Native America Calling - The Electronic Talking Circle

Tribes that collectively make up the largest water rights holders along the Colorado River say the Trump Administration's newest plan to deal with diminishing water levels is inadequate. Tribal leaders say they were left out of the decision making process and are now in store for serious water use cuts that violate existing water rights agreements as well as the federal government's trust responsibility. We'll hear from some of those tribal leaders. We'll also find out what's next following the Michigan Supreme Court's ruling to deny a permit to the company aiming to construct a new underwater oil pipeline to replace the aging existing structure. GUESTS Bidtah Becker (Diné), chief legal counsel for the Office of the President and Vice President of the Navajo Nation David Gover (Pawnee and Choctaw), managing attorney with the Native American Rights Fund Governor Stephen Roe Lewis, Gila River Indian Community Jennifer Smith, director of tribal engagement for Enbridge Break 1 Music: Water Is Life (single song) Native Roots, Joy Harjo, Def-I & Innastate (artist) Break 2 Music: Aia lā ‘o Pele [Mele Honoring Pele] (song) ‘Iolani Luahine (artist) Ancient Hula Hawaiian Style: Vol. 1 Hula Kuahu (album)

The Osage language was declared dead in 2005 after its last fluent speaker died, but revitalization efforts since then have built the number of proficient speakers to about 40. The Caddo Nation continues its extensive language revitalization efforts more than a year after its last fluent speaker walked on. It’s an uphill battle for most tribes in the U.S. to retain their language. The new book, “How to Kill a Language: Power, Resistance, and the Race to Save Our Words”, examines the global crisis of cultures losing their languages. In a New Yorker review of the book, philosophy instructor Nikhil Krishnan uses the book's premise to argue that the death of a language is sometimes “just how things go.” That touched off strong opposition from the language advocacy organization, The Endangered Languages Project. They and other organizations say such fatalistic thinking promotes misleading and harmful narratives and undermines efforts to preserve languages globally. We'll hear from Indigenous language advocates who argue no expense should be spared to revive languages before we lose them. GUESTS N. Ha’alilio Solomon (Native Hawaiian), assistant professor of Hawaiian language at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Dr. Myrna Cunningham (Miskito), Indigenous Peoples rights activist and educator Skyler Kuczaboski (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe), grants administration support for the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council

Tribal public health officials are among those reassuring citizens about the safety of their food as reports of new cases of cyclospora infections continue to rise. Michigan continues to be a hotspot with state officials reporting more than 11,000 cases. The actual number is likely much higher than that. One hurdle in tracking the cyclosporiasis outbreak is it has a long incubation period and it can't be traced through the genetic markers that some other food-borne illnesses have. The infections are traced mainly to tainted lettuce from Mexico. Nearly all other states are also reporting cyclospora cases, many of them from a variety of sources. GUESTS Harleigh Moore-Wilson (Osage), director of agriculture for Flower Hill Institute Dr. Matthew Clark, chief medical officer for the Alaska Area Native Health Service, acting deputy chief medical officer for the Indian Health Service (IHS), and chair of the IHS National Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee Will Seeley, tribal enterprise manager for the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative Break 1 Music: Ch'iya'a'n Biyiin/Native Food Song (song) Radmilla & Herman Cody (artist) Shi Kéyah (album) Break 2 Music: Aia lā ‘o Pele [Mele Honoring Pele] (song) ‘Iolani Luahine (artist) Ancient Hula Hawaiian Style: Vol. 1 Hula Kuahu (album)

Over the course of a few days, a gang war erupts on the fictional Thunderstone reservation in the new film, “Gangland”. Officer Teddy Sharpe (Lou Diamond Phillips) and his trainee must navigate a community affected by a dark secret. The new film features several talented Native actors including Lane Factor (Caddo), Elisha Pratt (Cheyenne and Arapaho), Irene Bedard (Iñupiaq, Yup'ik and Cree), and more. The famed children's series “Little House on the Prairie” gets a new screen adaptation for Netflix. The original books the show is based on faced criticism for perpetuating racist stereotypes. Now, the new TV series includes consultation with Osage citizens. We'll also remember the late Seminole and Cherokee actor Randolph Mantooth, best known as the lead of the hit 1970s television show “Emergency!” Mantooth died on July 9. GUESTS Lou Diamond Phillips, actor and star of “Gangland” Julie O'Keefe (Osage), cultural consultant for “Little House on the Prairie” Robert Allen Warrior (Osage), Hall Distinguished Professor of American Literature and Culture at the University of Kansas and consultant for “Little House on the Prairie” Monte Fronk (Red Lake Nation), tribal emergency responder with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and friend of Randolph Mantooth Tonya Mantooth (Seminole and Cherokee), CEO and artistic director of the San Diego International Film Festival and sister to Randolph Mantooth Break 1 Music: Wahzhazhe (song) Scott George (artist) Killers of the Flower Moon Soundtrack (album) Break 2 Music: Show the People (song) Bear Creek (artist) On The Move – Powwow Songs Recorded Live at Apache Gold Little House on the Prairie. (L to R) Alice Halsey as Laura Ingalls, Wren Zhawenim Gotts as Good Eagle in episode 107 of Little House on the Prairie. Cr. Eric Zachanowich/Netflix © 2026

Renowned chef Nephi Craig (White Mountain Apache, Navajo) admits he hid his alcoholism fairly well as he was making a name for himself as a Native chef throughout the 2000s. His memoir, “Our Knives Will Save Us: Dispatches from a White Mountain Apache Chef“, details his arduous recovery and how food and the kitchen helped him figure out his purpose and path to healing. In the debut children’s novel by Christine Hartman Derr (Cherokee), “Raven, Rising“, baking was a favorite pastime for a young Cherokee girl until she is struck with sadness and anxiety at the thought of baking and the smell of ingredients like cinnamon, bread, and chocolate. She learns to cope with loss and works to make her way back to the kitchen. Chef Candace Stock (Ho-Chunk) is the executive chef of Salt + Scoria, a restaurant in the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota. We'll talk with her about bringing Indigenous ingredients and flavors to the menu. Break 1 Music: With My Son (song) Vincent Craig (artist) Break 2 Music: Show the People (song) Bear Creek (artist) On The Move – Powwow Songs Recorded Live at Apache Gold

