Seedcast Wins Two Awards For Stories of Indigenous Knowledge and Reciprocity

The episodes featuring the Brazilian Indigenous leader Nara Baré and Eastern Africa's Gabbra People earned honors at this year's National Native Media Awards by the Indigenous Journalists Association (IJA).

We are thrilled to share that the Seedcast podcast, produced by Nia Tero, has been honored with first and second place in the 2023 National Native Media Awards by the Indigenous Journalists Association (IJA). Until recently, the IJA (Indigenous Journalists Association) went by the name of NAJA (Native American Journalists Association).

The two winning episodes for Radio/Podcast – Best Coverage of Native America tell inspiring stories about Indigenous knowledge, lifeways, and close relationships with Earth from a first-hand perspective.

“The Seedcast team puts a lot of time and effort into creating stories that accurately reflect the realities of Indigenous communities, climate activists and culture bearers. We accomplish this by working in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples, rather than creating stories about them. Being recognized by this important Indigenous-led journalism association for our work on Seedcast is very affirming while giving us much fuel as we plan our fourth and fifth seasons of the podcast”, says Tracy Rector, the Executive Producer of Seedcast and Managing Director of Storytelling at Nia Tero.

The episode "Indigenous Peoples Hold the Planet: A Conversation with Nara Baré",  from Seedcast’s second season, won first place. In this episode, Nara Baré, a member of the Baré People, from the Alto Rio Negro region, in the Brazilian Amazon, shares how her educational pursuits prepared her to become one of the leading voices in the fight for Indigenous land sovereignty in the region.

As the first female General Coordinator of COIAB (Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon), Nara has an essential role in the Indigenous collective call against threats over their rights and territories.

“It’s as if Indigenous Peoples were holding the whole planet. And the time will come when if you don’t come with us for this fight, we won’t be able to do it alone”, said Nara Baré in her conversation on Seedcast.

The episode was initially released on May 11, 2022, with a Portuguese version  available as of June 22, 2022.  It was produced by Marianna Romano, with host Jessica Ramirez, story editor Jenny Asarnow, and executive producer Tracy Rector.

Celebrating Gabbra People’s reciprocity with Earth

Seedcast won second place for the Season Two episode "Meet the Gabbra People of East Africa Pt 2: How Connection to Creator, Moon, Stars, Earth, Sun, and More Guide Gabbra Knowledge".

It was released on September 14, 2022, as the second of a two-part Seedcast series co-created by the Gabbra People, the Wayfinders Circle, and Seedcast.

The Gabbra People of Eastern Africa share in this episode their songs of celebration and how they glean knowledge from non-human beings and Indigenous traditions to stay connected with each other and nature.

It features Ali Mero, who dedicates his life to preserving and sharing his Gabbra culture, as he talks about his community’s work to revitalize existing knowledge and pass it on to future generations.

This episode was produced by Jenny Asarnow with host Jessica Ramirez, story consultant Kamna Shastri, and executive producer Tracy Rector. Ali Mero and Gabbra elder Molu Kulu Galgalo collaborated on the series.

MORE ON SEEDCAST

Now in its third season, Seedcast is a story-centered podcast that digs up, nurtures, and roots stories of the Indigenous experience. Seedcast aims to support the rights and traditional ways of Indigenous Peoples and amplify their practices of reciprocity. Seedcast presents stories from around the world and honors guardians of the land who have lived in relationship with their traditional territories since time immemorial.

Seedcast was also nominated for a 2023 Webby Award in the category of  Podcasts Arts & Culture (Individual Episodes) for the Season Two episode "The Life-Giving Pottery of Katsitsionni Fox."

In 2022, the season one episode  “Princess Daazhraii Johnson and the Generation Reclaiming Gwich'in” won second place in the 2022 NAJA National Native Media Awards in the category of Radio/Podcast – Best Coverage of Native America.

Enjoy the most recent episode of Seedcast on the Nia Tero website, subscribe to the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and let the Seedcast team know what you think by connecting with them on Instagram: @niatero_seedcast.