Funding for New Mexico in Focus is provided by: Viewers like You Yazza: This week on New Mexico in Focus looking back on a year of Indigenously Positive, our collaboration with New Mexico in Depth spotlighting Native joy and triumph.

>>Davis: Really, everyone we talked to -- the response was, the news is so negative.

It's alcoholism, it's violence.

It's, you know, educational disparities -- maybe part of that question too -- was, you know, what do you want to see more of?

>>Yazza: Plus!

Big Auntie Energy at the Alaska Federation of Natives' Convention.

New Mexico in Focus starts now >>Yazza: Thanks for joining us this week, I'm Benjamin Yazza, in for Nash Jones.

I'm in the host chair because we are going to spend most of the show reflecting on a full season of Indigenously Positive, a series I directed this year and co-produced with Bella Davis, of New Mexico in Depth.

Then at the bottom of the hour, we'll bring you a story from NMiF Correspondent Antonia Gonzalez, and KOANIC Broadcasting from last month's, Alaska Federation of Natives' Convention It's been a little over a year since conversations began about a series to lift up the hopes, dreams and accomplishments of Native communities in New Mexico.

I got together with Bella for a story about Native attitudes towards voting ahead of last year's Presidential Election.

We all love the result, and the collaboration to support Indigenously Positive was born.

Over the course of this season, we brough you stories from Indigenous Peoples' Day efforts to give folks on the reservation a leg up when they want to start a new business, a program to preserve the Navajo language, and lots more.

We'll take you back to some of those pieces tonight, but first, here's a conversation with me, Bella NMPBS Executive Producer Jeff Proctor from back in February about what we hoped to accomplish with Indigenous Positive and what people told us they wanted to see.

>>Jeff: Bella what animated some of the questions that you all were asking people out in the field?

>>Bella: I really started thinking about this last year, I've been -- at New Mexico in Depth really focused on indigenous affairs for over two years.

And, I kind of just started thinking, and it's something I've been thinking about, I guess, all along the way.

But so much of what I've been writing about is disparities and tragedies.

And recently it's been a lot of reporting about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives crisis, which I think is obviously incredibly important work.

It's something that has been underreported for decades.

But, I think, you know, it's something that I've, I've heard.

So I kind of started thinking about, you know, what could we do differently?

So, yeah, I think to start, I just wanted to get a sense of, you know what, what do what are the problems with the way that news coverage has worked?

>>Jeff: Ben, what from your perspective, sort of got you interested once this idea sort of flashed across your radar screen.

>>Ben: I was working on another series prior to this meeting some of those, as a producer.

A lot of them came to me saying like, oh, you remind me of my son.

You remind me of like a relative that I have.

And I think a lot of that came with like some wholesomeness, some family-ness to it and just going through that and then also just being like, we're not going to be talking about trauma as much because that's just not -- what is needed at the time.

And I think when Bella, came to me with this idea, it was kind of like, how can we tell a story without informing trauma at the beginning, and how can we center joy in that?

And when I heard that, I was just like, there's literally something that we have these conversations as native journalists like weekly, like, how can we -- analyze more joyful stories in the newsroom?

>>Jeff: I want to get back to Joy in just a moment.

But another thing I want to ask, like, obviously the three of us kind of worked together, on what questions do we want to ask people?

We really distilled those and thought about ways to simplify the questions and ask them in a super open-ended fashion.

But in terms of the responses you got back in this field reporting you did, what were some of the big themes that emerged as folks thought through those questions?

>>Bella: I think a lot of what we heard really affirmed I think what Ben and I had been talking about and like Ben said with other native journalists, this is like an ongoing conversation.

But yeah, just every -- really everyone we talked to the response was the news is so negative.

It's, alcoholism, it's violence.

It's, you know, educational disparities, maybe, and a couple of the people that I talked to specifically mentioned, the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives, which really, resonated with me.

And so, yeah, I mean, like, that was not, necessarily a surprise.

But part of that question, too, was, you know, what do you want to see more of?

And so I think that was really helpful for us and kind of figuring out, how we want to move this forward.

>>Jeff: One of the things that struck me, when I was watching the piece, once y'all got back from the field and all of that, when you ask that question, like, what would you like to see more of in coverage?

So many of the people you asked that question started with the idea of like, acknowledgment.

It seemed so basic and fundamental.

I wonder how that struck you when you were in that moment talking to people.

>>Bella: I think you know that -- that's something that I've heard before but I think it was kind of a good almost a reminder in a way to me, because I was coming at it from a place of, you know, indigenous affairs, like what I focus on as a reporter.

So, I was thinking about, you know, what can we do differently?

What are the problems with coverage?

But for people to point out to that, like there just simply isn't enough to begin with.

And then the coverage that that we do get, is so based on stereotypes and trauma.

>>Jeff: Ben, let's get back to joy.

You said the word a couple of times already.

And I think you've sort of answered the question already, but I want to ask again, like, for you, what was so important, what is so important about placing that idea of joy in the middle of a reporting project like this?

[Laughs] >>Ben: I just think that, a lot of times, we talk about natives and the newsrooms.

It's always coming from a traumatic point.

I think centering joy was kind of, like, really important with our news coverage because it changes or maybe flips the script on.

What is a priority for our organization?

Because it's me, its Bella, its Joey, it's you.

And I think that if you go into a subject just asking that basic question, it changes how the relation between journalist and patron, journalist and guest, it changes how you might want to talk about a subject.

>>Yazza: Every day is Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Bella tapped into that idea when she visited Albuquerque's Tiguex Park last month to celebrate the holiday.

