Shows
Native Artist by INDIGEFIEpisode 14: Erin Ggaadimits Ivalu GingrichErin Ggaadamits Ivalu Gingrich (Koyukon Dené Athabascan, Iñupiaq) is a carver and multi-disciplinary artist based in Dgheyey ‘kaq, known today as Anchorage, Alaska. Erin merges her carving practice with beadwork to create stunning visual art pieces rooted in her relationship with the Arctic and interior Alaska.
In this episode, Erin describes how relationship with the lands and wildlife are core to her work as a contemporary artist. Her pieces strike a balance between intricate and minimal, depicting a visceral familiarity with the fish she grew up harvesting with her family. Her pieces tell stories that bring awareness and a call...2024-10-1528 min
Cultivating Indigenous VoicesEp. 32: Tribal MediascapesIn April 2024 I had the opportunity alongside my colleague Elva, to attend the annual Native Broadcast Summit in Phoenix, Arizona. The Summit is Native Public Media’s largest gathering of Tribal and Indigenous broadcasters and media professionals serving Indian Country. The theme “Globalizing Indigenous Storytelling” acknowledges that Native broadcast stations play an essential role in promoting the safety, sovereignty, and stability of Native communities, providing a platform for media creation, community news, civic engagement, and emergency services for predominately rural and remote tribal lands. This has been my third time attending the summit in the past few years and every...2024-07-0225 minNative Artist by INDIGEFIEpisode 13: Shy NativesNorthern Cheyenne sisters Jordan and Madison Craig are the founders of the lingerie line Shy Natives.
What started with Madi’s intimate garments hand-sewn to fit her and her sisters, became a full-on fashion label after she and Jordan teamed up to capture the essence of the brand. The Shy Native label bloomed with a captivating creative vision nurtured through sisterhood. By combining Jordan’s visual arts and Madi’s impeccable abilities as a self-taught fashion designer, the sisters have established Shy Natives as leaders in indie lingerie, occupying a rare niche which uplifts Indigenous intimacy, and opens a space for In...2024-02-1442 minNative Artist by INDIGEFIEpisode 12: Chloey Tláakw Sháa CavanaughChloey Tláakw Sháa Cavanaugh, Lingít, is a graphic design artist with heritage in Ḵéex̱ʼ, Kake, Alaska. Inspired by the practices of her grandfather, Chloey’s modern formline designs spark dialog using playfulness and joy. Her deep commitment to the communities to which she belongs leads her to advocate for Indigenous and LGBTQ+ young people, and to create space for collective accountability.
Chloey’s work is available through her small business, Black and White Raven Company, and can be found throughout southeast and southcentral Alaska.
Sensitive content is discussed in this episode, including the role of missionary activities in so-called...2023-12-2529 min
Native Artist by INDIGEFIEpisode 11: Leon Misak KinneeveaukLeon Misak Kinneeveauk, Inupiaq from Pt. Hope in Arctic, Alaska, is an artist operating the largest ivory carving studio in Deghay’kaq, known today as Anchorage, at the Alaska Art Alliance. Carving walrus ivory is an original artform of Indigenous communities in the Arctic, stretching across Inuit lands in Alaska, Canada, and Greenland.
In this episode, Leon shares the journey of discovering his role in community leadership after being incarcerated for a crime involving a death. Under Leon’s leadership, the studio offers a much-needed place of cultural belonging and camaraderie, that meets the specific needs of the art of ivor...2023-02-2033 min
Native Artist by INDIGEFIEpisode 10: Laine Neech.yanagút Yéil RinehartLaine Neech.yanagút Yéil Rinehart is Lingít and Taos Pueblo, based in Lingít lands, in what’s today known as Juneau, Alaska. Laine practices the traditional Lingít artform of Chilkat weaving, an intricate craft that retains its traditional designs, meanings, and uses.
In this episode, Laine shares how their art practice is a natural way to express personal and cultural identity, and makes space to acknowledge the harms of colonization. Also, a peek at their ambition to increase access to the mountain goat wool used in original weaving practices. Their stories are imbued with gratitude for the...2022-12-1634 minNative Artist by INDIGEFIEpisode 9: Dorthy Wychesit FredenbergDorthy is a professional performer and business owner of a dance company based on Dena’ina lands in Deghay’kaq, known today as Anchorage, Alaska. Dorthy’s talent reflects a lifetime of discipline and love for dance. She performs as Violet Lee Vamp. Along with her business partner, performer Lady Duchess, the two co-founded the Sweet Cheeks Cabaret dance company in 2013. Their work straddles the discipline of live performance, the closeknit community of small businesses, and the energy that comes with cabaret—a niche in live theater that combines entertainment with an artform that is gender-body-and-sex-positive, and where safety-and-consent come first.
