Native America Calling: Documenting the meaningful Indigenous origins of Dia de los Muertos

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Native America Calling

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Native America Calling: Documenting the meaningful Indigenous origins of Dia de los Muertos

Friday, October 31, 2025

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Documenting the meaningful Indigenous origins of Dia de los Muertos

The practice of celebrating dead ancestors started long before Spanish colonizers came to what is now Mexico, but the Aztec and Mayan custom eventually engulfed the entire country, blending Catholic, Spanish, and Indigenous elements into what is now Dia de los Muertos.

The festival even spills into parts of the United States. Some people with Mexican Indigenous ties are working to cut through the contemporary pop culture trappings of the holiday and reconnect with the deeper, more spiritual origins.

Also, hear about an expanded push by Vision Maker Media to train and support young filmmakers to tell stories driven by mission. The Native Youth Media Project partners with tribes, organizations, and individuals to develop storytellers at a time when federal support for such projects has disappeared.

Guests on Native America Calling

Janet Martinez (Zapotec), executive director of Communidades Indigenas en Liderazgo (CIELO)

Kurly Tlapoyawa (Chicano and Nahua), archaeologist and co-host of the “Tales from Aztlantis” podcast

Anita Huízar-Hernández, associate director of the Hispanic Research Center and publisher and managing editor of the Bilingual Press at Arizona State University

Francene Blythe-Lewis (Diné, Sisseton Wahpeton and Eastern Band of Cherokee), executive director of Vision Maker Media