A bill making its way through Congress offers new hope for five Native communities in Southeast Alaska to secure their own land for the first time. For more than 50 years following the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), the five tribes left out of the pivotal agreement that fundamentally changed tribal governance and land ownership in the state have been working to secure their homelands. Tribal leaders celebrated as the bill cleared the U.S. House of Representatives. But it’s not without opposition; environmental groups and others worry the land transfer will turn over vast expanses of pristine old growth wilderness to a for-profit corporation intent on maximizing financial returns through extensive timber harvests and mining. We'll hear about what this latest policy momentum accomplishes and discuss how we got here. GUESTS Cecilia Tavoliero (Tlingit), president of the Southeast Alaska Landless Corporation Nicole Hallingstad (Tlingit), Alaska Natives Without Land representative of Petersburg Sandy Churchill (Tlingit), vice president of the Wrangell Cooperative Association Albert Rinehart (Tlingit), tribal administrator for Wrangell Cooperative Association Break 1 Music: Kunax yak'ei gayshagook (song) Khu.éex' (artist) Siy​á​adlan (album) Break 2 Music: Show the People (song) Bear Creek (artist) On The Move – Powwow Songs Recorded Live at Apache Gold

A coalition of rural Alaska Native villages is launching an initiative to boost veterinary care as a way to improve public health. They aim to cut down on the increasing number of feral dogs that pose a risk to residents by offering better spay and neuter services. They also hope a vaccination program can lower the spread of rabies. Alaska Native Rural Veterinary Inc. and the Alaska Federation of Natives are moving ahead after federal legislation stalled in Congress. We’ll talk with those called to bring veterinary care to rural communities — with or without government support — to keep animals and people safe. Robert Mirabel in the film. “Road to Everywhere.” (Photo: courtesy Driven To Films) We also talk with acclaimed musician and actor Robert Mirabal about his role in the movie, “Road to Everywhere“. Mirabal is performing at a screening of the film in Albuquerque, N.M. GUESTS Mike Williams Sr. (Yupiaq), tribal chief of the Akiak Native Community Adrianna Nicolay (Diné), volunteer with Rez Vet Angie Fitch, executive director and co-founder of Alaska Native Rural Veterinary Inc. Robert Mirabal (Taos Pueblo), musician and actor Break 1 Music: Raising Goats Song [Skip Dance Song] (song) Sweethearts of Navajoland (artist) From the Heart of Diné Nation Traditional Songs of the Navajo (album) Break 2 Music: Show the People (song) Bear Creek (artist) On The Move – Powwow Songs Recorded Live at Apache Gold

Longtime Phoenix-based professional strongman Jerry Pritchett (Chickasaw) isn't ready to retire just yet. For now, his focus is on his son, Bubba, who at 15 years old, recently locked out a 615-pound deadlift at a competition. Pritchett is a veteran strongman and powerlifter who was named America's Strongest Man in 2017 and was later named a World's Strongest Man finalist. Other Native strongmen who have earned professional titles like Pritchett is Harold “Iron Bear” Collins (Lumbee). Collins was a popular competitor in the 1990s who broke six Guinness World Records, one for pulling a 50,433-pound semitruck and flatbed trailer 160 feet in 44 seconds. In Canada, Colten Sloan (Whitefish Lake First Nation) is working hard to join the ranks of these strongmen. In 2021, he became the first Indigenous man in Canada to earn a pro card in the sport and has since competed around the world. GUESTS Jerry Pritchett (Chickasaw), professional strongman Colten Sloan (Whitefish Lake First Nation), professional strongman Harold “Iron Bear” Collins (Lumbee), retired professional strongman Break 1 Music: Bad Dude (song) Joe H Henry (artist) Real Things (album) Break 2 Music: Show the People (song) Bear Creek (artist) On The Move – Powwow Songs Recorded Live at Apache Gold

Some residents of Zuni Pueblo in northwestern New Mexico were forced to evacuate their homes due to severe flash flooding earlier this week. The community is bracing for more storms and flooding as the monsoon season continues. Tribal leadership is working to protect tribal members and historical structures. We'll get an update from community members, and the Pueblo's governor, on recovery efforts and the damage caused. We'll also hear from an Indigenous journalist covering the worsening wildfires in Ontario, Canada. More than 13 First Nations communities were displaced. GUESTS Arden Kucate (Zuni), governor of the Pueblo of Zuni Shaun Tsabetsaye (Zuni), co-founder and chief of technology of Major Market Inc. Willow Fiddler (Sandy Lake First Nation), Indigenous affairs reporter for The Globe and Mail Break 1 Music: Land of the Shalako (song) Zuni Midnighters (artist) Land of the Shalako (album) Break 2 Music: I Know [feat. Sebastian Gaskin] (song) Shub (artist) Heritage [Pt. 2] (album)

More than 35 First Nations in Canada have active drinking water advisories, but a new federal bill aims to address the issue. Indigenous leaders are critical of the bill and argue that it limits federal liability and fails to protect clean water as a basic human right. Some Indigenous communities have been without clean water since the 1960s, leading First Nations leaders to demand legislative fixes to industrial pollution and longstanding neglect by the federal government. We'll hear from leaders and experts about what's in the new water bill and the ongoing water crisis in parts of the country. We'll also hear about a new scientific study by Conservation International that examines how Indigenous stewardship and cultural practices improve the ecological health of lands. Researchers looked at the unique practices of more than 40 Indigenous communities around the world and how they’re adapting to a changing climate. GUESTS Linda Debassige (M’Chigeeng First Nation), Grand Council Chief of the Anishinabek Nation Leah Gazan (Wood Mountain Lakota Nation), NDP Member of Parliament Kerry Black, associate professor and Canada Research Chair in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Calgary Sushma Shrestha Sangat (Newari), conservation scientist and researcher Break 1 Music: Red Dust Rising (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album) Break 2 Music: I Know [feat. Sebastian Gaskin] (song) Shub (artist) Heritage [Pt. 2] (album)

Around 200 wildfires are currently burning across the country and nearly 900 are burning in Canada. Large swaths of the northeastern U.S. are blanketed in heavy, hazardous smoke coming from widespread wildfires burning in northern Minnesota and Ontario. In the neighboring Canadian province, three First Nations communities were forced to evacuate after fires ripped through their remote reserves. Significant drought and decades of hands-off wild land management factor into increasingly severe wildfire seasons that impact Indigenous people the most. We'll get updates from Indigenous fire experts about current wildfire events, smoke impacts, and the vulnerability of Indigenous communities. GUESTS Dr. Amy Cardinal Christianson (Métis), senior fire advisor for the Indigenous Leadership Initiative and board member of the International Association of Wildland Fire Arnold Lazare (Mohawk), interim CEO of the National Indigenous Fire Safety Council and the Indigenous fire marshal for Canada Ferin Davis Anderson (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians), natural resources manager for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Tim Sexton, fire program manager for the Klamath Tribes Break 1 Music: La Grande Gigue Simple/ Red River Jig/ Big John McNeil (song) Métis Fiddler Quartet (artist) North West Voyage Nord Ouest (album) Break 2 Music: I Know [feat. Sebastian Gaskin] (song) Shub (artist) Heritage [Pt. 2] (album)

