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Native Edge

NCAIED

37 episodes

2 days ago

Any questions or comments please send here! For episode 37, co-hosts Nicole Watson and Yvette Fielder welcome hip hop artist Nataanii Means (Oglala Lakota, Diné, Omaha) to the Mesa studio. Nataanii shares his journey from the Navajo Reservation to becoming a successful musician, and explains how hip hop fits squarely in the Indigenous tradition of storytelling. In addition to his music, Nataanii has been active in helping Native youth, and stepped up when the recent government shutdown cut of...

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Entrepreneurship

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Any questions or comments please send here! For episode 37, co-hosts Nicole Watson and Yvette Fielder welcome hip hop artist Nataanii Means (Oglala Lakota, Diné, Omaha) to the Mesa studio. Nataanii shares his journey from the Navajo Reservation to becoming a successful musician, and explains how hip hop fits squarely in the Indigenous tradition of storytelling. In addition to his music, Nataanii has been active in helping Native youth, and stepped up when the recent government shutdown cut of...

Show more...

Entrepreneurship

Episodes (20/37)

Native Edge

Ep.37 | Hip Hop Artist Nataanii Means

Any questions or comments please send here! For episode 37, co-hosts Nicole Watson and Yvette Fielder welcome hip hop artist Nataanii Means (Oglala Lakota, Diné, Omaha) to the Mesa studio. Nataanii shares his journey from the Navajo Reservation to becoming a successful musician, and explains how hip hop fits squarely in the Indigenous tradition of storytelling. In addition to his music, Nataanii has been active in helping Native youth, and stepped up when the recent government shutdown cut of...

3 days ago

51 minutes

Native Edge

Ep.36 | Aambé CEO Ron "Hawk" Spoerl

Any questions or comments please send here! For the third installment of our Native American Heritage Month series, we welcomed Ron "Hawk" Spoerl, President and CEO of Aambé Corporation, to our Mesa studio. Aambé is a platinum sponsor of RES 2026, and is doing incredible work across Indian Country, particularly in health care where they are helping tribes tap into a multi-trillion-dollar industry that also provides vital services to their citizens. Ron shares his own story, as well as Aambé's...

1 week ago

52 minutes

Native Edge

Ep.35 | Inter Tribal Council of Arizona's Maria Dadgar

Any questions or comments please send here! In our second episode of Native American Heritage Month, Chris and Yvette welcome Maria Dadgar, Executive Director of the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA), to The National Center's headquarters. It's a familiar location for Maria, who spent many years working for The National Center, culminating with a stint as acting President and CEO. Maria leads an organization that represents the diverse interests of 21 tribes in Arizona. As she discusses,...

2 weeks ago

55 minutes

Native Edge

Ep.34 | Cahokia's Eunique Yazzie

Any questions or comments please send here! In episode 34, guest hosts Nicole Watson and Mikaela Garcia welcome Eunique Yazzie to the studio. Eunique (Diné) has a background in graphic arts, and is a founding member of Cahokia, LLC. Cahokia, located in downtown Phoenix, is a cultural space created for Indigenous artists and entrepreneurs to collaborate, innovate, and increase the collective wealth of underserved populations. Eunique discusses the journey that led her to Cahokia, including a s...

3 weeks ago

1 hour 2 minutes

Native Edge

Ep.33 | Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity's Sebastian Aleman

Any questions or comments please send here! We head back to the State of Arizona for episode 33 of The Native Edge podcast, where Chris and Yvette welcome Sebastian Aleman, Legislative and Tribal Liaison for the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity. Sebastian discusses his office's role in economic and workforce development in Arizona, in particular tribal communities. You'll hear about Yvette's extensive workforce development experience, and the group dives into topics like tribal consulta...