V...2022-12-1036 minNative Artist by INDIGEFIPromo Episode 9: Dorthy Wychesit FredenbergOn the next episode of the Native Artist Series, Dorthy Wychesit Fredenberg is a professional performer and business owner of a dance company based on Dena’ina lands in Deghay’kaq, known today as Anchorage, Alaska. She performs as Violet Lee Vamp. Along with her business partner, performer Lady Duchess, the two co-founded the Sweet Cheeks Cabaret dance company in 2013.2022-12-0800 minNative Artist by INDIGEFIPromo: Native Artist Podcast ReturnsThe Native Artist Series takes a deep dive into the stories of Indigenous artists, spanning a wide range of artistic disciplines. From performance artists and writers, to carvers and weavers, artists share their unique stories and perspectives on navigating these fields while reclaiming native identity.2022-12-0700 min
Crude ConversationsEP 075 with Alexis SalleeIn this episode, Cody has a conversation with radio and podcast host Alexis Sallee. Alexis has worked in radio for about ten years now. She started right out of high school at 90.3 KNBA in Anchorage, Alaska. She was a sound editor on a radio program called Earthsongs. She now hosts and produces INDIGEFI. Both of those programs feature modern music by indigenous artists. In addition to INDIGEFI, she hosts a podcast called “Native Artist,” where she talks with indigenous artists about their creative journeys.
Alexis says that she’s always asked a lot of questions and that she’s...2020-07-121h 05
Native Artist by INDIGEFIEpisode 8: Jeremy DutcherPerformer, composer, activist, musicologist — these roles are all infused into his art and way of life. His music, too, transcends boundaries: unapologetically playful in its incorporation of classical influences, full of reverence for the traditional songs of his home,and teeming with the urgency of modern-day struggles of resistance.
A member of Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick, Jeremy first did music studies in Halifax before taking a chance to work in the archives at the Canadian Museum of History, painstakingly transcribing Wolastoq songs from 1907 wax cylinders. “Many of the songs I’d never heard before, because our musical tradition on the...2020-07-0629 minNative Artist by INDIGEFIEpisode 7: Laura OrtmanA soloist and vibrant collaborator, Laura Ortman (White Mountain Apache) works across recorded albums, live performances, and filmic and artistic soundtracks, and has collaborated with artists such as Tony Conrad, Jock Soto, Raven Chacon, Nanobah Becker, Okkyung Lee, Martin Bisi, Caroline Monnet, Michelle Latimer, Martha Colburn, Tanya Lukin LInklater and Loren Connors. An inquisitive and exquisite violinist, Ortman is versed in Apache violin, piano, electric guitar, keyboards, and pedal steel guitar, often sings through a megaphone, and is a producer of capacious field recordings.
She has performed at The Whitney Museum of American Art and The Museum of Modern Art...2020-06-2929 minNative Artist by INDIGEFIEpisode 6: Christopher AuchterChristopher Auchter grew up roaming the beaches and forests of the Haida Gwaii archipelago off Canada’s West Coast, and his art is rooted in the land and stories of the Haida people. Auchter’s art practice is fuelled by his close connection to the natural environment, his adventures in forestry and commercial fishing, and by the colourful people with whom he has lived and worked. From early on, he recorded his feelings and impressions as images, and today his filmmaking serves the same function.
Auchter studied media arts at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design (Vancouver, British Colu...2020-06-2229 minNative Artist by INDIGEFIEpisode 5: Kiliii YuyanPhotographer Kiliii Yuyan illuminates the hidden stories of polar regions, wilderness and Indigenous communities. Informed by ancestry that is both Nanai/Hèzhé (Siberian Native) and Chinese-American, he explores the the human relationship to the natural world from different cultural perspectives. Kiliii is an award-winning contributor to National Geographic Magazine and other major publications.
