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.