In this episode of Rooted Wisdom, host Tish Mindemann speaks with key figures involved in the University of Arkansas’ Indigenous community: Gregory Jones (Shawnee Nation), the director for the Native American Student Services office, and Dr. Marty Matlock (Cherokee Nation), professor in the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department and longtime Indigenous student advocate.

Listeners will gain greater insight into the successes and resilience involved in building Indigenous communal webs within the University of Arkansas – as well as the challenges Native students, staff, and faculty face in PWI settings.

In this episode of Rooted Wisdom, host Tish Mindemann sits down with Dr. Christie Poitra, a former academic turned specialty crop farmer in the Great Lakes region. As a first-generation descendant of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Dr. Poitra shares her journey from university halls to healing soil, weaving together themes of stewardship, cultural preservation, and ecological balance.

Listeners will hear about the joys and challenges of starting a farm from scratch, the importance of respecting the land and its rhythms, and how farming can be a powerful form of activism.

Key Topics:

• Transitioning from academia to agriculture
• Indigenous approaches to land stewardship
• Building community through farming
• Symbiotic relationships in nature and on the farm
• Farming as cultural preservation and creative problem-solving

Why You Should Listen:

If you’re curious about sustainable farming, Indigenous knowledge systems, or simply love a good story about resilience and growth, this episode will leave you inspired and grounded.

In this thought-provoking episode, host Tish Mindemann sits down with Dr. Browning Neddeau, an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and professor at Chico State University, to explore the intersection of Native American imagery, agricultural crate labels, and public perception. Dr. Neddeau shares his personal journey, research insights, and the cultural implications of how Indigenous peoples have been portrayed in agricultural art over time.

• The history and evolution of agricultural crate labels from the 1880s to today.
• How Native imagery has been used—and often misused—on food packaging.
• The impact of these visuals on societal understandings of Native identity.
• Why representation matters in art, agriculture, and cultural history.
• The story behind iconic labels like Land O'Lakes and their transformation.
• How Dr. Neddeau’s research contributes to material culture studies and educational awareness.

Dr. Browning Neddeau is an associate professor of Elementary Teacher Education and American Indian Studies at California State University, Chico. He serves on the National Advisory Council for the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education. His research focuses on Native American representation in agricultural art, particularly crate labels, and how these images shape cultural narratives.

• The four eras of crate label art: Naturalistic, Advertising, Commercial, and Modern.
• The persistence of outdated imagery and its cultural consequences.
• The role of gendered depictions in Native imagery.
• The importance of tribal specificity and avoiding generalizations.
• How collecting and curating crate labels can be a form of storytelling and cultural reflection.

• Learn more about Dr. Neddeau’s work and research collections.
• Explore the Intertribal Agricultural Council for Native-owned agricultural products.
• Support IFAI and its mission to promote Indigenous food and agriculture initiatives.

Next time you're at the grocery store or farmer’s market, take a closer look at the labels. What stories are they telling? What histories are they preserving—or erasing?