1 month ago

52 minutes

Native Edge

Ep.32 | UNITY's Mary Kim Titla

Any questions or comments please send here! For Episode 32 of the Native Edge Podcast, Chris is joined by guest co-host Nicole Watson for a conversation with UNITY Executive Director Mary Kim Titla. UNITY and The National Center have long had a close relationship, including sharing office space in the same building in Mesa, Arizona and UNITY co-hosting events and programming at the annual Reservation Economic Summit. It was a great chance to catch up with Mary Kim and learn about her fascinat...

1 month ago

1 hour 8 minutes

Native Edge

Ep.31 | Director of Tribal Affairs for AZ Governor Katie Hobbs, Jason Chavez

Any questions or comments please send here! We're back in our Mesa studio for Episode 31 of The Native Edge podcast, and Chris and Yvette welcome a special guest - Jason Chavez, Director of Tribal Affairs for Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs. Jason has a background in voting and election administration, having previously served under then-Secretary of State Hobbs. We was also the voter outreach coordinator to his tribe, Tohono Oʼodham, for the Pima County, Arizona Recorder's Office. He discussed ...

1 month ago

54 minutes

Native Edge

Ep.30 | National Center Policy Consultants Kate Boyce and Ryan Seelau

Any questions or comments please send here! Congress is back from its August recess, so we thought it would be a great time to introduce our policy team! Chris sat down with Kate Boyce and Ryan Seelau, who along with Dr. Ian Record lead The National Center's policy and advocacy efforts. Kate has worked for The National Center for decades, and has unmatched experience in and knowledge of Indian Country policy. Ryan is a recent addition to the team, after working on Indigenous issues in Arizona...

2 months ago

51 minutes

Native Edge

Ep.29 | Cooking Demonstration with Chef Denella Belin

Any questions or comments please send here! For episode 29, we welcome back Chef Denella Belin of Nella's Innovative Kreations for a first on The Native Edge - a cooking demonstration! Guest host Nicole Watson sat down with Chef Denella to talk about the growing food sovereignty movement and tips for incorporating Indigenous foods into your diet. Later, we go in the kitchen with Chef Denella where she demonstrates how she creates three of her signature dishes: a cookie, blue corn mash, and bl...

3 months ago

1 hour 11 minutes

Native Edge

Ep.28 | National Center Board Vice Chair Lillian Sparks Robinson

Any questions or comments please send here! We're back in DC for Episode 28, where Chris chats with National Center Board Vice Chair Lillian Sparks Robinson. Chris and Lillian have known each other since they were both officials in the Obama Administration and continue to work together to move The National Center forward. Lillian had a fascinating career before becoming the Commissioner for the Administration for Native Americans - Miss Indian World, Georgetown Law, NCAI, ED of the National I...

3 months ago

59 minutes

Native Edge

Ep.27 | ANCSA Regional Association's Nicole Borromeo

Any questions or comments please send here! We're continuing our series of interviews with leaders of Native organizations with an episode featuring Nicole Borromeo, President of the ANCSA Regional Association (ARA). Nicole and Chris caught up in our DC office while they were both in town for advocacy meetings. Nicole shared her extensive background in Alaska Native issues, including serving as general counsel for the Alaska Federation of Natives and working for Speaker of the Alaska House of...

4 months ago

54 minutes

Native Edge

Ep.26 | NACA's Quinton Carroll

Any questions or comments please send here! We are joined by Quinton Carroll, Executive Director of the Native American Contractors Association. Quinton is the last in a series of interviews we conducted from our Washington, DC office in May, and he's a fitting guest as NACA also shares office space in the Indian Gaming Association's headquarters. Quinton shared stories of growing up in the northernmost city in the United States - Utqiagvik, Alaska (formerly Barrow) - as the son of the first ...

4 months ago

58 minutes

Native Edge

Ep. 25 | NAFOA's Cory Blankenship

Any questions or comments please send here! For Episode 25, Chris and Yvette interviewed Corey Blankenship, Executive Director of NAFOA. This episode is the second of three we recorded from our Washington, DC office in May. Cory and Chris have known each other for decades, both hailing from Cherokee, NC - home of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI). Cory shared his story, starting with working in finance for his tribe to leading a national organization that focuses on growing tribal e...

