Darla Antoine

--Food, Sex, and Identity Expert:

Food is a powerful identity marker and if you listen closely, you'll hear a story that not only connects you to the generations before you but one that will connect you to the generations to come after.

What we eat, how we eat it, when we eat it, and who we eat it with (and who we don't) all communicates something. By examining the foods that have become cultural and familial staples and traditions, I believe we gain a better understanding of the communities and families that raised and influenced us, ultimately leading us to a better understanding of ourselves.

I spent four years researching the communicative value of food and the result is my Master's thesis: Nopalitos Mean Something: Communicating Identity in Mother-Daughter Relationships through Food and Recipes.

I also spent some time researching and writing about the physical, emotional, social, and biological connections between food and sex. Food communicates much about our relationship with our bodies and with sex. Chew on this for a minute: how you eat can say a lot about how you make love . . . change your relationship with food, change your relationship with sex, and vice versa. Can your relationship with food help you become sexy, confident, and attractive to others? You bet!

--Indigenous Media and Journalism:

Less than 1% of American journalists are Native American. This means that one of the nation's most vulnerable and misunderstood populations is severely underrepresented when the news makers are deciding what to cover and how. Furthermore, the world over indigenous communities are facing the loss of their languages, land, and culture. Indigenous media and indigenous journalists offer a first line of defense against assimilation and even exploitation.

For two years I was an associate producer at the indigenous media outlet Native America Calling, which is a nationally syndicated public radio program based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I produced, directed, wrote script and screened calls while giving last minute media training to guests. But what I loved most about my job at NAC was producing thought provoking segments that got our listening audience talking. My proudest moments at NAC include bringing issues such as food sovereignty and the communicative value of silence up for discussion.

Before my job at NAC I was also a reporter for two years at the Rock Island Argus, in Rock Island, Illinois, covering Native and Hispanic communities and issues.

I'm a proud member of the Okanagan Indian Band of British Columbia and of the Native American Journalists Association.

--Education:

B.A. in journalism and mass communication: Whitworth University, Spokane, WA

M.A. in intercultural communication: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

--Life Abroad:

Ive spent a year living in Spain and currently split my time between Washington State and Costa Rica.