 hr 11 min•Ep. 26
In today's episode, we talk about those words that have some sting to them. You know those words... the ones that get us cringing or offended when someone mentions them. Well, we talk about a few of the ones we've explored or experienced over the years. We also talk about how we respond to these words and how their meanings can differ. Here are some of the main ideas we talk about: - Indigifact about the Declaration of Independence - Controversial words and their definitions - How do we react an...
Aug 11, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 25
Today's our first official episode of Revolution Science, a series of episodes about the major revolutions that have occurred throughout human history. And it all begins with fire. In this episode, we start by going over the definitions of revolution and evolution. Then we get into describing some of the main theories behind why we think fire is potentially the first revolution for humans. Here are some of the main ideas we talk about: - IndigiFacts about the oldest human fossils - The earliest ...
Jul 28, 2019•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 24
We're back! And to get back in the groove, we decided to do another episode on the topic of Being Indigenous in the Modern World (#BIMW). This is a big topic and we bounce around to different topics a lot, but that's a part of why it's so fun to record these episodes. Enjoy! Here are some of the main ideas we talk about: - IndigiFact about How Cats Land on Their Feet - Updates on why we took a month off - What makes this topic so broad/wide-reaching - Sustainable/Renewable/Clean/Green Energy - S...
Jul 14, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 23
Today’s episode is all about being wrong… we caught ourselves making mistakes on three separate episodes. Although being wrong is okay, correcting yourself when you recognize that you're wrong is important. On today's show, we correct ourselves for some mistakes we made in three episodes (#16, #21, and #22), and then we reflect on it. Here are some of the main ideas we talk about: - Greg Gianforte DID support recognizing the Little Shell - Coffee isn't the 60th most-traded commodity - The Nether...
May 05, 2019•35 min
Ethnobotany can be looked at in different ways. On one hand, it describes the people-plant relationships that Indigenous cultures have always relied on. And on the other, it can be seen as the discipline within science that studies these relationships, plant biology, and their stories. In this episode, we dive into definitions, and some history, and we even talk about aliens a little bit. We also go over why we think this is an important topic and how we view plant relationships. Here are some o...
Apr 21, 2019•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 22
Today’s episode is all about coffee. AKA: the good old morning brew—the life-saving afternoon pick-me-up—and the fabled cup of Joe. But before we get carried away with all that, we get into some stats about coffee. Then we talk about some of the challenges of its production, preparation, transportation, roasting, and selling. This is a cherished drink that's faced a lot of controversy for centuries, having associations with revolutions, addiction, mold toxins, and the all-too-common "coffee jitt...
Mar 31, 2019•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 21
This is a recording of the live stream we did at SUNY-ESF for a class called Indigenous Issues in the Environment. The topic of this episode is Traditional Ecological Knowledge, also known as TEK. We start off by going over definitions of TEK, then we share our personal experience with it and how this idea has shaped our views as scientists. We also ask the students to define TEK and explore this in different contexts by asking the students questions and sharing some of the principles. Enjoy! He...
Mar 17, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 20
On today's show, we interview Dr. Robin Kimmerer. She's our major professor in the Sowing Synergy Program, she's an amazing botanist and the author of Braiding Sweetgrass, and she's also written numerous articles about traditional ecological knowledge. Robin shares all sorts of interesting stories with us. She talks about her childhood, important mentors, and her journey as an Indigenous scientist. Enjoy! In this episode, Dr. Kimmerer shares things like: - One of her favorite memories and her co...
Mar 03, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 19
Kaya DeerInWater is a close friend of ours and we’re excited to finally have him on the show. He’s the other member of our graduate cohort and we’ve wanted to have him on the show for over a year now. Kaya’s a dedicated and loving family man, he’s a brilliant botanist in the making, and he has a lot of knowledge about ecological restoration. Some of the main things we talk about today are: - Kaya’s childhood, his connection to culture, and academic background - How he got from California to grad...
Feb 17, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 18
We're back! With another edition of Being Indigenous in the Modern World... This is a huge topic that spans many different fields of study and all sorts of scientific disciplines, so we decided that this should be an ongoing conversation. On today's show, we jump around a bit but eventually focus our conversation around graduate school, our research projects, and the lessons we've learned from going through the process of doing research with an Indigenous community. Particularly our home communi...
Feb 04, 2019•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 17
Anna Whiting-Sorrell was the first woman teacher's assistant for the Political Science Department at the University of Montana, she has a master's degree in Public Administration, and she's the first political scientist we've had on the show. She's served her community as the director of Montana's Department of Public Health and Human Services... and she's also Annie's mom. In this episode of the NDN Science Show, Anna and Annie have a conversation about how we as Indigenous people need to heal ...
Jan 20, 2019•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 16
Today’s episode is about biopiracy… but first, we share an Indigi-Fact that turned out to be a cool surprise to both of us. After that, we dive into some history, a few definitions, a case study, and how biopiracy can affect Indigenous communities. We also explore some ideas for how this issue can be addressed now/in the future, and why this is such an important topic for Indigenous peoples around the planet. This one was interesting to bring together because it’s such a big topic that ties into...
Jan 07, 2019•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 15
Connecting to Place… what does it mean? This topic gets deep really quickly and seems to be a fundamental aspect of human nature that philosophers and scientists have been talking about for thousands of years. So we figured... hey, if they've been at it for thousands of years, we can tackle it in an hour, right? Well, we did our best and seem to keep coming back to this notion that a connection with place has the power to heal. It also has the power to reveal knowledge and wisdom in a way that o...
Dec 10, 2018•55 min•Ep. 14
Here's another excerpt from the live-stream event we did at the AISES National Conference on October 6th. This is an interview with Ronin Ruerup and will be the last download we'll be releasing from the AISES conference for this year. Ronin's from Alaska and he was the last guest we had for that day. He's Tlingit and had a lot of amazing things to say. His interests range from Sea Otter Populations to the consultation process and oil/mineral exploration. Here are some of the main ideas we talked...
Nov 26, 2018•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 13
