“If it takes an hour to go to the nearest ATM, banking isn’t really on your horizon as a job option” -- Jackson Brossy Jackson Brossy Jackson Brossy is on a mission. First, his passion to serve his people of the Navajo Nation is strong. Second, his passion for economic development across Indian Country is part of a wave to make our communities a stronger place to live. Jackson is Navajo. He grew up on the nation in Red Mesa , and spent weekends traveling an hour, to the nearest border town for g...
Jan 28, 2016•1 hr 3 min
Jourdan Bennett-Begaye is Navajo. She attends the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University . Jourdan is also one of the creators of the Survival of the First Voices Festival. Jourdan grew up in Shiprock, NM. Sports played a big role in her life as a child. She played soccer and volleyball. One came naturally, as Jourdan’s mother was a volleyball coach. Soccer was completely foreign to her and her first practice she showed up in tennis shoes and denim shorts. Both expe...
Jan 21, 2016•56 min
Paulette Jordan is Couer d' Alene. She is currently a member of the Idaho State legislature, and she also sits on the board of the National Indian Gaming Association. Paulette also was previously a member of her (and my) tribal council. Paulette Jordan's family instilled leadership from an early age. But leadership for power was not the goal. Service was. Paulette demonstrates her commitment to service through the various positions she has held over the years. Paulette was both a self-described ...
Jan 08, 2016•51 min
Jaynie Parrish is Navajo and the principal of Parrish Digital. You can find Parrish Digital on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . Jaynie grew on Navajo Nation but moved to Phoenix to live with her dad for high school. They ended up helping each other out during this time, but you have to listen to the episode to learn how! Jaynie utilized and participated in different programs in high school and college (and beyond). We discuss the impact these programs have on individuals. I know I definitely w...
Jan 02, 2016•59 min
Jim Gray is Osage. Not only is he Osage, he is the former Principal Chief. Jim is one of the few (so far) elected leaders to appear on NextGen Native. Jim served two terms as Principal Chief from 2002-2010. During that time, he led significant reforms to the Osage government, eliminating almost one hundred years of U.S. government say in who was an Osage. I’ve shied away from interviewing elected leaders on NextGen Native. The reason is there are so many people serving or working in Indian Count...
Dec 21, 2015•1 hr 2 min
Jared Yazzie is Diné and the owner of OXDX Clothing. He also happens to be the brother of previous NextGen Native guest and NASA engineer, Aaron Yazzie . Jared went to the University of Arizona on a full ride scholarship to study engineering. But after a few years, he realized that path was not for him. Jared left the university and enrolled at Pima Community College. He would transition into arts. During this time he started to sell shirts out of his car trunk. This is where the hustle of what ...
Dec 14, 2015•47 min
Key Takeaways See the big picture, even when others cannot. Victor says find a passion and pursue it. Give back to your community. Victor Rocha is a member of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians . Victor also created and runs Pechanga.Net . Chances are if you are reading this blog you are familiar with the news aggregating website. Victor created Pechanga.Net 17 years ago and has been operating it ever since. Victor Rocha grew up in San Bernardino and was a music junkie. He spent the first few ...
Dec 09, 2015•1 hr 4 min
Sharice Davids is a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin. She also is a lawyer, a former used car dealer, an entrepreneur ( Hoka! Coffee ), Chair of the board of directors for 12 Clans--Ho-Chunk’s Section 17 holding corporation, MMA fighter , and the Deputy Director for the Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation . Phew. Sharice is a great example of how one’s journey can take curved routes. After spending many years abroad as a military child, she went to six different colleges b...
Nov 30, 2015•1 hr 34 min
Michael Adams is Hopi. He is also the the owner, along with his wife, of Gourd Jewels . The company is a jewelry business that sells online. We caught up just before Black Friday Side Note: As the Holiday season begins, think about supporting businesses like Gourd Jewels and many other Native businesses. Gourd Jewels is having a black Friday sale, so check out their website for a discount. One consistent theme from the conversation with Michael was his ability to analyze situations and make toug...
