Hóčhoka Podcast

Hochoka Season 7, Episode 10 - Monique Gray Smith - Braiding Sweetgrass in the Classroom and Around the Dinner Table

In 2013, Botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer published “Braiding Sweetgrass.” It took seven years for the book to inch its way up the New York Times bestseller list, but since then, this book of Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the teaching of plants has been hard to keep in stock. Let’s talk to Monique Gray Smith whose adaptation of the book, “Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults,” makes this valuable text more accessible to countless readers.

Hochoka Season 7, Episode 9 - Monique Gray Smith – The Wisdom of an Indigenous Garden

Native American elders advise, “Go among the standing people.” This is a reminder that plants can be our caretakers, healers, teachers, and guides. There are intelligences other than our own. Imagine how less lonely the world would be if we knew and believed that we didn’t have to figure everything out by ourselves.

Hochoka Season 7, Episode 8 - Christianity Through an Indigenous Lens, Part II – Humanity and Creation

“You are dust and unto dust you shall return,” admonishes the Christian Church each Ash Wednesday. What happens not only to the fear factor but also to our understanding of what it is to be human when we look at our relationship to creation through an indigenous lens? Let's talk with Dr. Chris Hoklotubbe. 

Hochoka Season 7, Episode 7 - Zitkala-Šá, Part III – Red Bird and Catholicism

To some, Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, who chose the pen name Zitkala-Šá, might be a study in contradictions. How did the woman who authored “Why I am a Pagan” also embrace Catholicism? Who better to help us explore the topic than Dr. Damian Costello?

Hochoka Season 7, Episode 6 - Zitkala-Šá, Part II – Why She Matters to the United States Mint and You

“My country! ‘tis of thee, Sweet land of Liberty, My pleas I bring. Land where OUR fathers died, Whose offspring are denied, The franchise given wide, Hark while I sing.” This stirring takeoff on Samuel Francis Smith’s “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” begins our conversation on the final two decades of the life of Zitkala-Šá.

Hochoka Season 7, Episode 5 - Zitkala-Šá, Part I – Why She Matters to the United States Mint and You

The 2024 Zitkala-Šá Quarter is the 15th coin in the American Women Quarters Program. Who is this woman minted by the United States Treasury, and why does that matter to all of us?

Hochoka Season 7, Episode 4 - Speaking of Youth, Part III - The Buffalo Harvest

What is a Buffalo Harvest and what is the significance of the buffalo to the Lakota people? Let’s learn from two people who recently participated in a harvest.

Hochoka Season 7, Episode 3 - Speaking of Youth, Part II - The Spiritual Life of Children

Who are the wakȟáŋheža? Lakota children are called by this word that means “little sacred ones.” Significantly, the Indigenous have known all along what new science is proving: There is great power in the spiritual life of children. Let’s explore the topic with Dr. Damian Costello and learn what it means for parents and educators everywhere.