Why I Asked Parliament a Question About Your Skin

In this episode of the Indigenous Intelligence Podcast, Nii Okyne explores the journey that led him to submit a formal question to the UK Parliament regarding vitamin D guidance for people with higher melanin concentration.Blending science, ancestral wisdom, policy, personal experience, and cultural history, this episode examines: why vitamin D is actually a hormone  how melanin affects sunlight absorption at northern latitudes  why current public health guidance may not adequately serve Black and South Asian communities  and how Indigenous knowledge systems often understood these realities long before modern institutions acknowledged them Nii shares the story behind Parliamentary Question 106242, the government response that followed, and how Ga ancestral practices from Ghana connect directly to modern conversations around health, grounding, wellbeing, and human biology.This is more than a conversation about vitamin D. It is a conversation about memory, disconnection, science, identity, and reclaiming knowledge that was never truly lost.Topics explored: Melanin and sunlight  Vitamin D and hormonal health  Indigenous knowledge systems  Ga traditions and Homowo  Grounding and wellbeing  Health equity  Public policy  Ancestral intelligence Follow Indigenous Intelligence for future conversations exploring ancestral wisdom, wellbeing, culture, identity, and human potential.