Native ChocTalk

This May, as we celebrate Choctaw veterans, I’m proud to feature Woodrow Wilkins on Native ChocTalk — a proud Choctaw veteran whose life is a blend of service, culture, and resilience. From stories of military service to memories of wagon days, wild onion dinners, Choctaw hymns, flower sack dresses, and watching his first picture show, Woodrow brings the old days to life with heart and humor. But why was Woodrow “kept hidden”? We dig into the surprising backstory behind his journey. This series is a tribute to all our veterans and the beautiful culture they defend. Don’t miss this powerful conversation that weaves together story telling, legacy, laughter, and love for our people.

PART 2 This May, as we celebrate Choctaw veterans, I’m proud to feature Woodrow Wilkins on Native ChocTalk — a proud Choctaw veteran whose life is a blend of service, culture, and resilience. From stories of military service to memories of wagon days, wild onion dinners, Choctaw hymns, flower sack dresses, and watching his first picture show, Woodrow brings the old days to life with heart and humor. But why was Woodrow “kept hidden”? We dig into the surprising backstory behind his journey. This series is a tribute to all our veterans and the beautiful culture they defend. Don’t miss this powerful conversation that weaves together story telling, legacy, laughter, and love for our people. Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/

Part 3 This May, as we celebrate Choctaw veterans, I’m proud to feature Woodrow Wilkins on Native ChocTalk — a proud Choctaw veteran whose life is a blend of service, culture, and resilience. From stories of military service to memories of wagon days, wild onion dinners, Choctaw hymns, flower sack dresses, and watching his first picture show, Woodrow brings the old days to life with heart and humor. But why was Woodrow “kept hidden”? We dig into the surprising backstory behind his journey. This series is a tribute to all our veterans and the beautiful culture they defend. Don’t miss this powerful conversation that weaves together story telling, legacy, laughter, and love for our people. Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/

“Chickasaw legend tells of a girl who is teased by other children and named Loksi’—Turtle—for her slowness. Upon the counsel of a river, she goes to live in the forest. There, she finds hospitality among the turtle people. One day, the god of the turtles asks her to tell her fellow humans to treat turtles with respect and kindness, and gives her a gift of turtle shells filled with pebbles and seeds to bring back with her. The rattles were adopted by the people of Loksi’ and used to accompany dances and ceremonies, a reminder to treat the natural world with care.”* (from interactive.wttw.com) As a former opera singer with a music degree, I’m ecstatic about today’s Native ChocTalk episode! Here we have something unprecedented - an opera in an American Indian language (Chickasaw), by an American Indian Composer (Jerod Impichchaachaaha Tate), and we all should be celebrating this enormous breakthrough in Native arts! In this episode, Jerod discusses with me (like the music nerds we are): · How there aren’t rules set up yet around how spoken and sung Chickasaw may differ. (In traditional operas with languages such as French and Italian, etc., there are often rules about the differences between spoken and sung.) · The challenges around composing in a difficult language, paired with an extremely demanding genre such as opera, to complete a work that has never been attempted before. This requires a modern Chickasaw speaker (Joshua Hinson) who interprets and translates the words into text, as well as a Dramateur/Librettest (libretto = the wording in an opera), Lyla Palmer, partnering with a Composer such as Jerod who has vision and determination to see this opera to fruition. And voila – you now have something unique and beautiful. Stay tuned for upcoming announcements, as this opera is most likely going live November of 2022 at UMass Amherst! Three cheers for these talented folks, as well as the singers! · Jerod Impichchaachaaha Tate: Composer · Tianhui Ng: Conductor · Lokosh (Josh Hinson): Interpreter/Translator · Margaret Wheeler: Costume Design Find and follow Jerod Tate here: · Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jerodtatecomposer · Website: https://jerodtate.com/ *https://interactive.wttw.com/playlist/2021/11/23/jerod-impichchaachaaha-tate All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/ Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast

What do you think of when I say the word, “tribe”? Perhaps it means something like family or protection or social involvement or love and support (or all of the above)? But what about those who don’t have their very own cheering section? Is there a sense of never quite belonging? My guest today, Monica Brooks was adopted as a baby, but was abused and discarded. She never quite felt like she had her own “tribe”. And furthermore, she didn’t even know she was Native American until someone made her aware. This feeling of wanting to belong to a loving family left a hole in Monica’s spirit. Her eventual connection to the Choctaw tribe was the beginning of her journey to healing. And later, a terminal illness inspired her to give her kids and grandkids the gift of a sense of belonging as well, to introduce them to the tribe that will be there long after she’s gone. Monica’s daughter, Samantha also joins us to talk about another perspective - the trauma that can be passed down in situations like these. Today you’ll hear about: • The mystery of the months unaccounted for in the first few months of her life • How the game of hide-and-seek would prove or disprove that she was loved • How her intuition was guiding her to the truth as her story unfolded • The random way she went about finding her birth family • How Monica found inspiration from her ancestors who survived the Trial of Tears Yakoke, Monica for sharing your story and for inspiring others! Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/