Rephonic
Artwork for Tending Our Roots
Indigenous Methodologies
Indigenous Knowledge
Ojibwe Language
Cultural Fire
Language Revitalization
Theory Of Water
Diné
Decolonization
Relational Knowledge
Research Is Ceremony
Anishinaabe
Shorelines
Two-Spirit
Water Walks
Walkern Katatdjin
Trans Joy
Water
Climate Change
Linda Tuhiwai Smith
University Of Kansas

Tending Our Roots is a conversation-based podcast that uplifts Indigenous voices, knowledge, and ways of being as pathways to well-being. Hosted by Dr. Miigis Gonzalez (Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe) and Dr. Jill Fish (lineal descendant of the Tuscarora Nation), the podcast creates space for stories grounded in relationships—to land, to community, to spirit, and to self. Each episode brings listeners... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes11Founded7 months ago
Categories
Mental HealthHealth & FitnessSociety & Culture

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Artwork for Tending Our Roots

Latest Episodes

Join us for our season finale of Tending Our Roots with chef, author, and food sovereignty visionary Sean Sherman, a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation.

Sean is transforming the landscape of Indigenous cuisine. Through his work with the nonprofit N... more

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Our guest this week is Shakara (Shak) Liddelow-Hunt, a researcher, advocate, and community builder centering the mental health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIA+ young people.

Shak is Wajarri Yamatji and grew up on Noon... more

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Listen as we visit with Shawn Wilson, a researcher, teacher, and storyteller from the Opaskwayak Cree Nation in northern Canada.

Shawn reminds us that research itself can be ceremony. Now based on Syilx territory in British Columbia, Shawn’s work s... more

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This week we’re Tending Our Roots with Susan Beaulieu, an Anishinaabe woman and citizen of the Red Lake Nation who has spent two decades working with Indigenous communities and the last decade supporting healing from collective, ancestral, and indivi... more

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Join us as we sit down with Melinda Adams, a cultural fire practitioner and scholar from the N’dee San Carlos Apache Tribe and the Tohono O’odham Nation.

Melinda brings together ecology, ceremony, and Indigenous science in her work. As an Assistant... more

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On this week’s episode of Tending Our Roots, we sit down with Māori scholar, Linda Tuhiwai Smith (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Porou) — the grandmother of Indigenous research.

Linda’s guided generations through her groundbreaking book Decolonizing Methodologie... more

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This week we’re Tending Our Roots with Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, a Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg writer, musician, and scholar.

Leanne teaches through story, song, and movement — reminding us that knowledge lives in relationships. In her newest book,... more

YouTube

Join Tending Our Roots with Michael “Migizi” Sullivan Sr., a linguist, researcher, educator and storyteller from the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Nation.

Migizi is a leading practitioner devoted to the revitalization of the Ojibwe language and a fath... more

YouTube

Key Facts

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Recent Guests

Sean Sherman
Chef, author, Natifs founder and Owamni restaurant founder
Owamni, Natifs
Episode: Sean Sherman — “Taking the Power of Food Back”
Shakara Liddelow-Hunt
Wadjari Nyamundji researcher, advocate and community builder
Indigenous LGBTQIA+ youth wellbeing
Episode: Shakara Liddelow-Hunt — “The Ancestors Are Reflected in Them.”
Shawn Wilson
Researcher, teacher, and storyteller from Indigenous communities
Opasquack Cree Nation / Indigenous scholar
Episode: Shawn Wilson — “It’s a Way of Life”
Susan Beaulieu
Anishinaabe healer and master facilitator
NDN Collective (guest)
Episode: Susan Beaulieu — “Re-membering: The Pathway to Healing”
Melinda Adams
Cultural Fire Practitioner and fire scholar
San Carlos Apache Tribe; Tohono O'odham Nation; University of Kansas
Episode: Melinda Adams — “We Burn the Things We Want Back”
Linda Tuhiwai Smith
Māori scholar, author of Decolonizing Methodologies
University/Indigenous scholarship
Episode: Linda Tuhiwai Smith — “Family, Community, and Land”
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
Miigisagi-Nishinaabe writer, musician, and scholar
Indigenous Knowledge holder and author
Episode: Leanne Betasamosake Simpson — “The Coexistence of Creation and Grief”
Michael Migizi Sullivan Sr.
Linguist, storyteller, ceremonial leader
Likudere Ojibwe Nation
Episode: Michael Migizi Sullivan — “Speaking Our Languages Shamelessly, Unapologetically, and Fearlessly”
Sharon Day
Two-spirit elder, water walker, and activist
Boys Fort Band of Ojibwe / Indigenous Peoples Task Force
Episode: Sharon Day — “The River Talks to Me”