Acclaimed Diné writer and Arizona's current poet laureate, Dr. Laura Tohe, is working to share her poetry across the state's rural communities. That includes public readings and uplifting young, emerging poets in the state. Growing up in a remote community on the Navajo Nation, Tohe demonstrated a firm grasp of both Diné bizaad and English at an early age. She attributes that to growing up in a family of storytellers, including her father who was a Navajo Code Talker in World War II. She's been recognized by some of the top literary organizations and her writing has been translated to multiple languages for an international audience. Tohe joins us for our special feature, Native in the Spotlight, to discuss her career and her work to make poetry more accessible for everyone. Break 1 Music: Chief Manuelito (song) Vincent Craig (artist) Self-titled Release (album) Break 2 Music: I Know [feat. Sebastian Gaskin] (song) Shub (artist) Heritage [Pt. 2] (album)

Conservation groups and at least two Pacific Northwest tribes filed lawsuits against the federal government after it redefined “harm” in the Endangered Species Act earlier this month. Now, destruction of habitat is no longer considered “harm” to endangered wildlife. Supporters of the move say it lifts burdensome restrictions to land management and development. Environmental groups and tribes like the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and Squaxin Island Tribe say it puts endangered species, like Chinook salmon, and the environment they depend on in even greater danger. GUESTS Cheyenne Skye Branscum (Citizen Potawatomi Nation), Sierra Club president of the board of directors Dr. Victoria Sutton (Lumbee), distinguished Horn Professor at Texas Tech University school of Law Dr. Luhui Whitebear (Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation, Huastec and Cochimi), assistant professor and coordinator of Indigenous Studies at Oregon State University Wyatt Golding, attorney at Ziontz Chestnut for the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Kristin Boyles, managing attorney with Earthjustice Break 1 Music: In the River: A Protest Song (song) Raye Zaragoza (artist) Break 2 Music: I Know [feat. Sebastian Gaskin] (song) Shub (artist) Heritage [Pt. 2] (album)

Tulsa, Okla.-based Cherokee Nation citizen Courtney Jordan used to be a federal prosecutor, but she is now on the other side of the courtroom as a defense attorney specializing in the intersection of federal Indian law and criminal law. Jordan uses TikTok and other social media platforms to inform others about their rights and key cases in Indian Country, while openly sharing her own run-in with the law. She is a convicted felon whose legal career was turned upside down after she led police on a high-speed chase in 2022. Doctors later attributed the incident to adult on-set temporal lobe epilepsy and she eventually got her law license reinstated. She's now at the head of a burgeoning law practice and joins us for a conversation about her storied career. Break 1 Music: Cherokee County (song) Kalyn Fey (artist) Garden (album) Break 2 Music: In the Time of Chiefs (song) Estun-Bah (artist) From Where the Sun Rises (album)

Bears Ears National Monument (Photo by Tim Peterson). President Donald Trump, once again, reduced the size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah on Monday. Both monuments were downsized by about 90% opening up nearly three million acres to resource developers. Several tribes have cultural and sacred ties to the respective monument areas and have been fighting to protect them for years. The president's proclamation also dismantles the Bears Ears Commission, a coalition of five tribes designated by then-President Obama in 2016 and tasked with co-management of monument lands with federal officials. Now, the move puts the Antiquities Act, which gives presidents the power to designate monuments, under the legal scrutiny of politicians, conservationists, and tribes that argue the 1906 law can or cannot be used to reduce already established national monuments. Also, Indigenous Venezuelans are among the thousands of people affected by devastating, back-to-back earthquakes that destroyed hundreds of buildings and homes along the country's north coast in June. The death toll is currently around 4,700 and Indigenous communities struggle to keep up with traditional burial practices amid recovery and aid initiatives. GUESTS Davina Smith–Idjesa (Diné), co-chair of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition and representative for the Navajo Nation Keitti Jake (Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah), environmental program coordinator for the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah and member of the Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal Coalition David Hernández Palmer (Wayúu), Wayúu producer and storyteller from Columbia and Venezuela Break 1 Music: This Land (song) Keith Secola (artist) Native Americana – A Coup Stick (album) Break 2 Music: In the Time of Chiefs (song) Estun-Bah (artist) From Where the Sun Rises (album)

Mohawk DJ and music producer Shub (formerly DJ Shub) is part of the innovative force behind the “Powwow-Step” genre, a fusion of electronic styles like dance, dubstep, hip-hop, and traditional Indigenous music. Shub further explores his signature sound and pushes its potential to new heights on his latest album, “Heritage (Part Two)”. Listeners can expect party-ready tracks, chopped powwow samples, ambient soundscapes, and collaborations with Juno Award-winning Oji-Cree artist Aysanabee and legendary Three 6 Mafia member DJ Paul.  Heavy electronic musician Aaron Wallace, also known as Darksiderz, blends hard dance and industrial music to create a chaotic soundtrack fit for a vampire nightclub. The Nisenan and Washoe musician grew up in Reno, Nev. where he started playing music in local punk and metal bands. Today, Darksiderz is a popular name in the electronic music scene and he’s performed on some of the biggest EDM stages in the world. He brings a unique, dark, yet danceable sound to his recently released collaborative singles. Both artists join us to talk about their latest works. Break 1 Music: Origins (song) Shub (artist) Heritage [Pt. 2] (album) Break 2 Music: In the Time of Chiefs (song) Estun-Bah (artist) From Where the Sun Rises (album)

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act expanded the Federal Pell Grant, a subsidy for undergraduate students, to cover short-term workforce training programs for the first time. Native education advocates view the new Workforce Pell Grant program as a positive initiative that could help more low-income adults get into high-demand jobs while boosting enrollment at tribal colleges and universities. The program went into effect this month so it's still too early to tell how tribal institutions will benefit. We'll discuss the viability of vocational school and training and how the Workforce Pell Grant will take effect at tribal post-secondary institutions. GUESTS Leander McDonald (Dakota, Arikara, Hidatsa, and Hunkpapa), president of the United Tribes Technical College Nyree Kedrowski (Ho-Chunk Nation), managing partner for Five Skies Moriah O'Brien, vice president of congressional and federal relations at the American Indian Higher Education Consortium Break 1 Music: Brown Eyed Handsome Man (song) The Wingate Valley Boys (artist) Navajoland U.S.A. Country Happening (album) Break 2 Music: In the Time of Chiefs (song) Estun-Bah (artist) From Where the Sun Rises (album)

