Native America Calling

College Native American Studies courses are engines for Native-led research in addition to serving as a welcoming academic home for Native students. As it is, Native students are already the most under-represented group on college campuses. Their numbers declined in the decade before the Covid pandemic. There are indications that the 2023 Supreme Court decision upending Affirmative Action and the Trump administration’s focus on unraveling Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are doing further damage to all minority enrollment. As the American Indian Studies Association convention gets underway, we’ll assess the power and challenges of college programs focusing specifically on Native issues. GUESTS Dr. Souksavanh Keovorabouth (Diné), assistant professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Northern Arizona University and president of the American Indian Studies Association Mario Atencio (Diné), Native American Studies Ph.D candidate at the University of New Mexico Allison Shaddox (Cherokee), Native American Studies Ph.D. student at the University of New Mexico Kelly Nalani Beym (Diné), Ph.D. candidate in geography at the University of Kansas Break 1 Music: Manitou (song) The Delbert Anderson Trio (artist) MANITOU (album) Break 2 Music: Wahzhazhe (song) Scott George (artist) Killers of the Flower Moon Soundtrack (album)

The Timbisha Shoshone Tribe just held an event to commemorate 25 years since the landmark legislation outlining a historic co-stewardship agreement between the tribe and the National Park Service in Death Valley. The tribe’s name is on the entrance sign to the park. At the same time, the Trump administration is calling for the removal of informational plaques in the visitor center that tells the tribe’s story. The sign’s removal is one of almost 20 at National Park sites around the country, including Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument, the site of the allied tribes’ decisive victory over George Armstrong Custer and U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry Regiment. We’ll talk to tribal representatives about how the information in National Parks was developed and what message removing it sends. GUESTS Dorothy FireCloud (Rosebud Sioux Tribe), retired assistant director of Native American affairs for the National Park Service Otis Halfmoon (Nez Perce), retired National Park Service employee Mandi Campbell (Timbisha Shoshone), tribal historic preservation officer for the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe John Murray (Blackfeet), tribal historic preservation officer for the Blackfeet Tribe Break 1 Music: This Land (song) Keith Secola (artist) Native Americana – A Coup Stick (album) Break 2 Music: Wahzhazhe (song) Scott George (artist) Killers of the Flower Moon Soundtrack (album)

The Oglala Lakota tribal president banned U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Red Lake Band of Ojibwe officials say ICE can’t operate on their Minnesota reservation without prior consultation. A number of tribes are waiving tribal ID fees and reaching out to secure their members’ citizenship documents. Dozens of tribes are offering guidance for Native Americans who encounter ICE agents. The actions are part of the response by tribes and prominent Native organizations as more stories surface of Native residents tangling — and even being detained — in the ICE crackdown in Minneapolis and elsewhere. GUESTS Lenny Fineday (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe), general counsel for the National Congress of American Indians Beth Margaret Wright (Laguna Pueblo), senior staff attorney with the Native American Rights Fund Frank Star Comes Out (Oglala Lakota), president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe

Ya Tseen pushes the boundaries of the musical collaboration’s signature psych-pop sound with their latest album, “Stand on My Shoulders.” It’s the second full-length album led by musician, visual artist, and totem carver Nicholas Galanin (Tlingit/Unangax̂) under the Seattle-based Sub Pop Records label. The music features diverse collaborations from the indie rock group Portugal. The Man, famed singer-songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello, and the experimental hip hop artist Pink Siifu. It explores themes of kinship and collectivism but also pays homage to Galanin’s late father – lauded Tlingit silver carver and musician Dave Galanin. Cochemea Gastelum‘s latest offering, “Vol. III: Ancestros Futuros“, completes an album trilogy that explores dreams, oral history, memories (both real and imagined), and Gastelum’s Yaqui identity. The new recording brings together the fruits of Gastelum’s 25 years in the music business performing with the likes of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, avant-garde jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp, and the popular rap-duo Run the Jewels.

