Jana Schmieding is a Native American (Cheyenne River Lakota)[1] comedian, actor, podcaster, and writer.

The four bands included are the Plants by the Water or Mnicoujou, Sans Arc or Itazipco, Black Foot or Sihasapa, and Two Kettles or Oohenumpa.

Schmieding credits her time at the University of Oregon for discovering her love for activism in collaboration with people of color on a public scale.

To earn a living, she spent ten years teaching middle and high school, while performing improv in the evenings with Magnet Theater.

[5] In 2016, Schmieding moved to Los Angeles, where she worked at an education-related nonprofit and shifted gears from acting to writing.

[6][7] After three years of working on her writing, Schmieding was hired as one of 12 writers on Rutherford Falls, a Peacock original sitcom.

[8][9] She was hired by the show's co-creator, Sierra Teller Ornelas (Navajo Nation), who had previously been a guest on Schmieding's podcast.

[14] Schmieding's role in the series models how she continues to stand true to her roots and educates the world about native culture.

Schmieding and series creator Sierra Teller Ornelas have worked together to bring these issues to the forefront in Hollywood and continue to showcase Indigenous actors, culture, and advocacy through the media.

[3] Aunty Chuck is a passion project of Schmieding's that is based loosely on the American comedy Uncle Buck.