Native Circles

Indigenous Biblical Interpretation with T. Christopher Hoklotubbe and H. Daniel Zacharias

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 [https://www.ivpress.com/reading-the-bible-on-turtle-island?srsltid=AfmBOoqRJKww5INfdHur7nftVxv93iBFboWAmuqaWrHSDZczkHAzs4Lj] Civilized Piety: The Rhetoric of Pietas in the Pastoral Epistles and the Roman Empire by T. Christopher Hoklotubbe [https://www.baylorpress.com/9781481307178/civilized-piety/] Stringing Rosaries: The History, the Unforgivable, the Healing of Northern Plains Boarding School Survivors [https://books.google.com/books/about/Stringing_Rosaries.html?id=ddy0xAEACAAJ]by Denise K. Lajimodiere NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community [https://naiits.com/]

Indigenous Archaeology and Sovereign Stories with Dr. Joe Watkins

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," [https://www.ancientartarchive.org/dr-joe-watkins-phd-core-advisor-to-the-ancient-art-archive/] Ancient Art Archive "What does it mean to be human?"- Joe Watkins (Emeritus) [https://humanorigins.si.edu/about/broader-social-impacts-committee/members-member-resources/joe-watkins-emeritus] Indigenizing Japan: Ainu Past, Present, and Future [https://uapress.arizona.edu/book/indigenizing-japan] (University of Arizona Press) by Joe Watkins Working as Indigenous Archaeologists: Reckoning New Paths Between Past and Present Lives [https://www.routledge.com/Working-as-Indigenous-Archaeologists-Reckoning-New-Paths-Between-Past-and-Present-Lives/Nicholas-Watkins/p/book/9781032025377] (Routledge) edited by George Nicolas and Joe Watkins Indigenous Archaeology: American Indian Values and Scientific Practice [https://www.amazon.com/Indigenous-Archaeology-American-Scientific-Archaeologies/dp/0742503291] by Joe Watkins

"Children Like Us": Brittany Penner on the Sixties Scoop and Walking Home

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 [https://brittanypenner.com] Learn more about Brittany Penner's new book Children Like Us: A Métis Woman's Memoir of Family, Identity, and Walking Herself Home [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Children-Like-Us/Brittany-Penner/9798895654972] (2025) "The Sixties Scoop" [https://irshdc.ubc.ca/learn/the-child-welfare-system-and-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?" [https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/metis-identity-history-rights-explainer-1.5098585] (2019 CBC article)

Voices of Indigenous Feminisms in "Beyond the Glittering World"

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 [https://www.torreyhouse.org/beyond-the-glittering-world], 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 [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 [https://www.staciedenetsosie.com] Kinsale Drake's website [https://kinsaledrake.com] Darcie Little Badger's website [https://darcielittlebadger.com] Jessica Miller, “An Indigenous author felt compelled to cancel her Utah appearance after this university gave her a list of banned DEI words,” [https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2025/12/04/indigenous-author-cancels-weber/] Salt Lake Tribune, December 4, 2025. NDN Girls' Book Club website [https://ndngirlsbookclub.org]

"The Water Remembers": Amy Bowers Cordalis on Healing the Klamath River

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 [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-water-remembers-amy-bowers-cordalis/1145226158?ean=9780316568951] (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 [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-water-remembers-amy-bowers-cordalis/1145226158?ean=9780316568951] at Barnes & Noble and other major booksellers https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/amy-bowers-cordalis/the-water-remembers/9780316568951/ [https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/amy-bowers-cordalis/the-water-remembers/9780316568951/] https://amybowerscordalis.com/ [https://amybowerscordalis.com/] https://www.ridgestoriffles.org/about-us [https://www.ridgestoriffles.org/about-us]