Seedcast Earns Two Honorable Mentions from the 2024 Webby Awards

Two episodes of Nia Tero’s Seedcast podcast were honored by the Webby Awards. Each features Indigenous Peoples sharing their ancestral wisdom and deep connection to their territories.

We are thrilled to share that two Seedcast podcast episodes have been recognized with honorable mentions from the 2024 Webby Awards.

‘The Omen Birds Still Sing in Sungai Utik’, the fifth episode from Seedcast’s third season, received an honorable mention in the category ‘Best Podcast, Arts & Culture, Individual Episode.’ This episode tells the story of how the Indigenous People of Sungai Utik fought for their forest – and won.

A member of the Wayfinders Circle, Sungai Utik is a Dayak Iban group in Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. For decades, the Dayak Iban of Sungai Utik have demonstrated their collective commitment and unity to defend their ancestral territories while practicing local management traditions.

In this episode, Kynan Tegar, a Dayak Iban filmmaker from Sungai Utik, shares excerpts from his upcoming film with the Wayfinders Circle, which he describes as a “love letter” to the forest and river in which he grew up. The audio clips from the film feature village elders explaining how they heeded the warnings of the omen birds to ward off those who would endanger their forests and way of life.

“(This film) is sort of like my own personal love letter to the forest, the place where I grew up climbing the trees, swimming the currents, and I wanted to tell it in the most personal and intimate way possible. The stories of what the forest means to us, to our community, to our People — and to me specifically — in the fight that we had to go through, to protect it,” said Kynan in the podcast episode.

Revitalizing Language Through Music

The tenth episode from Seedcast’s third season, ‘Wolastoqey Sounds Like This: Jeremy Dutcher - Live On KEXP,’ was also recognized with an honorable mention from the 2024 Webby Awards, in the category ‘Best Podcast Collaboration or Partnership’.

This episode elevates music that is an act of language revitalization and a crafted response to the multiple crises we collectively face.

Nia Tero brought musician and storyteller Jeremy Dutcher (Wolastoqiyik People of the Neqotkuk, Canada) together with a group of young Indigenous creators and culture bearers to talk about the intersections of artistic practice and Indigenous sovereignty.

During this gathering, Jeremy performed on “Live on KEXP” and shared a powerful conversation with musician and long-time KEXP DJ Gabriel Teodros.

“Our language is a land acknowledgment, you know, when we use that language, it automatically imbues our world with life force. We're not going to cut down that tree. And if we do, we're going to offer something, you know, because it's a being just like us”, said Jeremy.

More about Seedcast

Seedcast is a story-centered podcast produced by Nia Tero that digs up, nurtures, and roots stories of the Indigenous experience from around the world.

The episode ‘The Omen Birds Still Sing in Sungai Utik’ was hosted by Jessica Ramirez, produced and audio mixed by Jenny Asarnow, and edited by Nils Cowan. Listen here.

‘Wolastoqey Sounds Like This: Jeremy Dutcher - Live On KEXP’ was hosted and produced by Jessica Ramirez, with story editing and audio mix by Jenny Asarnow. Listen here.

Listen to all episodes from Seedcast here.