With Host Tam Dillon @tamdillon And Guest Lauren Gratenstein
Tam sits with Lauren Gratenstein, an Apache woman, mother, and elder, for a grounded conversation on modern erasure, misrecognition, and living identity in a world that often treats Indigenous people as history rather than as living communities.
Together, they explore how Indigenous identity is misunderstood through language, media, education, and everyday assumptions. Lauren speaks candidly about being misidentified, raising Indigenous children in a society that does not always know how to see them, and the emotional weight of constantly having to assert presence.
The conversation also highlights what it means to live as an Apache woman today, carrying living culture, language, and lineage while navigating modern life. This episode invites deeper listening, clearer recognition, and more responsible engagement for allies, healers, and practitioners.
ABOUT LAUREN GRATENSTEIN
Lauren is an Apache woman, homeschooling mother, and lifelong learner who weaves intuition, ritual, and grounded wisdom into everyday life. Rooted in family, creativity, and land-based practices, her world blends modern living with ancestral presence — where tarot cards sit beside gardens, beadwork, and notebooks filled with ideas for the future. Professionally, Lauren is an accountant and financial strategist who helps families and entrepreneurs build abundance with clarity and purpose.
Through her boutique financial studio and family-centred brand, From Roots to Riches, she teaches mindful wealth-building, Money Mapping, and legacy planning in a way that feels human, accessible, and spiritually aligned. Her work bridges financial literacy with holistic living, supporting people to feel secure, confident, and deeply rooted.
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ABOUT THE HOST
Tam Dillon is a mentor, educator and founder of Critical Mass. She works with practitioners, healers and teachers to integrate ancient wisdom with modern systems so their calling becomes a lived, sustainable practice. Her work centres clarity, structure and ethical embodiment in spiritual and healing work.
Talks with the Elders is a long-form conversation series within Critical Mass. Each episode features elders and experienced practitioners sharing wisdom shaped by time, lived experience and responsibility. The series centres lineage, integrity and the realities of sustaining ethical spiritual and healing work over the long term.
