Native America Calling

After 103 years, the Santa Fe Indian Market remains the biggest draw for Native artists, potters, and jewelry makers as well as those who appreciate and collect their work. More than 1.000 juried participants come from hundreds of Native communities, offering a hugely diverse range of inspiring work. We’ll take a small sample of that creativity and check in on the outlook for Native arts and arts education. GUESTS Lily Hope (Tlingit), Chilkat and Ravenstail weaver and artist Shelly Lowe (Diné), president of the Institute of American Indian Arts Dan Vallo (Acoma Pueblo), 2024 SWAIA Best of Show winner and multimedia artist Monica Raphael (Anishinaabe and Sicangu Lakota), quill and beadwork artist

News consumers have a constant stream of information at their fingertips, but how reliable is it and how do people check the facts? Indigenous journalists are a means to bring balanced viewpoints to newsrooms that typically have limited interaction with Indigenous populations. As the annual gathering of the Indigenous Journalists Association gets underway in Albuquerque, N.M., we’ll discuss how journalism is changing and how Indigenous journalists are responding to new pressures for transparency, fact-checking, and bias. GUESTS Angel Ellis (Muscogee), director of Mvskoke Media and on board of directors for Indigenous Journalists Association and Oklahoma Media Center Shaun Griswold (Laguna, Jemez and Zuni Pueblo), correspondent at High Country News and Native News Online Nancy Marie Spears (Cherokee), Indigenous Children and Families Reporter for The Imprint Hattie Kauffman (Nez Perce), journalist and first Native American to file a report on a national news broadcast

The summer of 1945 saw three nuclear explosions that ushered in a new era of experimentation, development, and fear when it comes to the potential for such a powerful weapon. Native people are among those suffering the most from the consequences of that path. The first test of the atomic bomb at the Trinity site in New Mexico, and the subsequent use of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, signaled the U.S. Government’s new push to develop nuclear weapons, fueled by millions of tons of uranium ore mined near Native land in New Mexico and Arizona. And ongoing nuclear tests exposed thousands of Native people in the Southwest and in Alaska to dangerous levels of radiation. We’ll explore the ongoing effects on Native people of nuclear weapons and power development, in this encore presentation.

Another year and another record revenue report for the tribal gaming industry. The annual report by the National Indian Gaming Commission finds slot machines, table games, sports betting, and other enterprises reaped $43.9 billion in 2024. That’s up more than $2 billion from the previous year. But there are potential setbacks on the horizon that could affect gaming, including flagging consumer confidence, confusing foreign trade policies, and federal government’s diminished regard for tribal sovereignty. We’ll get a status update and a look ahead for tribal gaming. GUESTS Ernie Stevens Jr. (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin), chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association Derrick Beetso (Navajo), professor of practice and executive director of Indian Gaming and Self-Governance at Arizona State University

Hopes to fix the Santee Sioux Nation’s lack of clean drinking water faded as federal funding for a pipeline project is increasingly tangled in government turmoil. Tribal citizens are forced to drink bottled water to avoid the high levels of manganese in well water. On the Navajo Nation, dozens of people's water wells are contaminated with chemicals, like benzene, associated with the oil and gas drilling industry. There are many mysterious, uncapped wells that could be contributing to the problem. They are just two of the problems tribal citizens are having when it comes to accessing the most basic resource. GUESTS Heather Tanana (Diné), initiative lead of the Universal Access to Clean Water for Tribal Communities and law professor at the University of Denver Nicole Horseherder (Navajo), executive director of Tó Nizhóní Ání Kameron Runnels (Santee Sioux), vice chairman of the Santee Sioux Nation Jerry Redfern, staff reporter for Capital & Main

Sitting Bull is remembered for strong leadership and resistance against the U.S. government, but a series of songs by and about him reveal another side to the renowned Lakota leader. Courtney Yellow Fat (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe) has been sifting through oral and written history to identify the songs that are known to the tribe, but only recently attributed to Sitting Bull. Yellow Fat and others are recording those songs through the Densmore/Lakota Songs Repatriation Project. And Hopi radio station KUYI is marking 25 years on the air. The celebration comes amid new uncertainty about the future of many public and tribal radio stations. We’ll talk with the station manager about the milestone for the station and the role community radio plays for Hopi citizens.

Some Native Americans are already bracing for next year’s semiquincentennial with worries about how patriotism might cloud historical accounts from a Native perspective. Now, the Trump Administration is promoting a program to teach “the first principles of the Founding” in classrooms. The program uses money previously meant to help low-income and underserved students. It’s part of President Donald Trump’s push to end what he says is the “radical indoctrination” of public school students. We’ll talk about what’s being done to include Native voices into an accurate accounting of history.