Both wilderness survival skills and empathy have been critical for Kiliii’s projects in extreme environments and cultures outside his own. On assignment, he has fled collapsing sea ice, weathered botulism from fermented whale blood, and found kinship at the edges of the world. In addition, Kili...2020-06-1530 minNative Artist by INDIGEFIEpisode 4: GinewGinew is the only Native American-owned denim line. Using meticulously sourced materials, they incorporate elements of their Ojibwe, Oneida, & Mohican heritage to express a contemporary Native American voice through their premium apparel and accessories. Ginew is Native-Americana, fusing Native American and enduring styles.
The brand is owned and operated by husband and wife, Erik and Amanda. They are from Wisconsin and live in Portland, Oregon. Their family story is a contemporary Native American narrative, with each item they make drawing direct inspiration from their cultures and relatives.
Ginew jointly crafted the first series of belts from their wedding buffalo, which...2020-06-0828 minNative Artist by INDIGEFIEpisode 3: Drew MichaelDrew Michael (Yup’ik and Inupiaq) was born in Bethel, Alaska. He and his twin brother grew up in Eagle River, Alaska. Drew started learning carving at age 13, learning from archeologist Bob Shaw, printmaker Joe Senungetuk, and contemporary Athabascan mask-maker, Kathleen Carlo. As Drew practiced his craft and developed his own style, he also studied the craftsmanship of works by master carvers and spent many hours comparing others works with his own designs and process, searching for his own niche. He applied research to his carvings, using trial & error to grow his work into what it is today.
Drew focuses on...2020-06-0128 min
The Drift ZoneAlexis Sallee on NATIVE ARTIST by INDIGEFINATIVE ARTIST by INDIGEFI
The words "Native Art" have a certain connotation that the new Native Artist podcast, NATIVE ARTIST hopes to break down.
Through NATIVE ARTIST, Alexis Sallee (host of the weekly radio program INDIGEFI) dives deep into conversation with indigenous artists from across Alaska, America and Canada, that each have a different discipline and a story to tell about navigating these fields while reclaiming native identity.2020-05-2721 minNative Artist by INDIGEFIEpisode 2: Tristan Agnauraq MorganTristan Agnauraq Morgan is a contemporary Iñupiaq artist based out of Anchorage, Alaska who works primarily in watercolor and oil paints. As a mixed Iñupiaq Alaska Native woman, Agnauraq pulls from their unique outlook on life to create culturally contemporary pieces that rely heavily on Iñupiaq values. She strives to discuss important dialogue around Indigenous issues as well as to celebrate reclaiming and reconnecting in western spaces.2020-05-2528 minNative Artist by INDIGEFIEpisode 1: Tomás Karmelo AmayaTomás Karmelo Amaya is A:shiwi, Rarámuri, and Yoeme. He is a photographer, filmmaker, and writer born and raised in Phoenix, AZ and is currently the creative director for Indian Country Today.
As a Native person, the traditional teachings and values of his people have heavily influenced how he internalizes and interacts with the world. His work has been known to empower communities by way of high-quality, striking images that show dignity, respect, and cultural sensitivity for the subject.
His work has been published with The New York Times, Buzzfeed, Apple, The Sundance Institute, Northwestern University, The Guardian, Ar...2020-05-1828 minNative Artist by INDIGEFINative Artist Podcast TrailerWelcome to the Native Artist podcast from INDIGEFI.
Listen in as we sit with established and emerging native artists and hear about the mindset behind the art, how they’re navigating the field, and general advice, at the same time providing an exciting new space for Indigenous creatives.
Learn more at: NATIVEARTISTPODCAST.COM
Hosted by:
Alexis Sallee (Iñupiaq)
Instagram: @akalexxx
Tara Gatewood (Isleta Pueblo / Diné)
Instagram: @taraN8V
Andi Murphy (Diné)
Instagram: @AndiMurphy132020-05-1402 min
Native Voice One PodcastDefinition Of Resilience PromoDefinition of Resilience is a four episode radio and video documentary series highlighting the dynamic stories of Native American hip-hop MCs. INDIGEFI host Alexis Sallee travels to document their contribution to modern music. Each episode follows two artists who share their story and Indigenous history. Through interviews, we hear personal stories from addiction and identity to boarding schools and generational trauma. We see these artists’ powerful lyrical and artistic expression work to uplift their communities and inspire youth. From Minnesota to Alaska, eight rappers bring insight and emotional rawness in exploring disconnection and reconnection to Native culture.
Find out more at...2018-08-1401 min