We Are the Stars - with author Dr. Sarah Hernandez

Breaking Down Patriarchy

Amy is joined by Dr. Sarah Hernandez to discuss her book, We Are the Stars: Colonizing and Decolonizing the Oceti Sakowin Literary Tradition exploring the devastating affects of missionary mistranslations and the ongoing effort to reclaim sacred stories in the Oceti Sakowin tradition.

Sarah Hernandez (Sicangu Lakota) is an assistant professor of Native American literature and the director of the Institute for American Indian Research at the University of New Mexico. She is the literature and legacy officer for the Oak Lake Writers Society, an Oceti Sakowin-led nonprofit for Dakota, Nakota, and Lakota writers. Under Sarah’s leadership, the Society launched #NativeReads: Great Books from Indigenous Communities, a national reading campaign that increases knowledge and awareness of the Oceti Sakowin literary tradition. She has also published articles in the Wicazo Sa Review, Studies in American Indian Literature, English Language Notes, and Great Plains Quarterly.

Sarah's book, We Are the Stars: Colonizing and Decolonizing the Oceti Sakowin Literary Tradition, was published February 2023 by the University of Arizona Press in the U.S. and the University of Regina Press in Canada.