Real Native Roots: Untold Stories Podcast
by Vickie K. Oldman
Yá’át’ééh (Hello!)Welcome to Real Native Roots: Untold Stories—a podcast rooted in the power and medicine of storytelling. I’m Vickie Oldman, a proud Diné woman, and your host on this journey through the lived experiences of our relatives—family, friends, and colleagues—whose stories carry the wisdom, humor, and truth that often go untold.In our Native ways, stories are more than words—they are teachers, time travelers, and truth holders. They carry our values, our resilience, and our dreams. Each episode, we’ll sit with remarkable guests to uncover the lessons, memories, and moments that shaped them—and the medicine they carry for all of us.So, I invite you to walk this path with me. Listen deeply. Laugh, reflect, and reconnect. Follow and subscribe as we share the voices of our people—voices that deserve to be heard and honored.Come along—there’s a story waiting for you. 🌿🎙✨
Episodes
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This Land Remembers You: Healing, Belonging & Becoming with Asha Frost
What does it mean to become the medicine when healing is not a destination, but a lifelong relationship with ourselves, our ancestors, our bodies, and the generations still to come? In this episode of Real Native Roots: Untold Stories, Vickie sits down with Anishinaabe author, healer, mentor, and...
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Language Is Sacred: Reclaiming Identity with Elton Naswood
What does it mean to reclaim who we are while creating space for others to do the same? In this episode of Real Native Roots: Untold Stories, Vickie reconnects with longtime friend and fellow Window Rock High School alum Elton Naswood, a Diné advocate, storyteller, leader, and Executive Director…
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For the Generations Yet Unborn
In this episode of Real Native Roots: Untold Stories, I sit down with Delano Saluskin (Shii) of the Yakama Nation, a respected leader whose nearly 80 years of life and more than five decades of service have been dedicated to his people, culture, and community. Together, we explore his journey…
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The World Needs More Flowers
In this deeply heartfelt episode of Real Native Roots: Untold Stories, Vickie sits down with her dear friend, business partner, and “sister soul,” Barbara Roloff, for a conversation about identity, belonging, flowers, healing, and what it means to truly bloom later in life. 🌻 Barbara shares her...
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Rage is Sacred: Awake at 27
In this episode of Real Native Roots: Untold Stories, Vickie sits down with Ameerah Suina Thomas, a 27-year-old Afro-Indigenous woman of Laguna Pueblo and West African descent whose voice carries both clarity and fire. Together, they explore what it means to be fully present in your body, how...
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Truth, Land & Becoming: A 2025 Recap
2025 Story Recap with Tara Denetsosie-Lovato. In our first episode of 2026, Tara joins me to reflect on the voices, lessons, and medicine shared by our 2025 guests — from sovereignty and leadership to land, language, and coming home. We revisit the wisdom of artists, activists, aunties, and…
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We Own the Table: Dar on Sovereignty, Truth, and Unity
In this powerful episode of Real Native Roots: Untold Stories, Vickie welcomes her longtime sister and truth-teller Dar “Diamond D” for a wide-ranging, deeply human conversation about identity, land, governance, media, healing, and courage. Dar is Mohawk, a border-tribe woman raised between...
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Harleys, Canoes & Jingle Dresses: A Journey to Freedom
In this powerful and intimate episode of Real Native Roots: Untold Stories, Vickie sits with Ojibwe leader, culture-bearer, and newly appointed President & CEO of First Peoples Fund, Tina Kuckkahn. Together, they explore the teachings that shaped her: her grandparents’ wisdom, the Seven…
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The Beans of Destiny and Other Lessons in Grace
In this heartfelt and laughter-filled episode, host Vickie Oldman welcomes the magnetic and wise Jack Soto — a Navajo and Cocopah relative whose life journey weaves through wind, forest, and laughter. Together they explore what it means to find healing through pause, place, and presence. Jack...
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From Ceremony to Catwalk: Shoshoni’s Journey of Legacy and Reclamation
In this powerful episode of Real Native Roots: Untold Stories, Vickie sits down with Shoshoni Hostler—a Yurok regalia maker, therapist, mother of five, and fashion designer whose viral shell dress stunned the world and sparked powerful conversations about cultural reclamation, representation, and...
