Identity, loss, and belonging: in conversation with Morgan Talty

Just in time for American Thanksgiving, my conversation with Morgan Talty - the award-winning & best-selling author of "Night of the Living Rez." In today's episode we delve into Morgan's debut novel, "Fire Exit," which is inspired by and sheds light on the life-changing effects of Blood Quantum, a system of measurement that was historically crafted by colonial powers to determine the degree of a person’s indigeneity, how much "Indian blood" one must have to "prove" that they belong to a tribe. Blood Quantum, a "sophisticated tool of genocide," as Morgan aptly puts it, became a way to regulate and ultimately reduce the Native American population in America. "Fire Exit" revolves around the life of Charles, a man haunted by his previous life growing up on the Penobscot Reservation and by a secret he keeps that he so desperately wants to share. This book has it all -- urging the reader to question what it means to give & receive love, what constitutes family & kinship, what kinds of trauma get passed down from generation to generation, what stories are ours to share & to hold on to, and ultimately, what does it mean to belong?