Dr. Diindiisi McCleave joins host, Dr. Nick Estes on The Red Nation Podcast for a deep conversation about Indigenous spirituality, religious freedom, and the contemporary landscape of psychedelics. Drawing on her research and lived experience, Dr. Diindiisi discusses how Indigenous healing traditions and sacred medicines have been shaped by colonial legal systems, and the implications of current policy reform efforts for tribal sovereignty and cultural survival. This episode centers Indigenous knowledges and ethical engagement in debates around psychedelic medicine and law.
This video features Dr. Diindiisi McCleave’s live academic defense of her dissertation, More Than Peyote: Trauma, Healing, and the Politics of Indigenous Cultural Survival in the Age of Psychedelic Colonialism.
This successful defense marks the completion of Dr. Diindiisi McCleave’s doctoral requirements for the PhD in Indigenous Studies at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (publication of dissertation to follow).
The first sitting U.S. President to ever apologize for Indian boarding school harms is met with skepticism and a demand for follow-up action. Former CEO of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition and survivor-descendant, Christine Diindiisi McCleave, reacts to the presidential apology and calls out the election politics on the timing. Interviewed by Kare11 in 2021 and 2024, she points out the need to pass the congressional Truth and Healing Commission Act that she helped to write.
In June 2024, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops published a pastoral framework that included an apology to Native Americans for the impacts of Indian boarding schools. As the former CEO of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition and a generational survivor of Indian boarding schools, Dr. Diindiisi McCleave was interviewed by BBC News to provide her perspective. In this video, she reflects on the apology and discusses what is still needed moving forward.
As cities and states consider legislation related to psychedelic medicines, there are considerations beyond clinical regulation and decriminalization for spiritual, religious, and community use. Meaningful consultation with, and protection of, Indigenous Peoples’ rights and relationships—along with respect for the medicines themselves—must be included. This video explores regional initiatives addressing legal access and examines frameworks for respectful engagement with Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities.
At the 2023 MAPS Psychedelic Science Conference in Denver, Colorado — one of the largest international gatherings focused on psychedelic research and policy — Christine Diindiisi McCleave, then a PhD student in Indigenous Studies, presented a Tribal citizen’s perspective on decolonization and the psychedelic movement. The presentation reflects an early articulation of themes that would later be developed through her doctoral research, including Indigenous sovereignty, cultural context, and ethical engagement within the expanding psychedelic field.
In this episode of Red Hoop Talk, produced by the Association on American Indian Affairs, Dr. Dawn Davis and Christine Diindiisi McCleave engage in a deep conversation about the cultural, legal, and political dimensions of peyote use under the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA). They explore how colonial legal frameworks have shaped Indigenous religious practice and ceremonial access, the complexities of peyote governance, and the broader implications of policy reform efforts for tribal sovereignty and cultural continuity. This discussion situates traditional peyote use within ongoing debates about religious freedom, Indigenous epistemologies, and the intersections of law, policy, and Indigenous cultural survival. The episode offers a rare and thoughtful dialogue between two Indigenous scholars addressing foundational questions about cultural rights, state power, and the protection of sacred medicines.
At the formal launch of the Minnesota Council of Churches’ decade-long Truth-telling, Education, and Reparations initiative, an event centered on confronting the legacy of Indian boarding schools and advancing justice for survivors, Christine Diindiisi McCleave delivered the keynote address “Boarding School Truth, Justice, and Healing.” Speaking in her dual roles as CEO of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition and a board member of the Minnesota Council of Churches, she reflects on the history and impacts of boarding schools, the importance of truth-telling, and the foundational role of justice and reparations in healing for impacted communities.
In this presentation for the National Indian Child Welfare Association, Christine Diindiisi McCleave, then serving as CEO of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, addresses the complexities of healing historical trauma within Indigenous communities. Drawing on her leadership experience and research, Dr. Diindiisi McCleave explores the enduring impacts of historical policies and institutions, the importance of community-centered approaches to healing, and the intersections of legal, cultural, and spiritual frameworks in contemporary efforts to support survivors and future generations.
At the Chacruna Institute’s Psychedelic Liberty Summit, Christine Diindiisi McCleave participated in a panel of Native American women discussing healing and psychedelic plant medicines. Invited by Dr. Dawn Davis, McCleave’s contribution centered on the legacy of Indian boarding schools and historical trauma, and the ways in which contemporary psychedelic discourse and policy reform can be triggering for Indigenous communities when divorced from history, consent, and accountability. Her remarks emphasized the need for trauma-informed engagement and a critical examination of how Indigenous experiences are often marginalized within the broader psychedelic movement.
Christine Diindiisi McCleave was interviewed by Vox for a documentary-style video examining U.S. Indian boarding school policies and their lasting impacts on Native communities. Her analysis helped shape the narrative framework of this 13-minute film, which centers survivor testimony while situating individual experiences within broader histories of federal policy, forced assimilation, and intergenerational trauma. The video has reached more than 3.5 million viewers, contributing to widespread public awareness and understanding of the ongoing consequences of the Indian boarding school system.
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