Episode 9: Dr. Lita, Derek, and Melonie Mathews

In this episode, Oteil and Mike welcome Dr. Lita & Derek Mathews, founders of the Gathering of Nations Powwow, along with their daughter Melonie Mathews. They discuss the beginnings of the Gathering of Nations, the importance of the Powwow and the sharing of oral history in Native American communities, and how the Powwow culture shares similarities to the Grateful Dead community. We also hear about Derek’s experience growing up in Chicago and exposure to music, the family’s journey getting into the Dead, and stories from the road. They also share the incredible story of the family being nominated for and then winning their 2010 GRAMMY the year following Dr. Lita's successful liver transplant. Derek & Dr. Lita Mathews founded the Gathering of Nations Powwow in 1984, now the largest Powwow in the United States and North America. Hundreds of tribes from the US and Canada travel to Albuquerque every year to participate, compete, and share tradition. Derek, Dr. Lita, and their daughter Melonie won the Best Native American Music Album award at the 53rd annual GRAMMY Awards for “2010 Gathering of Nations Pow Wow: A Spirit’s Dance.”  This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts. Please leave us a rating or review on iTunes! Comes A Time is brought to you by Osiris Media. Hosted and Produced by Oteil Burbridge and Mike Finoia. Executive Producers are Christina Collins, RJ Bee and Kirsten Cluthe. Production, Editing and Mixing by Eric Limarenko and Matt Dwyer. Theme music by Oteil Burbridge. To discover more podcasts that connect you more deeply to the music you love, check out osirispod.com. ,  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices