00:01.91 heritagevoices All right? Okay, um, sorry cut that that's my usual coming back from a break voice. But yeah, so can you talk a little bit more about um some of that work that you were doing when you. 00:06.19 Eric Pinto Um. 00:17.25 heritagevoices We're getting your master's kind of some of the different areas that you were focusing on before before getting it and then also um, you know once you started working for for the booter center. 00:27.68 Eric Pinto Yeah, so when I was a student you know I was very new to like what what do social workers even do like you know I kind of news like you know they work maybe in a hospital setting or you know some type of health clinic. But you know other than that I was not aware of like how. Broad. The field is really and you know I was happy to kind of dive into kind of like the education side looking at school social work and um I worked with a curator of invertebrates at the St Louis zoo he has an initiative called native foods native peoples native pollinators. And he's helped supports tribes or native people native communities with ah any food sovereignty projects. Um, so I got to a system with that. Um, and right about that time that was when actually yeah, the pandemic happened and stuff so it it. The program itself really allowed me to see what's available out there and what direction I go into? um, but then once ah yeah, graduation happened and it was still like pandemic time and um, yeah, it was offered that ah position to work for the booer center we were still working. Ah you know virtually. And trying to figure out ways we can still engage with the community and ah maybe educating them about native people. What's going on you know in our communities and such. Ah so one of our one of the very first projects that I've worked on was called the indigenous digital indigenous storytelling project. Um. 02:00.80 Eric Pinto So I interviewed native people who lived in St Louis and throughout Missouri and really just got their story. Ah, you know how they ended up in St Louis or Missouri ah, their family background their heritage how they stay connected with their culture. Um, because a lot of people are unaware that actually here in St Louis and Missouri late There's no um, reservations. There's no large native populations in in these areas. So ah, it was really diving into that that side of the story and. Um I got to meet some folks that I really didn't know before and so I built definitely some new relationships. Ah you know I still stay in touch with those people and I think one of my highlights was actually interviewing ah ah Craig breby of the he's a cree nation and he's a head coach or. That former head coach of the St Louis Blues Hockey team so and I'm a diehar blues fan so that if for me I was fanboying and I was this like oh my gosh. It's Craig Bary like this is amazing. This is awesome. Get to hear his story. So um. 02:56.39 heritagevoices So. 03:11.80 Eric Pinto Yeah, so ah, that was like 1 of the first projects that we what we worked on and ah in that and that too that whole project. There was funded by ah the Missouri humanities. Um, and they're one of our close partners and they. Do a lot of great work and creating programs and events throughout the state of Missouri that helps highlight like Missouri's like cultures and histories and all that great stuff. So ah, very fortunate to be partners with them on numerous projects and events and. And then yeah and then from there it kind of ah led into another project that really got me interested into like archeology and I'm still I still love that area and I did a lot of a lot of research since it was kind of during the lockdown time. Still. And ah, really looking at the native history here in St Louis and Missouri but also creating a document ah in a form of like a you know like a report or a brief that can educate the community because like I said the the community here. Um, you know is primarily non-native and they're just unaware of you know what is the history of this land and the people that were that are tied to this land and have those connections. So. 04:37.10 Eric Pinto Was really getting at that through an archaeological lens. Which yeah as I mentioned I'm not an archaeologist so that some things were definitely a challenge for me to understand but I picked up on that you know through readings and videos and all sorts things and networking with archaeologists here as well too. So. Um, we're right next door to Cahokee Mos which is just amazing Site. You know Andll I'll tell people like growing up like it. It didn't really click until more recent that I had to actually make multiple trips out there when creating this report to fully understand you know that that history and that one. 04:56.54 heritagevoices You. 05:13.30 Eric Pinto You know, kind of like that unique period in time that was going on at that site. Um, but then you know it kind of got me more interested in to you know? Ah, ah, those other timeframes that was kind of happening in and their connections to ah. The land here throughout Missouri so it's been very interesting and um, you know we have other state parks around the area. It's not just only cohokeia mounds is like the closest site. It's you know we got like Maedon State Park we got Washington State Park um and they all have their very unique. Like his history so Mastodon State park like kind of really shows like you know that paleoian period and ah connections with hunting you know mastodons you know back a long time ago and um Washington State Park has ah petrobulis there that you can still see and. Um, and these are the types of places where I really try and tell people you need to go visit there and connect the dots throughou time and show that hey our ancestor native people have been here for thousands of years and that's why this land it's so important to us I that's why we have such an intimate connection with the land and the environment. 06:21.74 heritagevoices So. 06:23.54 Eric Pinto So yeah, and yeah, ah so I kind of went on there I'm trying to think if there's something else. 06:31.75 heritagevoices Let me let me plug your your brief real quick. Um, yeah, so what you were just talking about there. Um, you have ah. Brief that you sent me ahead of time. Um, it's indigenous land peoples and history of Missouri so we'll make that available for everybody in the show notes. 06:50.14 Eric Pinto Awesome! great and then you know I think after creating you know? Ah, ah that brief and doing all that research and visiting different sites you know around St Louis and you know Missouri. Ah, it. It made me kind of feel like I want to be a protector of this land and and these sites because St Louis is definitely booming with development. So. It's also kind of ah been a great opportunity ah to meet other folks. Ah, um, you know in different areas around the around the city that. Are wanting to do good by incorporating policies or protocols that they need to follow in order to make sure that they're not destroying something significant to you know, native people with those ancestral connections to the land. Um, yeah, and then. 07:38.35 heritagevoices And. 07:41.87 Eric Pinto You know from there after you know, kind of creating that brief. Um, we start the school start opening up. It went from more virtual back to kind of like a hybrid version. Ah, and you know eventually I was actually promoted to another this current position here as assistant director. Um, and yeah I'm more I'm doing more student affairs type of work and ah recruitment. But you know as far as like relationships with the local organizations and other partners here like such as I mentioned like the St Louis Zoo we also work with the St Louis Art Museum the historical society yes Missouri humanities and many other organizations and institutions and in the area to support one another who are wanting to do all kinds of like native related projects or events. Ah, and so the booer centers kind of like become a hub of like providing a support or you know if someone needs a sense of direction because many of those folks ah in in those other areas are non-native so they would they like some direction I like hearing in our voice which has been great and then ah. That's been also networking with the local native community here. Ah you know I mentioned it's it's not very large. It's a smaller tightknit community. Um, and when my mission is to actually build that network up because there was always a challenge growing up here in St Louis and 09:11.83 Eric Pinto It was I would never I Never really see too many other native folks around around where I lived that in my community. The only time I was like yeah when Washi would host its Powow or there might have been some other powows at the time you know, growing up but outside of that. Yeah I was you know all through school. Ah. I was the only native person So I I really stuck out but at the same time too. It poses a challenge in my own personal identity of who I'm native how I'm native. Um, and how do I learn more about my my people, history and culture. So. Yeah, So it's been so kind of ah Booter Center has been kind of a great place to ah you know, kind of network and ah build those connections up with people and you know with these native. Projects and events. We definitely. We bring the local nave community members in so that way they could have a voice and and some say into you know what are some things that we should do um you know because so lot lot of times you know a lot of organizations and institutions like they'll do different projects and events. But. They're not building relationships with native people and communities and um and that's a big major component. So yeah. 10:24.54 heritagevoices Um, absolutely all right? Well we are already at our first breakpoint but when we come back I want to hear more about um some of those specific initiatives that came out of of working together with the the local community. So. We will be right back here in a second.