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Whales, Threads & Ancestors: We Are Not Studied—We Are the Story
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories Podcast is honored to welcome Jacqualine Qataliña Schaeffer — a visionary Alaska Native leader, artist, and grandmother whose wisdom runs as deep as the Arctic waters she grew up near. In this episode, Jackie opens a window into her ancestral teachings, climate...
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Don’t Hold a Grudge: Auntie Wisdom & Wild Laughter with Claudia Oldman
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories Podcast is honored to feature Claudia Oldman—a grounded and wise Navajo matriarch, storyteller, and beloved auntie. In this tender, laughter-filled episode, Claudia joins her niece and host Vickie Oldman to reflect on healing, kinship, forgiveness, and what it...
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Strumming to Success: A Diné Guitarist’s Story
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories Podcast is honored to introduce Jaeden Huenemann—a 25-year-old Diné (Navajo) artist of Korean and German descent who is forging his own path in the world of music. Jaeden’s journey as a musician has been deeply shaped by his family. From an early age, he learned...
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Bonus: Connecting with the multifaceted Gary Farmer
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories proudly presents the multifaceted Gary Farmer—actor, singer, and artist extraordinaire. A natural storyteller, Gary shares untold stories that will move you to tears, make you laugh, and surprise you in the most unexpected ways. Describing himself as a “gentle…
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Rediscovering Yourself: An Ongoing Journey
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents Willow Blythe Carroll, a tribally enrolled citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Tribe. An award-winning Indigenous storyteller encourages us to have grace, get to know our real version of ourselves, recommit to our roots, and tell our own stories.…
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Embracing Gentleness: Healing from Male Toxicity
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents Juan Dominguez, the Burn the Wagon podcast host. Juan was adopted by a full-blooded Pomo Whapo woman who raised him on the Manchester-Point Arena Rancheria Reservation in California. Juan shares his journey on the reservation, growing up fast, embracing...
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BONUS: Stories with Renowned Navajo Illustrator Jack Ahasteen
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents the renowned Navajo illustrator Jack Ahasteen. Not only a gifted illustrator, Mr. Ahasteen is also a poet, wisdom keeper, storyteller, and a gentle, humble gift to us all. Mr. Ahasteen shares his time at Belmont (Navajo Camp), where he started drawing at...
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Diving Deep with Loren Anthony, Part II
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents Loren Anthony, a Diné (Navajo) relative to many. Originally from the Chuska Mountains located within the Navajo Nation, Loren deeply loves his community and does his best to stay grounded through integrity, compassion, reciprocity, and humility. Hear his...
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Diving Deep with Loren Anthony
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents Loren Anthony, a Diné (Navajo) relative to many. Originally from the Chuska Mountains located within the Navajo Nation, Loren deeply loves his community and does his best to stay grounded through integrity, compassion, reciprocity, and humility. Hear his...
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Harvesting Wisdom from a Métis Woman
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents Otakwan Acahkos Iskwiw (Evening Star Woman), a grounded, powerful, traditional Métisse from the Métis Nation (Otipemisiwak) of St. Louis, Saskatchewan. Otakwan's main family lines are Boucher, Bremner, L'Ésperence, Guernon, Taylor, Hogue, and Prince.…
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Recap of 2023 Podcast Guests with Donna Tenorio
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents one of our podcast listeners, Donna Tenorio. Donna is from Santo Domingo Pueblo, is a new grandmother, and is a podcast fan. She shares her story and what she has learned from listening to podcasts. Hear how we recap and share what spoke to us from our...
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Indigenous Brilliance
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents Rebecca Adamson, a Cherokee descent whose roots are from Ohio and who grew up in North Carolina. Rebecca shares how nature has always been a source and a centering force in her life. She also shares her journey with relatives, her career, and her...
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Art an Indigenous Pathway to Self, Family, and Community
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents Molina Jo Two Bulls (Lakota) and Bryan Douglas Parker (White Mountain Apache). Both were raised by strong, grounded, loving, and artistic families. Hear how these indigenous souls honor gifts their relatives and the art community share. Bryan and Molina...
