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-to-government relationships, and the specific histories and priorities of Native Nations such as the Pawnee Nation.

A citizen of the Pawnee Nation, Carlton is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Assistant Curator of Archaeology at the University of Kansas, with affiliate appointments in Museum Studies and Indigenous Studies. He earned his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Colorado-Boulder, where his dissertation, "The Seeds of Ethnogenesis," examined the formation of Central Great Plains Villages through Indigenous perspectives and advanced chronological modeling. His research focuses on Great Plains archaeology, Indigenous/American Indian archaeology, and the integration of oral traditions with archaeological science.

The conversation highlights how treating oral traditions as rigorous historical records, combined with tools like radiocarbon dating, can overturn long-standing academic narratives about migration, corn agriculture, and the deep homelands of Native Nations. Carlton, Davina, and Farina also discuss the emotional and spiritual realities of working in museum collections, the importance of NAGPRA and tribal cultural centers, and why public-facing work like the Great Plains Archaeology Podcast is vital for sharing knowledge with Native communities and inspiring the next generation of Indigenous archaeologists.

Resources:

Carlton Shield Chief Gover official University of Kansas Department of Anthropology faculty webpage

Great Plains Archaeology Podcast
A podcast hosted by Dr. Carlton Shield Chief Gover on the Archaeology Podcast Network, focusing on the archaeology, histories, and communities of the Great Plains region.

NAGPRA and Tribal Sovereignty in Practice
For listeners interested in the legal and ethical context Carlton discusses (sovereignty, compliance, and NAGPRA), see the U.S. National Park Service’s official NAGPRA page.

Indigenizing Archaeology: Putting Theory into Practice (University Press of Florida)

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 Theology Circle and Coordinator of the Graduate Studies Group for NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community, the first accredited theological institute designed, developed, delivered, and governed by Indigenous peoples.

Danny Zacharias is a Cree-Anishinaabe/Métis and Austrian scholar from Winnipeg, Manitoba (Treaty One Territory) with ancestral ties to Treaties Two, Three, and Five. He lives in Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia) and is Associate Dean and Professor of New Testament Studies at Acadia Divinity College, as well as adjunct faculty and journal editor for NAIITS.

Together, they explore what happens when the Bible is read from Turtle Island through Indigenous histories, geographies, and intellectual traditions. The conversation examines scripture’s entanglement with colonization, missionization, and boarding schools, and highlights Indigenous survivance, responsibility, and resurgence. Rather than treating the Bible as a text detached from land and power, Chris and Danny open space for Indigenous-centered approaches that honor both sacred text and sacred place.

Resources:

Reading the Bible on Turtle Island: An Invitation to North American Indigenous Interpretation by T. Christopher Hoklotubbe and H. Daniel Zacharias

Civilized Piety: The Rhetoric of Pietas in the Pastoral Epistles and the Roman Empire by T. Christopher Hoklotubbe

Stringing Rosaries: The History, the Unforgivable, the Healing of Northern Plains Boarding School Survivors by Denise K. Lajimodiere

NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community

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,” and how Indigenous communities are redefining what it means to study and protect their own pasts.

A member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Dr. Joe Watkins has been involved in archaeology and heritage preservation initiatives for more than 50 years. He has published more than 100 book chapters and articles, and his books include Indigenous Archaeology: American Indian Values and Scientific Practice (2000); with Carol J. Ellick, The Anthropology Graduate’s Guide: From Student to a Career (2nd Edition, 2023); with George Nicholas, Working as Indigenous Archaeologists: Reckoning New Paths Between Past and Present Lives (2024); and Indigenizing Japan: Ainu Past, Present, and Future (2025). He has taught at multiple universities and worked for the National Park Service on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) program in Washington, D.C. He served as President of the Board of Directors of the Society for American Archaeology, 2018–2021, and in 2025 received the Society for American Archaeology’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Often described as an “archaeological elder,” Dr. Watkins has mentored generations of Indigenous students and practitioners, helping to open pathways for Native Nations and communities to define and direct research about their own lands, histories, and futures.

