Q&A with Johnnie Jae, Founder of A Tribe Called Geek

Known as the Brown Ball of Fury, Johnnie Jae is a profoundly driven and unstoppable Indigenerd from the Otoe-Missouria and Choctaw tribes of Oklahoma. She is a writer, speaker, technologist, advocate, community builder and entrepreneur that loves empowering others to follow their passions and create for healing and positive change in the world.

Currently, she is the founder and CEO of A Tribe Called Geek, an emerging multimedia company that is dedicated to showcasing and encouraging Indigenous contributions to geek & pop culture as well as STEM fields. Jae, also, co-hosts the ATCG name sake podcast with Jackie Malstrom aka Jack the Pima, where they often discuss native representation or the lack thereof in mainstream geekery with fellow Indigenerds from across Turtle Island.

Jae has also contributed her skills Native Max Magazine, Native News Online, Complex, Good Men Project and the Success Native Style Radio Network.

In addition to her entrepreneurial pursuits, Jae is an advocate for many Indigenous and human rights issues, mainly focusing on youth empowerment, suicide prevention, gender & racial equity, violence towards Indigenous people, human trafficking, police brutality, reconciliation & solidarity, and Indigenous representation in the media.

She is a Founding Board Member of Not Your Mascots and LiveIndigenousOK, She is also a member of the Women Warriors Work Collective and co-chair for the March for Racial Justice.

Her ability to seamlessly shift from humor and pop culture to advocacy and business has made her a much-sought after speaker, panelist, and commentator. She has taught numerous workshops that address suicide awareness & prevention, mascots & stereotypes, digital activism, Indigenous journalism & media, and the utilization of social & digital media for business and activism. Her work has been discussed in many media outlets, such as Indian Country Today, ATPN, CBC, USA Today, Women’s E-News, Takepart.com and Upworthy. She has been a guest on several radio shows and podcasts, including Native America Calling, Native Trailblazers, Black Girl Nerds, BBC World Have Your Say and ICI Radio.

Tell us a bit about A Tribe Called Geek.

A Tribe Called Geek is a multimedia platform dedicated to highlighting Indigenous geek culture and contributions to STEM. Through the A Tribe Called Geek podcast and website, we are able to reclaim our narratives and showcase who we are as Indigenous people in fields that people do not associate with our communities because the history that they were taught is that we were a primitive culture.

What gave you the idea for your business and how did it start?

I was working with Native Max Magazine, which focuses on providing an authentic look at Native fashion beyond the buckskin, fringe, turquoise, and stereotypical Hollywood Indian garb that you see when non-native society tends to peddle off as Native fashion. I loved the platform that we created to showcase Indigenous people in the fashion industry, but fashion isn’t really my forte and Native Max focuses solely on featuring Native perspectives, stories, writers, photographers, etc. I wanted to expand on the idea of showcasing who we are as contemporary Native people because we are so much more than the historical and stereotypical ideas of who Native people are. We are doctors, lawyers, teachers, scientists and we are geeks. We love Star Wars, Doctor Who, video games and comic books. We are just as invested in fandoms as the next person, so much so that we also have Indigenous Comic Con to showcase our creators and love for all things geek. I wanted to create a space where we could support each other and geek out together.

So, that is the idea behind the creation of A Tribe Called Geek and it originally started as a social media platform. I was thinking it could be the next Myspace or Facebook, but being self-funded it was more expensive than I realized. The social media aspect was up and running for 4 months and we had about 100 users before I had to cut my losses. While the social platform was dead, I kept the domains and social media accounts because I still hoped that it could someday be something. A year later, I met Jack Malstrom through our advocacy work and we would guest on each other’s podcast and radio show and it got to the point where it only made sense that we would join forces and host a show together. We decided to focus on Indigenous geek culture and that decision gave A Tribe Called Geek another shot at being. We started with a podcast and then it grew to include our website because we wanted to showcase our perspectives, talents, and contributions beyond what we could do with just our podcast. In the last two years, it’s been amazing to see how A Tribe Called Geek has grown and to see the support that we have from both Natives and Non-Natives.

What’s your favorite thing about your job?

What I love most about my job is being able to show our youth that there is nothing beyond the realm of possibility for us. I love being able to show them our native superheroes, comic books, art, music and see that spark of realization in their eyes when they see that they can be anything and achieve anything that they set their minds and hearts to. I’m a firm believer that representations matters and for our youth to see themselves being represented in positive and successful manners makes all the difference in the world. I, also, love knowing that I’ve made a career of being a geek and proved everyone wrong when they told me that comic books and superheroes were worthless and would take me nowhere because now I get to see the world because of those comic books and superheroes.

What are your keys to making yourself productive?

There’s a mantra that I learned from my friend, Angelo Johnson, that I repeat every morning and anytime I feel overwhelmed or hopeless.
“I can. I will. I must.”
It helps me to refocus my energy and it reminds me that the work that I am doing is important and needed. This is what I dreamed of doing and not many people get the opportunity to do what they love and for me to not be productive or to give up would be a great disservice to myself and to everyone who supports what we do.

Tell us one long-term goal in your career.

The only long-term goal that I have in my career is to never lose sight of myself or why I do the work that I do. The platforms that I create are not to elevate my voice but to empower and elevate the voices of all Native people. We’re less than 2% of the entire U.S population and we’ve been rendered invisible on our own lands because of the prevalence of mascots, stereotypes and the lack of a well-rounded education system. The work that I do is centered around Indigenous people being empowered to reclaim our narratives, speak their truths, and assert that we are STILL here.

What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned through the course of your career?

The most valuable lesson that I’ve learned is that there are no shortcuts to success. You’re going to have moments when everything is falling apart, when you feel like giving up, and when you’ve failed so monumentally that you think there’s no coming back from it. You’re going to come up against obstacle after obstacle, but the only way to succeed, to beat the odds and overcome everything that stands in your way is to never compromise who you are or your values. Be adaptable and willing to start from scratch. Believe in what you do and believe in yourself above all else.

What advice would you give to others aspiring to succeed in your field?

Just do it. Don’t worry about what others are doing or thinking. Don’t be afraid to stand on your own. If you have an idea or a vision of what you want to do, who you want to be, don’t wait. There will never be a “right” time and while you are busy waiting and making excuses, others are already doing and working toward the life you envision for yourself. We’re not promised tomorrow, make the most of every moment.

What are your favorite things to do outside of work?

Outside of work, I love to spend time with my Rocket cat. I love to draw and get caught up on on my reading and favorite TV shows. Sleep is also good.

Name a few influential books you’ve read and/or websites you keep up with that you’d recommend to readers.

Books that I would recommend:

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States
Nerd Ecology: Defending the Earth with Unpopular Culture
Moonshot: The Indigenous Comics Collection

Websites that I would recommend:
www.nativemaxmagazine.com
www.atribecalledgeek.com
www.nativenewsonline.net

Social Media Links
Twitter: @johnniejae
@tribecalledgeek

Facebook: /johnniejae
/tribecalledgeek

Instagram: @johnniejae
@atribecalledgeek
www.johnniejae.com
www.atribecalledgeek.com