Dr. Ka'ow'dthu'ee sits down with Dr. Michael Kotutwa Johnson (Hopi) during his first visit to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he spoke at Dickinson College’s Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues. Dr. Johnson shares the brilliance of Hopi dryland farming and reflects on the responsibility to carry forward ancestral knowledge. Their conversation explores Indigenous ingenuity—how traditional farming practices embody innovation, resilience, and a deep relationship with the land in the face of climate and cultural challenges.

In this episode of The Indigenous Revolt, Dr.  Ka'ow'dthu'ee shares a personal journey from Carlisle to Gila River, witnessing President Joe Biden deliver a historic apology for the federal Indian boarding school policy. The episode begins on October 24, 2024, traveling from Harrisburg International Airport in Pennsylvania to Phoenix, Arizona, tracing the movement from the site of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School to the homelands of the Gila River Indian Community.

The journey includes reflections from the reception hosted by former Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland at the Huhugam Heritage Center on October 24, followed by the presidential apology on October 25, 2024.

Dr. Ka'ow'dthu'ee offers an on-the-groundperspective of what it felt like to be present—to listen, to witness, and to carry generations of survival and resistance into this historic moment. This is not just about an apology—it’s about remembrance, healing, and honoring thosewho came before us.

What might our ancestors have said, if they’d been given the chance to speakfreely? I’m Dr. Ka’ow’dthu’ee, your host of the Indigenous Revolt podcast. I’vespent over 14 months living, working, and praying in Carlisle,Pennsylvania—about a mile from the site of the former Carlisle Indian Industrial School.

This season of The Indigenous Revolt is made up of recordings I’ve gathered over the past year. I’ve carried these storiesfor months, sitting with them, and only now have I been able to bring these voices together and offer them the care and time they deserve. In this season, we witness former Secretary Deb Haaland’s October 2025 visit to Dickinson’s Archives and the Center for the Futures of Native Peoples. We reflect on the presidential apology delivered later that month at the GilaRiver Indian Community. We step into the National Archives for the first time—a powerful and intimidating experience— And we travel across the ocean to Italy, where original photographs of Carlisle and Hampton Institute Native students are held in a museum collection, raising questions about possession, memory, and healing.

Throughout the season, you’ll hear from fellow storytellers who offer their reflections on Carlisle and the broader experiences that shape their journeys. These are stories of reckoning, movement, and deep listening—across time, land, andocean.

Music courtesy of Fawn Wood

Song: For Sage (featuring Anthony Wakeman) from the Kikawiynaw album