Tribal officials and renewable energy advocates are celebrating a major legal victory after a Minnesota administrative judge ruled in favor of the Upper Sioux Community's solar-powered casino. The dispute centers on the tribe's right to supplement its power with on-site solar energy, while also highlighting the friction between tribal sovereignty and local utility monopolies. In federal court, a separate legal battle is underway to reclaim frozen funding from the $7 billion “Solar for All” program. Despite the federal standstill, Minnesota tribes like the Red Lake and White Earth Nations are forging ahead, successfully building their own solar infrastructure to secure energy independence. GUESTS Robert Blake (Red Lake Nation), founder and CEO of Solar Bear and executive director of Native Sun Community Power Development Nathan Mathews, executive director of the White Earth Nation Tribal Utility Commission Talia Martin (Shoshone-Bannock), co-executive director of Tribal Energy Alternatives Break 1 Music: Encouragement Pipe Song (song) Joseph Shields, Jr. (artist) Wahancanka [Remember Me Grandfather]  (album) Break 2 Music: In the Time of Chiefs (song) Estun-Bah (artist) From Where the Sun Rises (album)

A new report by the New Mexico Department of Justice says Native students are disciplined more harshly and miss more school days from suspensions than other students at Gallup-McKinley County Schools. The school district has a majority Navajo student population and was the focus of a 2023 news investigation that prompted calls for further investigations. In South Dakota, education leaders are looking into the state’s licensing exams after research shows a disproportionately low number of Native teacher candidates pass the costly exam. Native teachers are in short supply in the state and Native education advocates say that streamlining licensing requirements could be barrier. GUESTS Dr. Wendy Greyeyes (Diné), chair of the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission and assistant professor of Native American Studies at the University of New Mexico Kevin Mitchell (Diné), Gallup-McKinley County Schools Board of Education president Priscilla Benally (Diné), Gallup-McKinley County Schools Board of Education vice president Dr. Sherry Johnson (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate), education director for the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Break 1 Music: Dat One (song) The Delbert Anderson Trio (artist) MANITOU (album) Break 2 Music: Medicine Wheel (song) Logan Staats (artist) Rainwater (album)

Tlingit and Haida Tribes, the Ketchikan Indian Community, and other communities in Southeast Alaska are urging tourists to stop disrespecting unique cultural symbols such as totem poles. Nearly two million tourists visit the region annually and tribal members are reporting an uptick in incidents of tourists mocking Native culture. The message from the tribes remains: all are welcome and respect is not optional. While promoting responsible tourism, the Ketchikan Indian Community is also launching a new initiative for visitors to purchase care packages for the community’s unhoused population. The initiative is also aimed at supporting the tribe’s year-round housing services for unhoused residents. In the Lower 48 states, a Navajo app developer has created Tribal Trailz. It aims to help visitors navigate Diné and Pueblo lands across Arizona and New Mexico and includes historical information and other resources designed to better educate tourists about traveling in ancestral homelands. GUESTS Richard Peterson (Tlingit), president of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Tribes Emily Edenshaw (Native Village of Emmonak), tribal administrator and CEO of the Ketchikan Indian Community George R. Joe (Navajo), cultural consultant and creator of “Tribal Trailz” Bobbie Conner (Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation), director of the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute Break 1 Music: Honoring The Homeland (song) Radmilla & Herman Cody (artist) Shi Kéyah (album) Break 2 Music: Medicine Wheel (song) Logan Staats (artist) Rainwater (album)

A new 162-page report just released by the White House flags a museum exhibition for what it says is “radical, activist ideology” that “seeks to teach disdain and inspire disgust of our great country.” The report faults Native land acknowledgements, mentions of stolen land, and the use of the term “genocide” connected to an ongoing exhibition by the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). The report by the White House Domestic Policy Council argues leaders at the Smithsonian Institution have pushed an agenda of social justice advocacy instead of objective historical research. We'll talk with Native historians and curators about this new escalation of the Trump administration's drive to change existing narratives about Native history. GUESTS Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes and Hodulgee Muscogee), a founding trustee of NMAI, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the first Native woman elected to the oldest learned societies in the U.S. – the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Rick Hill Sr. (Tuscarora), vice president of the Niagara Academy for Indigenous Relations Dr. Samuel Torres (Mexica/Nahua), deputy CEO of the National Native America Boarding School Healing Coalition Sierra Biidaaban Nadeau (Kchi Wiikwedong Anishinaabe), author of “What the Ancestors Say”, award-wining journalist, and reporting specialist for Miigwech Inc. Break 1 Music: War Dance Song 1 (song) Burton Fisher, George Fisher, Charles Little Oldman, & Clifford Bighead (artist) 12 Northern Cheyenne Songs (album) Break 2 Music: Medicine Wheel (song) Logan Staats (artist) Rainwater (album)

Named a “legendary Lakota horseman” by the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Fred Ecoffey (Oglala Lakota) has enjoyed a celebrated 68-year career as a jockey. After winning his debut race in 1957, Ecoffey went on to compete in more than 17,500 races, earning inductions into both the Nebraska Racing Hall of Fame and the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame. Ecoffey, 88, has retired from professional racing, though he still helps one of his daughters with her barrel racing from time to time. Today, a new generation of young Native jockeys is taking up the mantle and finding success on the racetrack. Among them is Talliyah Timentwa (Colville Tribes), a two-time national Indian Relay champion who made her debut at Washington state’s Emerald Downs racecourse last year. We'll speak with Native horse riders about cultivating the art of horsemanship across disciplines, from relay races and jockeying to the sport of dressage. Fred Ecoffey (Oglala Lakota), retired jockey, elder, and “legendary Lakota horseman” Talliyah Timentwa (Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation), amateur jockey and two-time Indian Relay champion Kate Nelson (Tlingit), journalist and amateur dressage rider Break 1 Music: My Horse (song) Courtney Yellow Fat (artist) The Lost Songs of Sitting Bull (album) Break 2 Music: Medicine Wheel (song) Logan Staats (artist) Rainwater (album)

A piece by artist Jeffrey Gibson (Mississippi Band of Choctaw and Cherokee) titled “Yet With a Steady Beat” is part of an exhibit in the brand new Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, which opened to the public in June. The large, colorful canvas is dotted with political buttons that would've been seen in movements for Native rights, farmers' rights, and civil rights. Being handpicked by the Obamas for the exhibit is just one of several prestigious honors and awards garnered by Gibson in recent years. Meanwhile, up-and-coming artist and influencer Tyler Free-LaMere (Winnebago) is being recognized for her music composition work. Her music combines the Ho-Chunk language, which caught the attention of the National Endowment for the Arts. With the organization's partnership, Tyler is now a published musician and her work was made available for music lessons and curriculums as an example of contemporary Native music. These are two of many Native artists making waves in the arts world. Break 1 Music: Cherokee County (song) Kalyn Fey (artist) Garden (album) Break 2 Music: Medicine Wheel (song) Logan Staats (artist) Rainwater (album)

