By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land

A citizen of the Cherokee Nation and creator of the podcast This Land, Nagle debuts with an examination of U.S. governmental policy regarding Indigenous sovereignty and land use. Part courtroom drama and part family saga, Nagle’s riveting account delves into the history of the people of the Five Tribes (the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee Creek, and Seminole nations), who were brutally forced from their lands in what is now the southeastern United States to Oklahoma. Narrating her own work, Nagle describes the Sharp v. Murphy case, upheld by the Supreme Court in 2020, which ruled that the Muscogee Creek reservation lands had not been disestablished. Despite the state’s argument, which attempted to undermine treaty terms and prioritize oil interests on tribal lands, this ruling recognized Muscogee rights and jurisdiction. The case set precedents regarding how felony charges, imprisonment, and sentencing of Indigenous citizens would be judged. In a parallel storyline, Nagle recounts her ancestors’ actions during this period, providing background on the tragic ramifications of the Trail of Tears.