The summer of 1945 saw three nuclear explosions that ushered in a new era of experimentation, development, and fear when it comes to the potential for such a powerful weapon. Native people are among those suffering the most from the consequences of that path. The first test of the atomic bomb at the Trinity site in New Mexico, and the subsequent use of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, signaled the U.S. Government’s new push to develop nuclear weapons, fueled by millions of tons of uranium ore mined near Native land in New Mexico and Arizona. And ongoing nuclear tests exposed thousands of Native people in the Southwest and in Alaska to dangerous levels of radiation. We’ll explore the ongoing effects on Native people of nuclear weapons and power development. GUESTS Marissa Naranjo (Santa Clara Pueblo), deputy director of Sovereign Energy and board member for Honor Our Pueblo Existence (HOPE) Loretta Anderson (Laguna Pueblo), co-sponsor of the Southwest Uranium Miners Coalition Post-71 Tina Cordova, co-founder and executive director of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium

The Shinnecock Nation in New York is in an ongoing legal battle to have their fishing rights recognized. A lawsuit brought forward by a Shinnecock tribal citizen argues the tribe has never ceded their right to fish in any treaty or agreement. The tribe has no treaty with the federal government, but instead with British colonists from the 1600s. This case could possibly affirm the tribe’s unended aboriginal claim to fish in the Hamptons. We’ll talk with Shinnecock citizens about what’s at stake with the case as it moves forward in federal district court. GUESTS Taobi Silva (Shinnecock), fisherman Riley Plumer (Red Lake Nation), attorney Randy King (Shinnecock), former chairman of the Shinnecock Nation Board of Trustees Ashely Dawn Anderson (Cherokee Nation), Tribal Water Institute Fellow at the Native American Rights Fund

Heavy workloads, low pay, and increasing political pressures are among the contributing factors leading to a rise in teacher burnout. A survey by the University of Missouri of 500 public school teachers found 78% of them have considered quitting the profession since the 2020 pandemic. We’ll talk with Native educators about what it will take to recruit and retain Native teachers in the face of the growing pressures they face. GUESTS Jerad Koepp (Wukchumni), Native student program specialist for North Thurston Public Schools and 2022 Washington State Teacher of the Year Lynette Stant (Diné), third grade teacher at Salt River Elementary School and 2020 Arizona Teacher of the Year Brad Lopes (Aquinnah Wampanoag), Native American Teacher Retention Initiative program manager and former classroom teacher Josie Green (Oglala Lakota), executive director of Teach for America South Dakota

Traditional culture meets global international economic development at the Bering Straits Native Corporation. The collection of tribes plays a key role in the Port of Nome that is working to develop the nation’s first deepwater port in the Arctic. It is among the big — and small — economic development visions for Indigenous people in the Arctic region. We’ll hear about those opportunities as well as some concerns about balancing financial and traditional environmental well-being being discussed at the Arctic Encounter Symposium in Anchorage, Alaska. GUESTS Haven Harris (enrolled tribal member of the Nome Eskimo Community), senior vice president of growth and strategy for the Bering Straits Native Corporation Edward Alexander (Gwich’in), co-councilor for Gwich’in Council International Rachel Kallander, founder and CEO of Arctic Encounter Summit Kuno Fencker (Inuit), member of the parliament of Greenland

Canada, Norway, Denmark, and the U.S. are among the handful of countries with land above the Arctic Circle. Each of those has significant Indigenous populations with their own cultures built around the land, sea, and ice that they have always inhabited. We’ll hear from some of those Indigenous people who are working across borders to learn from, advocate for, and work with their counterparts in other countries. We’re broadcasting live from the Arctic Encounter Summit in Anchorage, Alaska. GUESTS Jackie Qataliña Schaeffer (Iñupiaq), member of the board for the Arctic Encounter Symposium Dr. Heather Sauyaq Jean Gordon (Iñupiaq), Indigenous researcher and Arctic Fulbright Scholar

Muscogee Freedmen are closer to tribal citizenship than ever before. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation Supreme Court ruled the tribe must extend the rights of citizenship to the descendants of slaves who also have Muscogee lineage. We’ll hear from Freedman who welcome the ruling, but warn there are likely more hurdles ahead. We’ll also talk with an Alaska Native engineer working on building clean water systems for rural villages and inspiring Native girls to consider careers in science along the way. And we’ll hear from both U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy and the tribal chairman about Sec. Kennedy’s visit to the Nez Perce Reservation in Idaho to tout the Trump administration’s commitment to food sovereignty. GUESTS Marilyn Vann (Cherokee Nation), president of the Descendants of Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes Association Eli Grayson (Muscogee), radio host, Muscogee Nation Hall of Fame inductee, and a Freedmen descendant Charitie Ropati (Yup’ik and Samoan), climate justice advocate, water engineer, and North America Regional Facilitator at the Youth Climate Justice Fund Shannon Wheeler (Nez Perce), chairman of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee

President Donald Trump is signaling a shift in the ongoing push to deport immigrants as the reality of taking migrant farmworkers out of the fields, disrupting businesses and the country’s food supply starts to become apparent. About 40% of the 2.6 million farm workers in the U.S. are estimated to be undocumented. A portion of those are Indigenous people from Mexico and Central American countries. We’ll hear about how the Trump administration may be adjusting its stance. In a setback for tribal habitat restoration efforts, a tanker truck spill in Washington State killed thousands of fingerling salmon. A search for words in their language led a husband-and-wife team to 300-year-old texts where French Jesuit missionaries documented Seneca names for traditional foods, cooking, and even recipes.

