In this 100th episode of Red Hoop Talk, host Jennifer is joined by Shannon O’Loughlin, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the Association on American Indian Affairs’ CEO and Attorney, for a candid conversation on sovereignty, repatriation, identity, and community responsibility. They reflect on the purpose of Red Hoop Talk as a space for honest, community-centered dialogue and the significance of reaching this milestone.

Shannon discusses the complexities of Native identity, enrollment, and recognition, addressing how federal and state systems shape sovereignty and services for Native Nations. She also names difficult issues such as disenrollment and “pretendianism,” underscoring how misunderstandings of sovereignty continue to affect Native governance and belonging.

Repatriation remains central to the conversation, with Shannon framing the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) as a human rights responsibility rather than a procedural requirement. She emphasizes the return of Ancestors and sacred belongings as an act of cultural restoration and self-determination, and reflects on the role of the Repatriation Conference in advancing this work. Shannon also speaks to law as a tool that can either exclude or empower, highlighting the responsibility of attorneys to support Native Nations’ decision-making.

Personal reflection weaves throughout the episode. Shannon shares how learning her family history shaped her path to law school, while Jennifer reflects on culture, education, and representation. Together, they return to a core truth: sovereignty lives with the people and is exercised through participation, responsibility, and community connection. Listeners are encouraged to engage with Red Hoop Talk and learn more about the Association’s work supporting Native voices and cultural restoration.

In Episode 98 of “Red Hoop Talk,” Jennifer sits down with Sandy White Hawk (Sicangu Lakota), a nationally respected advocate whose life story has reshaped how the country understands adoption, foster care, and the long-term impacts of Native child removal. Taken from Rosebud at just 18 months old, Sandy grew up far from her relatives, culture, and sense of identity. Her adoptive home was marked by racial, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse — a reality she now speaks about openly to expose the cost of family separation on Native Nations.

Sandy’s early adulthood took her into the Navy, where she found belonging among Black servicemembers who understood the experience of being racialized and displaced. Sobriety, ceremony, and eventually returning home to Rosebud became turning points in her healing. That journey — from survival to reconnection — now fuels her life’s work.

As founder and director of the First Nations Repatriation Institute, Sandy has become one of the leading voices on adoptee and foster-care healing. She organizes Truth Healing Reconciliation forums, supports adoptees and birth relatives through community groups, and trains practitioners across the country on the realities behind Native child removal. Her research highlights the stark truth many adoptees carry: high rates of abuse, staggering mental-health impacts, and the lifelong ache of growing up without seeing one’s own face reflected back. As she says in the episode, “Love does not replace identity,” and “If it were truly in the best interest of the child, we would not be terminating parental rights.”

Sandy’s insights ground the conversation in sovereignty, responsibility, and the hard truth that adoption has become a multi-billion-dollar industry built on the ongoing removal of Native children. She discusses Indian Child Welfare Act as an act of Native Nation self-governance, the importance of returning children to their Nations, and the research she’s led showing high rates of abuse and suicide attempts among Native adoptees.

Listeners can learn more at WeAreComingHome.org, explore the documentary Blood Memory, or read her book A Return to the Heart. “Red Hoop Talk” continues to uplift the stories Native Peoples share about identity, truth, and healing — and supporting the Association on American Indian Affairs helps carry that work forward.

In Episode 96 of Red Hoop Talk, host Jennifer welcomes Julian Brave NoiseCat (Canim Lake Band Tsq̓éscen̓/Líl̓wat Nation), a writer, Oscar-nominated filmmaker, champion powwow dancer, and student of art and history. Julian’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The New Yorker, earning him honors such as the 2022 American Mosaic Journalism Prize and recognition on the TIME100 Next list. His first documentary, Sugarcane, co-directed with Emily Kassie, was nominated for an Academy Award and won the Directing Award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. His debut book, We Survive the Night, continues his work of truth-telling and cultural revival through story.

In this episode, Julian opens up about the intergenerational trauma caused by residential and boarding schools across North America—beginning with his father’s survival story and their journey toward healing through art and storytelling. He shares how Sugarcane and We Survive the Night became acts of remembrance and reclamation, helping to confront painful histories while restoring connection across generations. Julian also reflects on how his mother ensured he stayed rooted in his Indigenous identity while growing up between Oakland and Canim Lake, and how the trickster figure Coyote helped him understand his father and the complexity of Native masculinity.

Through an intimate and thought-provoking conversation, Julian explores how storytelling, art, and truth-telling are powerful tools for resistance and renewal. He discusses the lasting legacy of the Alcatraz occupation and how it helped shift U.S. federal policy from “termination” to “self-determination” for Native Nations. For Julian, the work of storytelling is a responsibility as much as an art: “Once you commit to telling a story, you can’t half tell it—you have to go all the way there.”

Listeners will come away inspired by Julian’s reflections on reciprocity, generosity, and what it means to carry stories forward with integrity. Sugarcane is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+ under National Geographic, and We Survive the Night is available through Alfred A. Knopf and Penguin Random House. Follow Julian on Instagram at @jnoisecat and his father, artist Ed Archie NoiseCat, at @noisecatart.

Each episode of Red Hoop Talk connects listeners with powerful Native voices. By supporting the Association on American Indian Affairs, you help protect Native cultures, uplift Native storytellers, and strengthen the next generations.