Native ChocTalk

PART 2

In this episode, my guests, Amy, Ian and Mike take you deep into the heart of Choctaw tradition, food, and the sacred relationship with the hunt.
 
You’ll learn about:
🌱 Life at Nan Awaya Farm where yvnvsh (buffalo) and food are grown in the Choctaw tradition
🪶 Ancient Choctaw hunting - the reverence for animals & wisdom from elders 
⚡ Do buffalo will actually charge through 10k volts of electric fence?
🦬 What it’s really like to care for buffalo every day
🤫 The surprising stealth (and jumping skills!) of buffalo 
📖 The second edition of Ian Thompson’s Choctaw Food book (launching soon!)
🏹 Crafting traditional bows, arrows, and quivers
🦌 Stories from the hunt - how our ancestors approached deer with such skill and respect

This episode is full of stories, surprises, and teachings that connect past and present. Don’t miss it!

Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast 
All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/

 

PART 1

In this episode, my guests, Amy, Ian and Mike take you deep into the heart of Choctaw tradition, food, and the sacred relationship with the hunt.

You’ll learn about:

- Life at Nan Awaya Farm (where yvnvsh (buffalo) and food are grown the Choctaw way

- Ancient Choctaw hunting - the reverence for animals & wisdom from elders

- Do buffalo will actually charge through 10k volts of electric fence?

- What it’s really like to care for buffalo every day

- The surprising stealth (and jumping skills!) of buffalo

- The second edition of Ian Thompson’s Choctaw Food book (launching soon!)

- Crafting traditional bows, arrows, and quivers

- Stories from the hunt - how our ancestors approached deer with such skill and respect

 

This episode is full of stories, surprises, and teachings that connect past and present. Don’t miss it!

Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast 

All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/

PART 2

 

On this episode of Native ChocTalk, my cousin, Cheryl and I took a road trip into the heart of Choctaw country to explore the fascinating and little-known history of Tamaha, Oklahoma - a town with stories that are anything but small.

 

As we meandered along banks of the Arkansas River, we met a local gentleman walking his dogs. That chance encounter led me to Tonia Brannan - an unofficial town historian with a deep connection to the land, the stories, and the Choctaw history embedded in the soil who shares it all with me today.

 

From early ferry landings of the Choctaw trading points following Removal, to a Civil War steamboat raid led by Confederate Cherokee General Stand Watie, to the very first prisoner of the Tamaha jail, and even the scrappy boxing legend Wild Wilson Dunn, a Choctaw man who claimed to be Osage and once fought Jethro’s dad from the show, The Beverly Hillbillies - Tamaha has seen it all!

 

(By the way - know any Choctaws with the last name Dunn? Let me know!)

 

Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast 

All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/

 

PART 1

 

On this episode of Native ChocTalk, my cousin, Cheryl and I took a road trip into the heart of Choctaw country to explore the fascinating and little-known history of Tamaha, Oklahoma - a town with stories that are anything but small.

 

As we meandered along banks of the Arkansas River, we met a local gentleman walking his dogs. That chance encounter led me to Tonia Brannan - an unofficial town historian with a deep connection to the land, the stories, and the Choctaw history embedded in the soil who shares it all with me today.

 

From early ferry landings of the Choctaw trading points following Removal, to a Civil War steamboat raid led by Confederate Cherokee General Stand Watie, to the very first prisoner of the Tamaha jail, and even the scrappy boxing legend Wild Wilson Dunn, a Choctaw man who claimed to be Osage and once fought Jethro’s dad from the show, The Beverly Hillbillies - Tamaha has seen it all!

 

(By the way - know any Choctaws with the last name Dunn? Let me know!)

 

Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast 

All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/

PART 3

 

Join me in this 3-part series as LaNora Parker, great-granddaughter of legendary Comanche leader Quanah Parker, shares her story of leadership, survival, and healing.

 

LaNora was one of the first women to serve as Vice Chairman and Interim Chairwoman of the Comanche Nation. She reflects on her family’s powerful legacy—her father, Simmons Parker, was a Comanche Code Talker and WWII hero—and how that shaped her path.

 

She opens up about the painful realities of Native boarding schools, the loneliness, and cultural erasure she experienced, and how Comanche language and hymns remained a source of strength.

 

Now, as a voice for Native recovery, LaNora shares her personal healing journey and her mission to support sobriety through culture and purpose! Along with her niece, she co-founded Warchief Collection, a non-alcoholic beverage line rooted in Native wellness and resilience. Learn more at warchiefcollection.com

 

Her words of encouragement for all who are in recovery? “Pray about it. Cry about it. Read about it. Write about it. Talk about it. Be about it.”

 

Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast 

All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/

Join me in this 3-part series as LaNora Parker, great-granddaughter of legendary Comanche leader Quanah Parker, shares her story of leadership, survival, and healing.