As the country commemorates 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, several galleries are exploring the enduring strengths of Native Americans through both traditional and contemporary works. “Paper Trails: Unfolding Indigenous Narratives” at the Museum of Contemporary Native Art in Santa Fe, N.M. aims to stretch the boundaries of the paper medium while also examining Native cultural survival in the face of colonization. “Constellations of Place” at the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College is centered on a visual history of Native people in Colorado. And Seattle's Tidelands Gallery compiles a narrative inspired by “Lushootseed Creation Stories”. We'll talk with artists and curators about how art inserts itself into the narratives being told about the origin of America. We'll also hear about the year-long streaming Native film festival, “Everything is Connected”, developed by Vision Maker Media. This is an encore presentation so we won’t be taking calls GUESTS Alana Stone (Sičhą́ǧu Lakȟóta and Diné), curatorial specialist at Vision Maker Media Matika Wilbur (Swinomish and Tulalip), author, photographer, and CEO of Tidelands Native Art Gallery Melissa Melero-Moose (Northern Paiute), artist and co-curator of “Paper Trails: Unfolding Indigenous Narratives” Dr. Meranda Roberts (Yerington Paiute Tribe and Chicana) guest curator for “Constellations of Place” Break 1 Music: Atomic Drop [feat. Northern Cree] (song) The Halluci Nation (artist) Path of the Heel (album) Break 2 Music: Tsudadatla Tsisqwa (song) Kalyn Fay (artist) Garden (album)

Carol Juneau (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation) helped build and shape the foundation of what is now the Blackfeet Community College in the late 1970s. Her educational work led her to advocacy and elected office as she served 12 years in the Montana legislature. Juneau is one of six Native leaders in this year's class of National Native American Hall of Fame inductees. In this program, we'll learn more about Juneau and other Native legends including Dwight Birdwell (Cherokee), an honored marine veteran who's about to mark his 50th year practicing law. GUESTS James Parker Shield (Little Shell Chippewa), founder and CEO of the National Native American Hall of Fame Carol Juneau (MHA Nation), 2026 National Native American Hall of Fame inductee, retired educator, and politician Brandon Yellowbird Stevens (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin), strategist for the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin Dwight Birdwell (Cherokee), 2025 NNAHOF inductee, Army veteran, and attorney Break 1 Music: 20/20 (song) Blaine Bailey (artist) Indian Country (album) Break 2 Music: Tsudadatla Tsisqwa (song) Kalyn Fay (artist) Garden (album)

Fifteen days after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the new nation signed its first international treaty with the Wolastoqey and Mi’kmaq Nations of present-day Maine. It's a history that historian and Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians ambassador Osihkiyol Crofton-Macdonald wishes more Americans knew. Brown University assistant professor and Narragansett Nation citizen Dr. Mack Scott III is working to get Black and Indigenous histories better integrated into the K-12 curriculum in northeastern schools. This includes histories like how Narragansett citizens fought in the 1st Rhode Island Regiment, a unit long celebrated as an all-Black unit. We'll hear from Native historians about reclaiming these narratives along with their tribes' stories from 1776. GUESTS Osihkiyol Crofton-Macdonald (Wolastoqey). tribal ambassador for the Houlton Band of Maliseet Mack Scott III (Narragansett), assistant professor at Brown University Jeremy Johnson (Delaware Tribe of Indians), cultural education director for the Delaware Tribe of Indians Break 1 Music: Wolastoq Song by Saqatay (song) Mawi Sakolikapuwicik Singers (artist) Break 2 Music: Tsudadatla Tsisqwa (song) Kalyn Fay (artist) Garden (album)

A new café in Vancouver, British Columbia faced mounting criticism from the Indigenous community for its questionable use of Indigenous branding. The incident ignited conversations about the potential harms of cultural appropriation. Santa Ana Pueblo just entered into a partnership with New Mexico's largest winery. The vineyard on the tribe's reservation is just one of a handful that are owned and operated by a tribe. As the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we’ll discuss how Indigenous foods are integral to America's historical origins and culinary identity and how the last 250 years has impacted Indigenous food. GUESTS Gov. Myron Armijo (Santa Ana Pueblo) Inez Cook (Nuxalk Nation), owner of Salmon n’ Bannock Bistro Devon Mihesuah (Choctaw), author and Cora Lee Beers Price professor at the Hall Center for the Humanities at the University of Kansas Break 1 Music: Susqwimtmacwaw (song) Nuxalk Radio (artist) Nusximta (album) Break 2 Music: Tsudadatla Tsisqwa (song) Kalyn Fay (artist) Garden (album)

A Swiss private collector is selling a massive collection of thousands of Indigenous pipes, firearms, and cultural items, valued at over $17 million. A group is leading an effort to repatriate the items that are nearly 200 years old. They originated with First Nations and potentially U.S. tribes. The group is hoping to raise millions of dollars to bring these items home before they fall into another private collector’s hands. We'll discuss the struggle to reclaim items from overseas private collectors, alongside a broader push to make museums and universities return ancestral items by a 2029 deadline. Plus, we'll look at a pivotal U.S. Supreme Court case deciding the future of birthright citizenship, just as their current term ends. GUESTS Shannon O'Loughlin (Choctaw), chief executive and attorney for the Association on American Indian Affairs Coleen Rajotte (Cree), journalist, Sixties Scoop survivor, and repatriation advocate Lance White (Santee Dakota and Arikara), repatriation advocate Robert Miller (Eastern Shawnee), law professor at Arizona State University and tribal judge Gerald Neufeld, repatriation researcher and advocate Break 1 Music: Ancestors (song) Mike Bern (artist) Ancestors (album) Break 2 Music: Tsudadatla Tsisqwa (song) Kalyn Fay (artist) Garden (album)

If you're looking for an alternative to screens for the youngsters and young adults in your life over summer break, a new book by a Native author might be the solution. There is a wealth of new and familiar stories that feature Native characters. We'll hear from our panel of avid readers — who are also authors of books for kids and young adults — about some of their favorite new reads as well as some that are yet to be released. GUESTS Stacy Wells (Choctaw), author and librarian Andrea L. Rogers (Cherokee), author and a PhD student at the University of Arkansas Byron Graves (Ojibwe and Lakota), author and skateboarder Break 1 Music: A Turtle's Honour Song [NDN Jazz] (song) Mwalim (artist) Break 2 Music: Feels Like [feat. Sheena Shandea] (song) Nataanii Means (artist)