Hosts

Miigis Gonzalez
Host of Tending Our Roots; Indigenous methodologies advocate; language, ceremony, and community health focus
Jill Fish
Co-host; independent scholar and psychologist; hosts with Miigis Gonzalez

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Melinda Adams — “We Burn the Things We Want Back”
Q: Can you share an example of a community-focused practice that illustrates these principles?
The coal-passing ceremony in California demonstrated grandmother-to-aunt-to-daughter knowledge transfer, where a 17-year-old carried a coal in an intergenerational rotation, symbolizing consent, respect, and the return of cultural fire under ceremonial leadership and careful community engagement.
Melinda Adams — “We Burn the Things We Want Back”
Q: How do science and ceremony intersect in your work with cultural fire?
Melinda describes her space as Indigenous-led fire science that respects Western ecological methods while foregrounding Indigenous methodologies, kin networks, and land-based pedagogy, using both soil and plant studies and relational storytelling to show how fire supports ecological and cultural renewal.
Melinda Adams — “We Burn the Things We Want Back”
Q: What does cultural fire mean in practice, and who is it for?
Cultural fire is the intentional, Indigenous-led use of prescribed fire guided by traditional ecological knowledge; it centers Indigenous sovereignty, land stewardship, and the renewal of culturally important plants and medicines, while inviting broader community learning and relationship-building.
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson — “The Coexistence of Creation and Grief”
Q: You describe care and love as foundational to world-building—could you elaborate on Joie and how it translates into governance and community life?
Joie is an unconditional, intergenerational love that underpins deep care for family, neighbors, land, and water; this universal care is what makes governance and social relations possible as a holistic system of care rather than separate institutions.
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson — “The Coexistence of Creation and Grief”
Q: How did your relationship with Doug Williams influence your work on Theory of Water, and how does that personal connection shape the book's anchor in origin stories?
Doug's long friendship and shared land-based practices provided a lived archive for the book, with his oral storytelling and eventual passing becoming a catalyst that grounds the Theory of Water in sacred origin stories and practical knowledge.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About Tending Our Roots

What is Tending Our Roots about and what kind of topics does it cover?

Conversations center Indigenous knowledge, healing, land, language, and relational ways of living well. Guests span chefs advancing food sovereignty, linguists revitalizing Indigenous languages, scholars reframing research as ceremony, and community leaders driving healing, water stewardship, fire practices, and cultural resurgence. Across episodes, the show emphasizes care, kinship, ceremony, and practical pathways for wellbeing, often foregrounding lived traditions, intergenerational learning, and Indigenous methodologies as alternatives to Western frameworks. A notable strength is its consistent pairing of rigorous insight with personal story, humor, and tangible outcomes—helping listeners understand how Indigenous approaches can shape h... more

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Which podcasts are similar to Tending Our Roots?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Tending Our Roots:

1. All My Relations Podcast
2. Code Switch
3. Handsome
4. This American Life
5. The New Yorker Radio Hour

How many episodes of Tending Our Roots are there?

Tending Our Roots launched 7 months ago and published 11 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Tending Our Roots?

Recent guests on Tending Our Roots include:

1. Sean Sherman
2. Shakara Liddelow-Hunt
3. Shawn Wilson
4. Susan Beaulieu
5. Melinda Adams
6. Linda Tuhiwai Smith
7. Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
8. Michael Migizi Sullivan Sr.

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