Eugene Tapahe grew up on the Navajo Nation with no running water and no electricity, raised by his grandmother in the Diné language, learning ceremony before he learned English. As a Native artist, he's spent his life being asked to speak for all 576 federally recognized tribes, as if one brown face could carry that. He couldn't. No one can. And the anger that built from being flattened into a single story almost became the whole story.

Now he's a Diné photographer, the creator of the Art Heals: Jingle Dress Project, and the first Native American to have a solo show at the BYU Museum of Art. In this conversation with host Elleyne Aldine, Eugene talks about the dream that started it all during COVID, the soil samples he washed from 98 places across America, and the moment he realized he'd become the thing he was fighting.

Topics discussed:

00:00 - Growing up on the reservation with his grandmother
04:00 - The Art Heals: Jingle Dress Project and the dream that started it
06:30 - The first dance at the Bonneville Salt Flats
11:30 - The 100-year-old Ojibwe origin of the jingle dress
18:30 - The first Native American solo show at the BYU Museum of Art
19:00 - The weight of being asked to represent all 576 tribes
23:00 - Washing the cities off the soil samples
31:00 - The boarding schools and the trauma that didn't stop with one generation
32:30 - The moment he realized he'd become what he was fighting
36:30 - His grandmother's advice: Take it to the woods.

🔗 CONNECT WITH EUGENE TAPAHE:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eugenetapahe/

ABOUT CULTURS:

Reaching millions annually, CULTURS champions unique cultural identity, transforming culturally fluid populations (multiethnic and/or geographically mobile people like Third Culture Kids) from being invisible outliers to originals. This includes people of culture in the rapidly growing DNA testing-fueled Not Parent Expected (NPE) community. Our world-class, veteran team of researchers and professionals spans five continents.

Get the free identity rebuild workbook: https://cultursmag.ac-page.com/rediscover-your-heritage

Get social with us:

https://www.youtube.com/@CultursIntlMediaGroup
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Join the CULTURS community: https://shop.cultursmag.com/products/culturs-membership

Original Music by Tommy McMillion, McMillion Entertainment
Makeup by Sedrique Olsen
Styling by Sonja Henderson

In about 30 seconds, one DNA test erased the name, the heritage, and the Latina identity Dr. Paulette Bethel had carried her entire life. The family she thought she came from was not the family her genes pointed to, and a long-held secret reshaped everything she believed about herself.

In this episode, Paulette opens up about the grief of losing an identity that felt unshakable, what it took to rebuild from truth, and how that pain became the foundation for her NPE (Not Parent Expected) Identity Disruption Model, now helping thousands navigate the same kind of loss.

Topics discussed:

00:00 - The moment a DNA test shattered her identity
02:33 - Growing up culturally fluid in New Orleans
03:50 - Joining the Air Force after a difficult divorce
06:38 - Building a blended TCK family across Asia
08:41 - Leading a foster care nonprofit in Hawaii
14:19 - Why she finally took the Ancestry DNA test
16:22 - Discovering zero percent Native American ancestry
18:24 - Grieving the loss of being Latina
20:28 - Creating the Identity Disruption model from her own pain
38:53 - Bella's front porch and the power of gathering

CONNECT WITH DR. PAULETTE BETHEL:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulettebethel/

Get the free identity rebuild workbook: https://cultursmag.ac-page.com/identity-workbook

ABOUT CULTURS:

Reaching millions annually, CULTURS champions unique cultural identity, transforming culturally fluid populations (multiethnic and/or geographically mobile people like Third Culture Kids) from being invisible outliers to originals. This includes people of culture in the rapidly growing DNA testing-fueled Not Parent Expected (NPE) community. Our world-class, veteran team of researchers and professionals spans five continents.

Get social with us:

https://www.youtube.com/@CultursIntlMediaGroup
https://www.instagram.com/Cultursmag/
https://www.facebook.com/cultursmag
https://www.pinterest.com/cultursmag/

Join the CULTURS community: https://shop.cultursmag.com/products/culturs-membership

Original Music by Tommy McMillion, McMillion Entertainment
Makeup by Sedrique Olsen
Styling by Sonja Henderson

Chris Armas grew up in a Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Italian household where family, discipline, and hard work came first. In 1970s New York, his parents avoided speaking Spanish at home to protect their children from discrimination — but their culture still shaped everything he became.

Now a National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee and head coach of the Kansas City Current, Armas reflects on his journey from Long Island youth soccer to the US National Team and the highest levels of coaching. He shares lessons on identity, leadership, teamwork, and the values that built his career.

Topics discussed:

00:00 - Growing up in a Puerto Rican and Cuban household
03:02 - Family values and hard work
05:18 - Soccer’s growth in the United States
07:10 - College soccer and the LA Galaxy
09:09 - Getting drafted into MLS
11:14 - David Beckham’s impact on US soccer
14:10 - Transitioning from player to coach
17:05 - Life after retirement from soccer
20:14 - Coaching from New York to Manchester United
21:10 - How soccer shaped his identity
24:35 - Puerto Rican culture and family traditions
27:14 - Experiencing discrimination growing up
34:04 - Building culture as a coach
39:18 - Entering the Soccer Hall of Fame
42:22 - Advice for young athletes

🔗 CONNECT WITH CHRIS ARMAS:

ABOUT CULTURS:

Reaching millions annually, CULTURS champions unique cultural identity, transforming culturally fluid populations (multiethnic and/or geographically mobile people like Third Culture Kids) from being invisible outliers to originals. This includes people of culture in the rapidly growing DNA testing-fueled Not Parent Expected (NPE) community. Our world-class, veteran team of researchers and professionals spans five continents.

Get social with us:

https://www.youtube.com/@CultursIntlMediaGroup
https://www.instagram.com/Cultursmag/
https://www.facebook.com/cultursmag
https://www.pinterest.com/cultursmag/

Join the CULTURS community: https://shop.cultursmag.com/products/culturs-membership

Original Music by Tommy McMillion, McMillion Entertainment
Makeup by Sedrique Olsen
Styling by Sonja Henderson