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Pull up a chair. We’re closing out the year by getting honest about how this show began, what we’ve learned, and why belonging often shows up in the smallest moments—a song in the kitchen, a plate of rice and beans, a hand that knows your name without words. After thanking the people who carried us—listeners, sponsors, friends, and the one who keeps the lights on behind the scenes—I share a vulnerable reading of Homecoming, my first published story about growing up Dominican in South Dakota and driving back to a town that felt both mine and not mine.

If you’ve ever lived between cultures, wrestled with identity, or loved someone across a language, you’ll hear yourself here. We talk heritage, immigration, chosen family, memory, and the work of making space for Many Voices at One Table. Come for the story, stay for the warmth, and leave with a renewed sense that you don’t have to choose a single place to belong. If this moved you, subscribe, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find a seat at the table.

Thank you for listening to Tradition Cafe. Visit www.traditioncafe.com for blog posts, news, and links, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for videos and updates.

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We explore two-spirit balance, the difference between soul and spirit, and a grounded understanding of divine counterparts over trend-driven “twin flames.” Music becomes medicine as OwlSnake builds and plays a frame drum, sharing tools, ceremony, and a call to remember who we are

• soul as lifetime vessel, spirit as enduring core
• divine counterpart as service and growth, not romance
• two-spirit roles as balance, responsibility, and community care
• moving beyond Western gender labels toward Indigenous teachings
• music and drum as journey tool and vibration for healing
• how drum circles guide students into presence and connection
• making a frame drum with intention, blessing, and natural materials
• ceremony tools including chant, peace pipe, feathers, and staff
• choosing love over fear to expand consciousness
• open invitation for questions without judgment

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Thank you for listening to Tradition Cafe. Visit www.traditioncafe.com for blog posts, news, and links, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for videos and updates.

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OwlSnake is a Two-Spirit medicine person, a hollow bone for Spirit, and a way-shower. She comes from a long line of healers and learned early on that she could receive messages from her ancestors and guide others toward deeper self-understanding. In this opening episode of Season 2, Ana welcomes OwlSnake into the Tradition Café for an intimate and grounding conversation about identity, ceremony, and the responsibilities that come with stepping into one’s gifts.

OwlSnake’s lineage weaves together Indigenous Nations of North America, the Caribbean, and West Africa—Muscogee, Choctaw, Cherokee, Taíno, and Benin—alongside her Scottish ancestry. She speaks about how these roots shape her medicine work and what it means to move through the world as someone who listens deeply, carries responsibility with humility, and helps others find their way home. The conversation acknowledges the long histories of trauma her ancestors endured, including the Trail of Tears and the Middle Passage, and how those experiences continue to inform resilience, healing, and cultural memory today.

Their discussion also unpacks how historical labels—such as the classification of Muscogee, Choctaw, and Cherokee peoples (along with the Seminole and Chickasaw) as the “Five Civilized Tribes”—flattened the depth, diversity, and sovereignty of these Nations. OwlSnake reflects on the teachings and resilience carried through her ancestors, and how each lineage informs the work she does today.

Thank you for listening to Tradition Cafe. Visit www.traditioncafe.com for blog posts, news, and links, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for videos and updates.