This episode features a roundtable with voices from the Indigenous Truth Telling Panel, held at the University of Oklahoma in Norman in August 2025. The panelists share their experiences studying Indian boarding schools and discuss a new digital collaboration among the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, Northeastern State University, and Utah State University which will create new resources and expand public access to boarding school materials.

Heather Tanana (Diné), a law professor at the University of Denver and associate faculty member with the Center for Indigenous Health at Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, joins host Farina King to discuss her chapter in COVID-19 in Indian Country: Native American Memories and Experiences of the Pandemic. Her chapter, “The Intersection of the Law and Health: Water (In)security in Indian Country,” asserts that access to clean water is essential for health, culture, and community well-being, yet nearly half of Native American homes lack safe drinking water or basic sanitation compared to less than 1% nationwide. This episode examines the ongoing crisis of tribal water insecurity and the work still needed to close the gap.

Resources:

• tribalcleanwater.org is a website that contains a lot of resources, including some reports such as "Universal Access to Clean Water for Tribal Communities"
• In the episode, Heather makes a reference to this grassroots and community organization: https://tonizhoniani.org/
• "Water Is Life: Law, Systemic Racism, and Water Security in Indian Country," an article by Heather Tanana, Julie Combs, and Alia Hoss: https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/hs.2021.0034
• "Abandoned Mines, Abandoned Treaties: The Federal Government's Failure to Remediate Abandoned Uranium Mines on the Navajo Nation," an article by Nadine Padilla: https://lawreview.colorado.edu/print/volume-96/abandoned-mines-abandoned-treaties-the-federal-governments-failure-to-remediate-abandoned-uranium-mines-on-the-navajo-nation-nadine-padilla/
• Heather Tanana, "The Intersection of the Law and Health: Water (In)security in Indian Country," in COVID-19 in Indian Country: Native American Memories and Experiences of the Pandemic, eds. Farina King and Wade Davies (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024).

At age 40, Robert Collins realized that the Potawatomi language was still alive, which changed the course of his life. Now a dedicated language instructor for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and various universities across Oklahoma, Collins shares his journey from machinist to language protector. In this episode, he emphasizes the sacredness of Bodwéwadmimwen (Potawatomi language), innovative teaching methods, and his dream of creating future generations of Potawatomi speakers and educators. This episode is a part of the special series on Native Language Protectors and Carriers, tracing how one man’s calling ignites a community’s hope.

Dr. Farina King narrates this episode, and special thanks to Brian D. King for editing the Language Protectors and Carriers series.

Robert Collins is a Citizen Potawatomi Nation member of the Delonais family and Thunder Clan. He serves as the Interdepartmental Potawatomi Language Lead at the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center and teaches Potawatomi at the University of Oklahoma and other institutions. Collins designs curriculum for early childhood, college-level, and community language programs. He is a lifelong student of Bodwéwadmimwen that he now helps others reclaim.

Learn more about the efforts to protect and support the study of Native American languages (and all languages) at the University of Oklahoma through the following petitions:

Oppose the Removal of Foreign Language Gen Ed requirements at the University of Oklahoma

Keep Indigenous Languages Alive at OU

For more information about the Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair, see the hyperlink.

Learn more about Native American Languages at the University of Oklahoma.

Additional Resources:

Citizen Potawatomi Nation Language Department- https://www.potawatomiheritage.com/language/

"Collins Speaks on Learning Potawatomi Language" (December 2024)

Tina Bridenstine, "Program helps build Potawatomi language resources," Native Oklahoma (May 2025)