We Were Told It Couldn’t Be Done, With Dr. Jann Hayman At The Osage Nation The RegenNarration podcast

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We were told it couldn’t be done, with Dr. Jann Hayman at the Osage Nation

5d ago 51:10

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Dr. Jann Hayman is Secretary of Natural Resources for the Osage Nation. We’ve just come from a tour of their astounding greenhouse, after having had a powerful conversation with Chief Standing Bear. Jann’s graciously welcomed filmmaker Nicol Ragland and I for a chat at her office, amidst her busy end of the week. Both Chief and Nicol sing Jann’s praises loudly. Nicol calls her a powerhouse. And when she won the award from which I drew the title image for this episode, the presenter said ‘if you haven’t been to Pawhuska to see [their] facilities, you need to!’

This continues our special series from Osage Nation HQ, in Pawhuska Oklahoma. Today, we speak with Jann about how the Nation is going about its masterful resurgence, on the ground. Jann was Director of Environment and Natural Resources when the Tribe mobilised much of its recent food sovereignty and related achievements. In the wake of that, she was asked onto Chief’s Cabinet.

This conversation picks up from Chief’s, as we flesh out the realities of those achievements, including their remarkable land re-acquisition and food sovereignty measures, related buffalo restoration, broader wildlife too, language innovation, trust-based funding, reconnecting with the elders, and building a systemic movement. We hear, too, how all this is impacting people, and what big ideas are next. And again, this is a very frank, inspiring, and fun yarn. With a deeply moving story and piece of music, played by Jann, to close.

If you happen to have come to the Osage series here first, you can hear my chat with Chief Standing Bear last week, and the brief scene-setting episode with Nicol, the week prior (if you’re not familiar with the back story on this one, it’s worth ducking back to listen to that 13 minutes with Nicol first).

Chapter markers & transcript.

Recorded 4 April 2025. (Intro recorded at Greens Lake, Utah)

Title slide source.

More photos on the episode web page, and for more behind the scenes, become a supporting listener below.

Music:

Stones & Bones, by Owls of the Swamp.

Regeneration, by Amelia Barden.

The RegenNarration playlist, music chosen by guests.

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Chapters

1. Meeting Jann Hayman (00:00:00)

2. The unexpected story of the food sovereignty program (00:04:00)

3. We were told it couldn’t be done (00:05:58)

4. Coming to this role through ancestral and other links (00:07:10)

5. (Re-)Acquiring a ranch for a conservation and cultural bison herd (00:10:04)

6. Offering other tribes use of their processing facility for production herds (00:11:48)

7. Bison Conservation and Cultural Restoration (00:13:25)

8. Building a greater community of Osage land holders for systemic change (00:15:19)

9. Is regeneration catching on more broadly? (00:18:50)

10. Approaching the question of scale & how people change (00:21:30)

11. The impact of the 40,000+ acre re-acquisition by the Osage (00:24:43)

12. Land Management and Regeneration (00:26:05)

13. Reconnecting with the stories of the elders (00:27:15)

14. Cultural overlay on how the Butcher House works (00:29:15)

15. Engaging with the Intertribal Agriculture Council (00:30:35)

16. Trust-based funding (00:32:15)

17. Visiting the greenhouse (00:34:28)

18. A big vision for what’s next, including bison field harvesting (00:35:05)

19. Community Impact and Accessibility (00:35:29)

20. A particular moment of ‘look what this can do’ for people (00:36:30)

21. The communications & education challenge – people still don’t know we’re here (00:38:58)

22. The mobile market & retail space (00:40:35)

23. A recent story Jann discovered of her grandmother and a piano (00:42:42)

24. Closing with Jann playing that piano (00:46:20)

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