More than a dozen states recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day on the second Tuesday of October each year.

Starting in 2019, New Mexico memorialized it in place of Columbus Day, the federal holiday This year's celebration felt particularly important, coming as it did amid Donald Trump's official proclamation that, quote, “honors the legendary Christopher Columbus,” a man known for his brutal treatment of indigenous peoples he came in contact with in the Americas.

>>Shendo: Indigenous Peoples' Day is every day to me.

You know, it's the way you represent yourself when you walk out in the world.

When we were younger, any field trip we go on, they're like, you're representing Jemez, Cochiti -- your people, your household.

And so that has always stood with me every time I go outside, especially being from New Mexico -- the tribes Jemez and Cochiti you know, this is home.

And for so many years, you know, this has been a place where people have gathered for so many years.

[Upbeat music] >>Davis: Over a dozen states, including New Mexico, recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day on the second Monday of October.

It's meant to be a celebration of Native peoples resilience, cultures and contributions to the U. S. And it started as an alternative to Columbus Day.

But as you'll hear from my guests, it's about so much more than just one day out of the year.

[Live music] >>Gonzales: What Indigenous Peoples' Day means to me is being able to carry on our tradition where we -- value community and culture, the language, the participation in ceremony.

So being able to express ourselves in 2025, the way our ancestors wanted us to continue, it means a lot to me.

>>Naanee: I think it means, a recognition that we are still here.

We've always been here, and we will remain here.

And it's a reminder to other people that we are here, you know, Indigenous means first You know, it innate.

So we've been here.

We're still here.

Still resilient.

>>Announcer: So how do you celebrate Indigenous Peoples day I'm sure you're all aware, but we don't celebrate Columbus Day here no more.

We celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day.

Yeah.

>>Shendo: Hoop dancing for someone who's never been here.

So hoop dancing, they say, is hundreds if not thousands of year old.

You know, traditionally, you know, river wood was being used.

So when you dance hoop it was typically known as, medicine people for healing.

Maybe someone was hurt.

They come dance, pass you through it.

You know, if I have a connection, I have things here.

I get my buddy, and then, you know, I teach a little thing.

I'm here, you know, as I'm teaching the kids these hoops are like people in life, you know, you're not all the same.

They're different and shapes, colors.

But if we work together, we can make something happen in this world or with the kids.

It's like I said inside before.

They're the future governors, politicians, educators, mothers, fathers.

You know, for enrolled members in our village, You feel that breeze coming?

When they are in our language.

We say [Native Language] hand it off your heart.

Everybody, if you do this, whatever is bothering you is leaving you, you give this working together.

>>Lente: Life is short.

Like I said, remember we are not victims.

We come from a resilient culture that is thriving as we heal and as we heal, we continue to do so with pride, knowing that we are the blessings that our ancestors prayed for.

And too, someday we will be the ancestors.

Our future is relying on.

I will thank you very much once again, happy Indigenous Peoples Day.

>>Davis: In 2021, Joe Biden became the first U.S.

president to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day.

At the same time, he also issued a Columbus Day proclamation honoring Italian-Americans while acknowledging the painful history of wrongs and atrocities that many European explorers inflicted on tribal nations.

Four years later, The message coming from the white House is very different.

President Trump, and a proclamation that makes no mention of Indigenous people, wrote that the country is reclaiming Columbus's legacy of courage and virtue.

But for some native folks, even though the proclamation is, in their words, disappointing and hurtful, it doesn't hold much weight.

>>Gonzales: It's a ridiculous thing, for him to me, not for for him to do that.

I guess you would say back track, so it's disappointing.

But as Native Indigenous people on land, it is up to us to continue our heritage and our culture.

Our language is a big part of it.

I mean, you look from East Coast to West Coast, people are losing their language.

It's very important around the world in general, it's very important to keep our language and our heritage, our culture, strong because that's our, our identity.

>>Trujillo: We are all so used to like, being together and, like, knowing that that's like what we face already, like, you know, and like having to write our own narratives.

So, like us kind of being like, underneath all those things and having to come through all that already exists.

So we're not so tired of it, I guess.

You know, if anything, it just makes us more of who we are.

And we're, definitely trying to, live, as you know, in the Hozho and, like, the peace and the things that we're taught to, but also like, you know, knowing where we come from as far as where we stand with that.

>>Naanee: I think it's disgusting I think it's trying to erase and show disrespect, on a national level.

And to be like, you guys aren't recognized.

We don't see you and what our, our contribution was.

Oh, y'all would have died.

You know, we're if we're being real serious, without us, there would be no, you so, you know, to take that away is blatant disrespect.

But then again, it's a day, you know, and if you want to recognize it as your day, keep your day.

We have the rest of the year, >>Davis: Indigenously Positive is all about the joyful stories, the uplifting work Native people living in New Mexico are doing for their communities so far to name just a few of those stories, we visited a language nest where throughout the day, children exclusively hear and speak the Diné bizaad, the Navajo language.

We've heard how farmers are helping build a stronger local food system using indigenous agricultural practices in Shiprock.

On the Navajo Nation, we've learned how native led nonprofit is supporting small business owners on and off the reservation.

I'm so grateful to all of the people who have been generous with their time and trust, and I'm excited to keep bringing you these kinds of stories.

>>Yazza: We reached a little further back into the Indigenously Positive archive for this next one.

It first aired in March, and this time we find Bella zoning in on language revitalization.

