🎙️ 24. Julie (Aakadewin-o Waawaashkeshi Kwe) Francella (Ojibwe, Batchewana First Nation) - We’re Still Here: Indigenous Wisdom, Empathy, & the Wounds Beneath Hate Alexis sits down with Julie (Aakadewin-o Waawaashkeshi Kwe) Francella - an Ojibwe professor of Indigenous Studies, mental health professional, writer, artist, and @SiriusXM co-host, for a powerful conversation on Indigenous wisdom, trauma, empathy, and staying human in a brutal time. Julie shares how she walks between worlds without losing her center - rooted in Anishinaabe ways of knowing while navigating Catholic education, psychology, trauma work, and advocacy. Together, they explore what Christian listeners can learn about love of neighbor, care for the earth, humility, and shared humanity. They discuss Ribbon Skirt Day, Two-Spirit sacredness, survivors of sexual violence, parenting with curiosity, and why hate grows from fear, shame, pain, and the hunger to belong. Julie offers a framework: boundaries matter - but transformation requires understanding the wound beneath behavior. Also, who makes a surprise cameo? They also dive into: • Indigenous teachings on relationality and Mother Earth • What Christians misunderstand about colonization • How survivors calculate the risk of speaking up • Why Two-Spirit people were seen as sacred • What parents can teach their kids • Why curiosity matters more than certainty The episode closes with a reminder: hope is a practice. Indigenous people have been resisting for over 500 years - and they are still here. 💡 Key Takeaways • Hate reveals disconnection, not irredeemability • Boundaries matter, but understanding interrupts harm • Indigenous peoples were never spiritually empty • Two-Spirit identity has long been sacred • Curiosity and humility are essential to healing • Hope is something we practice 📚 Resources & Voices Mentioned • Julie Francella - The Fire I Keep on Substack - https://substack.com/@juliefrancella • We’re Still Here with Simon Moya-Smith @simonsaidtakeapic on the @johnfugelsang Show: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-john-fugelsang-podcast/id1464094232 • Separation of Church and Hate by John Fugelsang • 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture - @1946themovie • Dolores Huerta @doloreshuerta #deconstruction #IndigenousWisdom Support the show About The Sacred Slope Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: alexis@thesacredslope.com 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit: ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control