Defending the Sacred: Podcast Pláticas With Yana Wana

• In Event: Decolonizing Water Pedagogies: Centering Indigenous Knowledges in Educational Approaches to Climate Catastrophe

Abstract

Throughout life I have gained valuable life experiences that have led me to the path I walk today. When I was a star in the sky’s night my mom and dad dreamed for me to be brought to earth mother, Tonantzitllali, madre tierra for a purpose only my creators knew at the moment. Along my path, school and community have played fundamental roles in my life. Each have taught me valuable lessons that continually transform me to continue my sacred journey in good relation with others. In 2016 during the Indigenous uprising, Oglala Lakota two-spirit youth decidedly stood in defense of the sacred and ancestral mni wiconi, or Oahe River. Out of this movement, the International Indigenous Youth Council (IIYC) was founded by Indigenous women and two-spirit water protectors.

As many would rise to the call to protect water- I too was being moved to action in what is currently known as Texas, where Indigenous peoples including the Coahuiltecans have lived and will continue to live with Yana Wana, spirit of the water. After organizing Indigenous youth in Texas, a group of six youth started towards Cannonball, North Dakota to merge Yana Wana with Mni Wiconi as the two are of the same sacred essence. In those moments, we connected with like-minded youth who believed in defending the sacred. What I realize now is what started there was just the beginning. The movement to protect our relationships to the sacred and to preserve natural resources is growing. Along the journey I have asked, what is the connection between water protectors and hearing the call to defend water? Also, how can connecting with other youth transnationally through technology, alter avenues Indigenous youth organize around water and healing?

In this paper, I bring forward narratives that I have collected in conversation with youth who believe in defending sacred waters and what meaning that may hold for the pláticadorx/a/o, or contributors. These narratives were collected through a podcast that provides space to connect with pláticadoras to hear and share the work that they are currently doing in their Indigenous communities and how their relationship to water guides their community involvement. After the moment in time that was Standing Rock, there was and continues to be- a sense of responsibility for me to defend the sacred at every avenue imaginable. What began as a dream has manifested into a podcast called Pláticas con Yana Wana that can be found on Soundcloud. I discuss the significance of this podcast work as community pedagogy about Yana Wana that keeps youth in disparate locations connected with water teachings.

Author

• Brianna Raquel Orta, University of Texas at San Antonio