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Before there was a thesis, there was survival. In this opening episode, Fira shares the story of how she arrived at graduate school—not through a carefully planned academic path, but through years of navigating broken systems, community responsibility, loss, and improvisation.

From teaching on the reservation, to moving to Las Cruces after her mother’s passing, to entering a graduate program without Indigenous mentorship, this episode traces the conditions that made the thesis necessary. This conversation is not about individuals or institutions, but about patterns, absence, and what it means to build your own container when support disappears.

This is the beginning—before the language, before the defense, before the scholarship.

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This Episode marks the return of Dr. Georgina Badoni for Part Two of our conversation first introduced in Episode 21. In this episode, we reopen the space with intention, care, and accountability as Dr. Georgina Badoni shares what was left unsaid the first time around.

Dr. Badoni speaks candidly about the real reasons behind her departure from an institution that was not built to protect Indigenous women who speak truth. Through reflection on power, systems, and accountability, she unpacks the behaviors, breaking points, and responses that ultimately led her to step away. This conversation situates her experience within a larger pattern faced by Indigenous people navigating institutional spaces, while also naming what organizations consistently get wrong—and what could change if leaders truly listened.

Grounded in cultural teachings and personal strength, Dr. Badoni also shares how she cares for herself while carrying truth that holds weight, and offers guidance for others facing similar harm in their workplaces or communities. We close by looking forward—what’s next for her, what keeps her grounded, and how listeners can stand with those who speak out and push for change in their own spaces.

This is a powerful continuation of a necessary conversation—one rooted in courage, accountability, and the responsibility that comes with truth-telling.

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Whose faces are we carrying in our pockets every day?

We break down how U.S. currency honors slave owners, colonizers, and architects of Native genocide, and how that daily symbolism reinforces power and erasure. We also talk about Indigenous economies before the dollar—wampum, trade, livestock, and the teachings that defined real wealth long before capitalism.

From the faces on coins and bills to the jewelry our people wore as wealth and protection, this episode challenges listeners to rethink money, memory, and value. What it really means to carry history in your wallet.

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