First Nations and Métis leaders in Alberta are actively opposing the province’s secession movement. Alberta will hold a referendum this October on whether to separate from Canada. Premier Danielle Smith is in a war of words with First Nations leaders and faces legal challenges from tribes for pushing forward with the vote. Smith publicly admonished tribal leaders to “check themselves” after the main provincial First Nations chiefs organization said Smith's actions amounted to “treason”. So far, the public overwhelmingly opposes separation, but the debate is highlighting a very real question whether the provincial government can actually act on separation in light of historic treaties signed with the British Crown long before Alberta was established. GUESTS Chief Troy Knowlton (Piikani), Chief of the Piikani Nation and president of the Blackfoot Confederacy Danette Starblanket (Star Blanket Cree), assistant professor with the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Regina Bruce McIvor (Métis), founder and senior partner at First Peoples Law LLP and an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia's Allard School of Law Matthew Wildcat (Ermineskin Cree), assistant professor and director of Indigenous Governance in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta Jon Eagle Sr. (Hunkpapa Lakota and Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate), former tribal historic preservation officer for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Break 1 Music: Old Alberta (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album) Break 2 Music: Feels Like [feat. Sheena Shandea] (song) Nataanii Means (artist)

Sweeping legislation in Congress is aimed at lowering the cost of housing. The fate of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is still questionable, but if it is approved it would, among other things, remove some barriers to housing construction, especially in major cities. While the bill enjoys relatively rare bipartisan support, Native American affordable housing advocates say it is a missed opportunity to address long-standing issues faced by a population disproportionately affected by housing affordability. It includes provisions for tribal housing improvement, but Native housing experts say it falls far short of what's needed. Mostly, Native advocates are pushing for reauthorizing the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act (NAHASDA), the block grant program driving the construction and repair of thousands of homes in Native communities over the last three decades. It's authorization expired more than a dozen years ago. We'll discuss recent progress and ongoing needs in affordable housing. GUESTS Jackie Pata (Tlingit), president and CEO of the Tlingit and Haida Regional Housing Authority; First Vice President of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska; co-chair of the HUD Secretary’s Tribal Intergovernmental Advisory Committee; and board member of the National American Indian Housing Council Derrick Belgarde (Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and Chippewa Cree), executive director of the Chief Seattle Club Lenny Fineday (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe), general counsel for the National Congress of American Indians Griffin Hagle-Forster, executive director of the Association of Alaska Housing Authorities Break 1 Music: Kunax yak'ei gayshagook (song) Khu.éex' (artist) Siy​á​adlan (album) Break 2 Music: Feels Like [feat. Sheena Shandea] (song) Nataanii Means (artist)

Citizens of Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and other tribes are making their way to Montana to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of the Greasy Grass, also known as the Battle of the Little Bighorn. They are going there to mark a milestone for one of the most significant battles on U.S. soil. Many of them can directly trace their lineage to the warriors who were there. Among them is Jodi Rave Spotted Bear, whose great-great grandfather, Bear With Horns, died in the fight. His story was preserved by his younger sister Lucy Poor Buffalo, who was seven years old and witnessed the battle. Spotted Bear and others from the online news site, Buffalo's Fire, are collecting the stories in a Memorial Wall to pay tribute to the Native warriors. We'll hear from Spotted Bear and other descendants whose stories have been handed down over the generations. GUESTS Ernie LaPointe (Lakota), great-grandson of Sitting Bull and veteran Jodi Rave Spotted Bear (Mandan, Hidatsa and Mniconjou Lakota), executive director of the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance and editor-in-chief of Buffalo’s Fire Donovin Sprague (Miniconjou Lakota), historian, archivist, and professor at Sheridan College Break 1 Music: Remembering The Warrior (song) Porcupine Singers (artist) Alowanpi – Songs Of Honoring – Lakota Classics: Past & Present, Vol. 1 (album) Break 2 Music: Feels Like [feat. Sheena Shandea] (song) Nataanii Means (artist)

The Declaration of Independence infamously contains the phrase, “merciless Indian savages”, an indication of just where Native Americans fit into this year's celebration of the founding document's 250th anniversary celebrations. For much of that time, the federal government, colonial historians, and the general public have fetishized a version of Native culture, all while working to extinguish that culture from continued existence. Acclaimed Cherokee journalist Rebecca Nagle takes on the semiquincentennial from the Native perspective in her new six-part podcast, “First America“. Nagle is also the creator of the podcast, “This Land”, which earned a Peabody Award nomination and won the 2020 American Mosaic Journalism Prize, and she wrote the national best-selling book, “By the Fire We Carry”. We'll hear from Nagle and some of the historians and academics who provided insights on the Native influences on early democracy and the uneasy balance between Native people and America ever since. GUESTS Rebecca Nagle (Cherokee), creator and host of the “First America” podcast; author of “By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land”; and creator of “This Land” podcast Philip Deloria (Yankton Dakota), professor of history at Harvard University Dr. Nick Estes (Lower Brule Sioux Tribe), associate professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota

“Rainwater and Whiskey” and “Empty Hands” are the latest singles off Mohawk singer-songwriter Logan Staats‘ forthcoming third album. These songs further explore Staats’ vintage country, soul and blues sound that were showcased on his 2023 Juno-nominated album, A Light in The Attic. His songwriting often centers on Indigenous rights and reclaiming identity. He continues to build on his mainstream success from winning a national Canadian music competition television series in 2018. Cherokee and Muscogee singer-songwriter Kalyn Fay‘s new album, “Garden”, channels quiet, rural life in Oklahoma. Fay waited two years before releasing the album because they “wanted to give the songs time to breathe.” The songwriting on the album is both personal and confessional, drawing inspiration from their family, their Native community, and the landscapes of Oklahoma.

