We take a bite out of the First Nations Garden, a healing space for the Intertribal Native community of Chicago. Co-founder Fawn Pochel (they/kwe) shares the origins of this youth-led project, the importance of establishing and maintaining relationship with plant relatives, and how the garden has transformed the neighborhood and provided a community gathering place for celebrations, education, and practicing intertribal traditions.

Additional Resources and References from this episode:

• Learn more about First Nations Garden and follow the project at @firstnationsgarden
• Chi Nations Youth Council – a youth organization creating safe space for Native youth through arts, activism, and education. Follow the council @chinationsyouthcouncil
• Indigenous Grounds – an emerging organization striving to create a more sustainable world. Follow the project @indigenous.grounds

Previous Take the Last Bite episodes that center food justice, the joys of growing and cooking food, and innovations in urban farming:

• Queers Who Make Beers – a chat with queer and trans folks in the craft microbrewing industry working to improve working conditions for marginalized service workers
• Ferrets, Farming, and Fat-Kid Food – a segment about growing basil in shipping containers and a segment about cooking with taste-loss due to long-COVID
• ‘Chef’ is Gender Neutral – brunch baddie Catie Randazzo talks about wanting to connect queer and trans youth to service industry skills

For questions, comments or feedback about this episode: lastbite@sgdinstitute.org

We’re on TikTok! You can also find us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or at sgdinstitute.org

Host: R.B. Brooks, they/them, director of strategy and impact for the Midwest Institute for Sexuality and Gender Diversity

Cover art: Adrienne McCormick

We take a bite out of Chappell Roan through a brief queer history of Midwest music and media influences. Host R.B. Brooks (they/them) highlights queer and trans music artists with ties to the Midwest, how the Midwest is used intentionally in film and streaming series for dramatic effect, and the impact of Midwest stereotypes on racialized and gendered assumptions about the region.

Additional Resources and References:

• In a Queer Time and Place by Jack Halberstam
• Rolling Stone article about Chappel Roan’s Casual release
• Teen Vogue culture story about Chappell Roan
• Right On, Cuee (Take the Last Bite interview with Black trans hip hop artist Cuee Wright

For questions, comments or feedback about this episode: lastbite@sgdinstitute.org

We’re on TikTok! You can also find us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or at sgdinstitute.org

Host: R.B. Brooks, they/them, director of strategy and impact for the Midwest Institute for Sexuality and Gender Diversity

Cover art: Adrienne McCormick

We take a bite out of local legislation with Minnesota State Representatives Liish Kozlowski (they/them) and Leigh Finke (she/her). We all have a role to play – but our roles aren’t all the same. We chat with these powerhouses about their motivations to run for office, their experiences on the legislative floor, and how Trans Refuge Bills can offer a pathway to improved living conditions for trans, nonbinary, two spirit, and intersex people.

Additional Resources and References from this episode:

• Learn more about the Transgender Justice Teach-In and check out video recordings of our previous panel discussions.

For questions, comments or feedback about this episode: lastbite@sgdinstitute.org

We’re on TikTok! You can also find us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or at sgdinstitute.org

Host: R.B. Brooks, they/them, director of strategy and impact for the Midwest Institute for Sexuality and Gender Diversity

Cover art: Adrienne McCormick