She visited what's called a Language Nest in Albuquerque, where elders, teachers and others are working to bring traditional language back to Diné families and to ensure that the spoken word remains vibrant and strong among young people.

>> Bella: THERE ARE EIGHT LANGUAGES INDIGENOUS TO NEW MEXICO.

AFTER A LONG HISTORY OF GENOCIDAL POLICIES, THERE'S BEEN A DRAMATIC DECLINE IN THE NUMBER OF SPEAKERS.

IN THIS EPISODE OF INDIGENOUSLY POSITIVE, WE'RE EXPLORING SOME OF THE WORK HAPPENING TO PUSH BACK AGAINST THAT LOSS AND CREATE MORE SPEAKERS OF THE NAVAJO LANGUAGE, DINÉ BIZAAD.

THAT BRO US TO A DINÉ LANGUAGE NEST IN ALBUQUERQUE WHERE CHILDREN ARE FULLY IMMERSED IN THE LANGUAGE.

[CARETAKER SPEAKING DINÉ] [CHILDREN IMITATING COYOTE HOWL] >> W. CHEE: SAAD K'IDILYÉ, I TRANSLATE IT TO THE PLANTING OF LANGUAGE.

SOME PEOPLE WILL CALL IT THE PLANTING OF THE LANGUAGE SEED.

BUT "SAAD" IS LANGUAGE. "

K'IDILYÉ" IS THE ACT OF PLANTING.

WE'RE TRYING TO PRODUCE FIRST LANGUAGE SPEAKERS.

THAT'S OUR MAIN GOAL.

OUR MAIN PRIORITY IS TO HAVE THESE FAMILIES THAT COME IN, AND THE INFANTS, BETWEEN 2 AND 3 MONTHS.

SIX, SEVEN YEARS AGO WE STARTED THIS WEEK THROUGH DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN MYSELF AND MY OLDER SISTER MARY WHITEHAIR-FRAZIER.

AND THEN WE ADDED ON DR.

CHEE, DR.

LEE, WHICH KIND OF FORMED OUR CORE GROUP.

>> Bella: DR.

LEE AND DR.CHEE ARE ON THE LANGUAGE NEST BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND THEY'RE ALSO PART OF A TEAM OF DINÉ PROFESSORS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO FOCUSED ON LANGUAGE REVITALIZATION.

ONE OF THE THINGS THEY'RE STUDYING IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN LEARNING THE LANGUAGE AND OVERALL WELL BEING.

>> W. Chee: WE WANT NAVAJO TO BE THEIR FIRST LANGUAGE.

ENGLISH IS GOING TO COME EITHER WAY.

WE DON'T GOT NO SAY OVER THAT.

I'M KIND OF PRIORITIZE OUR LANGUAGE AND OUR CULTURE SO THAT THESE LITTLE ONES GET A CHANCE TO LEARN A LANGUAGE AND CULTURE THEIR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS DIDN'T LEARN.

SO, WE L ENGLISH IN THERE.

NO ENGLISH.

YOU CAN SPEAK SPANISH, YOU CAN SPEAK KERES, YOU CAN SPEAK FILIPINO, YOU CAN SPEAK ANY OTHER LANGUAGE IN THERE EXCEPT ENGLISH.

>> Lee: I'VE ALWAYS BEEN IN SUPPORT OF, LIKE, KIND OF GROW SLOWER.

GROW SLOWER.

FEWER BABIES, AND THEN TO KIND OF MOVE THEM THROUGH THE PROCESS AND BRING THEM IN WHEN THEY'RE INFANTS.

>> DR.

Lee: HEARING MY MOTHER AND SOME OF MY AUNTS LATER ON IN LIFE TALKING ABOUT HOW THEY WISHED THEY HAD TAUGHT THEIR CHILDREN MORE NAVAJO.

I NEVER BLAME THEM BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY INFLUENCES ON WHY A CHILD PICKS UP A CERTAIN LANGUAGE IN A COLONIAL ENVIRONMENT.

IN AN ENVIRONMENT THAT'S ALWAYS OPPRESSED OUR LANGUAGE.

>> M. Chee: MY RESEARCH INTEREST IS PRIMARILY ON CHILD LANGUAGE ACQUISITION OF NAVAJO.

SO, WE WANT TO LEARN THINGS ABOUT HOW DO CHILDREN BEGIN TO LEARN NAVAJO?

HOW DO THEY ACCESS THE LANGUAGE?

LIKE WHAT DID THEY PAY ATTENTION TO?

AND IF WE CAN ANSWER SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS THERE, AND DOCUMENT THAT -- THAT INFORMATION DOWN THE ROAD COULD THEN BE -- I THINK, IT COULD BE FED BACK INTO -- THE SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION CLASSROOM.

>> DR.

Lee: BECAUSE WE'RE INVOLVING YOUNG CHILDREN, SO IT INVOLVES THEIR PARENTS, WE'RE REALLY SEEING THE IMPACT OF THEIR CHILDREN LEARNING NAVAJO HAS ON THE WHOLE FAMILY, PARTICULARLY THEIR PARENTS.

AND JUST THE CONNECTION THAT THEY FEEL AS WELL.

THEY'RE LEARNING NAVAJO ALONGSIDE, IN A WAY, BUT THEIR CHILDREN MIGHT PROGRESS FURTHER THAN THEY WILL, AND THEY'RE REALLY PROUD OF THAT.

>> DR.

Chee: RELATED TO LANGUAGE AND DINÉ BIZAAD, YOU KNOW, CHILDREN LEARNING TO SPEAK, TRAINING TEACHERS IS ANOTHER ONE.

