Featuring stunning literary debuts from authors who are enrolled members of the Akwesasne Kanienkehaka and the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, this panel centers the Native experience as influenced by modern political and personal struggles. Old School Indian by Aaron John Curtis follows an Ahkwesáhsne man’s reluctant return to his reservation after receiving a diagnosis for a rare disease, where he undergoes a healing at the hands of his wry Great Uncle Budge and finds hope in confronting the parts of himself he’s hidden ever since he left home. In Jon Hickey’s Big Chief, a young law school graduate and aspiring political fixer fights a nationally known politician for control over his tribe’s casino and hotel in an unforgettable story about the search for belonging—to an ancestral and spiritual home, to a family, and to a sovereign people at a moment of great historical importance. Greg Sarris, Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, will moderate this well-deserved celebration of Native debuts.