Fresh Air A Story Of Indigenous Survival & Resurgence
Oct 16, 2025
Julian Brave NoiseCat, an Indigenous storyteller and filmmaker, discusses his memoir, We Survived the Night, exploring his father's origins and the impact of residential schools. He candidly shares stories about family silence, the complexities of cultural identity, and the beauty of powwow traditions. Julian highlights the significance of community bonds and the resurgence of Indigenous beliefs amid colonial trauma. Maureen Corrigan reviews Daphne du Maurier's After Midnight, offering insights into the author's narrative style.
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Father's Miraculous Rescue
- Julian Brave NoiseCat recounts his father being found in a trash incinerator at St. Joseph's Mission after birth in 1959.
- He only learned the full origin story while researching the book and documentary Sugarcane.
Colonization Creates Cycles Of Harm
- NoiseCat links residential-school trauma to cycles of abuse and parenting breakdown across generations.
- He explains colonization's internalized oppression made some survivors repeat abuse and abandonment.
Grandmother Punished Alone
- NoiseCat discovered his grandmother was the only person punished in that community for infanticide patterns at St. Joseph's.
- He notes local press suggested she couldn't have acted alone in disposing of the infant.
