Hello relatives, I'm Matika Wilber, I'm from the Swin and Mish and Tulaylab tribes,

I'm a photographer and the founder of Project 562 and I'm also a mom, a wifey, a writer,

and the co-host of this fantastic podcast. And I'm Dr. Adrienne Keane, citizen of the Cherokee Nation,

author of the Native Appropriations Blog, scholar, writer, faculty member, anti-dog mom,

and co-host with Matika. We have a beautiful episode for you today, we're thinking through

building indigenous futures, why should Native students participate in higher education?

As many of the listeners know by now, or maybe not, my academic research and work as a scholar

is with Native students navigating the college process. I've been doing this work for over a decade,

working closely with indigenous students and a nonprofit called College Horizons.

In my journey through my research and writing, there have been several people who've been

foundational to my thinking, learning, and shaping of my work. As I am working to finish up my

book, which you have heard a lot about, your second book, my second book, the second book.

I am working through a lot of these ideas right now and I feel so excited to share the voices

of some of the mentors, thought partners, and friends who have really helped me in this process.

Truly, they're the folks that have most deeply shaped my thinking on the role of college and our

communities and our scholars that continue to be national leaders in the field of indigenous

higher ed. So a while back, we talked to our friends, Dr. Amanda Tachini and Dr. Brian Braboy

about the realities for Native students in college. Amanda is Navajo and the Assistant Professor

and Educational Leadership and Innovation at Arizona State University, who centers for research

on exploring college access and persistence among indigenous college students using qualitative

indigenous methodologies. She's also published her beautiful book, Native Presidents,

Sovereignty and College, Sustaining Indigenous Weapons to Defeat Systemic Monsters

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