About
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 into conversation with guests whose lives and work reflect Indigenous approaches to living well. From artists and scholars to knowledge holders and community leaders, these conversations move through story, humor, and reflection—rooted in everyday practices of care, responsibility, and connection. Whether speaking about language revitalization, ceremony, land, or creative expression, guests share how wellbeing is lived, not defined.
Rather than seeking to define or measure Indigenous systems of health, Tending Our Roots listens to and learns from those who carry them forward. The podcast invites listeners to sit with stories, reflect on their own relationships, and reconnect with the teachings that continue to sustain Indigenous communities across generations.
| Episode List |
|---|
| Dr. Charlie Amáyá Scott — Choosing and Loving Ourselves (Listen) |
| Sharon Day — The River Talks to Me (Listen) |
| Dr. Michael “Migizi” Sullivan Sr. — Speaking Our Languages Shamelessly, Unapologetically, and Fearlessly (Listen) |
| Dr. Leanne Betasamosake Simpson — The Coexistence of Creation and Grief (Listen) |
| Dr. Linda Tuhiwai Smith — Family, Community, and Land (Listen) |
| Dr. Melinda Adams — We Burn the Things We Want Back (Listen) |
| Susan Beaulieu — Re-membering: The Pathway to Healing (Listen) |
| Dr. Shawn Wilson — It’s a Way of Life (Listen) |
| Shakara Liddelow-Hunt — The Ancestors Are Reflected in Them (Listen) |
| Sean Sherman — Taking the Power of Food Back (Listen) |
Find us on your favorite podcast player starting May 1, 2026!
New episodes will be released every Friday.
ABOUT THE LOGO ARTIST
Marlena Myles created the episode artwork for Tending Our Roots, visually carrying the themes and spirit of each conversation. She is an Indigenous (Spirit Lake Dakota/Mohegan/Muscogee) artist based in St. Paul, Minnesota, whose work moves between past and present. Guided by the land as teacher, she brings Indigenous history, language, and oral traditions into contemporary forms—inviting people into deeper relationship with the places they call home. Through murals, animation, augmented reality, and storytelling, her work creates spaces of learning, remembrance, and connection. She is also the founder of Wíyouŋkihipi (We Are Capable) Productions, a Dakota publishing company dedicated to uplifting Dakota culture, language, and history.ABOUT THE THEME SONG ARTIST
Leonard Sumner is an Anishinaabe MC, singer, and songwriter from Little Saskatchewan First Nation in Manitoba. His sound moves across hip-hop, spoken word, country, and rhythm and blues—carrying stories shaped by land, memory, and lived experience. Through his music, he brings forward truths long held beneath the surface, creating space for reflection, healing, and awakening. His song “The Best of Me” is featured as the theme for Tending Our Roots, offering a sound that holds both strength and vulnerability.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This podcast was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and supported by the CIRCLE P50 Center of Excellence through the National Institute On Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P50DA058619. The content is solely the responsibility of the hosts and their guests and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Foundation or the National Institutes of Health.
Production was completed by Solar Powered Studios in St. Paul, MN.
