Unspoken Words podcast co-hosts JC Beaumont (left) and Josiah Hugs (right)
Global Peace Foundation in Billings, Montana launched the Cross Community Reconciliation (CCR) Pilot Project in 2020. The community came together amidst a turbulent year, navigating a pandemic and social unrest throughout the United States, to bridge people of diverse backgrounds under the shared vision of fostering peace and reconciliation.
Inspired participants of the CCR pilot launched their own podcast in 2021 as a result of their experience in the unique community peacebuilding program. Josiah Hugs, a facilitator in the 2020 CCR project, shared how he helped get the podcast started:
“It was the summer of 2020. In the pandemic. JC Beaumont and I started the conversation of launching a podcast focused on walking the Red Road (recovery from addiction). As we discussed the idea and coming up concepts we could cover we began moving toward setting a date to launching podcast. As we gathered together in (the Cross Community Reconciliation-CCR) pilot project, we realized Randy Beardontwalk was also in recovery and we started to have great conversations about recovery at CCR events. During the CCR meetings when we met in person the conversation lead to podcast and JC and I shared with Randy that we already got the wheels in motion to start a podcast. A couple weeks after the conclusion of the 6th meeting of Native group and non-Native group, we launched the Unspoken Words: A Native Podcast. Our focus is Walking the Red Road. We all agree that CCR pilot project birthed our podcast.”
Unspoken Words podcast co-host Rand BearDontWalk
Unspoken Words is a podcast by native American hosts Josiah Hugs (Apsaalooke), JC Beaumont (Apsaalooke/Nakoda), and Rand BearDontWalk (Absaalooke). They discuss the issues of Indigenous peoples with insights, experience, and humility. Covering a wide rand of topics in the hope to promote mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual wellbeing with traditional culture in a contemporary world. “We walk the Red Road (recovery from addiction), and we are sharing our perspective to promote a sober lifestyle by addressing your mental, emotion, physical and spiritual wellbeing,” said Josiah.
In 2021, the podcast had over 10,000 views. It has reached out to people in the USA and in other countries as far as Australia.
The podcast features an interview about the Cross Community Reconciliation project in episode #43. Listen now on Google Podcasts
Phase two of the CCR program in Montana will be launched in 2022. LEARN MORE
