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What does it take to keep going when the work is difficult, the systems are complicated, and there is no roadmap to follow?

In this episode of Matriarchs: Journeys & Memoirs, we sit down with leaders from WomenSpirit Coalition whose lived experiences, professional journeys, and commitment to supporting survivors have shaped their work in the movement to end violence against Native women.

Dee Rhodes-Koaster, founder of WomenSpirit Coalition, reflects on her journey from survivor to advocate and trailblazer—and on the challenges of building a tribal coalition when there was no established model to follow. She shares the story behind WomenSpirit Coalition, the importance of victim safety and offender accountability, and her vision for the Family Safety Center as a place where Native survivors can find support without judgment.

The conversation also explores the emotional complexity of leading organizations focused on domestic violence and sexual assault, the importance of going "upstream" to address prevention, and the power of women to reclaim their voices, leadership, and cultural strength.

At the heart of this episode is a powerful reminder: when you're doing good work, you may face resistance—but that doesn't mean you stop.

In this episode:

• The personal experiences that inspire a lifelong commitment to ending violence
• The origins of WomenSpirit Coalition and the challenges of being a trailblazer
• Why culturally specific, survivor-centered services matter
• Why resilience isn't about doing the work alone
• The importance of creating models that other communities can build upon

“Matriarchs: Journeys and Memoirs” is a reflective podcast that honors the lives, voices, and legacies of women who have shaped families, communities, and generations through strength, sacrifice, wisdom, and resilience. Each episode explores personal stories of becoming, remembering, surviving, leading, and passing down what matters—through intimate conversations, memoir-style storytelling, and reflections on identity, heritage, motherhood, Elderhood, and female authority.

The podcast invites listeners into the emotional and historical journeys of matriarchs: the women who carried traditions, made difficult choices, held families together, broke cycles, and created paths for those who came after them. Blending memory, culture, and lived experience, “Matriarchs / Journeys and Memoirs” is a space for honoring women’s stories not as footnotes, but as central narratives of love, power, endurance, and legacy.

Hosted by Dee Rhodes-Koester and Cheryl Coan

Funded by WomenSpirit

Music by Joanne Shenandoah friend and colleague.

Produced by AMP Studio

Reach out with Questions and Comments: MatriarchsPodcast@womenspirit.net