AND THEN, LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE, WHY IS DINÉ BIZAAD GOOD FOR LANGUAGE AN WELLNESS?

YEAH, I'VE ALWAYS BEEN IN DINÉ BIZAAD.

>> W. Chee: WE REQUIRE OUR PARENTS ANYWHERE FROM 80 TO 100 HOURS A YEAR.

SO, WE'VE BEEN AT IT FOR ABOUT THREE YEARS.

I THINK THERE'S SOME PARENTS THOUGHT GOT INTO THEIR THIRD YEAR OF LANGUAGE CLASSES NOW.

WHAT WE EXPECT, WHAT WE WANT, WHICH IS 85% ATTENDANCE, LANGUAGE CLASS HOURS, BEING PART OF THE COMMUNITY, HAVING GOOD BEHAVIOR AND ATTITUDE, AND THEN HAVING A COMMUNITY-BUILDING MINDSET, AND ATTENDING WORKSHOPS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.

WE'RE JUST TRYING TO FIND AN EFFICIENT AND SUCCESSFUL WAY TO ALSO PRODUCE SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS, SECOND LANGUAGE SPEAKERS.

WHETHER IT'S PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS.

WHETHER IT'S OUR CARETAKERS.

WE'VE GOT SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS ALL THROUGHOUT THE PROGRAM TOO, THAT ARE LEARNING THE LANGUAGE AND BECOMING PROFICIENT IN IT.

>> DR.

Lee: A LOT OF RESEARCH IN THE PAST HAS BEEN VERY NEGATIVE TOWARD NATIVE PEOPLE.

IT'S DONE A LOT OF HARM IN OUR COMMUNITIES.

NOW, THIS RESEARCH IS NOT EXTRACTIVE, WE'RE NOT TRYING TO TAKE KNOWLEDGE A ND BECOME FAMOUS ON IT.

>> DR.

Chee: OH, GOSH [ALL LAUGH] >> DR.

Lee NO, WE'RE TRYING TO DO RESEARCH -- WE ARE DINÉ, AND WE KNOW THIS IS OF VALUE TO OUR OWN PEOPLE.

LANGUAGE IS VERY HIGHLY RESPECTED AND VALUED.

AND THIS IS A WAY TO REALLY PUT SOME OF THOSE IDEAS ABOUT THE IMPACT OF LANGUAGE INTO PRACTICE AND SCHOOLING.

YOU KNOW, WE UNDERSTAND THAT SCHOOL ISN'T THE ONLY PLACE YOU CAN LEARN NAVAJO AND SHOULDN'T BE THE ONLY PLACE YOU LEARN NAVAJO, BUT RIGHT NOW IT'S A DOMAIN WHERE CHILDREN ARE THERE MOST OF THE DAY AND WE HAVE THESE GOOD PROGRAMS THAT CAN REALLY HELP.

WE WANT TO EXPAND THAT TO OUTSIDE SCHOOL SETTINGS AND INTO FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES AND OTHER KINDS OF PROGRAMS.

>> DR.

Chee: EVEN THOUGH NAVAJO IS DESCRIBED AS HAVING A HIGH NUMBER OF SPEAKERS, HAS A LOT OF FLUENT SPEAKERS, IT STILL REQUIRES A LOT OF WORK, A LOT OF SUPPORT AND TO CONTINUE TO -- LIKE, FOR ME, CONTINUE TO CONTRIBUTE SO THE LANGUAGE IS SPOKEN BY FUTURE GENERATIONS DOWN THE WAY.

GREAT GRANDCHILDREN STATUS, KIND OF THING, YOU KNOW.

LIKE WHAT CAN WE DO, WHAT CAN WE LEAVE FOR THEM, AND HOW CAN WE DO THAT?

EDUCATION IS A TOOL TO DO THAT.

RESEARCH IS A TOOL TO DO THAT.

[CHILDREN SINGING IN DINÉ] >>Yazza: Earlier this year, Bella and I met Rodell Denetso owner of Black Streak Apparel in Shiprock.

[New Mexico] He started his small business on the reservation.

Despite red tape that makes doing that difficult.

We also met the co-founders of a nonprofit working to make it easier for -- entrepreneurs to set up shop on tribal lands, keeping more tax revenue in the local economy rather than benefiting the border towns.

In this next story from Indigenously Positive, we learn why it's so challenging to start a business on the Navajo Nation.

And what could change that.

>>Rodell: I feel like Native people on Native land, like we should-- We should have that access to -- want to start a business on our land, because all you hear about is the red tape.

How it's difficult to start a business.

Don't let red tape stop you.

Like you look around here, there's the farm, it's just This is like Rez, USA, you know?

And like, you could have a business, you know, not just have a business but have it flourish.

[Upbeat Music] >>Bella: Every year, the Navajo Nation loses millions of dollars in potential sales tax revenue because instead of spending their money in their own communities, folks often have no choice but to go off reservation for a whole range of products and services.

So when Roddell Denetso started his sports apparel business, he made a point to stay in Shiprock.

>>Rodell: Black Streak Apparel I got the name -- from my clan's-- “Tsi'naajinii” which means, Black Streak with people.

I wanted to honor my grandmother, because that's the clan I get from her.

There's a lot of companies that do the same thing, but I don't want to have just a set templates and say, okay, this is your choices.

And then just kind of switch it for every team.

I think I like to do each team original.

Say, for instance, like Navajo.

We use a lot of the step design.

We use a lot of the the diamonds.

And the step designs can be, like, in a shape of a square.

