Native Circles

In this episode, Dr. Farina King and guest co-host Dr. Kiara Vigil talk with the editors and contributors of the new book Lyda Conley and the Fight to Preserve Huron Indian Cemetery , which tells the story of a trailblazing Wyandot lawyer and activist who defended the burial grounds of her family and ancestors in Kansas City. This work focuses on the life and legacy of Eliza ("Lyda") Bur...

In this episode, co-hosts Dr. Davina Two Bears and Dr. Farina King speak with Dr. Carlton Shield Chief Gover about how Indigenous scholars are reshaping archaeology from within. Carlton reflects on his journey into a field long seen in Native communities as a “colonial science,” and how he now practices what he calls American Indian archaeology, which is centered on tribal sovereignty, government-...

In this episode of Native Circles, co-hosts Dr. Farina King and Eva Bighorse speak with Dr. T. Christopher (Chris) Hoklotubbe and Dr. H. Daniel (Danny) Zacharias, co-authors of Reading the Bible on Turtle Island: An Invitation to North American Indigenous Interpretation (2025). Chris Hoklotubbe, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation, holds a ThD from Harvard and serves as Director of the Indigenous Theo...

Co-hosts Dr. Davina Two Bears and Dr. Farina King talk with Choctaw archaeologist Dr. Joe Watkins about the changing dynamics of Indigenous archaeology from AIM-era protests and NAGPRA to tribal historic preservation offices and global collaborations with the Ainu in Japan. Watkins reflects on walking between academic and tribal worlds, why archaeology is a set of techniques rather than “the truth...

In this episode of Native Circles , Drs. Farina King and Davina Two Bears meet Dr. Brittany Penner to discuss her memoir, Children Like Us: A Métis Woman’s Memoir of Family, Identity, and Walking Herself Home (Regalo Press, 2025), recently named one of Indigo’s Best Books of 2025. Penner, a family physician of Anishinaabe, Cree, and European settler lineage, was adopted at birth into a white Menno...

This episode features a rich and timely conversation between Native Circles co-hosts Dr. Farina King and Eva Bighorse and the co-editors of the anthology Beyond the Glittering World: An Anthology of Indigenous Feminisms and Futurisms , Stacie Shannon Denetsosie, Kinsale Drake, and Darcie Little Badger. Bringing together the work of 22 authors, including "women, two-spirit people, and people o...

In this episode, co-hosts Dr. Farina King and Dr. Davina Two Bears welcome Amy Bowers Cordalis, a member of the Yurok Tribe and author of The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family’s Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life (October 2025). Amy discusses her family’s generations-long fight to protect the Klamath River, a vital ecosystem and life line of the Yurok people. She shares insights from her...

This special episode of the Native Language Protectors and Carriers series features Freddie Lewis, a dedicated Choctaw language instructor at the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Farina King talks with Freddie about the challenges and joys of sustaining Indigenous languages such as Choctaw. Freddie shares personal stories about his family’s experiences with boarding schools, the power of community-led...

In this episode, host Dr. Farina King is joined by Dr. Anton Treuer and Dr. Chelsea Mead to explore the transformative partnership between Bemidji State University and Minnesota State University, Mankato, dedicated to revitalizing the Ojibwe language. The conversation delves into the power of intergenerational learning, the use of technology to bridge distances, and the importance of community in...

This episode features voices from a panel on the collaboration, “Indigenous Truthtelling of Boarding Schools,” held at the University of Oklahoma in August 2025 and funded by a NHPRC-Mellon Planning Grant for Collaborative Digital Editions in African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American History and Ethnic Studies. The panelists share their experiences studying Native Am...

Heather Tanana (Diné), a law professor at the University of Denver and associate faculty member with the Center for Indigenous Health at Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, joins host Farina King to discuss her chapter in COVID-19 in Indian Country: Native American Memories and Experiences of the Pandemic . Her chapter, “The Intersection of the Law and Health: Water (In)security in I...

At age 40, Robert Collins realized that the Potawatomi language was still alive, which changed the course of his life. Now a dedicated language instructor for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and various universities across Oklahoma, Collins shares his journey from machinist to language protector. In this episode, he emphasizes the sacredness of Bodwéwadmimwen (Potawatomi language), innovative teachi...

On this episode of the special series featuring Native Language Protectors and Carriers, we reflect on the legacy of the Native American Languages Act of 1990 through the stories of Michael Elizondo, Jr. and Chaz Meadows. They are two citizens of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes who are reclaiming their languages, one word and one conversation at a time. From learning with elders and attending cere...