 

LaNora was one of the first women to serve as Vice Chairman and Interim Chairwoman of the Comanche Nation. She reflects on her family’s powerful legacy—her father, Simmons Parker, was a Comanche Code Talker and WWII hero—and how that shaped her path.

 

She opens up about the painful realities of Native boarding schools, the loneliness, and cultural erasure she experienced, and how Comanche language and hymns remained a source of strength.

 

Now, as a voice for Native recovery, LaNora shares her personal healing journey and her mission to support sobriety through culture and purpose! Along with her niece, she co-founded Warchief Collection, a non-alcoholic beverage line rooted in Native wellness and resilience. Learn more at warchiefcollection.com

 

Her words of encouragement for all who are in recovery? “Pray about it. Cry about it. Read about it. Write about it. Talk about it. Be about it.”

 

Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast 

All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/

PART 1

Join me in this 3-part series as LaNora Parker, great-granddaughter of legendary Comanche leader Quanah Parker, shares her story of leadership, survival, and healing.

LaNora was one of the first women to serve as Vice Chairman and Interim Chairwoman of the Comanche Nation. She reflects on her family’s powerful legacy—her father, Simmons Parker, was a Comanche Code Talker and WWII hero—and how that shaped her path.

She opens up about the painful realities of Native boarding schools, the loneliness, and cultural erasure she experienced, and how Comanche language and hymns remained a source of strength.

Now, as a voice for Native recovery, LaNora shares her personal healing journey and her mission to support sobriety through culture and purpose! Along with her niece, she co-founded Warchief Collection, a non-alcoholic beverage line rooted in Native wellness and resilience. Learn more at warchiefcollection.com

Her words of encouragement for all who are in recovery? “Pray about it. Cry about it. Read about it. Write about it. Talk about it. Be about it.”

Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast 

All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/

PART 3

In this powerful 3-part episode, we dive into the tragic legacy of the Wounded Knee Massacre and its connection to the ongoing fight for Native American religious freedom. 

My guest, law Professor, Richard Garnett - a Choctaw citizen and expert in religious freedom at Notre Dame - helps unpack what the law *actually* says about Native religious rights, sacred land use, and the balance between tribal sovereignty and U.S. legal systems. 

From the Ghost Dance to peyote use in the Native American Church, and from religious Acts and the Constitution, we explore how Native faith practices have been criminalized, protected, and misunderstood throughout U.S. history.

We also discuss the painful irony that Native communities often need specific legislation just to practice their traditions, unlike many other faiths in America. Professor Garnett shares why religious freedom isn't just about individual rights - it's also about land, language, and the deep communal connection to sacred spaces.

If you’ve ever wondered how law students and Professors at places like Notre Dame are shaping the future or how land rights like those at Oak Flat and beyond are tied to religious liberty, this episode is for you.

 

Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast 

All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/

PART 2

In this powerful 3-part episode, we dive into the tragic legacy of the Wounded Knee Massacre and its connection to the ongoing fight for Native American religious freedom. 

My guest, law Professor, Richard Garnett - a Choctaw citizen and expert in religious freedom at Notre Dame - helps unpack what the law *actually* says about Native religious rights, sacred land use, and the balance between tribal sovereignty and U.S. legal systems. 

From the Ghost Dance to peyote use in the Native American Church, and from religious Acts and the Constitution, we explore how Native faith practices have been criminalized, protected, and misunderstood throughout U.S. history.

We also discuss the painful irony that Native communities often need specific legislation just to practice their traditions, unlike many other faiths in America. Professor Garnett shares why religious freedom isn't just about individual rights - it's also about land, language, and the deep communal connection to sacred spaces.

If you’ve ever wondered how law students and Professors at places like Notre Dame are shaping the future or how land rights like those at Oak Flat and beyond are tied to religious liberty, this episode is for you.

 

Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast 

All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/

 

In this powerful 3-part episode, we dive into the tragic legacy of the Wounded Knee Massacre and its connection to the ongoing fight for Native American religious freedom. 

 

My guest, law Professor, Richard Garnett - a Choctaw citizen and expert in religious freedom at Notre Dame - helps unpack what the law *actually* says about Native religious rights, sacred land use, and the balance between tribal sovereignty and U.S. legal systems. 

 

From the Ghost Dance to peyote use in the Native American Church, and from religious Acts and the Constitution, we explore how Native faith practices have been criminalized, protected, and misunderstood throughout U.S. history.

 

We also discuss the painful irony that Native communities often need specific legislation just to practice their traditions, unlike many other faiths in America. Professor Garnett shares why religious freedom isn't just about individual rights - it's also about land, language, and the deep communal connection to sacred spaces.

If you’ve ever wondered how law students and Professors at places like Notre Dame are shaping the future or how land rights like those at Oak Flat and beyond are tied to religious liberty, this episode is for you.

 

Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast 

All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/