Chris James on Business Trends in Indian Country
NextGen Native
Chris James is the President & CEO of the He returned to the show where we discussed current trends in business, leadership development in Indian Country, and the upcoming The event will take place in September 5-7 2017 at the Tulalip Casino. The NCAIED will also celebrate its 2017 class of the in Indian Country. We talked several trends in business, living away from home, taking on new challenges, disconnecting from technology and identifying the priorities in work and personal lives. A great conversation with one of Indian Country’s leaders in business!
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Lance Morgan and the Decline of Federal Indian Law
NextGen Native
Lance Morgan on the decline of federal Indian law: “What we’re not teaching in law school is the other half of the system, where tribes are aggressively using their newly educated lawyers, their economic power, and their desire to do good to really change the equation.” “Once you make the mental leap that the entire system is ridiculous...you don’t ever go back.” Lance Morgan ( is President & CEO of . He is also the managing partner of the law firm Frederick Peebles and Morgan. And if you know Lance, or have read his previous work, you know that he is always good for a big...
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Joe Sarcinella on Fatherhood, Minimalism and Intentional Living
NextGen Native
When Joe Sarcinella and I spoke, he was days away from becoming a father. As of publishing this episode, he is now a proud father (congrats!!). As a recent parent, I thought it would be fun to have Joe on NextGen Native to get the perspective of a recent first-time parent and a to-be parent. For those that aren’t parents, or have kids out of the house, this episode is also for you. Although we talk about being parents, the conversation occurred in the same context that our conversations did below. That is, the topic of parenting is centered within living life with intentionality, in control....
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Heath Clayton on Hacking Growth, Mentors, and Success Through Naivete
NextGen Native
“People like genuine people. People like people who are authentic, people lke people who show up with their true identity. And being Chickasaw is part of who I am.”-Heath Clayton One of the areas in which I love to dabble is what I call “life system hacking.” The basic idea is finding ways to create a life, circumvent expectations or bypass the norms of which we all are led to believe cannot be bypassed or circumvented. There are a lot of people who write about the subject online, and it can get a bit of a reputation as self-help like content. But I continue to expose myself to it...
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Ryan Red Corn on Building and Creating Things
NextGen Native
“There is a trap [in decolonization] that hinders a lot of potential growth. And that is centered in how we think about things. If you are only trained [to deconstruct] then you are stuck in a gear of deconstruction, which is important and useful. But if the goal is to increase capacity in Indian Country, then you are asking for builders, not destroyers, and that is a completely different type of thinking.” Ryan Red Corn (Osage) created the design firm and is also a member of the . He joined NextGen Native for a wide-ranging conversation. Although we touched on comedy and had some...
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Geoff Roth | Serving as Many as Possible
NextGen Native
I felt this need to take my skillset and apply it as broadly as I could as long as I could still feel like I was affecting the community.” Geoff Roth is a descendent of the He recently completed an appointment as the Senior Advisor to the Director of the under Dr. Yvette Roubideaux. Geoff’s story is great for people that are looking to grow their career rapidly. It is also a great story for those that are looking to find balance in their lives. It may not seem intuitive that both those lessons could be learned from the same person, but that’s what makes Geoff’s story unique. He’s a...
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Jared Yazzie | Just Create Something
NextGen Native
"What's stopping you from making something?" Jared Yazzie is the founder of . He joined NextGen Native once again to catch up on his recent projects. Jared's clothing has been a hot commodity for a few years, but recently his business is taking some major strides. He recently won a scholarship to join an incubator , participated in an event at the Smithsonian, and won a held by Louie Gong's . Jared's story is one of those "overnight success" stories you hear about. One that pops up after working hard, learning, growing and sacrificing. It was fun to hear Jared talk about where...
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Raina Thiele
NextGen Native
Raina Thiele, Athabascan and Yup'ik, is President of Thiele Strategies. Before starting her own firm, Raina worked for President Obama in the White House Office of intergovernmental Affairs. Raina joined the show to share her story that led her from Alaska to the White House and now to her current work. Raina's story is a great example of how hard work, willingness to take on new challenges, and timing can come together to present amazing opportunities. Raina certainly capitalized on her experience to advance the profile of indian Country. After attending Yale for her undergraduate...
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John Pepion on Open Minds and Never Ending Grind
NextGen Native
The first time John Isaiah Pepion (Piikani) appeared on NextGen Native, I titled the accompanying blog post “.” About 1.5 years later John returned to catch up, and from our conversation, the title was accurate! John’s on the move, and if you're not familiar with his work, you should check it out. We discussed how he has grown as an artist and businessperson recently. He mentioned he started growing even more when he opened himself up to learn and take feedback from others. This mindset can be applied to any job or activity. It can be hard to open yourself up to feedback, but it empowers...
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Heather Whitemanrunshim |
NextGen Native
“Focus on being proactive and use the future as the guidance point when you [encounter] challenges. What you work for is bigger than us [individually].” Heather Whitemanrunshim is Apsalooke (). She is an attorney for the (NARF) where she works primarily on issues pertaining to water law. Our wide-ranging conversation touched on two issues that I am still thinking about several days later. First, we discussed the need to be vulnerable to learn language and/or culture. I think it is a common experience that people our age grew up afraid to admit we didn’t know as much language as others,...
info_outline“The most important thing is to be open minded to allow forgiveness...some of the horrible things that were done to us, we know our story. We know the horrible things. We don’t let that define who we are. Those horrible things that were done to Kashia are not who Kashia are. We’ll never forget it. We’ll always remember it. We’ll honor those that was done to, but we won’t let that define us. And we will be open to forgiveness....I would challenge everyone to find it.”
Reno Franklin is Chairman of the Kashia Band of Pomo Indians. This episode is a bit different because i) I usually do not have tribal leaders on the show. This is not for negative reasons, but instead I want to highlight the work of others not in leadership positions to show how much amazing work is being done in Indian Country.
It’s also different because while we discuss Reno’s life, we also discuss his work as a tribal leader, projects he’s working on, approaches to being a leader. It’s definitely a fun conversation, and that’s before we even get to his story.
Reno’s story:
I first met Reno through the National Indian Health Board. I worked there and Reno was Chairman of the the organization. He also chaired the California Rural Indian Health Board, and the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers. This is not to mention the work he’s done with other associations and working groups. Although his resume reads like one of grand ambition, his beginnings in tribal leadership tell a different story. It tells a story of service.
Reno moved back to the reservation after he was asked to help with some wildfire work for the tribe. Reno was a firefighter and EMT at the time. Reno said that since he was asked, he moved home. He wasn’t far away, but this was his time to come home. His firefighting work led him to historic preservation work. Like other NextGen Natives, one project led to another, which eventually opened new doors and challenges.
His work in healthcare started with a personal story he shared. To hear it, you’re going to have to listen to the show. But suffice it to say, when he started, he didn’t have any experience in the field. He learned through service and eventually his work rose to the national level.
We discussed what it was like for him to be a tribal leader at a young age, in particular one at the national level where politics is intense. He shared stories about how he earned the respect of his colleagues and peers. Over time, they looked to him more and more for leadership.
I shared Reno’s challenge to NextGen Natives above, and I think it is some of the most powerful words I’ve heard in awhile. It reminds me of Wab Kinew’s book The Reason You Walk and the theme of forgiveness. It’s not an easy discussion, but I think we need to be vulnerable and open to the idea of forgiveness. Thanks for sharing, Reno!