Jonathan Gonzales was born in Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, Mexico and grew up in southern California. He has spent the last 12 years learning earth living skills and ancestral ceremonial ways with many teachers and elders, combined with participating in Indigenous, earth-based ceremonies along with a quest to connect more deeply with his ancestral lineage, which is Indigenous Taino from Puerto Rico, Chinanteco from Mexico, and African.

Kapi`olani A. Laronal, MA, Ed., is a descendant of the Haida (Eagle Clan, Sgwaa Gitanee, People of the Tall Grass), Tsimshian, Native Hawaiian, and Filipino. Kapi’olani’s experiences working with Native communities on ocean and land restoration projects, cultural preservation, and protocols have significantly shaped her academic and professional life. She is an educator, athlete, life coach, and consultant. Kapi`olani brings years of professional experience in secondary and higher education institutions supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and policies centered on college student outreach, recruitment, and services for traditionally underserved and low-income communities of color. Her work specializes in Indigenous and First Nations community-centered partnerships.

Production Credits:

Tiokasin Ghosthorse (Lakota), Host and Executive Producer

Liz Hill (Red Lake Ojibwe), Producer

Karen Ramirez (Mayan), Studio Engineer, Radio Kingston

Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Audio Editor

Kevin Richardson, Podcast Editor

Music Selections:

1. Song Title: Tahi Roots Mix (First Voices Radio Theme Song)

Artist: Moana and the Moa Hunters

Album: Tahi (1993)

Label: Southside Records (Australia and New Zealand)

2. Song Title: Mountains and Miller

Artist: Lanie Gardner

Single: Released in 2024

Label: Bee String Records

3. Song Title: Mykonos Sundown Feelings

Artist: Islands of Chill

Album: Islands of Chill: A Smooth Breeze of Relaxing Sounds from the World’s Most Famous Beaches (2005)

Label: Manifold Music GmbH

About First Voices Radio:

”First Voices Radio,” now in its 32nd year on the air, is an internationally syndicated one-hour radio program originating from and heard weekly on Radio Kingston WKNY 1490 AM and 107.9 FM in Kingston, New York. Hosted by Tiokasin Ghosthorse (Lakota), who is the show's Founder and Executive Producer, "First Voices Radio" explores global topics and issues of critical importance to the preservation and protection of Mother Earth presented in the voices and from the perspective of the original peoples of the world.

Akantu Intelligence: Visit Akantu Intelligence, an institute that Tiokasin founded with a mission of contextualizing original wisdom for troubled times. Go to https://akantuintelligence.org to find out more and consider joining his Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/Ghosthorse