Could be like along the border.

Like the wedding basket design.

But then I've learned, like Salt River, the tribe, the tribes in Phoenix, they have, like, a water design that they use a lot.

Law means eagle in their language.

So you have their seal in the background.

And then this was that water.

The water design I was talking about.

>>Bella: Roddell started his company in 2021, and just a few years later, he designed uniforms for Rez Ball, a movie that follows a Navajo high school basketball team.

>Roddell: It really didn't hit me until I saw the trailer and I was just like, wow.

I was like-- because I saw the behind the scenes stuff I saw when they were shooting it, you know, I saw all that.

But that was the first time I saw it, like, you know, on TV.

And so that was so like I kept I kept watching it over and over and I think, you know, just seeing how proud of my kids were, that's that was like the proudest moment.

You know, growing up on the rez, I think this is with a lot of kids too.

Like there's not much to do.

So one of my uncles had got us a basketball goal and put it outside, and then we just I just started going outside and just, I guess, just fell in love with the game.

We had a little team called the Ganado Bulls and Kaibeto Buccaneers.

And back then is when we had the all white t-shirts and we used a marker to put our numbers and our team name on there and -- and just travel -- travel local areas.

I was always, you know, I was into art.

But as I got older, you know, you would always hear, like this starving artist stuff.

And you can't make any money in art, you know?

So I guess that kind of deterred me a little bit going into college.

But after a few years in college, I just always went back to that.

>>Bella: He used his graphic design degree and lots of different jobs over the next couple of decades, including at the Navajo Times newspaper and, in a print shop at a local school.

During the pandemic, he took a chance on a business idea he'd had for years.

>>Rodell: I was at a basketball tournament in Phoenix, and, it was a Hispanic tournament, but they had all these crazy, like, all over designs on their shorts.

And I was like, man, I remember telling a friend of mine, I was like, man, that would be awesome to to do the same thing, but have like native print on it.

And that that's when that's when really the idea came about.

It was a lot of fear, anxiety.

And I think the fear is just the fear of failing.

It was second guessing yourself.

I'm leaving a perfectly fine full time job.

It was tough.

But I will say, like with my background of playing ball and being able to travel all over the United States to play, that's where I got a lot of my initial customers.

So I kind of just sent a mass text like, "hey, I'm starting a business is what I do now" blah, blah, blah.

And and then orders started coming in.

This one was a real fun one.

Instance like this is the team, out of Tuba City.

So they're they're like Navajo and Hopi.

So the side design was off, some pottery, and then all these figures mean something.

They have their flower design that they use on pottery.

Seeing the teams when they get their uniforms, and they're so proud.

They're proud and 11 I think it's just all about identity and and just those kids being seen.

And and I do believe, if you look good, you play good.

>>Bella: Some of what Rodell learned about how to run a business when he was first getting started came from a program by Change Labs.

They're a nonprofit founded by two indigenous women.

That's all about supporting entrepreneurs and tribal communities.

>>Rodell: Change Labs really helped me with being more organized, strategizing, you know, looking at your numbers from month to month, financials and stuff like that.

More of the business planning side.

I guess what I love most, too, like, there were always like just a phone call or text away.

And even now, being an alumni, you know that we still get all the emails, we still get the invite.

It's it's it's kind of it's like a family.

>>Heather: You know, what stood out for me early on or I feel like has been an ongoing theme in my career is just social injustice and inequity.

And I didn't know what those words meant when I was little, But you could feel it just being on the reservation with relatives and then being off the reservation for school or for college or just life.

That discrepancy is -- even as a kid, I could see it, but I didn't know why it existed or what it meant.

There are lots of challenges for anyone wanting to start a business on the reservation, because of decades of neglect by the federal government many homes don't have running water, let alone Wi-Fi, and there aren't a lot of places to go to network and get advice, unlike in cities like Albuquerque.

Plus, there are some negative perceptions about what it means to be a business owner.

>>Jessica: I think that was one of the first learnings we had Was that the idea of business, or even that label was, not the same on the reservation.

People thought of businesses as car dealerships, banks, these sort of organizations and institutions that were pretty extractive and, and we didn't always have the right, you know, equitable relationship with them.

So then we at some point decided to change our, our language a little bit.

And we created a campaign called I Am the Navajo Economy.

And we went to the fair with it.

And, started taking photos there, and people wanted to take photos of their business with a sign that says, I am of Navajo Economy and I-- And that just took off because people started sharing that.

And that's when there was like a pride in what people were doing.

>>Bella: We met the team at their new space in Shiprock, where folks can use Wi-Fi host meetings or community events and meet other entrepreneurs.

Change labs also offers one on one coaching and a loan program that can provide up to $1.5 million.

>>Heather: So over those five years, when we were collecting the data, we had mountains of sticky notes.

When we had our events, we would ask people to write down like, what are your biggest challenges?

And we could map them according to those six categories.

And the biggest one was always the regulatory environment, the most complaints, the most needs in that area that remains a challenge is that we can provide people money.

We can provide them with entrepreneurship hubs, knowledge, tools.

But eventually, if the policy environment doesn't change on the reservation, we're still going to lose people to border towns or to urban areas.

So we're also just trying to advocate through mostly through events at this point in research and publishing data on the importance of entrepreneurs and what they contribute to our economy and what economic leakage does.

I think that's a critical component going forward, too.

>>Bella: In most cases, if business owners want to have a physical space on the reservation, they have to apply to lease a site.

Some of Change Labs recommendations center around making the process of leasing sites more efficient.

