Lyla June in this illuminating community conversation with Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo shares ways in which indigenous food systems of the past and present teach us how to relate to our inner and outer world. These highly successful systems have been proven to operate based on respect, reverence, responsibility, and reciprocity.

She explores, among others topics: How can we manifest these qualities within ourselves and into the world? How can ancient wisdom help with modern ills? How does inner life reflect in outer behavior?

Stick around towards the end of the episode for an original song by Lyla.

Dr. Lyla June Johnston is an Indigenous public speaker, artist, scholar and community organizer of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) and European lineages from Taos, New Mexico.

Her messages focus on Indigenous rights, supporting youth, traditional land stewardship practices and healing inter-generational and inter-cultural trauma.

She blends undergraduate studies in human ecology at Stanford University, graduate work in Native American Pedagogy at the University of New Mexico, and the indigenous worldview she grew up with to inform her perspectives and solutions. Her internationally acclaimed presentations are conveyed through the medium of poetry, music and/or speech. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks in Indigenous Studies with a focus on Indigenous Food Systems Revitalization.

Topics:

00:00 – Introduction

04:02 – Outer Landscapes / Indigenous Food Systems

16:30 – Hunting and Fishing

24:40 – Water

46:40 – Bamboo

56:02 – Inner Landscapes