In this powerful conversation, Dr. Christine Ami shares her journey of navigating the cultural arts program and collaborating on the T’áá wołí bee exhibit at Diné College during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the lens of Wołí Bee , a Diné concept of perseverance, she discusses how Indigenous cultural arts undergirds resilience, community connection, and healing. Christine explores the challenges o...

In this episode, Dr. Farina King is joined by Dr. Gavin A. Healey, a contributing author of COVID-19 in Indian Country and Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Applied Indigenous Studies at Northern Arizona University (NAU). Gavin highlights how Indigenous graffiti and muralism emerged as vital tools of community care and resistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing from his chapter, “Nativ...

In this episode of Native Circles , Dr. Farina King, co-editor of COVID-19 in Indian Country , talks with co-authors Dr. Amoneeta Beckstein and Dr. Tapati Dutta about their chapter, exploring the lived experiences of eight Native American college students during the pandemic. Drawing from semi-structured interviews, the chapter centers the students' voices as they navigate the challenges of C...

In this episode, co-editor Dr. Farina King of COVID-19 in Indian Country: Native American Memories and Experiences of the Pandemic speaks with contributing author Dr. Shaina A. Nez about her chapter, “COVID-19 Memory Dreamscapes.” A Diné writer from Lukachukai, Arizona, Shaina reflects on the meanings of her dreams and memories during the pandemic while navigating the hardships of single motherhoo...

In this episode of Native Circles , Eva Bighorse and Dr. Farina King talk with Dr. Yvette Brown-Shirley, a Diné neurologist specializing in sports neurology and brain injury medicine at Barrow Neurological Institute. Dr. Brown-Shirley shares her experiences of becoming a neurologist and how her identity as a Diné woman healer informs her approach to medicine. She discusses the urgent need to addre...

Christine Armer is a Cherokee elder and language instructor of nearly 20 years at the University of Oklahoma who grew up in a Cherokee community where she wasn’t introduced to the English language until she attended grade school. This is the first of a new Native Circles podcast series featuring Native Language Protectors and Carriers, including Mrs. Armer. Listen to her story of teaching Cherokee...

In this Native Circles episode, Eva Bighorse and Dr. Farina King sit down with Violet Duncan, an award-winning author, dancer, and storyteller from the Plains Cree of the Kehewin Cree Nation and of Taino descent. Together, they trace Violet's path as a creative force, diving into the themes of her National Book Award-nominated youth novel, Buffalo Dreamer (published by Nancy Paulsen Books in...

In this episode, Dr. Davina Two Bears and Dr. Farina King are joined by Dr. Kaitlin Reed (Yurok/Hupa/Oneida) to discuss her groundbreaking first book, Settler Cannabis: From Gold Rush to Green Rush in Indigenous Northern California , published in 2023 by the University of Washington Press. Dr. Reed is an Associate Professor of Native American Studies at Cal Poly Humboldt, where she serves as the T...

This episode features Dr. Kelly Berry, an enrolled citizen of the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma (Plains Apache) with affiliations to the Kiowa and Choctaw Nations. Dr. Berry is a Mellon Impact Post-Doctoral Fellow and Lecturer in the Department of Native American Studies at the University of Oklahoma. His groundbreaking research explores the intersections of eSports, Native American education, and tech...

In this episode, Dr. Blaire Morseau joins Dr. Davina Two Bears and Dr. Farina King to discuss her work with Neshnabé (Potawatomi) knowledge systems, focusing on birch bark, language, and archives. Dr. Morseau highlights the significance of Simon Pokagon's nineteenth-century birch bark books, featured in her edited volume As Sacred to Us: Simon Pokagon’s Birch Bark Stories in their Contexts ....

Ah-in-nist, also known as Clifford, Sipes is Cheyenne with family ties in both Oklahoma and Montana. His father was the last authorized historian of the Cheyenne People, and a respected Chief and Pipe Carrier. His Mother is a citizen of the Caddo Nation. Ah-in-nist currently resides and works in Oklahoma. He writes and speaks publicly, working most recently on the "Calling Back the Spirits&qu...

Co-founders of the Native Circles podcast Sarah Newcomb and Farina King co-host this session introducing Dr. Melanie ("Mel") Fillmore (they/them/she/her) who is urban mixed Hunkpapa, Lakota of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota. Mel is an assistant professor of Native American Studies at the University of Oklahoma (OU).  Their work is an iterative approach to underst...