First Voices Radio

In the first half-hour “First Voices Radio,” Co-Host Anne Keala Kelly (Kanaka Maoli) talks with Mikilani Young, Kanaka Maoli cultural practitioner and kahu.

Their conversation begins with a prayer for one Hawaiian elder, and then goes onto the cultural and spiritual connections between Indigenous peoples, the protection of Mauna Kea, and Mikilani Young’s own prayerful path, living here on Turtle Island, thousands of miles away from the Hawaiian Nation.

Mikilani’s courageous approach to the practice and teaching of Indigenous Hawaiian ways is both suited to, and challenged by, the times we live in — sharing, but not selling, giving, but being discerning so as not to exploit or diminish the mana of her own knowledge. Her path is a prayerful, thoughtful balance between human needs that adhere to the soulful premise of existence, while maintaining and honoring the Creator’s guidance.

Mikilani’s journey has taken her to many First Peoples Nations (Tongva, Winnemem Wintu, San Carlos Apache, Kumeyaay, Acjachemen, Pomo, Coastal Miwuk, Klamath, Moduc, Maidu, Colville Confederated Tribes, Wabanaki Confederacy, Kewa Pueblo, Tonoho O’odham, Akimel O’odham, Hopi, Lakota, Nakota, Dakota, Warm Springs, Diné, Mohawk, Yavapai, Payómkawichum, Kwatsáan, Tatavium, Lisjan Ohlone, Wintun, Onasatis). She is at her most grateful and skilled when she can be a unifier of people across and beyond the land she lives on, and joyous because she lives with complete trust that her ancestors guide her path. Mikilani formed the non-profit United Pillars of Aloha as well as Kaiapuni Ho’ola Piha Sanctuary in service of Mother Earth and the unborn generations. More about Mikilani can be found at: mikilaniyoung.com.

In the second half-hour, we feature several selections from First Voices Radio’s “Top Listener Favorite Songs of 2022.”

Production Credits:
Tiokasin Ghosthorse (Lakota), Host and Executive Producer
Anne Keala Kelly (Kanaka Maoli), Co-Host
Liz Hill (Red Lake Ojibwe), Producer
Malcolm Burn, Studio Engineer, Radio Kingston, WKNY 1490 AM and 107.9 FM, Kingston, NY
Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Audio Editor
Kevin Richardson, Podcast Editor

Music Selections:
1. Song Title: Tahi Roots Mix (First Voices Radio Theme Song)
Artist: Moana and the Moa Hunters
Album: Tahi (1993)
Label: Southside Records (Australia and New Zealand)
(00:00:22)

2. Song Title: Star People (feat. Jim Cuddy)
Artist: Vince Fontaine’s Indian City
Album: Code Red (2021)
Label: Rising Sun Productions, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
(00:29:55)

3. Song: Reap & Sow
Artist: One Way Sky
EP: Soul Searcher (2021)
Label: Akimel Records
(00:33:50)

4. Song: Ball and Chain
Artist: Xavier Rudd & J-MILLA
Album: Xavier Rudd: Jan Juc Moon (2022)
Label: Virgin Music Label and Artist Services Australia (P&D)
(00:38:55)

5. Song Title: 1492
Artist: Earth Surface People
EP: 500 Years (2021)
Label: Underwater Panther Coalition
(00:43:50)

6. Song Title: The States I’m In
Artist: Bruce Coburn
Album: Bone on Bone (2017)
Label: True North
(00:53:05)

AKANTU INSTITUTE
Visit Akantu Institute, an institute that Tiokasin founded with a mission of contextualizing original wisdom for troubled times. Go to https://akantuinstitute.org/ to find out more and consider joining his Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/Ghosthorse.