Indigenous Open Mic Night: Healing the Heart

Experience the Labriola National American Indian Data Center's Indigenous Open Mic Night, which centers healing using rematriation frameworks. This Open Mic will be hosted by Xuedoin (she/they) and Claire Maracle (Mohawk).

This event is a sibling to "Healing the Heart, a Rematriation Talking Circle," which takes place a day prior to this open mic. The purpose of the talking circle is to "empower acts of repair by resourcing those who are and who feel under-resourced; restoring the spirit from disinherited practices of land and community-connection; and helping rebalance power dynamics, moving away from rigid hierarchies which reinforce settler colonialism and racialized capitalism" (from Words of the People's 2026-2027 Rematriation Tour). 

As defined by Claire Maracle, rematriation is "a continual way of being, in harmony with love for all of creation, where we all share a responsibility and values." Attendees are welcome to sign up to share their work, whether it is a poem, song, dance or live performance. 

To learn more about rematriation and topics revolving around how it is practiced and defined, check out this article by Baratunde Thurston and Claire Maracle. There will also be a book display at the Labriola Center in Hayden Library that highlights Indigenous feminism.

“Xuedoin” is Chelsea T. Hicks, an Osage interdisciplinary storyteller and founding artist of Words of the People. Currently a PhD student at the University of Oklahoma, creates contemporary Indigenous language expressions via writing and visual art. 

Claire Maracle is a Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) member of the Six Nations of the Grand River, raised as a guest on Muscogee, Osage, and Cherokee land.