Traveling the Pages of Indigenous Memoirs

Blurring the lines between journalism and memoir, the indigenous writers of this panel look outward at the people, cultures, and history around them to form a personal understanding of what it means to be a world citizen today. Terria Smith, who longed for adventure growing up on the Torres Martinez Reservation in Southern California, observed that travel is deeply rooted in Native traditions of reciprocity, risk-taking, bridging, and holding differences, but there remains a lack of Indigenous voices in the travel writing space. Her memoir, I Love You So Many, recounts Smith’s stories from her ancestral homelands to Cuba, Iceland, and Guyana with humor and exuberance, an irresistible tribute to getting out and living a life in full. For journalist and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Julian Brave Noisecat, correcting the erasure, invisibility, and misconceptions surrounding the First Peoples of this land compelled him to travel across the continent. Translated from “tscwinúcw-k,” a traditional Secwépemc morning greeting, We Survived the Night paints a portrait of contemporary Indigenous life by blending history, memoir, and reportage in the style of a “Coyote Story,” a legend about the trickster who was revered for his wit and mocked for his tendency to self-destruct. Traverse the roads connecting past, present, and future with the authors of this dazzling panel, moderated by queer Indigenous artist, poet, and curator Viola LeBeau.