The Bristol Conversations – Lyla June Johnston

The Bristol Conversations – Lyla June Johnston

From Local Futures Podcast by Local Futures

November 20, 2025 · 27 min · Season 5 · Episode 7

About this episode

Dr. Lyla June Johnston discusses indigenous perspectives on identity, culture, and food systems with host Helena.

Dr. Lyla June Johnston is an indigenous musician, scholar, and community organizer of Diné Navajo, Cheyenne and European lineages. She blends her study of human ecology, graduate work in indigenous pedagogy, and the traditional worldview she grew up with to inform her music, perspectives and solutions. Her research has focused on the ways in which pre-colonial indigenous nations shaped large regions of Turtle Island (aka the Americas) to produce abundant food systems. In this conversation, Helena and Lyla weave together different lines of heritage and experience, getting into deep discussions about identity, psychology and culture. They focus a lot on European identities and salvaging them from cruel and inaccurate narratives of progress which have cast many as fools, and many as villains. They come out with a throughline that connects the ’ancient primitive’ with ’ancient futures’.

People in this episode

Host: Helena

Guest: Dr. Lyla June Johnston

Topics covered

  • indigenous identity
  • human ecology
  • cultural heritage
  • food systems
  • psychology
  • European identities

Keywords

  • indigenous musician
  • community organizer
  • cultural discussions
  • identity
  • psychology
  • food systems
  • heritage

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Diné Navajo, Cheyenne

Places: Turtle Island, Americas

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