Do Native Americans need more encouragement to consume saturated fats? Native nutritionists are wondering how the new federal dietary guidelines just unveiled by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. intersects with decades of scientific research urging the population with the highest rates of heart disease to limit their saturated fat intake. The new federal food pyramid shows up in recommendations for programs like Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Head Start, Indian Health Service, and the National School Lunch Program. Tribes in the Pacific Northwest are stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to seals taking a bite out of the salmon populations they worked decades to preserve. The seals are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. They feast on fish that on which the tribes rely. We will look at how this situation affects tribal treaty rights and what tribes are doing in response. A handful of organizations are working to strengthen traditional connections between urban Native residents and buffalo. Organizers in Chicago and Denver are among those working to put the animals closer to Native people who might not otherwise have exposure to a significant traditional source of food. GUESTS Dr. Tara Maudrie (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians), assistant professor at the University of Michigan in the School of Social Work Ceclia Gobin (Tulalip), conservation policy analyst with the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Dnisa Oocumma (Eastern Band of Cherokee), community engagement coordinator for the American Indian Center Dr. Valarie Jernigan (Choctaw), professor of medicine and director of the Center for Indigenous Health Research and Policy at Oklahoma State University’s Center for Health Sciences Carley Griffith-Hotvedt (Cherokee), executive director of the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative

Thaioronióhte Dan David (Kanehsatà:ke Mohawk) launched the news department for Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN). In doing so, he gave Indigenous voices a national public platform they did not previously have. He started his career with the CBC covering the Yukon Territory. He reported on the Oka Crisis, among many other historic events. After establishing APTN News, he spent a decade reshaping a national newsroom in post-apartheid South Africa. We’ll speak with David’s family, friends and colleagues about his many accomplishments and the importance of putting Indigenous voices front and center in news coverage. We’ll also hear from a founder of the Lakota Times newspaper on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The independent weekly newspaper ceased publication this month after decades in operation, leaving a blank space for Native news in the Great Plains region. GUESTS Marie David (Kanien’kehá:ke Mohawk), sister to Dan David Karyn Pugliese (Pikwàkanagàn First Nation), host and producer Nation to Nation of APTN News Drew Hayden Taylor (Curve Lake First Nation), playwright and author Bruce Spence (Opaskwayak Cree Nation), producer at APTN National News Sylvia Vollenhoven, journalist and filmmaker Amanda War Takes Bonnett-Beauvais (Oglala Lakota), public education specialist at the Native Women’s Society of the Great Plains and former editor and publisher at the Lakota Country Times Break 1 Music: Stomp Dance (song) George Hunter (artist) Haven (album) Break 2 Music: Mahaha: Tickling Demon (song) PIQSIQ (artist) Legends (album)

President Donald Trump appears to have backed off his most urgent rhetoric, for now, around acquiring Greenland against the will of nearly every European nation and the vast majority of Americans. But the threat of a potential takeover of Greenland and other sovereign nations remains, with Trump officials also putting Cuba, Columbia, and even Canada and Mexico on notice for what Trump himself refers to as the “Donroe Doctrine”, a reference to the 200-year-old foreign policy asserting America’s dominance in the Western Hemisphere. The momentum for such imperialistic rhetoric is a reminder of a dark time for Native Americans and other Indigenous peoples potentially in Trump’s path. GUESTS Dr. Sara Olsvig (Inuk from Greenland), chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council and holds a Ph.D in Arctic studies Andrea Carmen (Yaqui), executive director of the International Indian Treaty Council Tillie Martinussen (Inuit), former member of Parliament of Greenland Malu Rosing (Inuit), advisor on Arctic and global governance for the International Work Group on Indigenous Affairs Break 1 Music: Tikitaummata (song) Susan Aglukark (artist) The Crossing (album) Break 2 Music: Mahaha: Tickling Demon (song) PIQSIQ (artist) Legends (album)

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth says he is taking a “sledgehammer” to a federal program that many tribes and tribal businesses rely on. He is referring to the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development Program that extends contract priorities to disadvantaged business owners. Hegseth uses words like “fraud” and “scheme” to describe what he says is an outdated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiative. His is part of an overall scrutiny of the program by the federal government. Hundreds of Native small businesses have accessed the program over the past 60 years, and some Alaska Native corporations have multi-million dollar contracts. GUESTS Jon Panamaroff (Native Village of Afognak), co-chair of the Native American Contractors Association and CEO of Command Holdings Kevin Allis (Forest County Potawatomi), founder and president of Thunderbird Strategic and former CEO of the National Congress of American Indians Nick Grube, investigative reporter at Honolulu Civil Beat Break 1 Music: Shawnee Stomp Dance (song) Little Axe Singers (artist) Traditional Voices: Historic Recordings of Traditional Native American Music (album) Break 2 Music: Mahaha: Tickling Demon (song) PIQSIQ (artist) Legends (album)

Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve (Sicangu Lakota and Ponca) mistook her first interaction with racism — a separate gas station outhouse reserved for “Indians” — as a privileged courtesy for her and her people. It is one of the “Special Places, Sacred Circles” that she recalls in the account of her life on the dry, windy plains of South Dakota. She tells of the Great Depression, grandmothers who taught her the power of words, and the navigation of a literary world that embraced her. Sneve was one of the first authors to offer an alternative to children’s literature flush with stereotypes. Her insightful writing took her from her home along Ponca Creek to a presidential honor at the White House. We’ll hear Sneve talk about her life as a writer and public school educator. Break 1 Music: Song of Encouragement (song) Porcupine Singers (artist) Alowanpi – Songs of Honoring – Lakota Classics: Past & Present, Vol. 1 (album) Break 2 Music: Elle Danse [Boogat Remix] (song) Mimi O’Bonsawin (artist)

A recent agreement between a gold mining company and the Shoshone Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation is being called “historic” by its chairman. The mining company president says the agreement follows the standards set by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and gives the tribe a share of the profits from the mine. The company and tribal officials are optimistic this will set a precedent for how mining companies partner with tribes. At the same time as the agreement, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposes to severely limit the power of tribes to interfere with construction of oil and natural gas pipelines and resource-guzzling data centers. GUESTS Chairman Brian Mason (Shoshone Paiute) Maranda Compton (Delaware Tribe of Indians), founder and president of Lepwe Kate Finn (Osage), founder and director of the Tallgrass Institute James Grijalva, professor of law at the University of North Dakota School of Law Melissa Kay, Tribal Water Institute fellow at the Native American Rights Fund Break 1 Music: Healing Song (song) Judy Trejo (artist) Circle Dance Songs of the Paiute and Shoshone (album) Break 2 Music: Elle Danse [Boogat Remix] (song) Mimi O’Bonsawin (artist)

In Los Angeles, Chicago, and now Minneapolis, activists, community leaders, and concerned neighbors have organized loose-knit networks of support for what they believe will be a protracted resistance effort against the crackdowns by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. The Powwow Grounds Coffeehouse in Minneapolis is among the locations collecting food, cash, and other support for those filling the streets with whistles, drums, and their own voices. Doing so carries risk. ICE agents shot and killed one person. Many more are injured. At least one Minneapolis restaurant fended off ICE agents who attempted to enter. We’ll hear from Native organizers in cities around the country about what they expect in the weeks and months ahead. GUESTS Robert Rice (White Earth Nation), owner of Pow Wow Grounds Courtney Cochran (Anishinaabe), artist, filmmaker, and community organizer Jennifer Marley (San Ildefonso), community organizer and a member of the Total Sovereignty Working Group Eva Cardenas (Mexica Chicana of Mazahua and Zapotec descent), director of organizing for the NDN Collective Joel Garcia (Huichol), artist, cultural organizer, and director of Meztli Projects Break 1 Music: Hope [Featuring Werner Erb] (song) Sihasin (artist) Never Surrender (album) Break 2 Music: Elle Danse [Boogat Remix] (song) Mimi O’Bonsawin (artist)

The village of Kwigillingok, Alaska is at a crossroads after flooding, fueled by a serious Bearing Sea storm, washed away 50 houses, killing three residents. The storm is one of the increasingly frequent and increasingly severe storms to pummel the area. Combined with thawing permafrost and rising sea levels, village leaders are pushing to move — a plan that state and Native regional corporation officials reject. Recent flooding in Washington State also has tribal officials assessing their options. There too, major flooding — what used to be a once-in-a-lifetime event — threatens residents’ lives and property and the natural viability of the rivers than once sustained life for local tribes. We’ll get updates about the effects of increasing floods and the difficult choices tribal officials face. GUESTS Daniel Paul (Yup’ik), tribal president for the Village of Kipnuk Gavin Phillip (Yup’ik), tribal administrator for the Village of Kwigillingok Darrel John (Yup’ik), community school advocate Joseph Pavel (Skokomish), director of natural resources for the Skokomish Indian Tribe Guillaume Mauger, Washington state climatologist and research scientist at the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group Break 1 Music: Uangilaa (song) Susan Aglukark (artist) The Crossing (album) Break 2 Music: Elle Danse [Boogat Remix] (song) Mimi O’Bonsawin (artist)

