NPR's Book of the Day – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Julian Brave Noisecat’s 'We Survived the Night' is part memoir, part Native history
Date: November 4, 2025
Host: Michelle Martin (Interview), Andrew Limbong (Intro/Outro)
Guest: Julian Brave Noisecat

Episode Overview

This episode spotlights Julian Brave NoiseCat’s new book, We Survived the Night, a nonfiction work blending memoir, Native history, journalism, and mythology. In a conversation with Michelle Martin, NoiseCat discusses intergenerational trauma, the legacy of Indian residential schools, the meaning behind his family's names, the role of Native storytelling, and the importance of including Indigenous perspectives in broader narratives.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Book’s Origin and Title

• “The title of my book is derived from the traditional way to give the morning greeting in Tsikwemet Mochin ... we say ‘cho kwi nk,’ which ... means 'you survived the night.’”
  – Julian Brave NoiseCat (02:34)
  • The greeting reflects both cultural tradition and themes of survival central to the book.

2. Personal and Family History

• The opening recounts the harrowing discovery of Julian’s father, Ed, as a newborn left in an incinerator at a Catholic-run Indian boarding school (01:53).
• NoiseCat connects this unusual yet emblematic story with his broader family narrative and the collective Native experience.

3. The Complexities of Names

• “My last name is Noise Cat ... missionaries wrote down the name wrong. It was originally Noeescat … the name kind of found its own meaning and story and it became one of survival.”
  – Julian Brave NoiseCat (02:57)
• Explores the theme that names carry responsibility and history, especially for Indigenous people whose names have often been Anglicized or distorted by colonial systems.

4. Intergenerational Trauma and Parenting

• “When you deprive a people, an entire race of the right to parent their children, eventually you break down the fundamental structures of the family system ... the book really is about trying to understand him and our story and what it is to be Native.”
  – Julian Brave NoiseCat (04:01)
• Reflects on how trauma from the residential schools affected generations, creating cycles of loss and reconnection.

5. 'Sugar Cane' Documentary and Breaking Silence

• NoiseCat co-directed an Oscar-nominated documentary (Sugar Cane) that bridged personal and collective histories, highlighting the silence around these traumas.
• “My father did not know about the circumstances of his own birth ... until he watched it in the film itself ... part of what I was trying to communicate ... was why this silence, why this lack of knowledge ... exists.”
  – Julian Brave NoiseCat (05:04)

6. Storytelling, Myth, and Coyote

• The book is non-linear, weaving in layers of myth, especially Coyote stories, to connect past and present.
• “My people don’t tell the coyote stories really anymore ... our trickster ancestor... did a lot of good, but he also messed a lot of stuff up ... there were so many parallels between [Coyote] and my own father, with whom I have a loving but, you know, complex backstory.”
  – Julian Brave NoiseCat (06:08)
• Reading from the book (06:45-07:30), NoiseCat illuminates how myth serves as a lens for Native identity, resilience, and transformation.

7. Mother’s Presence and Multicultural Identity

• Although not Native, Julian’s mother, an Irish Jewish New Yorker, is central to his upbringing.
• “She raised me so she was always going to have presence ... she even learned how to bead so that I could have my own powwow regalia to travel and dance.”
  – Julian Brave NoiseCat (07:50)

8. Purpose and Hopes for the Book

• “When we include Native people in the story, I think that we understand this place a bit differently ... my people have always considered the Coyote stories nonfiction ... it’s long past time that the social sciences actually take these ideas and these stories seriously ... you can’t tell me right now that this is not a world that is still spun around by tricksters and their tricks.”
  – Julian Brave NoiseCat (08:21)
• Advocates for recognizing Native storytelling and epistemology as valid frameworks for truth and understanding.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On his name:
  “The missionaries wrote down the name wrong. It was originally Noeescat … the name kind of found its own meaning and story, and it became one of survival.”
  – Julian Brave NoiseCat (02:57)

• On family legacy:
  “The book really is about trying to understand him and our story and what it is to be Native, because my connection to that ... my community was broken when I was a young boy.”
  – Julian Brave NoiseCat (04:01)

• On Coyote storytellings relevance:
  “You can’t tell me right now that this is not a world that is still spun around by tricksters and their tricks.”
  – Julian Brave NoiseCat (08:21)

• On his mother’s role:
  “She even learned how to bead so that I could have my own powwow regalia to travel and dance.”
  – Julian Brave NoiseCat (07:50)

Timeline of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | | --------- | ------------------ | | 00:02 | Andrew Limbong introduces the episode’s universal theme: relationships with fathers and intergenerational questions. | | 01:53 | Michelle Martin introduces Julian Brave NoiseCat and recounts his father's origins at St. Joseph’s Mission. | | 02:34 | NoiseCat explains the significance of the book’s title and traditional morning greeting. | | 02:57 | Discussion on the significance and origin of the family’s name, NoiseCat. | | 04:01 | Explores the impact of residential schools on family, identity and parenting. | | 05:04 | Discussion of the Sugar Cane documentary and confronting silences around Native trauma. | | 06:08 | Integrating Native mythology and Coyote stories—NoiseCat reads from his book. | | 07:50 | Recognizing his mother’s influence and the blending of cultural traditions. | | 08:21 | Hopes for the book: including Native stories and perspectives as vital to understanding society. | | 08:55 | Episode closes with acknowledgments and thanks. |

Conclusion

We Survived the Night stands as both a personal reckoning and a call to honor Indigenous knowledge. Through memoir, history, and storytelling, Julian Brave NoiseCat challenges readers to reckon with the consequences of colonial history, the power of names and myth, and the urgent need to include Native voices in our collective story. The episode provides rich insights for those interested in contemporary Native experiences, healing from historical trauma, and the enduring power of storytelling.