In this powerful and expansive episode, we sit down with Chuna McIntyre, Founder and Director of the Nunamta Yup'ik Eskimo Singers and Dancers and current American Academy in Rome Fellow, to talk about his work with the Yup'ik Masks in the "Anima Mundi" of the Vatican Museums.
Our conversation weaves together memory, ancestry, and care — from Chuna's reflections on his grandmother and the Vatican's stewardship of these sacred objects, to the deeper meanings of reciprocity, generosity, and giving without expectation. Chuna reminds us what it means to be among the real, true people, inviting us to consider who has possession — and who has responsibility — for beauty, culture, and spirit.
He shares the honor of wanting his people to feel pride as the first people, speaks in his first language, and even sings a beautiful song to close the episode. Together, we explore the difference between conservation and care, and what it means to truly tend to the life within objects — not just preserve them, but allow them to breathe again.
This conversation is a meditation on heritage, healing, and honesty — a reminder that generosity itself can be a form of resistance and repair.
