Julian Brave NoiseCat

Julian Brave NoiseCat is a writer, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker, champion powwow dancer, and student of Salish art and history. His writing has appeared in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The New Yorker. He won the 2022 American Mosaic Journalism Prize. His documentary, Sugarcane, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary. NoiseCat is a proud member of the Canim Lake Band Tsq’escen and a descendant of the Lil’wat Nation of Mount Currie. "We Survived the Night" is his first book.

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Awards: NoiseCat has been recognized with numerous awards, including the 2022 American Mosaic Journalism Prize and many National Native Media Awards. He was a finalist for the Livingston Award and multiple Canadian National Magazine Awards and was named to the TIME100 Next list in 2021. His first documentary, Sugarcane, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary. Directed alongside Emily Kassie, Sugarcane premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where NoiseCat and Kassie won the Directing Award for U.S. Documentary.

Communities: Indigenous or Native American

Indigenous Storytellers

Join us for a morning with celebrated Indigenous storytellers as they dive into their diverse bodies of work. They write for different age groups and genres, but all of their narratives explore Indigenous identity and heritage.

Nuestras Raíces Stage (Seats 150)  
Sat, Mar 14, 10:00 am - 10:55 am
Nuestras Raices
Signing area: Pima County Public Library/Nuestras Raíces/Craft Tent & Signing Area (following presentation)  

Panelists: Julian Brave NoiseCat, Brandon Hobson, Cynthia Leitich Smith
Moderator: Jon Proudstar
Sponsor: Session made possible courtesy of Pima County Public Library

Finding One's Place

Belonging, identity and heritage come together as we explore the difficulty in finding one’s place in a diverse culture where some are more privileged than others. These authors share unique journeys defining a place in our society grounded in cultural and ethnic heritage, migration stories, and botanical legacies.

Integrated Learning Center Room 150 (Seats 155, Wheelchair accessible)  
Sun, Mar 15, 1:00 pm - 1:55 pm
Current Issues / Politics / Social Science
Signing area: Sales & Signing Area - Integrated Learning Center (following presentation)  

Panelists: Julian Brave NoiseCat, Daisy Hernández, Nicholas Lemann
Moderator: Tony Paniagua
Sponsors: Session made possible courtesy of Hughes Federal Credit Union, Kimberly Peters and Bruce Peters, Frank and Kathryn Hartley

Book:

We Survived the Night

Nuestras Raices
Random House
October 2025
ISBN 9780593320785
432 pages
Buy now