Sacred Land Speaks

Winnemem Top Doctor Florence Jones (rebroadcast)

Native California healer Florence Jones (1907-2003), was the top doctor of the Winnemem Wintu and a fierce protector of Mt. Shasta, known to the Winnemem as Buliyum Puyuk—the Great Mountain. In 1994, Florence gave the Sacred Land Film Project unprecedented access to film her conducting ceremony, healing her people and protecting her territory. In this episode we return to that footage to tell the story of this powerful medicine woman.
This story originally aired on November 19, 2024.
This episode was produced and written by Callie Shanafelt Wong and Toby McLeod, with research and editing assistance from Jessica Abbe.
Our film footage with Florence Jones was recorded by John Knoop, Andy Black and Will Parrinello. Our theme music was composed by Stefan Smith and Charles Johnson. Thanks to Claire Cummings, Dorothea Theodoratus and John Veltri for interviewing Florence on Mt. Shasta and to Chief Caleen Sisk for reviewing this Audio Archive episode.
We welcome you to download and play this podcast for personal use. However, you may not reproduce, distribute, or commercially exploit this copyrighted content without express written permission from the Sacred Land Film Project and the Winnemem Wintu Tribe.

Edward Abbey

On the spring equinox in 1981, Toby McLeod interviewed the reclusive, rabble-rousing author Edward Abbey as the founders of Earth First! staged their first guerrilla theater, direct action at the much-despised Glen Canyon Dam. The footage was edited into Toby's first film, The Cracking of Glen Canyon Damn—with Edward Abbey and Earth First! 
In this episode of Sacred Land Speaks we bring you Toby's interview with Abbey, and the dramatic tale of a real life Monkey Wrench Gang. Also included are highlights from Jessica Abbe's 1985 interview with the renowned author, one of the few other on-camera interviews Abbey ever gave.This episode was produced and written by Toby McLeod and Callie Shanafelt Wong.
Our interview and film footage of Edward Abbey was recorded by Randy Hayes, Glenn Switkes and Toby Mcleod. Jessica Abbe’s interview was shot by Jim Hurwitz. Our theme music was composed and performed by Stefan Smith and Charles Johnson. Audio sweetening by Leroy Clark at Sirius Sound.
We welcome you to download and play the podcast for personal use. You may not, except with our express written permission, reproduce, distribute or commercially exploit this copyrighted content.

Davianna Pomaika`i McGregor – Part Two

Native Hawaiian historian and land protector Davianna Pomaika`i McGregor is a leader in the Protect Kaho`olawe Ohana. In this second part of our interview, Davianna relates the history of settler colonialism and the impact of Christian missionaries as she delves into Native Hawaiian spirituality and traditional cultural practices.
This episode was produced and written by Callie Shanafelt Wong and Toby McLeod.
Our film interview with Davianna was recorded by Andy Black and Dave Wendlinger. Our theme music was composed by Stefan Smith and Charles Johnson.
This episode is brought to you by the Sacred Land Film Project of Earth Island Institute, based in the Lisjan Ohlone territory of Huchiun, otherwise known as Berkeley, California.
We welcome you to download and play the podcast for personal use. You may not, except with our express written permission, reproduce, distribute or commercially exploit this copyrighted content.

Davianna Pomaika`i McGregor – Part One

Native Hawaiian historian and land protector Davianna Pomaika`i McGregor is a leader in the Protect Kaho`olawe Ohana. In this episode, we discuss the U.S. military occupation of Kaho`olawe and the movement to return the sacred island to Native Hawaiian stewardship after 50 years of bombing by the Navy. This story of cultural and ecological restoration offers hope to indigenous people around the world.
This episode was produced and written by Callie Shanafelt Wong and Toby McLeod.
Our film interview with Davianna was recorded by Andy Black and Dave Wendlinger. Our theme music was composed by Stefan Smith and Charles Johnson.
This episode is brought to you by the Sacred Land Film Project of Earth Island Institute, based in the Lisjan Ohlone territory of Huchiun, otherwise known as Berkeley, California.
We welcome you to download and play the podcast for personal use. You may not, except with our express written permission, reproduce, distribute or commercially exploit this copyrighted content.