5 months ago

55 minutes

Native Edge

Ep. 24 | IGA Executive Director Jason Giles

Any questions or comments please send here! Episode 24 is the first of three interviews from The National Center's Washington, DC office, conducted over several days in May. And it just happens to be with the executive director of the organization (Indian Gaming Association) that owns our office space! Chris sat down with Jason Giles to learn more about his story - from growing up in "sleep farm town" as the son of a CIA analyst father and Attorney General of the Seminole Tribe of Oklah...

5 months ago

1 hour 3 minutes

Native Edge

Ep. 23 | Denella Belin, Owner & Chef at Nella's Innovative Kreations

Any questions or comments please send here! In Episode 23 we welcome Chef Denella Belin, Owner of Nella's Innovative Kreations in the Phoenix area. Nella's is a catering service that integrates Denella's Navajo heritage and professional culinary training. It also offers cooking classes and private dinners. Chris and guest host Nicole Watson from The National Center's tourism team chatted with Denella about her career, including being the only Native American chef in her class at the famed Le ...

6 months ago

59 minutes

Native Edge

Ep. 22 | Actor Martin Sensmeier

Any questions or comments please send here! We have a VERY special guest for Episode 22 - actor Martin Sensmeier! You may know Martin from productions like The Magnificent Seven, West World, or 1883, and soon you can watch him on Season Two of The Terminal List. Chris first met Martin in 2020 when he keynoted the Reservation Economic Summit, and he joined us as a guest at RES 2025. In the episode, Martin shares more about his career journey, from a welder and roustabout working for Doyon Dril...

6 months ago

56 minutes

Native Edge

Ep. 21 | Attorney James Meggesto (RES 2025 Live Recording)

Any questions or comments please send here! We're back! Episode 21 of The Native Edge podcast is a conversation with Holland and Knight attorney James Meggesto that took place during the closing general session at RES 2025. This was our first-ever live recording, and we hope you enjoy the conversation that Chris and Yvette had with James. James discussed his career journey, first thoughts about the new Trump Administration, how Indian Country can advocate for its interests, and potentia...

7 months ago

30 minutes

Native Edge

Ep. 20 | Tourism with the Navajo Nation Division of Economic Development

Any questions or comments please send here! For episode 20, we're joined by Bobby Martin, Program Manager for Navajo Nation Tourism and Tony Skrelunas, Director of the Navajo Nation Division of Economic Development. Yvette and guest host Kyia Jackson sat down with Bobby and Tony during a recent Native Edge Institute in Flagstaff, Arizona. Bobby and Tony shared some of the Navajo Nation's incredible work in tourism, which has become an important part of its economic development portfolio. They...

8 months ago

45 minutes

Native Edge

Ep. 19 | Traci Morris

Any questions or comments please send here! We're just six days from the Reservation Economic Summit, and that means back-to-back episodes of the Native Edge podcast. Special guest host Nicole Watson steps in for Yvette for a great conversation with Dr. Traci Morris, Executive Director of the Center for Tribal Digital Sovereignty, located within the American Indian Policy Institute at Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law. Dr. Morris discusses her career path, starting...

8 months ago

1 hour 2 minutes

Native Edge

Ep. 18 | Onawa Haynes

Any questions or comments please send here! We're back for season 2 of the Native Edge podcast! And we have a great guest to kick off the new season: Onawa Haynes, CEO/Founder of Hozhonigo Consulting - "team of problem solvers." Since 2015, Onawa and Hozhonigo have helped clients secure over $50 million in vital grant funding for transportation, water infrastructure, education, language revitalization, cybersecurity, and more. Learn more about Onawa's career, which started in pageantry, and ...

8 months ago

55 minutes