Power of Place Episode # 54 | Healing Homelands; Healing Hearts – Glen Pinkham

Power of Place - Stories of the Pacific Northwest

In this episode of Power of Place, you’ll hear the stories of Glen Pinkham, an enrolled member of the Yakama Nation and a respected elder and cultural mentor. Glen explores connections between tradition, healing, and the land, offering wisdom for anyone seeking growth and connection. Through Glen’s captivating storytelling, we journey to the Yakima Valley, the ancestral homeland of the Yakama Nation—where rivers teemed with salmon and skies filled with migratory birds. His reflections on his application of traditional healing practices—including sweat lodges—located within urban settings reveal how these rituals continue to sustain both body and spirit, even across cultural lines. Building on his work in South Central Washington, Glen supports Seattle’s urban Indigenous communities through organizations like Mother Nation, where he works alongside his wife, Yvette, as well as Chief Seattle Club. Amidst the bustle of city life, Glen’s teachings, grounded in Yakama traditions and landscapes, offer glimpses of rare and powerful medicine for the body and spirit. Tune in to this episode to experience surprising healing and insight. “When we say you share your personal trauma and your pain with another person, your sadness with another person, it turns it upside down as it turns into medicine. It helps them to heal.” ~Glen Pinkham