Nov 24, 2015•54 min
“It wasn’t all about spirituality, all about mother nature or charity. It was ‘I’m a Native person, here are my values and I’m going to kick ass.’ It was a much more three-dimensional view of who Native people are.” Who could get Natives to buy fewer Pendleton blankets and instead buy blankets created by Natives? Louie Gong. Louie Gong is creating his own energy right now, and I’m digging it. Louie is Nooksack , and grew up both in Canada and the U.S. He also runs Eighth Generation , a company t...
Nov 18, 2015•1 hr 10 min
“My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father. Prepare to die.” Joe Sarcinella is not Inigo Montoya from the Princess Bride. He is not seeking to avenge the death of his father. But Joe promised his father he would complete a 100 mile race that his father could not complete. Joe’s drive came from this promise. The question was: could it get him across the finish line? When Joe was a child, his father attempted a 100 mile race but had to stop at mile 89 due to an injury. MILE 89 . Joe thought t...
Nov 10, 2015•59 min
Kalika Davis is Dine, Ute, Chippewa and Northern European. She is the owner of Salon Tallou . The business is an organic hair salon, but also includes space for other holistic healing center. She is currently a Native Entrepreneur in Residence with New Mexico Community Capital. Kalika grew up in Bellingham, Washington before moving back to the Albuquerque area during middle school. Her family moved back to the southwest in order to be closer to other family and Central New Mexico Community Colle...
Nov 04, 2015•49 min
Nikke Alex is Dine. It was awesome to get to speak with another former WINS intern on the podcast, and to see what all of us are doing TEN YEARS LATER! She is currently a third-year law student at the University of New Mexico . She is also a self-described nerd. And when you listen to her story, you understand that it is an awesome/honest assessment! I was blown away at Nikke’s stories about the projects she undertook on her own as a child. It was cool to see someone who was so self-driven in th...
Oct 29, 2015•1 hr 1 min
Tanaya Winder is a citizen of the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe . She is also Pyramid Lake Paiute , and Southern Ute . She grew up in Ignacio, Colorado, on the Southern Ute Reservation. She describes herself as a writer, artist, manager, and oh yeah, the Director of an Upward Bound program. As a kid, Tanaya knew she would attend Stanford. She just knew it. Tanaya thought she would become a lawyer, but wanted some exposure to liberal arts while an undergraduate. She applied to other schools, and was a...
Oct 21, 2015•1 hr
Aaron Yazzie is Navajo. He is currently a Mechanical Engineer at NASA at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Anaheim, California. Aaron Yazzie’s journey began on the Navajo Nation where he excelled as a student. His mother, a teacher, and his father, an engineer, emphasized education from an early age. Aaron knew that college was in his future. But even as a gifted student, he doubted whether he was “good enough” to get into the schools he wanted to get into. In high school Aaron attended College H...
Oct 14, 2015•56 min
One of the tensions NextGen Natives experience, I believe, is whether your work faces outward to the broader world or inward towards Indian Country. By focusing on efforts that face outward, your goal is to broaden the exposure of Indian Country to others, to educate, to transcend. Efforts inward may focus on addressing an issue, or empowering, etc. but perhaps with little support or focus from outside Indian Country. John Pepion is currently straddling both, and may be on the cusp of getting BI...
Oct 07, 2015•47 min
I recently found one of the best examples of managing success and leadership that I’ve read in a long time. It did not come from a scion of enterprise. It came from NFL running back Marshawn Lynch , aka Beast Mode . I found the nugget of wisdom while reading American Way, the inflight magazine of American Airlines . At the time the NFL season was about to begin and the issue was dedicated to all things football. For those who don’t follow football (and for those that are not fans of Lynch/Seahaw...
Sep 24, 2015•9 min
Maria Givens is a member of the Coeur d’ Alene Tribe and currently works for the National Indian Health Board . I was excited to interview a fellow tribal member for the first time! This is also the second Mark O. Hatfield fellow to appear as a guest on the podcast in addition to yours truly, who was also a Hatfield Fellow. *history lesson* The French called my people Coeur d’ Alene. It translates “Heart of the Awl.” The awl is a tool used to punch holes in leather. French traders supposedly cal...
Sep 10, 2015•51 min
Vine Deloria, Jr. wrote in Custer Died for Your Sins “...law became a trap for the weary and a dangerous weapon in the hands of those that understood how to use it.” This concept drives my interest in law and public policy in Indian Country. Tribes need tribal members that understand how to use the law, argue the law, make laws, and influence the law. Laws, regulations and court cases greatly impact how we live our daily lives, especially in Indian Country. This episode provides insight into the...
Sep 09, 2015•1 hr 7 min
Clara Pratte is currently Interim CEO of Nova Corporation . The company is owned by Navajo Nation , of which Clara is a citizen. Clara's ascension is impressive in its own right. But it becomes even more impressive and inspiring when you hear her full story. Clara is well known throughout Indian Country for her work with the federal government as a political appointee and then as an appointee under P resident Ben Shelly with Navajo Nation . Her work primarily has been in economic development and...
Sep 01, 2015•1 hr 6 min
Michael-Cory Francis Hinton is Passamaquoddy, a former Lacrosse standout, and a lawyer at the law firm Akin, Gump, Strauss Hauer & Feld in Washington, DC. He is using his legal skills to help tribes and to help bring justice for his great grandfather's murder.
Jul 31, 2015•49 min
Celeste Terry is Oglala Lakota and recently attended the White House Tribal Youth Gathering, #WHTYG. She shares her experience of the event and also discusses her project that is a result of the gathering, Thinking Indigenous. For full show notes, visit www.nextgennative.com.
Jul 30, 2015•45 min
Joe Nayquonabe Joe Nayquonabe is the CEO of Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures . This company is the economic arm of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe . Joe rocketed to this position at a young age after serving as the VP of Marketing for the tribe's casino at the age of 27. Joe Nayquonabe, CEO Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures Joe Nayquonabe's story is a great story of how his tribe has consisntently encouraged educational opportunities, and also for those that receive an education to come back home. Once b...
Jul 23, 2015•41 min
Mark Trahant Mark Trahant is Shoshone-Banonck and runs the website Trahant Reports, his home base for his journalism. He is well known and well respected in Indian Country for his coverage of issues in Indian Country whether it was a video that went viral while asking President Bush a question about sovereignty, or complex issues such as the Indian health system. courtesy of Mark Trahant We cover a variety of topics in this episode. Topics include: Mark's transition to new media from the newspap...
Jul 17, 2015•55 min
This episode is a reflection on the White House Tribal Youth Gathering. Members of Generation Indigenous traveled from across the country for the #WHTYG. I also discuss the upcoming visit to Choctaw Nation by President Obama. The show notes are short this week, but I did want to share First Lady Michelle Obama's keynote speech from the #WHTYG....
Jul 12, 2015•21 min
Nathan McCowan is the President and CEO of St. George Tanaq Corporation , a village corporation created by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act . Nathan is Tlingit and Aleut. Prior to St. George he worked for Sealaska Corporation. Through this work experience he has been able to work for two companies that represent his Tlingit and Aleut heritage. We discuss several different issues in this podcast. From business and leadership, to race. This podcast was recorded the week of the Charleston sh...
Jun 28, 2015•57 min
Eddie Sherman is a member of the Navajo Nation and Omaha Tribe. He is now using the knowledge and expertise he has gained through his own career, and fellowships he has participated in, to help other organizations.
Jun 19, 2015•1 hr 7 min
Collin Church is Pokagon Band of Potawatomi. He is active in his tribe and across Indian Country on issues for Native youth.
Jun 10, 2015•33 min
Ever since I started the podcast, I wanted to discuss personal finance. I’ve spent more time than I care to admit learning about personal finance. The main reason is that knowledge is power. And according to several studies , most Americans do not know enough about personal finance. This has big implications, from not saving enough for retirement, getting into too much debt, etc. Why should we as NextGen Natives worry about personal finance? Because personal finance impacts your own personal sov...
May 31, 2015•18 min
Gabe Galanda is an enrolled member of the Round Valley Indian Tribes , a confederation of tribes in Northern California. He is also a founding partner of a lawfirm that includes his namesake, Galanda Broadman . You can follow the firm and its lawyers on Twitter and Facebook . Gabe started from very humble beginnings. Gabe’s father spent time in prison and his mom struggled with substance abuse. But Gabe was raised by a village. From the age of 4 when his mom dropped off at a Catholic School, he ...
May 19, 2015•1 hr 14 min