This year is the 60 anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the federal law that promised equal access to voting regardless of race or religion. The document was a milestone in the movement championed by Martin Luther King, Jr. Among the actions that prompted the legislation was a series of violent confrontations between protestors and officials intent on preventing their progress, including law enforcement officers’ attack on hundreds of marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala. Many civil rights advocates say the country is now dismantling the progress that King devoted his life to that has helped Native Americans and so many others. GUESTS Dr. Sandy Grande (Quechua), professor of political science and Native American and Indigenous Studies at the University of Connecticut Nick Tilsen (Oglala Lakota), founder and CEO of the NDN Collective Wenona Singel (Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, and the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians), associate professor of law and director of the Indigenous Law & Policy Center at Michigan State University Caroline LaPorte (Little River Band of Ottawa Indians descendant), staff attorney with the Indian Law Resource Center and associate judge for the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Break 1 Music: Leadership Song [Naaí’áanii Biyiin] (song) Radmilla Cody (artist) K’é Hasin (album) Break 2 Music: Elle Danse [Boogat Remix] (song) Mimi O’Bonsawin (artist)

Dakota Louis’ (Northern Cheyenne) family bull riding roots go back five generations. His father was a two-time champion at the Indian Finals Rodeo. Now, Louis is a top competitor at the same rodeo and other events around the country. He hopes to pass down his skills and inspiration to a younger generation on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana where he grew up. On the Qualla Boundary in North Carolina, Jade Blankenship (Colville Tribes/Eastern Band of Cherokee) opened a spa and boutique with her sister. Together they are sharing their business knowledge with budding Native entrepreneurs. They are among the names on this year’s 40 under 40 list by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. We’ll hear from some of the Native people on a variety of career paths recognized for their contributions to their communities. GUESTS Dakota Louis (Northern Cheyenne, Cree, and Blackfeet), professional bull rider Jade Blankenship (Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Spokane and Eastern Band of Cherokee), co-owner of Indigenous Boutique and Spa and founder of UWENA Corey Hinton (Passamaquoddy), attorney at Drummond Woodsum Michael Charles (Diné), assistant professor in the department of Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University Break 1 Music: Rodeo Song [Skip Dance Song] (song) Sweethearts of Navajoland (artist) From the Heart of Diné Nation Traditional Songs of the Navajo (album) Break 2 Music: Vipismal – The Hummingbird Song (song) Earl Ray (artist) Traditional Songs Of The Salt River Pima (album)

The U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has prompted questions about what comes next. No one is more concerned about the answer to that question than Venezuela’s Wayúu people and the other Indigenous tribes that make up as much as 3% of the population. They are no fans of Maduro, enduring the same oppressive tactics as other residents, contributing to disproportionate socio-economic hurdles. They are also suffering at the hands of both legal and illegal mining operations. What will President Donald Trump’s stated interests in gas and mineral development mean going forward? GUESTS Alicia Moncada (Wayúu), director of advocacy and communications for Cultural Survival Carlos Roa, journalist and editor for IQ Latino and a member and spokesperson with Asociación de Periodistas Venezolanos en el Extranjero / Association of Venezuelan Journalists Abroad (APEVEX) Alejandro Velasco, professor of Latin American history at New York University Laura Botero, PhD student at the University of Texas at Austin

A recent decision by the U.S. Treasury Department is a major win for tribes. For the first time, tribes are on the same level as states when it comes to determining how tribal services are taxed. Advocates call the decision “historic” and say it is a significant breakthrough in tribal sovereignty. Not only will it allow tribes to keep hundreds of millions of dollars more per year, it removes the tax filing hassle for small contractors who work with tribes. We’ll hear about the decade-long push to change what is called the General Welfare Exclusion and what it means for tribal economic development. GUESTS Chief Lynn Malerba (Mohegan), Former U.S. Treasurer Lt. Gov. Hershel Gorham (Cheyenne and Arapaho) OJ Semans Sr. (Rosebud Sioux), co-executive director of Four Directions Vote Scott Skaro (Standing Rock Sioux), board member of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and the financial aid director for United Tribes Technical College Break 1 Music: C.R.E.A.M. [Instrumental] (song) Wu-Tang Clan (artist) Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers [Instrumentals] (album) Break 2 Music: Vipismal – The Hummingbird Song (song) Earl Ray (artist) Traditional Songs Of The Salt River Pima (album)