>>Racquel: And it's really exciting to see the different connections that have have come together.

So it's really exciting to see the different light bulbs that come up as far like, oh my gosh, the potential of what I can do with this specific idea or the potential of what I can do with collaborations and working with other organizations and entities or other business owners, and just making life better on the reservation for ourselves.

Because we do deserve nice things.

We deserve all the opportunities of anyone else living anywhere else in the country.

>>Rodell: My background, you know, my parents not being there being raised by my grandma and my auntie, alcoholism, running in the family.

It's just it's a similar story with a lot of our, our youth, on the reservation.

But it's important for me because they get to see that, you know, with the with all those barriers, you're still you're still able to to do something.

And I think one of the most humbling things is just getting random emails, you know, saying like, hey, I just wanna let you know that my son is really getting into art now.

He saw your story.

And, you know you're inspiring kids.

And, you don't even know it.

>>Yazza: If you worked up an appetite during our look back at the best of Indigenously Positive, you're in luck.

We're wrapping things up by looking into how food sovereignty works, over the summer, Bella and I visited the Indigenous Farm Hub in Corrales.

We watched as they harvested their crops and learned how the project brings together children and elders alike to connect with the land and feed the community.

Again, here is Bella.

[Indistinct Chattering] >>Bella: Just north of Albuquerque, farmers are getting veggies ready to be delivered to local families.

This is the Indigenous Farm Hub.

On top of growing a whole lot of food.

The folks at the hub work with schools to bring students out to connect with the land, and they support native and non-native farmers through paid fellowships.

>>Bobroff: Looking at it like a place that is open to our community where children like adults, elders, people, you know, can come together to share knowledge, to work together to grow food.

And then that food is redistributed back into the community itself.

In that case, I would say, in like 10, 20, 30 years from now, however long you want to think about it like this is a thriving place that's really continuing to to be in connection with the community and, generations of folks can know that, that it's here and then that continues to thrive.

To me that's like what indigenous food sovereignty means.

It's not a -- when it's not is like saying like, "oh, we're just going to do this for ourselves."

Like, we're doing this for everybody.

>>Lopez: What we're doing is, we just watched we watched our carrots and, now we're bagging and we're going into bagging.

>>Mahkee: You see the end product you know from the beginning plowing, all that planting, and then here after everything is washed and bagged it's going to go out to feed families.

>>Nichols: We always try to bag for a family of four and then think about what they could possibly be making.

So this is the most special part to us.

>>Lopez: It's always good like to engage the kids like the interns that come out.

And then the farmer residents get to see, like what is possible for them and what is possible for them to create in their communities as well.

So actually understanding and building our relationship to our food source again, which was severed before.

And that's like important, vital especially for like the youth that, have been disconnected and disturbed from that.

And I myself too.

Right.

I'm coming back into it, like, in the sense of the remembrance phase of remembering what it is to have our connection to our food source.

Again.

When our young people come out in March, we show them how do you start by preparing the soil digging the ditch, the furrow.

And then cutting the potatoes down to the size that it needs to be.

And then you literally plant that and set up our irrigation together.

And during that whole process, we make reference to, you know, where potatoes are from originally.

They're not from my people in Ireland.

But we enjoy them.

But they're from Peru.

And that's inherently an indigenous food that is across the world now and then to 2 or 3 months later, they'll come back as in right now, and they'll help us dig out the potatoes like the interns have done.

And then we are able to get those onto the plates of our families that go to our schools.

And I think that is like the beautiful thing that we root, not just the learning experiences, but the value, the value that living on the land that, you receive when you actually know what it takes to plant a potato and dig that sucker out of the ground, it has to taste better than if you didn't do that.

And to see our students, like, light up when they see that whole process, that whole continuum is really what we want to do.

The Native American Community Academy is one of the local schools the farm works with.

To get kids from kindergarten all the way through high school, out to the farm to do what's called land based learning.

>> Kwon: You're decolonizing the education by bringing it back to what your communities have always known.

I remember we brought a group of, I want to say, fourth or fifth graders, within the last several school years.

They just absolutely love going out into the plant and seeing all the different kind of bugs.

I remember one day they were just so enthralled with all the ladybugs.

And so they were counting them and trying to see who could find the most.

And, reading back through the little notes that they're taking, so many of them write, like how peaceful they feel, how strong they feel, how much braver they are.

Just really, really cool, insightful things that show when they're here, they just start calming down and they start feeling really capable, and they start feeling really helpful, and they start feeling like they're really working in community and while also getting to know themselves better, too.

>>Martine: We pick food and I know that they're going to families that need it.

A lot of the time when, we pick food at the schools, it's just a lot of extra food that we were able to just give out to people.

So I think that's, just really important since, like, myself and my family, we had a hard time getting food.

So it's just really nice that I get to be able to do that for other people.

Now that I'm older.

We did do some gardening when I was little, like in our back yard and stuff like that.

We grew a lot of, like squash and corn, and when I got a little older, when I got to Naka, when I was going to school there, they did try to start gardens.

So we did do a lot of that.

But it never really, like, took off the way it is now.

>>Brauer: We're in the blue corn which last year was sunflowers and pumpkins and squash.

This year it's corn.

Behind you.

That field was in fallow, so we let that sit for a couple of years.

A lot of this land, by and large, was corn for about 30 years prior to when we started growing it, growing here for, four years ago.

Four seasons ago.

And so we've let some of the land rest.

But what we do, we, we try to use good practices around regenerative, sustainable, approaches to the agriculture, which are the new terms that are just the way that things were done here with, the ancestors of this land and the current people who do, inhabit this area.

