20 Observations: Reflections from the Carlisle Vortex

In this episode, Dr. Amanda Cheromiah offers an unfiltered reflection on her first eight months living and working in Carlisle, Pennsylvania—the former site of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Through 20 personal and communal observations, she traces what it means to carry out Indigenous-centered work in a place shaped by historical trauma and ongoing presence. From healing ceremonies, student support, and repatriation to microaggressions, humor, and ceremony, these truths reveal the emotional, spiritual, and intellectual labor of staying rooted in a place of both harm and possibility. She invites listeners to witness the power of intertribal connection, the significance of Grandma’s House as a space of care, and the national momentum building around truth-telling and accountability. This episode is a call to action, a moment of gratitude, and a testament to the living presence of Native Peoples in a place too often spoken about only in the past tense.

This episode was recorded in December 2024.