Native As I Can Be Geno Ray

I am getting around to favorite topic (besides hip hop or wrestling), cultural appropriation. What is it, what qualifies as appropriation, why (or why not) is it offensive, what can we do about it? I don't anticipate answering any of those questions definitively, but I am hoping they provoke a little conversation and thought. 

I did something a little different with this episode, I decided to record while broadcasting on Facebook Live. It was challenging, and unless you like long pauses and dead air, not great. It was an experiment, I would do it again but definitely with a topic I have more knowledge of and don't need to rely so heavily on notes to talk about. 

One more thing, I apologize for the amount of sorta white noise you hear while I am talking. I know it can be distracting, especially in headphones. I am tinkering with settings and levels and will improve the sound quality the more of these I do. If anyone has any tips let me know.

That's all for now, enjoy the show!


---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/Native-As-I-Can-Be/support

Guess who decided to drop a surprise episode of Native As I Can Be? Your homie Geno Effin Ray, that's who. I have been away for a long time trying to decide what to do with this podcast and if I want to keep going. Ultimately I decided to try and get a few more episodes out and give it another chance to grow and audience and hopefully provoke some thought.

My very special guest today is Duane Quintana. Duane is the founder of a.l.p.h.a. (https://alphaidaho.org/), a non for profit sexual health site founded in 2003 in Boise, Idaho. She is now currently located in San Francisco, CA  where she is a clinical research coordinator at AHHA, a research study aimed at developing guidelines to screen for pre-cancerous anal lesions caused by HPV. In  this episode, Duane will walk us through growing up in a small town in Idaho, her HIV diagnosis, her drag show persona B0nni33 Vi0l3t, the founding of a.l.p.h.a., her current work and combining queer lifestyle with spirituality. 

Duane can be found on youtube on the channel A Queer Chaplain and instagram at @sparkleisassparkledoes. 




---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/Native-As-I-Can-Be/support

Hey! It is Geno Ray, the host of Native As I Can Be: Between Two Cultures. This week, in honor once again of Adoption Awareness Month, I am bringing in my very, very, VERY special guest Karen Peck. What makes her so special? She is special because she just happens to be my mom. She agreed to come on the show and talk about her experiences entrusting a child in an adoption and later on adopting a child herself. I am excited about this episode because of lot of her story I will be hearing for the very first time right along with you guys. 

I am very happy to be back in my makeshift recording studio creating another episode for this week. I am pretty stoked to be able to make these shows and give people opportunities to tell their stories. And, I appreciate the side effect of getting to know my people better and learning things about them I might not otherwise would have.

Thank you for listening and checking out my podcast. I have so much gratitude for those who are taking time out of their day to listen to MY podcast when there are literally thousands to choose from. It means a whole lot to me and it is keeping me motivated to carry on. 

Hit play and check out my mom's story about being on both sides of the adoption coin. Let's go!


---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/Native-As-I-Can-Be/support

On this week's episode I speak with Janesara and Jeremy, an interracial couple founded in Thailand and now living here in the States. We discuss how Jeremy and I's unlikely friendship may have created a beautiful marriage and two kids. We also hit on being a White man in Thailand, A Thai woman in the United States, what keeps the relationship going and how all this was written in the stars.

Go check out the book Prison Writings: My Life is My Sundance by Leonard Peltier. It completely changed the way I viewed being Native and why being Native is something to be proud of. 

Big thanks to Kenji Nitta for making this episode possible as I ran into serious technical difficulties converting the file from MP4 to MP3. 

Stay tuned after the interview to hear the song History, the only musical collaboration between Jeremy and I!

Episode 11 is here! Thanks for listening, let's go!


---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/Native-As-I-Can-Be/support

Whoah, we made it to 10 episodes! Pretty stoked to have made it this far!

On this week's episode, I chat with Scott Morgan, a Dine (Navajo) Indian, about life on and off the Rez. We take a look at the negatives, the positives, what can be improved and what things people who don't live on reservations could learn from those living on one. Reservation living is not something I am familiar with firsthand, I would like to thank Scott sharing his insight with us.

Scott has numerous acting credits, go check out some of his work!

Film:

Leave No Trace, The Musicianer

TV:

Documentary Now!, Life Before First Failure, The Librarians

Commercials: 

Providence, First Interstate Bank, Oregon Lottery

Other media (YouTube, etc.):

Jag, Grayson Crockett, Blood Sky, Avicularia Lacarinus



Also I wanna give a HUGE shout out to Quinton Gardner and Full Metal Jackson (Episode 6) for releasing their brand new music video this week which is blowing the hell up and getting massive amounts of plays. Go check it out right here: https://youtu.be/k7XeCrIHsdY


---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/Native-As-I-Can-Be/support

Just in time for Adoption Awareness Month, on this week's episode of Native As I Can Be I chat with Astrid Castro, a social worker specializing in adoption. We hear her story of being taken from Colombia, placed with a Caucasian family in the United States and eventually reuniting with her birth mom. We will also look at the complications and challenges of transracial adoptions and talk about her upcoming adoptee networking event in Portland "What IS Adoption Awareness Month?" This is a very interesting, inspiring and emotional episode, so hit that "play" button and join us. Thanks for listening! 
You can find more information at astridcastroconsulting.com, on Instagram at drippingwithadoption, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/astridcastroconsulting/. 
Astrid's event "WE The Experts: Adoptees Sharing Our Experiences" speakers series is Wednesday, November 13th, 6-8 pm at SE Uplift at 3534 SE Main St, Portland OR 97214. "November is Adoption Awareness Month. Join us to learn about the history of how November became designated for Adoption Awareness Month. We will have two panelist and myself (Astrid) discussing what ADOPTION AWARENESS means to each of us (for some it's a time to celebrate and for others it's a time for reflection, and a time to discuss adoption reform AND everything in between. EVERY ADOPTEE should be informed about the history of adoption in their country. Share what you know and learn what you don't :)"


---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/Native-As-I-Can-Be/support