Sweden's surging demand for electricity to power its mid 20th Century modernization had life-changing consequences for the country's Indigenous Sámi people. In her new novel, “The Home of the Drowned”, Elin Anna Labba tells the fictional account of a family forced out of their village by the construction of a series of hydroelectric dams that flood their village. It's based on the real account of the creation of Lake Akkajaure that displaced hundreds of Sami people. Through the eyes of 13-year-old Iŋgá, readers live through the Sami struggle to adapt to a way of life that is removed from their traditional herding culture. “The Home of the Drowned” is a heartbreaking account of Indigenous resilience in Sweden. Elin Anna Labba joins us for our Native Bookshelf feature. Break 1 Music: Ancient Forces (song) Berit Margrethe Oskal (artist) Fargga (album) Break 2 Music: Round Dance (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs (album)

For decades, Leo “Bushido” Bercier (Ojibwe) balanced a full-time job and a family as he worked to make a name for himself as a professional fighter. Now, he's hoping the controversial sport of bare-knuckle boxing will afford new opportunities. Along the way, he's helping other amateur fighters in Great Falls, Mont. Similarly, across the country, Joshua Oxendine (Lumbee) is lining up bouts while also teaching traditional boxing at a gym he owns with his wife outside Charlotte, N.C. We'll speak with both fighters about their passion for the sport that was banned for more than a century. We'll also get perspectives on the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Rosebud. Chief Crazy Horse and Lakota and Cheyenne warriors successfully turned back the U.S. Army column led by Gen. George Crook, cutting off the re-enforcements heading to the fateful Battle of Greasy Grass eight days later. GUESTS Leo Bercier (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians), boxer and owner of Bushido Fight Series Josh Oxendine (Lumbee), boxer, MMA fighter, and owner of Oxfitness Wilma Bearshield-Robertson (Sicangu Lakota), historian and artisan Leo Killsback (Northern Cheyenne), professor at the University of Arizona and author Break 1 Music: Sacrifice (song) Bloodline (artist) Break 2 Music: Round Dance (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs (album)

Oregon's only contribution to a time capsule organized for the America250 commemoration is a pin by Lillian Pitt, an artist from the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs known for her focus on Native Americans' 12,000 years of history. In a statement, Pitt says she's gratified that the work will remind the people who open the capsule 250 years from now “of those who have made this land their home since time immemorial.” The National Museum of the American Indian is compiling a quilt with panels created in a series by different artists offering interpretations of the country's history through a Native lens. They are among the many contributions by Native individuals and organizations during the nation's semiquincentennial. GUESTS Elizabeth Woody (Warm Springs, Navajo, and Yakama), executive director of The Museum at Warm Springs Lillian Pitt (Warm Springs, Wasco, and Yakama), artist Gabriel Fray (Passamaquoddy), artist Tracy Goodluck (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and Muscogee), executive director of the Center for Native American Youth Emma Alcazar (Chickasaw), a designer for the Quilt Along Break 1 Music: This Land (song) Keith Secola (artist) Native Americana – A Coup Stick (album) Break 2 Music: Round Dance (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs (album)

Once overshadowed by the myth of “Custer's Last Stand”, Native Americans have successfully reclaimed the narrative of the Battle of Greasy Grass. 150 years after the defeat of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer's 7th U.S. Cavalry, northern Plains tribes plan numerous events over multiple days to commemorate the historical milestone and to explore the ways the unexpected victory by a coalition of tribes continues to reverberate today. The sesquicentennial is less about celebrating past military dominance and more about a unified, multi-tribal declaration that, despite a century and a half of forced displacement, Indigenous cultures and identities remain vibrantly alive. GUESTS Tom Eagle Staff (Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe), Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe planning coordinator for the 150th Anniversary of Battle of Little Bighorn Dave West (Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe), director of the Cheyenne River Lakota Cultural Center Dion Killsback (Northern Cheyenne), Northern Cheyenne Tribe's camp coordinator for the 150th Anniversary of Little Bighorn and an attorney

Tribes in Washington State and Vancouver, British Columbia are presenting their culture and history to soccer fans all over the world. The Puyallup Tribe's partnership with FIFA is the first time an Indigenous nation is formally represented at the World Cup for the games in host city, Seattle. The Musqueam Indian Band and Squamish Nation also have hosting and planning agreements in Canada. They are all contributing cultural events, visual arts, and music during the matches that are attracting fans from all over the world. At the same time, Native victims advocates like the Seattle Indian Health Board are preparing resources to combat the expected increases in Indigenous human trafficking that inevitably accompanies such large, high-profile events. GUESTS Jamin Zuroski (ʼNa̱mǥis First Nation, Polish, Ukrainian), artist Tamia Overes (səlilwətaɬ [Tsleil-Waututh Nation]), artist Chelsea Hendrickson (citizen of the Northern Arapaho Nation, and Cup'iq), survivor leader Hope Sandstrom (Puyallup), digital media manager for the Puyallup Tribe of Indians Abigail Echo-Hawk (Pawnee), executive vice president of Seattle Indian Health Board and director of Urban Indian Health Institute

A site of tragedy for the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation has become a place of renewal and promise. The tribe has worked for the past seven years to revitalize the land of the 1863 Bear River Massacre. By eradicating invasive species, reviving native plants, and returning water canals to their natural paths, the tribe is significantly boosting both water quality and flow of the river. It is one of the biggest sources of water for the Great Salt Lake, and officials say the tribe’s efforts could be part of a solution to preventing the iconic body of water from disappearing amid an increasingly dry climate. And in Montana, The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes continue work as part of a historic compact to revitalize the Jocko River. We'll discuss how Indigenous knowledge is providing promise against a troubling trend. GUESTS Brad Parry (Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation), vice chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation Seth Makepeace, hydrologist for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Donella Miller (Yakama), fish science manager for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission Hannah Freeze, Great Salt Lake deputy commissioner Break 1 Music: Prayer Song (song) Salish Spirit Canoe Family (artist) Keep Singing, Keep Dancing (album) Break 2 Music: Beauty Way (song) Summit Dub Squad (artist) The Beauty Way (album)

As the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers releases its 20-year dredging plan for the Columbia River, tribes say they want more of a say in how the operation affects their fishing and cultural priorities. The Corps acknowledges that its ongoing work to maintain the 43-foot deep channel is detrimental to salmon and other species. The Trump administration, which cancelled a historic river co-management agreement with tribes, now wants to facilitate larger, more powerful shipping barges on the river that already transports more than 26 million tons of grain a year. But the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, the Cowlitz Tribe, and others say the waterway is more than just a highway for agricultural exports. They want their voices reflected in future river dredging decisions. GUESTS Roger Amerman (Choctaw), geologist and ethnogeologist Virgil Lewis (Yakama), fish commissioner for Yakama Nation with the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission Erik Holt (Nez Perce), chairman of the Nez Perce Tribe Fish and Wildlife Commission Break 1 Music: To Keep the World We Know (song) Bruce Cockburn (artist) O Sun O Moon (album) Break 2 Music: Beauty Way (song) Summit Dub Squad (artist) The Beauty Way (album)

