[Unedited] Layli Long Soldier with Krista Tippett

<p>Layli Long Soldier is a writer, a mother, a citizen of the United States, and a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation. She has a way of opening up this part of her life, and of American life, to inspire self-searching and tenderness. Her award-winning first book of poetry, <i>WHEREAS</i>, is a response to the U.S. government’s official apology to Native peoples in 2009, which was done so quietly, with no ceremony, that it was practically a secret. Layli Long Soldier offers entry points for us all — to events that are not merely about the past, and to the freedom real apologies might bring.</p><p>Layli Long Soldier is the author of <i>WHEREAS</i>, a winner of multiple awards including the Whiting Award, and a finalist for the National Book Award. She is the recipient of a 2015 Lannan Fellowship for Poetry and a 2015 National Artist Fellowship from the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.</p><p>This interview is edited and produced with music and other features in the On Being episode "Layli Long Soldier — The Freedom of Real Apologies ." Find the transcript for that show at <a href="https://onbeing.org/programs/layli-long-soldier-the-freedom-of-real-apologies/#transcript">onbeing.org</a>.</p><p>This show originally aired March 30, 2017.</p>