As conversations surrounding the United States Semiquincentennial begin to take shape across the country, California Humanities is inviting audiences to pause and ask a deeper question:
Whose stories are being told—and whose have been left out?
That question sits at the heart of Reclaiming Our Stories: Voices of Indigenous Peoples of California, a new podcast series from California Humanities that centers Indigenous voices, lived experience, and narrative sovereignty across California.
Now streaming wherever podcasts are available, the series opens with Episode 1: Orientation — Reclaiming Our Stories, an invitation into a different kind of listening—one rooted in reflection, relationship, and care.
Guided by Story Weaver Victorio Shaw, the episode encourages listeners to move beyond passive consumption and toward deeper engagement with story, land, memory, and truth.
“This is not a history lesson handed to you from the outside,” Victorio shares in the episode. “It’s an invitation into a relationship with truth, with land, and with the people who have never stopped belonging to it.”
Throughout the episode, listeners are invited to consider storytelling not as content, but as a responsibility. The series explores what it means to reclaim narrative authority, honor complexity, and create space for Indigenous communities to speak on their own terms.
The episode also reflects the series’ commitment to Indigenous artistic expression as a living form of knowledge and storytelling. Featured in the introduction is the song S’aximay hi sulkuw – Black is the night, composed by Deborah L. Sanchez.
“In this song, we sing one round in Šmuwič, another round in English, and then cap it with another round in Šmuwič,” Sanchez shares. “It’s about the beauty of the natural world.”
The inclusion of music, poetry, and artistic interludes throughout the series reflects a broader understanding that story is not only spoken—it is embodied, remembered, sung, and carried forward across generations.
About the Story Weaver
Victorio Shaw serves as the Story Weaver and guide for the series. A tribal court judge, artist, attorney, and educator, Victorio brings a deeply relational approach to storytelling and public dialogue. Rather than functioning as a traditional host, the Story Weaver helps hold the thread of conversation across memory, identity, sovereignty, and lived experience.
Acknowledgements
Reclaiming Our Stories is a part of By the People: Conversations beyond 250. By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
The podcast is made possible with support from The 11th Hour Project and Weingart Foundation.
Listen to Episode 1 now wherever you get your podcasts.
