25 years after finding herself divorced, a single mom of three kids with a truck, 26 cents, and a grade education, Dr. Paulette Steeves, Cree Métis author of "The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere", walked across the stage receiving her PhD with honours. She had already been told of her legacy that would shed truth on Indigenous history by an Elder at the time of her divorce, but it was in that moment, she finally understood what it was: to rewrite the history of The Americas.

Through her PhD, Dr. Steeves had the opportunity to conduct research on archaeology sites older than 10,000 years, called Pleistocene Age sites, to debunk the standard view in Archaeology that Indigenous people of The Americas had only been here for 10,000 or 11,000 years -- and that they came from Asia.

"It was a way that Archaeology erased Indigenous people in The Americas," Dr. Steeves says, combatting "Academic Suicide" that many others in her field faced for publishing research on sites that were older than 11,000 or 12,000 years and pushed back on that aracheological narrative.

Her book, "The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere", offers extensive research debunking this narrative, bringing truth to Indigenous history and identity. The book took over 13 years to write, having to study hundreds of records and archaeological sites that date from 11,200 to 200,000 years and dive into the paleo-mammal record to study human migration patterns between the Eastern and Western hemisphere. Her extensive database and mapping across almost 360 publications provides the evidence to support people were here 11 or 12,000 years ago, challenging the dominant colonial-based 100 year old narrative that suggests Indigenous people were here for only 3,000 years. Her book has also given hope to many Indigenous people across The Americas, just as The Elder had told her many years before.

In this episode, Dr. Steeves invites us to decolonize our minds, think critically, and challenge the long history of colonization, including knowledge, reminding us that much what we have been taught in the past has been based on a lot of colonial bias. Beyond that, we need to disprove that knowledge, publish on that, and help to educate people.

"When you pushback on any area, you push back on bias, racism, and discrimination," she says. "You help people to become informed to address that. You make the world a better place for all."

Dr. Steeves book, "The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere", was published by University of Nebraska Press here: https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9781496202178/the-indigenous-paleolithic-of-the-western-hemisphere/

Be welcome to learn more about Dr. Steeves' work here: https://www.tipdba.ca/

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com

Watch this full episode on Youtube at https://youtu.be/55Qg5R16Il8

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In this episode of "The Human Challenge", an Amazon Music x ACAST Indie Podcast Amplifier, Vanessa sits down with Robert Gil Jr, Re-entry Manager at Prison Entrepreneurship Program in Houston, in this inspiring and vulnerable conversation to breakdown barriers for returning citizens. From drug dealer to case manager, Robert showcases his journey through incarceration, including personal revelations, post-release anxieties, and his continued support for returning citizens.

"You cannot spell community without unity," he says, highlighting the power of brotherhood he discovered while going through Prison Entrepreneurship Program as a returning citizen himself. Now, he supports these same people who are where he once was.

Prison Entrepreneurship Program offers boot camp and re-entry programs as proven solutions for preventing recidivism, maximizing self-sufficiency, and transforming broken lives. Their holistic approach to prison rehabilitation begins inside the prison and continues post-release. Learn more here: https://www.pep.org/

Vanessa is a volunteer sponsor for the Prison Entrepreneurship Program, supporting returning citizens with business and personal mentorship. This episode is presented as a collaboration between The Human Challenge and Prison Entrepreneurship Program. This episode is part of our "New Beginnings" segment, supported by The Being Human Foundation. Learn more here: https://vanessaferlaino.com/thebeinghumanfoundation

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Refugee is a title, given to someone who is a displaced person, but it does not change the right to [their] data", says Mathew Lubari, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Community Creativity for Development (CC4D).

Mathew joined the show from Rhino Refugee Camp in Uganda.

Mathew's passion for technology repair, and what is know as the "Repair Movement", a movement that increases awareness of repair of everyday items, started as a young boy watching his father tinker with repairing technology in his own home. After his own experiences, including the locking of his mobile device, and a computer repair technician who removed the hard drive disk, RAM, and the network card instead of repairing the computer, he decided to learn to do it himself and to teach other people how to repair things and make repair accessible. This includes teaching people to be ethical, while providing repair services.

In 2016, he fled his home country with a zip lock of repair tools (a screwdriver, a cutter and a toothbrush) and started repairing but never knew repair protects the environment by reducing carbon emissions and landfill until 2021 when he joined the Restarters community, a global forum for repairers.

The idea of bridging the gap in repair of everyday items and making repair open led to the founding of CC4D. His roles at the CC4D include helping develop the repair café and women inclusion in tech/repair culture programs.

To showcase the impact of repair cafe practices, repair knowledge as self-sufficiency and professional development in displacement settings, Mathew partnered with The Maintainers to publish “THE ESSENCE OF REPAIR, CARE AND MAINTENANCE CULTURE IN DISPLACEMENT SETTINGS IN UGANDA: A Sense of Direction and Hope to Rebuild Lives”. The report aims to highlight circular economy as a means of survival, and highlights the leadership of refugee-led work within the global repair movement. Be welcome to read more here: https://themaintainers.org/essence-of-repair/

Connect with Mathew and CC4D here:

• CC4D email: info@cc4duganda.org
• CC4D Facebook: www.facebook.com/CCC4D-Uganda
• Mathew Lubari Instagram: @mathewdukson
• Mathew Lubari's LinkedIn: https://ug.linkedin.com/in/mathew-lubari

This episode is presented in partnership with the Migration Technology Monitor, on a mission to monitor surveillance technologies, automation, and the use of Artificial Intelligence to screen, track, and make decisions about people on the move. Learn more here: https://www.migrationtechmonitor.com/

This episode is part of our "New Beginnings" segment, supported by The Being Human Foundation. Learn more here: https://vanessaferlaino.com/thebeinghumanfoundation

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com

Watch this full episode live on Youtube here: https://youtu.be/-DiN2Oz4xNc

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.