Layli Long Soldier is the author of our book for June 2019, Whereas, winner of the National Book Critics Circle award, and finalist for the National Book Award. She is a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Whereas in response to an "apology" to Native Americans which was buried in a department of defense appropriations bill during the Obama administration. It is a stunning use of language to build and re-build America, the land of the Plains Indians as others before the colonizers.

The book is at turns devastating, celebratory, adept, clever, playful and always unique.

Apologies for our terrible attempts at Lakota, while we tried to find proper pronunciation we failed. Our failure is another record of the violence perpetrated in our name again our Native brothers and sisters.

David Sloane and Deborah Natoli join host Aubrey Hicks in discussion of this work by Layli Long Soldier, Lakota and American.