>>Bella: The farm hub has been a dream for the past couple decades.

Kara was the founding principle of the Native American Community Academy.

Just before I got started, there were a lot of community conversations about what improving education for native children could look like.

One of the things that kept coming back up was growing food.

>>Kara: There's a lot of challenges and obstacles to getting healthy food to to our school and to many schools.

But when, the pandemic hit, kind of like that resurfaced in the areas that we worked at, with, like tribal communities and other folks saying like, hey, like we're having food delivered to our communities.

But we've been farming for generations.

And how do we get back to that?

So it's kind of reconnection for sure.

Back to when I farmed one season at the guidance of Alan and then also this like now larger team.

And it's really a place that people can show up, like put in some time and connect and it's like really but been both educational and a really beautiful way to actually have your hands, like back in the dirt.

And also eating what you grow.

I don't know if you can catch that, that sound.

>>Brauer: that sound, that corn, blue corn blowing in the wind.

Even though I'm not from New Mexico, I've.

I've worked with my fiancé to become a lot better at making my own fresh tortillas.

And so being able to like next, nixtamalize our corn, grind it down, and make fresh tortillas.

I'm real proud of that.

>>Kara: Once the blue corn is kind of like it's ground up and I'm putting that into like whether it's a like, you know, lukewarm mush, like that's a special, special thing.

>>Yazza: That does it for our favorite Indigenously Positive episodes of 2025.

We're exploring what a second season might look like.

We finish out this week's show with a story from New Mexico in Focus contributor Antonia Gonzalez.

Earrings stood out at this year's Alaska Federation of Natives convention, and not only because of their flashy designs, but the traditional techniques and materials used to make them.

The artists in attendance are not only their wares made of tusks, skins, furs and quills, but also their big auntie energy and how crafting has brought about healing and connection.

Here's Antonia.

>>Lisa: I love seeing all the different types of things that everybody likes to wear.

And, I have some earrings that I didn't make that I'll be wearing, throughout the course of an event.

So I'm really excited to really show them off.

It's kind of like it almost feels like a fashion show sometimes when we're here.

>>Shaax'Saani: I love it because we can always recognize other people's artwork because everyone has their own unique developed style.

>>Antonia: Earrings are on full display at the AFN or Alaska Federation of Natives convention, and the First Alaskans Institute's Elders and Youth Conference.

Earrings are not only a big part of the fashion scene, but are also part of Alaska Native culture.

Leaders, skin sowers and ivory carvers are among those selling their handmade, traditional and contemporary creations.

>> Krol: These pieces over here.

This one is made out of salmon leather.

These little like, kind of paisley sort of shaped ones.

Those are made out of hair on cow leather.

And they have just a traditional edge over them.

And then these are all, just little fringe earrings and, stuff like that.

And this is the same technique that I use for the edges here.

And so those are the little heart ones.

It's not the same as the ones that I'm wearing.

And then this pair I just learned I was just kind of messing around with that one.

Those are just little cones.

And then these are a little hello Kitty character is.

And I, did the traditional, two needle bead embroidery around those little patches.

So my most popular has been these little hello Kitty earrings.

I, I've sold four pairs, so I've been really happy.

And I have noticed >> Antonia: some artists say they learned their skills handed down from family members from generation to the next, while others learned in school, cultural classes or through friends.

>> Tlaa: I'm learning from my mom how the skin sew, and beed.

I'm learning from my mom how the skin sew, and beed.

but I'm also in the process of learning how to weave.

I'm wearing some abalones hoops with, pearls inside.

Oh, my mom actually made these ones for me.

My favorite.

Probably some of our evil I wish would be Christopher Bland.

>> Saani: Black, mother of Pearl I have a big earring collection this year.

Some of my favorites have, salmon vertebrae and walrus ivory that we've been working with this year.

And, the green, the Italian tusk.

This has been a really popular style with, shell and, of course, the longer earrings it has.

Alaska Natives love these long earrings.

So we've been doing a lot of that and, incorporating some new gemstones like our, lapis lazuli and then Italian shell.

This is a really fun one.

It's been, popular this year.

Kind of our indigenous interpretation of the evil eye, I think that that's for lends itself really well to the earrings because they're so lightweight.

We get a lot of volume, which everyone always appreciates, and then even adding beadwork and gemstones and ivory to those as well.

And one of the things that people I notice here that, there's a lot of draw to are, maybe the things that people are hunting our walrus, our seal, our salmon, and, and then they pair really well with our pearl and our manufactured stone >> Leon: I purchased from the hunters, in different villages.

Point Holt Wainwright, barrel Campbell, [ in audible] And then some other areas brewing mission.

I use, a lot of the female for jewelry or smaller items for larger male tusks.

I do totems, and then some of them I keep is, walrus heads.

Some of the car was, with the most felt.

They also use a lot of the female for jewelry, rings, earrings, bracelets, and then a larger male carves.

They turn into, like seals, walruses trooping towards stuff, >> Luxi: I got my earrings.

I believe they're called from, happy hippo.

Hippie.

Well.

Oh, they matched.

My gosh.

And I wore them when I was performing.

I sage the today this morning.

I also like the flowers and, I'm always yupik dancing.

I'm a part of the yupik immersion, also like.

Because, I can share them with my sister.

I bead mostly an antler, with fur palms and also this style.

These are kenzie's.

And then I have been doing some connecting earrings, and I work a little with sealskin.

>> Mcdonald: I love that it's pretty meditative.

