Native Circles
This podcast features Native American and Indigenous voices, stories, and experiences for everyone to learn, not only in North America but also throughout the world. The founders of Native Circles are Dr. Farina King (Diné) and Sarah Newcomb (Tsimshian), who were inspired to start this podcast to educate wider publics about the interconnections and significance of Native American, Alaska Native, and Indigenous experiences and matters. The primary co-hosts of the podcast are Dr. King, Dr. Davina Two Bears, and Eva Bighorse. Dr. King is the Horizon Chair of Native American Ecology and Culture and an associate professor of Native American Studies at the University of Oklahoma. Newcomb works as a freelance editor, writer, and blogger with degrees in English and a focus in Non-Fiction Creative Writing. Dr. Two Bears (Diné) is a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow in the School for Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University. Bighorse (Cayuga and Diné) is an Indigenous human development advocate with expertise in tribal healthcare relations. Learn more about the podcast and episodes on the official website of "Native Circles" at https://nativecirclespodcast.com/.
Native Circles
Crystal Lepscier speaks on Racial Battle Fatigue and Healing Paths
Crystal Lepscier talks about how the history of education and racism tied to historically government sanctioned assimilation and similar genocidal practices ties into our traumas and experiences within the institution that is 'school.' This is profound when we think about Racial Battle Fatigue. This term explains the physiological and psychological harm that is a result of long term microaggressions, racism, and intergenerational trauma. This term carries a weight that, when confronted, has the potential to also help us open the doors to understanding and healing, which sets us on a better path to our human selves.
Lepscier is an enrolled citizen of the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe and a first line descendant of Menominee and Stockbridge-Munsee communities. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art and a Master of Science in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis (ELPA) from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. She currently works at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay (UWGB) as the First Nations Student Success Coordinator, supporting all Indigenous students at the institution. Lepscier recently completed her Ed.D. in the First Nations Education Doctorate (FNED) program at UWGB, where she focused her dissertation work on combating Racial Battle Fatigue in the Indigenous student population in higher education.
Learn more about the First Nations Education Ed.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
See also Dan Ninham, “‘Learning is a Lifelong Journey’: Four Indigenous Educators in Wisconsin are the first in the nation with a new doctorate in First Nations Education,” Indian Country Today, July 12, 2022.
Frank Vaisvilas, “The first doctors of Indigenous education have graduated from UW-Green Bay. Here’s what they plan to do next,” Green Bay Press-Gazette, May 24, 2022.