A racial discrimination lawsuit by a non-Native resident of Hawaii threatens to dismantle a Native Hawaiian land benefit established by Congress more than a century ago. The suit challenges the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1921, a federal law reserving more than 200,000 acres of land in a public trust for Hawaii’s Native population. Residents need to prove they have a 50% blood quantum to qualify for 99-year lease. The plaintiff argues he was denied a lease based on an unconstitutional racial preference. It is one in a series of challenges for similar benefits including school admissions and a health studies scholarship, all giving preference for Native Hawaiians, who do not share the same political protections as Native Americans. We'll discuss how the lawsuits brings issues of equity, blood quantum, and historic land dispossession to the forefront. GUESTS Robin Danner (Native Hawaiian), senior advisor to the Sovereign Council of Hawaiian Homestead Association Elizabeth Ho’oipo Pa Nakea (Native Hawaiian), attorney, founding president of Hui Na’auao, and executive director of the Native Hawaiian Advisory Council Patrick Kahawaiolaa (Native Hawaiian), homesteader and elder Derek Kauanoe (Native Hawaiian), assistant professor of law at the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Break 1 Music: Ke Aloha I Ka Pu'uwai / He ‘Ili ‘Ula Au a He Hawai'I (song) Mark Keali'i Ho'omalu (artist) Call It What You Like (album) Break 2 Music: Beauty Way (song) Summit Dub Squad (artist) The Beauty Way (album)

Overall support for many key LGBTQ+ issues remains overwhelmingly high among Americans, but a new survey shows that support declining for the first time in years. Gallup's annual Values and Beliefs survey shows 69% of those surveyed favor same-sex marriage, for instance. But that is down from 71% two years ago. The new direction comes as more anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and legislation are surfacing. A handful of cities and states are opting to show support for traditional families rather than back Pride events. At the same time, annual parades, events and public discussions show no signs of slowing down. We'll get a view of what Pride means in 2026. GUESTS Dr. charlie amáyá scott (Diné), independent scholar, public speaker, and content creator Steven Barrios (Blackfeet), co-founder of the Montana Two Spirit Society; knowledge and wisdom keeper David Herrera (Mestizo), co-founder of the Montana Two Spirit Society Myk Mendez (Shoshone-Bannock), cultural activist and organizer, owner of Marvelous Beads, and a published comic book author Lenny Hayes (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate), owner and executive director of Tate Topa Consulting, LLC Break 1 Music: Common Feelings (song) Darksiderz (artist) Ancestors EP (album) Break 2 Music: Beauty Way (song) Summit Dub Squad (artist) The Beauty Way (album)

A major housing and retail development proposal in Virginia threatens to pave over the birthplace of one of America's most influential historical leader. Paramount Chief Powhatan is the notable late-1500s leader who united local tribes into what became known as the Powhatan Confederacy to face the first waves of English settlers. He was the being father of Matoaka, also known as Pocahontas. The nonprofit organization Preservation Virginia placed the site on its 2026 list of most endangered places. Tribal leaders are actively working to halt the development project, saying it would be “an immeasurable loss to tribal communities and the Commonwealth of Virginia.” We’ll hear from tribal leaders about Powhatan’s birthplace and his enduring legacy. GUESTS Chief Kevin Brown (Pamunkey) Chief Frank Adams (Upper Mattaponi) Break 1 Music: A Beautiful Darkness [Feat. Nadjiwen] (song) Sultans of String (artist) Break 2 Music: Trick Song (song) Battle River (artist) Hard Times (album)

As the nation commemorates the 100th anniversary of historic Route 66, some historians, scholars, and curators are offering a different perspective of the famed Mother Road. An exhibition just opened at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City, Okla. that gives the public a view of the people, culture, and influence arising from the tribal land the road cuts through. A Diné culture educator is giving live presentations of research into the detrimental effects on Native people that the highway brought with it. And the American Indigenous Tourism Association's Route 66 campaign encourages visitors to look beyond the neon and 1950s pop culture that is synonymous with Route 66, and take time to learn about the ways it transformed Native Americans connection to the rest of the country for the first time. GUESTS Shawn Price (Diné), historian and director of the Dinétah Navajo Cultural Program Gail Chehak (Klamath Tribe), community and partner relations director for the American Indigenous Tourism Association Adrienne Lalli Hills (Wyandotte Nation), learning and community engagement director for the First Americans Museum Danyelle Means (Oglala Lakota), executive director of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture Break 1 Music: Brown Eyed Handsome Man (song) The Wingate Valley Boys (artist) Navajoland U.S.A. Country Happening (album) Break 2 Music: Trick Song (song) Battle River (artist) Hard Times (album)

A rule change in South Dakota opened a door that allowed a sizable increase in the number of eligible foster parents. It is a boon for places like the Oglala Sioux Reservation that declared an emergency in foster child placement as recently as three years ago. The Minnesota Supreme Court turned back another challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) as the legal justifications for such claims dwindle. And we’ll learn about a Pascua Yaqui tribal secretary who has opened her home to more than two dozen foster children over the years. GUESTS Nancy Marie Spears (Cherokee), Indigenous Children and Families reporter for The Imprint Susan Schrader (Oglala Lakota), director of the Child Protection Services and ICWA program for the Oglala Sioux Tribe, kinship caregiver, and an elder Toni Giago (Oglala Lakota), family developer for Oglala Sioux Tribe Child Protection Services Anna Evans (Chickasaw and Cherokee), mother Break 1 Music: Children's Honoring Song (song) Red Hawk Medicine Drum (artist) New Beginnings (album) Break 2 Music: Trick Song (song) Battle River (artist) Hard Times (album)

Before a joint legal project between the Native American Rights Fund and the National Congress of American Indians started 25 years ago, tribes were losing 80% of their cases at the U.S. Supreme Court. Now, they are winning 70% of those cases. That's from an analysis just put out by the Tribal Supreme Court Project in conjunction with its 25th anniversary. We'll look at some of those wins and losses and what they add up to a quarter century later. We'll also get updates on two important lawsuits in Oklahoma: a class action lawsuit claims the federal government owes as many as 10,000 Native land owners compensation for oil and gas development — and the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled against a novel jurisdiction agreement between the Muscogee Nation and the city of Tulsa, Okla. GUESTS Hazel James (Chickasaw), plaintiff in Tyson v. United States Peggy Immohotichey (Chickasaw), plaintiff in Tyson v. United States Melody McCoy (Cherokee), senior staff attorney for the Native American Rights Fund Jason Salsman (Muscogee), press secretary for the Muscogee Nation Jeffrey Nelson, partner of mctlaw, manager of the Indian Law Practice Group Break 1 Music: Hatchet (song) Blaine Bailey (artist) Indian Country (album) Break 2 Music: Trick Song (song) Battle River (artist) Hard Times (album)