Resources:

"Meet Dr. Joe Watkins, PhD," Ancient Art Archive

"What does it mean to be human?"- Joe Watkins (Emeritus)

Indigenizing Japan: Ainu Past, Present, and Future (University of Arizona Press) by Joe Watkins

Working as Indigenous Archaeologists: Reckoning New Paths Between Past and Present Lives (Routledge) edited by George Nicolas and Joe Watkins

Indigenous Archaeology: American Indian Values and Scientific Practice by Joe Watkins

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 Mennonite family during what is known as the Sixties Scoop in Canada, an era of state-sanctioned Indigenous child removal that remains central to Indigenous Studies conversations about kinship disruption, settler colonialism, and cultural continuity across North America.

Together, they explore what it means to “walk home” in an Indigenous sense, not simply a return to place, but a return to story, lineage, language, community, and relational accountability. The conversation engages questions of adoption, survivance, and belonging while also considering the ethical and intellectual work of reclaiming Indigenous identity. This episode invites listeners into a powerful dialogue about home, healing, and Indigenous futurity.

Resources:

Brittany Penner's website

Learn more about Brittany Penner's new book Children Like Us: A Métis Woman's Memoir of Family, Identity, and Walking Herself Home (2025)

"The Sixties Scoop" educational resources shared by the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre at the University of British Columbia

"Exploring Identity: Who are the Métis and what are their rights?" (2019 CBC article)

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 of marginalized genders," the book is a genre-spanning collection that centers Indigenous feminisms, futurisms, and the enduring power of story as a form of resistance, care, and world-making. In this episode, the co-editors reflect on the vision behind the anthology, its collaborative spirit, and the ways Indigenous writers engage poetry, prose, and speculative modes to challenge colonial narratives while imagining more just and livable futures. Listeners are introduced to the editors’ creative and intellectual journeys and to the significance of Beyond the Glittering World as both a literary and societal intervention.

The conversation also directly addresses the contemporary context shaping Indigenous storytelling, including book bans and anti-DEI initiatives that seek to restrict what can be taught, read, and spoken. The episode discusses Darcie Little Badger’s decision to decline a speaking invitation at Weber State University in the fall of 2025 due to imposed limits on her freedom of expression, underscoring the real and immediate stakes for Indigenous writers and scholars. Throughout the episode, the editors and hosts emphasize Indigenous feminisms as practices rooted in sovereignty, relationality, and accountability, and they return repeatedly to the power of stories to survive erasure, to speak truth, and to insist on Indigenous presence and futures even in the face of silencing.

Resources:

Order and learn about the anthology Beyond the Glittering World: An Anthology of Indigenous Feminisms and Futurisms through the publisher Torrey House Press: https://www.torreyhouse.org/beyond-the-glittering-world

Contributing authors include:
Conley Lyons | Moniquill Blackgoose | Trisha Moquino | Amelia Vigil | A.J. Eversole | Dominique Daye Hunter | Heid E. Erdrich | Pte San Win Little Whitema | Cheyenne Dakota Williams | Ha’åni Lucia Falo San Nicolas | Amber McCrary | Arielle Twist | Maritza N. Estrada | Danielle Shandiin Emerson | Chelsea T. Hicks | Shaina A. Nez | Ayling Dominguez | Samah Serour Fadil | Andrea Rogers | Kinsale Drake | Stacie Shannon Denetsosie | jaye simpson

Stacie Shannon Denetsosie's website

Kinsale Drake's website

Darcie Little Badger's website

Jessica Miller, “An Indigenous author felt compelled to cancel her Utah appearance after this university gave her a list of banned DEI words,” Salt Lake Tribune, December 4, 2025.

NDN Girls' Book Club website

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 book, which chronicles this history and the landmark legal battle that led to the removal of four dams, one of the world’s largest river restoration efforts. The dam removal reopened the river’s flow and revived long-endangered salmon populations.

