OwlSnake Part One: When Ancestors Speak: OwlSnake’s Journey

OwlSnake is a Two-Spirit medicine person, a hollow bone for Spirit, and a way-shower. She comes from a long line of healers and learned early on that she could receive messages from her ancestors and guide others toward deeper self-understanding. In this opening episode of Season 2, Ana welcomes OwlSnake into the Tradition Café for an intimate and grounding conversation about identity, ceremony, and the responsibilities that come with stepping into one’s gifts.

OwlSnake’s lineage weaves together Indigenous Nations of North America, the Caribbean, and West Africa—Muscogee, Choctaw, Cherokee, Taíno, and Benin—alongside her Scottish ancestry. She speaks about how these roots shape her medicine work and what it means to move through the world as someone who listens deeply, carries responsibility with humility, and helps others find their way home. The conversation acknowledges the long histories of trauma her ancestors endured, including the Trail of Tears and the Middle Passage, and how those experiences continue to inform resilience, healing, and cultural memory today.

Their discussion also unpacks how historical labels—such as the classification of Muscogee, Choctaw, and Cherokee peoples (along with the Seminole and Chickasaw) as the “Five Civilized Tribes”—flattened the depth, diversity, and sovereignty of these Nations. OwlSnake reflects on the teachings and resilience carried through her ancestors, and how each lineage informs the work she does today.

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