In episode 109 of "Red Hoop Talk," host Jennifer Robin welcomes Theresa Bear Fox, citizen of the Mohawk Nation, an Akwesasne singer, songwriter, storyteller, and educator. The youngest of fourteen children, Bear Fox grew up on a farm surrounded by relatives, laughter, and love. Those experiences inspired her song “Rich Girl,” which celebrates the richness of family and belonging rather than material wealth. As a mother and grandmother, she carries those lessons into her music and teaching.

Bear Fox describes her compositions as “medicine songs,” sharing how listeners can feel their messages without understanding the Mohawk lyrics. She recalls a melody that came to her during a four-night vision quest and discusses music inspired by the grief of families affected by the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples crisis. Her stories show how songs can hold healing, gratitude, and humor alongside difficult truths.

The conversation explores Bear Fox’s journey learning Mohawk as an adult and her work with children at the Akwesasne Freedom School. She explains how language immersion connects generations, with former students returning as teachers and children offering words of thanks each day. Her playful song “Kanyakeha Blues” captures the challenges of learning and the determination to keep going. Jennifer and her father, Michael Ben, share memories of Bear Fox’s music at Indigenous Peoples Day gatherings and on KVMR radio in California.

To learn more about the Akwesasne Freedom School, visit foafs.org. Each episode of Red Hoop Talk connects listeners with Native voices and stories. By supporting the Association on American Indian Affairs at Indian-Affairs.org, you help sustain that storytelling and the work of protecting Native cultures for the next generations.

In this episode of "Red Hoop Talk," host Jennifer Robin welcomes Yasmine Austin Sapulpa, citizen of the Choctaw Nation, an artist, basket maker, educator and stickball player whose work centers on keeping Choctaw culture active and connected to everyday life. Yasmine shares how growing up Black and Native shaped her understanding of identity and belonging.

The conversation explores the importance of recognizing Native Peoples as authorities of their own histories and cultures. Yasmine discusses Choctaw oral knowledge and challenges the idea that knowledge carried through generations requires outside academic validation before it is taken seriously.

Yasmine also shares her work with Choctaw basketry and river cane, including learning to harvest, process and weave cane and recreating an unusual triangular basket form. Her experience highlights the relationships between cultural practices, the land, and the materials that make those practices possible.

Jennifer and Yasmine also discuss Native art, cultural appropriation, and the ways traditions continue to grow and adapt. The episode closes with Choctaw stickball; a traditional, full-contact sport Yasmine continues to play today. Through basketry, art, education and stickball, Yasmine shows how culture continues through Native Peoples who live, practice, create and carry it forward.

Each episode of "Red Hoop Talk" creates space for Native voices, knowledge, and experiences. By supporting the Association on American Indian Affairs, you help us continue sharing these conversations and keeping Native voices close to culture!

In this episode of “Red Hoop Talk,” host Jennifer Robin welcomes Daniel W. Vandever, a citizen of the Navajo Nation, children’s book author, educator, and creator whose work explores language, education, cultural identity, and community responsibility. Daniel shares how his grandfather, Joe Vandever Sr., a Navajo Code Talker, Marine, and medicine man, shaped his understanding of the power of words and ultimately inspired his path toward writing and education.

Daniel reflects on a powerful contradiction within his own family’s history. During World War II, his grandfather used the Navajo language as a Code Talker, while Daniel’s father was later punished in school for speaking that same language. Their experiences open a larger conversation about boarding schools, assimilation, and the lasting effects of educational systems designed to separate Native children from their languages and cultures. Daniel emphasizes that these histories are not distant and continue to affect Native Peoples and families today.

The conversation also explores Daniel’s decade working at Navajo Technical University and how his experiences with students led him to think more deeply about literacy, culturally grounded education, and reaching Native children earlier in life. That path eventually led him to children’s literature, including Fall in Line, Holden, Horizon, and We Weave. Through his books, Daniel creates opportunities for young readers to use their imaginations, see themselves represented, and engage with stories through their own languages, families, and experiences.

Throughout the episode, Daniel and Jennifer discuss Native language revitalization, Indigenous knowledge, representation, technology, parenting, and the importance of balance. Daniel considers how Native Peoples can engage with education, technology, and contemporary life while remaining grounded in language, land, relationships, creativity, and cultural identity.

Learn more about Daniel’s books, speaking engagements, and creative work at SouthofSunriseCreative.com. Each episode of “Red Hoop Talk” creates space for Native voices, experiences, and knowledge. By supporting Association on American Indian Affairs, you help us continue protecting cultural sovereignty and creating opportunities for Native Peoples to tell their own stories.