Writers Series with Dr. Jaiya John

Writers Series with Dr. Jaiya John

From Voices on the Side by Leah Kim

February 25, 2026 · 1h 18m

About this episode

Dr. Jaiya John discusses his work in social healing and storytelling as an Indigenous freedom worker and poet.

Dr. Jaiya John was orphan-born on ancient Indigenous Anasazi and Pueblo lands in the high desert of New Mexico, and is an internationally recognized ancestral Baba, freedom worker, medicine poet, and keynote speaker. Jaiya is the founder of Soul Water Rising, a global rehumanizing mission to eradicate oppression. The mission has donated thousands of Jaiya’s books in support of social healing, and offers grants to displaced and vulnerable youth. He is the author of numerous books, including Daughter Drink This Water , We Birth Freedom at Dawn , Fragrance After Rain , and Freedom: Medicine Words for your Brave Revolution . Jaiya writes, narrates, and produces the podcast, I Will Read for You : The Voice and Writings of Jaiya John, and is the founder of The Gathering , a global initiative and tour reviving traditional gathering and storytelling practices to fertilize social healing and liberation. Jaiya is a former professor of social psychology at Howard University, and has spoken to over a million people worldwide and audiences as large as several thousand. He holds doctorate and master’s degrees in social psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he was a…

People in this episode

Host: Leah Kim

Guest: Dr. Jaiya John

Topics covered

  • social healing
  • storytelling
  • Indigenous culture
  • freedom work
  • poetry
  • education

Keywords

  • Jaiya John
  • social psychology
  • Indigenous lands
  • freedom worker
  • Soul Water Rising
  • poetry
  • social healing
  • storytelling
  • grants
  • youth

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Soul Water Rising, I Will Read for You, The Gathering, Howard University, University of California, Santa Cruz, Lewis & Clark College

Books & works: Daughter Drink This Water, We Birth Freedom at Dawn, Fragrance After Rain, Freedom: Medicine Words for your Brave Revolution

Places: New Mexico, Kathmandu, Nepal

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