Amy Bowers Cordalis is a fisherwoman, attorney, and mother from the village of Rek-Woi at the mouth of the Klamath River. As Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group, she leads work that uplifts tribal sovereignty and advances environmental restoration across Indigenous homelands. A former general counsel for the Yurok Tribe and attorney with the Native American Rights Fund, Amy is widely recognized for her leadership and vision, honored as both a UN Champion of the Earth and a Time 100 climate leader.

Together, we talk about restoration, responsibility, Indigenous knowledge, and how the river “remembers” the care of all its relatives- human and more than human.

Resources:

Order The Water Remembers at Barnes & Noble and other major booksellers

https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/amy-bowers-cordalis/the-water-remembers/9780316568951/

https://amybowerscordalis.com/

https://www.ridgestoriffles.org/about-us

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 language revitalization, and how teaching connects generations. The conversation highlights the rich legacy of the Choctaw Code Talkers, the significance of cultural memory, and exciting new projects bringing the Choctaw language to young learners and mass media.

Freddie Lewis is recognized by the Choctaw Nation as a certified language teacher and has over 12 years of experience teaching multiple levels of Choctaw at the University of Oklahoma (OU). In addition to his university work, he leads community classes, collaborates with museums, and involves his students in projects that support language learning and cultural preservation.

Listeners are especially encouraged to check out the powerful new short documentary (about 14 minutes long) Voices of Valor, which honors the Choctaw Code Talkers and shines a light on their enduring impact. The film will be screening at the Native Nations Center event room on the OU Norman campus on November 11, 2025, starting at 9 am Central Time.

Resources:

"Voices of Valor Film Debut," The Middle Ground

Choctaw Code Talkers: Telephone Warriors

"Native American Languages at OU"

Choctaw Language Classes, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

Choctaw Cultural Center

First Americans Museum

Classroom VR Trunks: Choctaw Code Talkers 1918

Marvel ECHO x Choctaw Nation

"‘Sinners’ Puts ‘Truth on Screen’ for the Mississippi Band Of Choctaw Indians," AP June 6, 2025.

Learn more about the efforts to protect and support the study of Native American languages (and all languages) at the University of Oklahoma through the following petitions:

Oppose the Removal of Foreign Language Gen Ed requirements at the University of Oklahoma

Keep Indigenous Languages Alive at OU

For more information about the Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair, see the hyperlink.

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 language preservation. Anton and Chelsea share personal stories, discuss the challenges and triumphs of building university-based Native language programs, and reflect on the healing and strength that come from reconnecting with ancestral languages. Listeners will gain insight into the collaborative efforts that are making a difference for students, families, and communities across Ojibwe country and beyond.

Dr. Anton Treuer is a Professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University, renowned author, and leading advocate for Indigenous language revitalization. He was raised near the Leech Lake Reservation of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in north-central Minnesota, although his mother is enrolled in the White Earth Nation (also known as the White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe). Anton has dedicated his career to building Ojibwe language programs, developing teacher training initiatives, and fostering equity in education. His work has had a profound impact both regionally and nationally, and he is recognized for his engaging teaching style, community leadership, and commitment to cultural preservation.

Dr. Chelsea Mead is a settler-colonist/non-Indigenous scholar who grew up in Anishinaabeg homelands of Michigan and now works in Dakota homelands of Minnesota. She is a Professor of History and American Indigenous Studies at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and has been learning Anishinaabemowin since she was a college student herself. Her research examines how educational institutions can be accountable to their pasts while supporting Indigenous students and communities in the present. Chelsea is also a contributing author to the edited volume COVID-19 in Indian Country, sharing insights on language, community, and resilience.

Resources:

Chelsea M. Mead, "Maawanji’idiwag: They Come Together," in COVID-19 in Indian Country: Native American Memories and Experiences of the Pandemic, eds. Farina King and Wade Davies (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024).

Anton Treuer, Everything you Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2023 revised & expanded edition)

Anton Treuer's website- https://antontreuer.com/

"Multi-Campus Collaboration Funding: Ojibwe Language" (2023)

Ojibwe Language Programs, Bemidji State University

For more information about the Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair, see the hyperlink.