Organizers in Chicago just broke ground on a 45-unit affordable housing project specifically for Native Americans that is scheduled to open this year. The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians just cut the ribbon in October for 40 new affordable housing units in Salem, Oreg. And Oakland, Calif. is working on 76 new homes for low-income Native Americans attached to a Native health facility. The surge in projects specifically geared toward urban Native Americans is meant to offset barriers that disproportionately affect their ability to keep a roof over their heads. We’ll hear about the factors fueling the surge in new affordable housing projects in various cities. GUESTS Shelly Tucciarelli (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin), executive director of Visionary Ventures NFP Corp. and vice president of the Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative Sky Waters (Osage), community development director at the Native American Youth and Family Center Anthony Guzman (Northern Ute), chief cultural officer at the Native American Health Center Bryan Singer (Crow), entrepreneur development specialist for the Montana Department of Commerce Indian Country Economic Development programs and member of the Mountain Shadow Association board Break 1 Music: Journey Home (song) Susan Aglukark (artist) The Crossing (album) Break 2 Music: Vipismal – The Hummingbird Song (song) Earl Ray (artist) Traditional Songs Of The Salt River Pima (album)

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are accused of forcefully dragging a Native American man from car and detaining him during the increasing tensions in Minneapolis, Minn. More than 2,000 ICE agents and other federal officers descended on the city in what the Trump administration insists is an immigration enforcement action. At least five Native Americans have been detained, several others have had confrontations with ICE agents. The crackdown is roundly condemned by local and state community leaders. We’ll talk to some of those caught up in the action and what more might be in store elsewhere. We’ll also hear from the leader of Virginia’s Rappahannock Tribe about their opposition to a plan by county officials to use 9,000,000 gallons of water from the tribe’s namesake river for a proposed data center, a plan that tribal leaders say was drafted without proper consultation. GUESTS Little Crow Bellecourt (Bad River), executive director of Indigenous Protector Movement Shawntia Sosa-Clara (Red Lake Nation descendant), aunt to Jose Ramirez Amelia Schafer (Brothertown Indian Nation descendant), North Central Bureau correspondent for ICT News Chief Anne Richardson (Rappahannock) Break 1 Music: 500 Years O’ Blues (song) Digging Roots (artist) Seeds (album) Break 2 Music: Vipismal – The Hummingbird Song (song) Earl Ray (artist) Traditional Songs Of The Salt River Pima (album)

The celebrations of the country’s independence are not the same for Native Americans. As a year of events, re-enactments, seminars, and commemorative coin creation gets under way to mark 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, many Native Americans are asking where they stand in the historical narrative. Some states have developed dialogues with tribes as they plan out the year’s events. Some tribes have a more direct connection to the resulting Revolutionary War than others. We’ll get an idea what Native citizens are anticipating as the country collectively honors what it calls “the Founding Fathers”. GUESTS Darren Bonaparte (Akwesasne Mohawk), director of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe’s tribal historic preservation office Andrei Jacobs (Orutsararmuit Native Council), former director of Tribal Partnerships for America250, freelance consultant, and content creator Robert Lilligren (White Earth Ojibwe Nation), chair of the Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors of Minneapolis and president and CEO of the Native American Community Development Institute Break 1 Music: Water by Jim Pepper [Arranged by Jhoely Garay] (song) Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band (artist) Live at Joe’s Pub, NYC on January 13th, 2024 (performance) Break 2 Music: Put Your Feathers On (song) Blue Moon Marquee & Northern Cree (artist) Get Your Feathers Ready (Album)

The U.S. Postal Service just implemented a seemingly minor rule that is worrying Native American voting rights advocates. They and others say it is among a number of changes that add to the barriers Native voters face getting their ballots counted come this November. The new rule changes when mail, including mail-in ballots, are postmarked, shortening the time frame for when the ballots are deemed valid. It applies most directly to voters in states with large Native populations, including California, Arizona, and New Mexico along with nearly a dozen others. We’ll talk with Native voting rights advocates about this rule change and other challenges to the Native voting access in 2026. GUESTS Jacqueline de León (Isleta Pueblo), senior staff attorney for the Native American Rights Fund OJ Semans Sr. (Rosebud Sioux), co-executive director of Four Directions Vote Jonnette Paddy (Navajo), communications associate for Indigenous Voices of Nevada Michelle Sparck (Qissunamiut Tribe of Chevak), director of Get Out the Native Vote Break 1 Music: Get Up Stand Up (song) Bailey Wiley, Che Fu, King Kapisi, Laughton Kora, Maisey Rika & Tiki Taane (artist) Break 2 Music: Put Your Feathers On (song) Blue Moon Marquee & Northern Cree (artist) Get Your Feathers Ready (Album)