indigenous futurism

QT Life is a place where you meet community leaders at the crossroads of social justice, health equity, and Queer life.

Host: Zef Llamas
Guest: Denise Silva
Producer: Xavier Mejia

Join host Zef Llamas in this thought-provoking podcast episode as he talks with the talented artist and storyteller Denise Silva. Denise, an indigenous femme mom, takes us on a journey through her life growing up in East Los Angeles and Riverside, California. After studying Design & Illustration at CSULA, Denise returned to the Inland Empire, where she put down strong family roots and immersed herself in the art community.

As a multimedia artist, Denise's work is best known for its bold figurative shapes and dream-like color stories. Her art is woman-centered and rich with sacred Mesoamerican symbols, often delving into divine feminine mysticism. Denise describes her art as "healing medicine for the soul, divine messages to find our way back home to ourselves."

In this episode, Denise also discusses the idea of Indigenous Futurism, which involves the integration of past, present, and future. As the curator of the Indigenous Futurism exhibit at the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in Riverside, Denise brings a unique perspective to the conversation.

You can see Denise's project, "Grandmothers," a 40-foot mural painted on the west-facing wall of the Main Library in downtown Riverside. The mural represents the area's indigenous peoples, including Tongva, Luiseño, Cahuilla, and Serrano. This bold addition is worth visiting, and Denise's passion for the project shines through in the episode. Don't miss this engaging conversation with Denise Silva on the podcast. More about Denise: www.pearmama.com

Follow on Instagram: @pearmama

QT Life is brought to you by Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance and produced by mejia.tv 
 

Welcome to QT Life with Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance. In our fight for civil equality, the Queer & Trans community has positively transformed society at large, starting important cultural conversations around things like sex, sexuality, non-normative desire, diverse relationship models, harm reduction, health equity, collective care, gender norms, and more.

Learn more: rainbowprideyouthalliance.org and follow @rainbowprideyouthalliance

Calling listeners into a magnetic conversation about the power of photography and storytelling, guest Josué Rivas (Mexika and Otomí) opens up new ways of understanding art and creation. With so much capitalistic pressure on modern day creators, photography and content creation often slip into extractive mindsets. Josué invites us to challenge extractive and colonial lenses by embracing the overwhelming force of the creative urge. Humanity yearns to tell its stories. How might we break apart from the constant pressure of social media to envision the new modes of creation and creativity that these stories need in order to be told? Throughout the conversation, Josué taps deep into the healing and transformational power of Indigenous futurism. As we plant the seeds of resistance and growth for future generations, what stories do we want them to remember about us?   

Josué Rivas (Mexika and Otomí) is an Indigenous Futurist, creative director, visual storyteller and educator working at the intersection of art, technology, journalism, and decolonization. His work aims to challenge the mainstream narrative about Indigenous peoples, co-create with the community, and serve as a vehicle for collective healing. He is a 2020 Catchlight Leadership Fellow, Magnum Foundation Photography and Social Justice Fellow, founder of INDÍGENA, co-founder of Indigenous Photograph and Curator at Indigenous TikTok. His work has appeared in National Geographic, The New York Times, Apple, Nike and Converse amongst others.

Music by Gerardo Vaquero and Julio Kintu, The Mysterious They, and María José Montijo. Visit our website at forthewild.world for the full episode description, references, and action points.

Transcript available here.

We talk about the importance of having diversity within the science fiction genre and then offer some recommendations of things to read, watch, and listen to that we cosign as bringing the much desired representation we crave. 

Recommendations: 

To Read

Black Girl Unlimited - Echo Brown

Akata Witch - Nnedi Okorafor

Lilith's Brood - Octavia Butler

Queen of the Conquered - Kacen Callender

How Long 'Till Black Future Month - N.K. Jemisin

Binti - Nnedi Okorafor

The Passage - Justin Cronin

Horns - Joe Hill

American Gods - Neil Gaiman

Turbulence - Samit Basu

The Marrow Thieves - Cherie Dimaline

To Watch

The 100 (Netflix)

Sense8 (Netflix)

3% (Netflix)

------

Do The Kids Know? is a monthly series of discussions between community workers and educators, Prakash and Kristen, that unpack race, media, popular culture, and politics in KKKanada (That’s Canada spelled with three K’s) from an anti-colonial perspective.

Our goal is to bring nuance to sensationalist media as well as to uncover the ways in which white supremacy, capitalism, and colonialism is shaping our movements and behaviours.

Keep tuning in to be a part of the conversation… don’t be a kid who doesn’t know!

Find us: @dothekidsknow (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok)
Email us: dothekidsknow@gmail.com
Tip us: patreon.com/dothekidsknow
Newsletter: tinyletter.com/dothekidsknow
Artwork by Daniela Silva (instagram.com/danielasilvatrujillo)
Music by Steve Travale (https://stevetravale.com)

DTKK is recorded on the traditional and unceded Indigenous lands of the Kanien’kehá:ka and Algonquin Nations. We are committed to working with Indigenous communities and leaders locally and across Turtle Island to fight for Indigenous rights, resurgence, and sovereignty.

Until next time. Stay in the know~!

Support the show