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BONUS: Real, Rooted and Uncensored with Simon Moya-Smith
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents Simon Moya-Smith, an Oglala Lakota and Chicano writer and journalist. Raised to stand up for the rights of Indigenous peoples, to rage against the use of Indian mascots, and later against police brutality and oil and gas pipelines, Simon continues to…
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Dancing Diné Lakota Warrioress
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents MaryAnn Bullhead, a fierce, grounded, and nurturing Diné Lakota woman. Raised on the Navajo reservation by her mother and influenced by her Lakota ways while visiting with her father (Earl Bullhead), on the Lakota Reservation. MaryAnn finds herself…
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Embracing Silence: Music all Around Us
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents Wade Fernandez/ Wiciwen Apis-Mahwaew (Walks With The Black Wolf). Wade is a heart and soul Indigenous man who's “deeply authentic, a” multi-award winning international touring artist and educator from the Menominee Nation. Winning numerous awards in...
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AH-SHI: THIS IS ME
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents Ahsaki Chachere. Founder/CEO Ah-Shi Beauty. This indigenous boss babe shares her rez chronicles of family, how she landed multiple companies and dreams of helping her Nation. Grab a cup of joe and hear a natural storyteller seamlessly weave her Diné…
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Real Native Roots: Untold Stories feat. Ahsaki Chachere
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents Ahsaki Chachere. Founder/CEO Ah-Shi Beauty. This indigenous boss babe shares her rez chronicles of family, how she landed multiple companies and dreams of helping her Nation. Grab a cup of joe and hear a natural storyteller seamlessly weave her Diné…
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What About Love: This Thing Called Love
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents Sandre Harrison, Shannon Saltclah and Tara Denetsosie Lovato. These three beautiful, savvy, smart, funny, and grounded Dinè women share stories about love for family and community, Native bling, food, butchering, first love/crush, and self-love. Grab…
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Recapping 2022 Guests
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents one of our podcast listeners, Ruth Sandoval. Ruth is a spiritual healer, certified coach, trainer, author, weaver and creative. Hear how we recap and share what spoke to us from our fantastic, wise, loving, and amazing guests from 2022. Thank you Zane &...
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Transforming with Intention
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents Natalie Benally, a Diné woman cultivating her love for dance, story, and giving back to her community. Natalie shares where she gets her work ethic, continuing to heal, and trusting herself. Natalie is a dance artist, filmmaker, writer, actress, and...
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Manifesting with Native Muse
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents Jennifer Varenchik, a beautiful, creative, daring, and visionary Tohono O'odham woman raised in California. We get a peek inside her story about being adopted and eventually reconnecting with her Native roots. On her path of self-discovery, Jennifer…
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Alignment: Finding your Pathway
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents the renowned, respected graceful, and savvy Native woman entrepreneur Monica Simeon with Sister Sky, Inc. A woman with deep roots from the Pacific Northwest raised with core values of rest, vulnerability, nurturing, and determination. Monica shares her...
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Wisdom Lessons from an Ojibwe Elder
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents Great Grandmother Mary Lyons (GGMML), an Ojibwe elder, author, humanitarian and wisdom-knowledge keeper. Join us on a journey as GGMML talks about Seven generations and our responsibilities, getting back to who we are as Indigenous people and not being...
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Love: The Human Element {Part II}
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents part II of James Junes story toward recovery. He shares that taking it one day at a time, letting go of the past, and surrounding yourself with people who will empower and add power to your life. Join us as he shares about bettering your journey and...
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Love: Teachings from dibé (the sheep) & shí (my) masani & nali (grandmothers) [PART I]
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents you with the one and only James Junes. A renowned Diné (Navajo) Native comedian, actor, and motivational speaker. James grew up sleeping on sheep skin, speaking Diné Bizaad (Navajo Language), and learning the meaning of love from his grandmothers. Join…
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Burning Embers: Passionately lit for culture, community and corn
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents to you Dr. Michael Kotutwa Johnson. A humble, self-loving, passionate Hopi farmer exclaims, "It's a good day to be Indigenous!" Micheal takes us on a journey by sharing fond memories of racing across the planting fields with his quaà'ah (grandfather)…
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The Rhythm of Life: Ebb and Flow
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories April's guest is our very own "Grandmother of Housing," Donna Fairbanks. Ebbing and flowing through life, Donna finds her passion in the field of Indian Housing. Hear her unique story of growing up off the reservation in a Catholic orphanage and finding her way...
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A Journey to Happiness: Family, Film, and Frybread
Ryan Begay is our bonus guest with Real Native Roots: Untold Stories this month. Join us as he shares a bit about his grandparents and family, who come from a line of leaders, spiritual healers, artistic and skilled craftswomen/men. A twin, falling in the middle somewhere with six other siblings,...