After a period of colonial suppression, traditional kapa making is enjoying a sustained resurgence. In recent decades, a growing number of Native Hawaiian artists have mastered the labor-intensive process of harvesting, scraping, and soaking the bark of the wauke plant and embellishing the resulting fabric with colorful traditional designs. A new generation of artists is benefiting from this reclaimed expertise. This is an encore show so we won’t be taking listener phone calls

Missoula, Mont. is the setting for the inaugural festival of literature, music, and other arts known as Indigipalooza. Musician and former U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo (Mvskoke) headlines the list of talent offering their perspectives on the state of Indigenous storytelling. We’ll also hear from filmmaker Adam Piron about his curated selection of films screened in New York highlighting Native American urban relocation. And we’ll get context for President Donald Trump’s demand that sports teams return to their offensive names and mascots. GUESTS James Vukelich Kaagegaabaw (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe), author and speaker Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz (Lumbee Tribe), assistant professor at the University of Iowa and director of the Native Policy Lab Chris La Tray (citizen of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians and a descendent of the Pembina Band of Chippewa Indians), author, Poet Laureate of Montana, and a coordinator for IndigiPalooza Adam Piron (Kiowa and Mohawk), filmmaker and film curator Larry Wright Jr. (Ponca), executive director of the National Congress of American Indians

The Crow Tribe is marking the 200th anniversary of their treaty with the United States. It is a document whose limits have been tested over that time, but still defines the tribe’s relationship with the federal government. This year also marks 170 years since the treaty ratifying the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indians' official relationship with the U.S. We'll examine these important historical and legal milestones and how they fit in with the extensive and complicated history of treaties. GUESTS Heather Whiteman Runs Him (Apsáalooke), associate clinical professor and the director of the Tribal Justice Clinic at Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona Stephen Selam (Yakama Nation), executive secretary of Yakama Nation tribal council Jeanine Gordon (Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation), special assistant to the president for Native American outreach for Whitman College Jim Real Bird (Apsáalooke), horse hand and co-organizer of the 1825 Crow Tribe Treaty commemoration Lanny Real Bird (Apsáalooke), educator, consultant, and Native language advocate

Education advocates are launching a multi-year program to develop a game and to teach the Denaakk’e language in schools. That and another language teaching apps come at a time when almost all federal funding for language revitalization is eliminated. We’ll also talk with a man about his personal journey learning the Cherokee language, an undertaking that inspired him to learn more about his tribal language’s history and importance in maintaining culture. GUESTS Joel Isaak (Dena’ina Athabascan), director of language and culture for the Kenaitze Indian tribe Mariah Pitka (Louden Tribe), executive director for the Doyon Foundation Dr. Benjamin Frey (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), assistant professor of Cherokee language and culture at the University of North Carolina–Asheville Jamie Jacobs (Tonawanda Seneca), managing curator for the Rock Foundation collections at the Rochester Museum and Science Center

After Congress approved President Donald Trump’s clawback of funds distributed through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, tribal stations are frantically searching for money to keep from going dark. Tribes are stepping up in some cases, audiences are responding with increased donations, and the stations are scaling back their operations. In the meantime, higher education officials are worried about a Trump budget plan to cut federal funding to tribal colleges and universities by nearly 90%. Representatives from some of those institutions say they will have to significantly scale back their operations. Others say they will have to close outright. We’ll get more detail on both of these major funding changes. GUESTS Stephen Wall (citizen of the White Earth Nation and a descendent of Cattaraugus Seneca Community), interim president for the Institute of American Indian Arts Sean Chandler (Aaniinen [Gros Ventre Nation]), president of Aaniiih Nakoda College Aziza Smith (Eastern Shoshone), senior at Haskell Indian Nations University Marina Decora (Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska), sophomore at Haskell Indian Nations University Lenora Ward (Iñupiaq), general manager of KOTZ and Kotzebue Broadcasting Karl Habeck (Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa), general manager of WOJB

From finding simple recipes to diagnosing complicated illnesses, artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming an increasingly useful part of everyday life, but the space and resources it takes to power that technology is immense and that is hitting close to home for some tribes. The Tonawanda Seneca Nation in New York just filed a lawsuit against a proposed 900,000-square-foot AI data center a mile away from their reservation. Chief Kenith Dale Jonathan says the center would harm air quality, water, and wildlife. We’ll hear from the tribe and the potential for data center encroachment elsewhere. We’ll also look at how the Trump administration's push to use AI in medicine would benefit or harm Native Americans. GUESTS Christine Abrams (Tonawanda Seneca), office administrator for the Tonawanda Seneca Nation Council of Chiefs Grandell “Bird” Logan (Tonawanda Seneca), media spokesperson for the Tonawanda Seneca Nation Dr. Krystal Tsosie (Diné), assistant professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University Dr. David Wilson (Diné), associate vice president for health research and professor and chair of Indigenous Health at the University of North Dakota