RU Native

In this episode, we speak with two of the three curators of the "Place Nations, Generations, Beings: 200 Years of Indigenous North American Art" exhibit at the Yale University Art Gallery. Joseph Zordan (Bad River Ojibwe) and Katherine McCleary (Little Shell Chippewa Cree), along with Leah Shrestinian -- who could not make the interview -- spent years working on this exhibit and displaying a diverse range of objects and artworks spanning centuries that felt representative of Native American communities. Jo and Katie discuss the journey of their exhibit from its beginnings to their hopes about its lasting impact, as well as the many intentional choices they made in regards to the physical exhibit space. They also speak on their experiences as Native students at a university with a Native American Cultural Center on campus, and how that aided their undergraduate experience and gave them power as a community.

In this episode, we interview Distinguished Professor of History at Rutgers University, Dr. Camilla Townsend, who specializes in Early Native American and Latin American History. We discuss the origins of Thanksgiving and how Rutgers is the only school in the Big 10 without a significant Native American and Indigenous Studies commitment. Recently publishing her latest book, Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs, Dr. Townsend shares her personal connection to Native American history, which brought her to Rutgers and how students can be the source of change in demanding an Indigenous Studies Department.

RU Native Premieres in November