Today I had the joy to sit with award-winning writer, poet, and storyteller Cliff Taylor who belongs to the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska. He is the author of several books, including Notes of an Indigenous Futurist and the recent essay collection The Shining Hands of My Ponca Ancestors.
This conversation was also inspired by the lead up to the Cascadia Men’s Conference, a gathering I’m co-stewarding, which aims to bring men together to invoke the personal and cultural work so necessary in these troubled times.
All men are welcome to attend. Get the full details & ticket links here.
You’re invited to explore more of Cliff’s work via the links below.
SHOW NOTES
00:00 Introduction to Cliff Taylor - Welcoming the Ponca poet and storyteller to discuss the upcoming Cascadia Men’s Conference and the labor of myth.
03:00 Recognition from the Elders: Reading the poem Alaska and reflecting on a pivotal encounter with a truck driver that offered a sense of spiritual belonging.
13:00 Masculinity and Colonization: Examining the impact of Robert Bly’s work on indigenous men and identifying the wounds left by colonial models of manhood.
18:00 Indigenous Futurism: Defining a visionary practice that connects ancestral insight with the imagination to move beyond modern bleakness.
23:00 Reclaiming the Imagination: How dominant culture suppresses human creativity and the process of restoring the internal runway for the soul.
28:00 The Vitality of Grief: Exploring the link between collective grieving and the ability to source energy for future generations.
33:00 From Wound to Medicine: The role of the indigenous grief advocate in transforming personal and ancestral pain into a source of power.
38:00 A New Perspective on Iron John: Analyzing the Grimm’s fairy tale as a bridge between the Otherworld and the modern men’s movement.