Remembering Malcolm Margolin

For more than five decades, Malcolm Margolin was a fixture at the heart of Berkeley’s intellectual community. As the founder of Heyday Books, he was instrumental in publishing hundreds of titles. Most significantly, in 1978 he published his own groundbreaking book, The Ohlone Way, which woke an entire region up to the amazing natural and human history of the greater Bay Area. Malcolm helped establish many cultural revitalization projects, including Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival, Heyday’s groundbreaking magazine, News from Native California, and most recently the California Institute for Community, Art & Nature (which shares our office). He passed away from complications with Parkinson’s disease on August 20, 2025 at the age of 84.
In our podcast episode, we talked with Malcolm about writing The Ohlone Way, the lessons he learned from Indigenous peoples, and the battle to protect the historic West Berkeley Shellmound and Village site.
This episode was produced and written by Callie Shanafelt Wong and Toby McLeod.
Our interview and video footage of Malcolm Margolin was recorded by Andy Black and Dave Wendlinger. Our theme music was composed and performed by Stefan Smith and Charles Johnson. Special thanks to the Executive Director of the California Institute for Community, Art & Nature, Claire Greensfelder, for reviewing this episode.
We welcome you to download and play the podcast for personal use. You may not, except with our express written permission, reproduce, distribute or commercially exploit this copyrighted content.

Satish Kumar

We interviewed long-time editor of Resurgence magazine, Satish Kumar as a "big-thinker" for our Standing on Sacred Ground film series. Born in India in 1936, Satish Kumar joined a Jain monastery when he was 9-years-old. Mahatma Ghandi was assassinated when he was 11 and at 18 the young monk left the monastery to become a student of one of Ghandi’s disciples. In 1962, at the age of 25, Satish made a two-year anti-nuclear pilgrimage, walking to the capital cities of the four nations with nuclear weapons—Moscow, Paris, London and Washington D.C. Satish moved to England in 1973, where he eventually became the London-based editor of Resurgence magazine. Our interview was conducted in 2007 at Green Gulch Zen Center in northern California.
This episode was produced and written by Callie Shanafelt Wong and Toby McLeod.
Our film interview with Satish Kumar was recorded by Andy Black and Dave Wendlinger, along with co-producers Jessica Abbe and Jennifer Huang. Our theme music was composed and performed by Stefan Smith and Charles Johnson.
We welcome you to download and play the podcast for personal use. You may not, except with our express written permission, reproduce, distribute or commercially exploit this copyrighted content.

Barry Lopez – Part Two

Our 2011 film interview with author Barry Lopez for the Standing on Sacred Ground series yielded an embarrassment of riches. Barry’s written works explore the relationship between nature and human culture and include Arctic Dreams, for which he received the National Book Award, Of Wolves and Men, and his most recent masterwork, Horizon. Barry Lopez was a master storyteller, though for project director Toby McLeod, he was also a close friend and ally.
In Part Two of this two-part podcast, Barry reflects on the future of sacred sites, the role of technology in our lives, and the importance of following the leadership of the elders. For more information visit Barry’s website.
This episode was produced and written by Hannah Wilton and Toby McLeod, edited by Callie Shanafelt Wong and recorded by Isaac Butler-Brown at Dirt Studios.
Our film interview with Barry was recorded by Andy Black and Dave Wendlinger, along with co-producers Jessica Abbe and Jennifer Huang. Our theme music was composed and performed by Stefan Smith and Charles Johnson.
We welcome you to download and play the podcast for personal use. You may not, except with our express written permission, reproduce, distribute or commercially exploit this copyrighted content.

Barry Lopez – Part One

Barry Lopez left us with so many gifts—messages from the road, stories that help—written beautifully by a cultural bridge, a runner who risked his life out there on the edge and returned over and over to craft a stirring tale. Barry alarmed us and gave us hope us with Arctic Dreams, Of Wolves and Men, The Rediscovery of North America and Horizon. Join project director Toby McLeod for our first Audio Archive, a 2011 conversation with friend and advisor, the late Barry Lopez (1945-2020).
In Part One of this two-part podcast, Barry reflects on deep listening, the meaning of sacred lands, and the importance of maintaining an ongoing conversation with the Earth. For more information visit Barry’s website.
This episode was produced and written by Hannah Wilton and Toby McLeod, edited by Callie Shanafelt Wong and recorded by Isaac Butler-Brown at Dirt Studios.
Our film interview with Barry was recorded by Andy Black and Dave Wendlinger, along with co-producers Jessica Abbe and Jennifer Huang. Our theme music was composed and performed by Stefan Smith and Charles Johnson.
We welcome you to download and play the podcast for personal use. You may not, except with our express written permission, reproduce, distribute or commercially exploit this copyrighted content.