This episode is supported by the FX original series Reservation Dogs.

From Sterling Harjo and Tyco YTT, this first of its kind, Indigenous Creative Team,

tells a story that invites audiences into a surprisingly familiar and funny world.

Reservation Dogs. All episodes now streaming exclusively FX on Hulu.

Just a note before we get started. The stories we're sharing this season touch on different kinds of

trauma. Please take care of yourself while you listen. I was in the courtroom for a period of

about five minutes all alone. And so I sat there quietly before another soul entered the courtroom.

And I just bowed my head and offered a prayer for not only the case, but for wisdom and guidance

for an entire legal team and those that were in the audience. This is Fawn Sharp.

In January of 2020, she was sitting in the fifth circuit court of appeals.

One step below the Supreme Court. Waiting for oral arguments to start and the big federal lawsuit

we've been following this season. Brackene B. Holland. Sharp is the vice president of

Quenalt Indian Nation and the president of the National Congress of American Indians.

But before the arguments got started, Sharp got in trouble.

So I wear a traditional Quenalt cedar hat. Cedar in the Quenalt language is Chidham.

And it represents strength. It represents a sacred bond we have to our lands.

Shortly before the justices came out, I was asked to remove my cedar hat. And I told the

staffer that I can't do that. I simply just said, I can't. And then she proceeded to ask me if it was

medically necessary to have my hat. And I told her again, looked at her squarely in the eyes and

I said, I cannot remove this hat. And it is medicine. It is cedar. It is a part of who I am. And she

at that point just said fine and walked away. But that was sort of a first impression before

the justices even walked out into the courtroom. I was being challenged and asked to strip myself

...