I sit at home and it just kind of calms my mind after a busy day.

And I love that.

It's connecting to culture.

I have never been a big crafter like growing up.

I do craft a lot and so having this now is just very meditative, very peaceful, connects us to everything.

And I love sitting around a group and beading.

I think it's good medicine.

And yeah, it's my favorite thing to do is be with a group of people and just the laughter and stories.

And I think putting that energy into your work is just wonderful.

The earrings I am wearing, I got in that fall from an elder at the Saturday market, and I just was working on them at the table, and I saw them and I thought they were so cute.

And I think they're the back of a parka silhouette.

It took me a minute to figure out what it was, >> Fry: my daughter and I also bead as a hobby, and you got invited to come and sit and sell with them.

So we are big on the big antique earrings.

We like to add some bling to it.

Some rhinestone, a little touch of Louis Vuitton in the back and some Chanel and some dried fish skin on this.

On the seal.

Yeah.

And the bigger the better, the more rhinestone and the blingy.

The better.

So our winters are long, and this is a good hobby to just decompress.

To get in touch with a culture.

Both of us, my daughter and I learned during Covid as well from Selena mellon, who was my classmate.

And yeah, it's it's it.

I love creating and making them big and blingy, and it makes me feel good when she's obviously raised in urban Alaska and I was raised in rural Alaska, so I was raised around this, although I didn't grow up doing crafts and I wish I did.

I'm like, where was this?

Why?

Why didn't I do this all my life?

So I love the fact that she has embraced it.

She's very proud and wants to know more about her culture.

She, you know, always asks tons of questions and, I think, you know, she appreciates it.

And it honors it.

>> Dani: I like it just because it's, like, relaxing, and it's like, it's fun because it's like you're learning your culture and so, like, you just get to experience more things.

It's just like being around her and stuff.

>> Crissy: I unfortunately, grew up disconnected from my family.

And so reconnecting has really helped my healing journey.

Digging deeper into my family origins and connections.

This helps revitalize not only traditional knowledge and teachings.

I get to teach other people and continue that knowledge and share it.

Not only with friends and family, but At work, I host meeting events and teach my coworkers how, and I teach the importance of, like Casey was saying, the good mindset.

You need to be in a good mindset when you're leaving.

What energy and your tensions?

The good medicine you're weaving into each of your artwork.

And those people wear that and they feel that.

And so I'm very mindful of when I am beading, to put that good intention to keep that good medicine in there.

I do a lot of barter.

I prefer bartering over actually purchasing.

So, towards the end of AFN, I actually go around and carry my earrings around like, hey, who wants to barter, wants a trade.

And that also really helps in getting Christmas presents and gifts for other people.

I really would like to see more of a bartering system come back, and I kind of do see that already here.

As we go through AFN, I act with my neighbor right over here.

I bought, bartered a pair of earrings for a blanket and a beautiful traditional, shawl.

>> Elami: These earrings were originally created by my mother.

I help with her designs.

I help her with some of the stuff.

Like the pompoms, the bows.

And Anything else I know how to do.

I like everything was all created from home, from everything that was bought, and it took a whole lot of time to create.

I love just like the beauty of everything that's been created and the time that everything, it all come to life.

Everything from the Arctic fur of the fox and the beads and just the creativity itself is amazing.

I just love how they pop out, especially the colors and the designs and everything.

So every single one of them is different and very unique.

We took the deer, the deer, leather from the back and then we took the porcupine quills.

We chopped it and about a half we took a crystal and then we put beads around it.

And then we took the dentyne shells to make it look more like a realistic bow.

I love each and every one of them, but my all time favorite is between the pompoms and the bows itself.

>> Antonia: Across native communities, the aunties are often known for their earrings and bringing that big Auntie energy, which often comes with great advice.

>> Saani: I would say buy three, buy three earrings.

You can wear them and then keep one for yourself, because we never like to buy for ourselves.

Were we supposed to be buying for somebody else?

So you can wear all three, try them on set with it and then keep one for yourself.

Get the other two for gifts.

>> Krol: I would say just to keep learning from each other and things like that.

I just, you know, and everybody has something to teach and, everybody has something that they can learn.

So I really like learning from people like my grandma and my auntie and, you know, having eight nieces and nephews myself, I just, I love spending time with them.

>> McDonald: I would say, especially if you're the crafter of the earrings, to always maintain a really good attitude, always make sure you're putting really good energy into the things that you're creating.

And yeah, making sure that you just have a positive mindset while you're crafting.

And also if you're just not feeling great during the day, if you're not feeling super juicy in the morning, banana permanent earrings and you'll feel amazing.

It changes your day.

The bigger the better.

And wear it proudly.

>> Crissy: I like that big boujee I like that loud and proud earrings.

Like she was saying, when you wear your big earrings, you have the energy walk around prouder, You walk around taller, you walk around happy.

And then you get compliments and you get to engage in, community and talking like, oh, and I always try to remember every single artist I purchased from.

So when they're like, they go to the compliment, oh, it was made by Casey McDonald.

So go check her out.

Go follow her here, there.

So I really do love the big, juicy, blingy earrings.

>>Yazza: Thanks to Antonio Gonzalez and Koanic Broadcasting for that story and to everyone who contributed to the first season of Indigenously Positive, including New Mexico in Depth, and host Bella Davis.

And thank you for watching on this holiday weekend, I'm Benjamin Yazza.

Join us here next week for another fresh episode of New Mexico in Focus.

Funding for New Mexico in Focus is provided by: Viewers Like You.