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Ké: Family Origins Rooted With Love, Humor, & Wisdom (Part II)
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents you Tina James-Tafoya and Zane James. Zane and Tina share more wisdom from their beloved father Nelson James. They also discuss sibling love, Dallas Cowboy Sundays, and how they have continued to stay engaged as supportive relatives. Ahé'hee (thank you)...
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Ké: Family Origins Rooted With Love, Humor, & Wisdom (Part I)
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents you Tina James-Tafoya and Zane James. Zane and Tina share their family origins, how their parents meet, and how relatives modeled Ké (system of kinship). We also get the pleasure of hearing the harvested wisdom their beloved father Nelson James offered...
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Recap of 2021: Part II
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents Lydia Edgewater as our special guest to recap all the yumminess and wisdom from our 2021 guests. Lydia shares her insights and beautifully weaves in her personal stories and wisdom from her Nalí(grandmother). Grab your cup of coffee and enjoy our recap...
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Recap of 2021: Part I
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents Lydia Edgewater as our special guest to recap all the yumminess and wisdom from our 2021 guests. Lydia shares her insights and beautifully weaves in her personal stories and wisdom from her Nalí(grandmother). Grab your cup of coffee and enjoy our recap...
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BONUS: Healing Conversations with Y.A.F. Pod
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents three young Native men, Delmar Blackhorse, Hersal Clark, and Adrian Dotson, doing their part in helping us to heal and release toxicity through honest and raw conversations. Learn more about where they are from, what shaped them, what they like to cook,...
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Rematriation: Returning the Sacred to the Mother
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents Valerie Nuvayestewa, Ha’hay’i’mana (Mother of the Katsinas) and a woman connected to the land. Valerie shares stories of how her grandparents, parents, and the earth have cultivated her knowing and returning herself to the sacred. She shares how she is...
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Family is Community: Leading with Compassion, Generosity, and Acceptance
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents to you, Monique Castro a citizen of the Diné (Navajo)Nation and Xicana, born and raised on the ancestral homelands of the Tongva People (aka Los Angeles). Monique is a first-generation high school and college graduate raised by her grandparents, who…
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Coming Full Circle: Embracing Self
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories respectfully introduces to you Sahar Khajenoury, a Diné (Navajo) and Persian woman who values kinship, the land, and her roots. Sahar's school project opened doors to the environment and social justice issues and creatively found ways to lift Native voices…
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Transcending Against All Odds
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories would like to present Shay Milford (Diné). Born and raised on Dinè lands, Shay shares how the art of tattooing found him. Faced with the stigma of being an ex-gang member, ex-convict, alcoholic, Shay stayed the course and realized his goal. Join me in hearing his...
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Plurality of Power: Redefining for Ourselves
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories presents Vanessa Roanhorse, a Diné woman who grew up on the rez with the comforting smell of pine and cedar, molded by relatives that supported a rich grounded spiritual, cultural, community and family experiences. Led by curiosity, Vanessa finds herself…
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Bonus: Connecting with Compassion
Real Native Roots: Untold Stories would like to acknowledge nurses for their contributions to keeping our communities healthy and safe. Nurses are honored nationwide during the month of May. In honor of nurses, we would like to lift up Carol Dahozy from Fort Defiance, AZ. Carol’s grandmother and...
About this show
Yá’át’ééh (Hello!)Welcome to Real Native Roots: Untold Stories—a podcast rooted in the power and medicine of storytelling. I’m Vickie Oldman, a proud Diné woman, and your host on this journey through the lived experiences of our relatives—family, friends, and colleagues—whose stories carry the wisdom, humor, and truth that often go untold.In our Native ways, stories are more than words—they are teachers, time travelers, and truth holders. They carry our values, our resilience, and our dreams. Each episode, we’ll sit with remarkable guests to uncover the lessons, memories, and moments that shaped them—and the medicine they carry for all of us.So, I invite you to walk this path with me. Listen deeply. Laugh, reflect, and reconnect. Follow and subscribe as we share the voices of our people—voices that deserve to be heard and honored.Come along—there’s a story waiting for you. 🌿🎙✨
Hosted by
Vickie K. Oldman