Episode 1: Crisosto Apache
Crisosto Apache was born and raised on the Mescalero Apache reservation in New Mexico. After coming out at age 17, they left home and spent years searching for a sense of belonging in gay scenes in Denver and Boulder, Colorado. In this episode, featuring an interview recorded in June 2014, Crisosto describes how coming out again as Two-Spirit later in life enabled them to reconnect with their people, culture, and an Indigenous identity that had been there all along.
Please donate to support Indigenous communities that have been hit hard by the Covid-19 Pandemic through The Navajo Nation Covid-19 Relief Fund and The White Mountain Apache Tribe Covid-19 Relief Fund.
Host/Producer/Lead Editor: Rae Garringer. Assistant Editor/Composer-Performer of Acoustic and Electric Guitar Music: Tommie Anderson. Editorial Advisory Dream Team: Hermelinda Cortés, Sharon P. Holland, and Lewis Raven Wallace. Theme Song Composer/Banjo: Sam Gleaves. Theme Song Pedal Steel: Rebecca Branson Jones. Special thanks to Laura Staresheski and AIR Media’s mentorship program for support on this episode. And, thanks to Hideo Higashibaba, Riley Cockrell, Abby Huggins, Sam Gleaves, and Yasmine Farhang for feedback on the first draft. Thanks also to Benny Becker for helping clean up the background noise in Crisosto’s interview. Most importantly, thanks to Crisosto Apache for sharing their story so generously with us all.