Native America Calling

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 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 Break 1 Music: Old Hallicrafter Radio (song) Samantha Crain (artist) Gumshoe (album) Break 2 Music: Feels Like [feat. Sheena Shandea] (song) Nataanii Means (artist)

“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. Break 1 Music: Holy Man (song) Logan Staats (artist) A Light In The Attic (album) Break 2 Music: Round Dance (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs (album)

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 Here’s an extended version of an interview with historian Dr. Leo Killsback (Northern Cheyenne). Killsback discussing the events leading up to the Battle of Rosebud: https://nativeamericacalling-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/061726-Leo-Killsback-web-audio.mp3 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 Break 1 Music: A War Chief I Have Been (song) Courtney Yellow Fat (artist) The Lost Songs of Sitting Bull (album) Break 2 Music: Round Dance (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs (album)

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)

The State of Alaska is moving forward with a program to kill brown bears across a 40,000-square-mile swath of land in southwest Alaska. The plan to shoot bears from helicopters aims to improve declining numbers of the Mulchatna Caribou Herd. Several local tribes and the Alaska Federation of Natives support the plan. Caribou are a subsistence food source. The herd peaked at over 200,000 in the 1990s, but plummeted to 12,000 by 2022. Conservationists oppose the bear control measures, arguing it lacks scientific evidence that it achieves what officials say it goes. We’ll explore the complexities of predator management in Alaska. GUESTS Janet Bavilla (Yup'ik), subsistence hunter and Platinum Traditional Village council member Doug Vincent-Lang, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Break 1 Music: Bear Beats (song) Cheevers Toppah (artist) True Melodies (album) Break 2 Music: Trick Song (song) Battle River (artist) Hard Times (album)

Taos and Skwah First Nation chef and entrepreneur Caprio “CJ” Bernal opened an expansion of their original coffee bar on Taos Pueblo. Dawn Butterfly Café is the new full-service cafe that grew from their starting concept in 2022. The name and energy that drives the project honors Bernal's late sister. Camas, a wild purple flower with an onion-like bulb, has been an important plant for Native people, mainly in the northwest. This is the time of year for harvesting and cooking them. Some culture keepers are reconnecting with traditional teachings and recipes handed down across generations, but environmental and land use changes are setting up more access barriers. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde is one tribe working to protect this significant plant through a series of projects. The Cultivating Culture reporting team created imagined an Indigenous version of the USDA's food pyramid with plants and subsistence animals important to Native diets. It serves as a hub for an Indigenous food reporting project on how food and language fuels tribal sovereignty. The Menu is a regular feature on Indigenous food news and stories hosted by producer Andi Murphy. GUESTS Carpio “CJ” Bernal (Taos Pueblo and Skwah First Nation), owner and chef of Dawn Butterfly Café Jordan Mercier (Grand Ronde), cultural education coordinator at the Chachalu Museum and Cultural Center Shaun Griswold (Laguna, Jemez, and Zuni Pueblo), correspondent at High Country News and Native News Online Break 1 Music: Horseback Riding Song (song) The Tewa Indian Women's Choir (artist) The Tewa Indian Women's Social Choir: Fun and Social Songs From San Juan Pueblo (album) Break 2 Music: Cauyaqa Nauwa [Where's My Drum] (song) Pamyua (artist) Drums Of The North: Traditional Yup'ik Songs (album)

Iñupiaq poet Joan Kane explores themes of home and colonial dispossession in her new poetry collection, “with snow pouring southward past the window“. Kane's poems center on Iñupiaq worldviews and language, featuring masterful experimentation with form and imagery. Her critically acclaimed work has led to faculty appointments at Harvard University, Tufts University, and Reed College. She also recently edited “Circumpolar Connections: Creative Indigenous Geographies of the Arctic”, an anthology of Indigenous writings about the region. Ho-Chunk elder Sherman Funmaker just released his debut collection of poems and essays in “Bear Tracks“. He navigates the culture, family, loss, and racism he experienced growing up in Wisconsin. He writes with both emotional depth and humor about such life-changing decisions as dropping out of high school to be a rock-and-roll drummer and finding success as a writer later in life. Break 1 Music: The Wild One (song) Link Wray (artist) Break 2 Music: Cauyaqa Nauwa [Where's My Drum] (song) Pamyua (artist) Drums Of The North: Traditional Yup'ik Songs (album)

The Trump administration is moving to undo a 20-year ban on oil and gas drilling near Chaco Canyon, a place of major cultural significance to pueblos in the Southwest. The threat of new oil leases on nearly 340,000 acres of public land surrounding Chaco Canyon has put the site on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's list of America's Most Endangered Spaces. It is the second time on the same list for the land that is already a protected National Historic Park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The moratorium was instituted in 2023 by then-Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who is a Laguna Pueblo citizen. We'll hear about the options ahead for the land and the cultural significance it holds. GUESTS Charles Riley, governor of Acoma Pueblo Brian Vallo (Acoma Pueblo), chairman of the Chaco Heritage Tribal Association and former governor of Acoma Pueblo Mario Atencio (Diné), Navajo allotment stakeholder Break 1 Music: Anasazi Sun (song) Injunuity (artist) Fight For Survival (album) Break 2 Music: Cauyaqa Nauwa [Where's My Drum] (song) Pamyua (artist) Drums Of The North: Traditional Yup'ik Songs (album)

Construction crews working on the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona significantly damaged a 1,000-year-old geoglyph located in Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. It’s one of a number of places tribes on both sides of the border say are damaged or are threatened by the fast-tracked construction process. Tribal leaders say such desecration is happening at a record pace after the Trump administration sidelined cultural and environmental barriers to construction. We'll hear from cultural historians and policy experts about that is being lost and what can be done about it. GUESTS Emily Burgueno (Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel), chairwoman of the Kumeyaay Diegueño Land Conservancy David Martinez (Akimel O’odham, Hia-Ced O’odham and Mexican), professor of American Indian Studies and Transborder Studies and director and founder of the Institute for Transborder Indigenous Nations at Arizona State University Christina Leza (Yoeme and Chicana), professor of anthropology at Colorado College Felicity Amaya Schaeffer, professor of feminist studies, critical race and ethnic Studies at the University of California Santa Cruz Break 1 Music: Connections (song) R. Carlos Nakai (artist) Reconnections (album) Break 2 Music: Cauyaqa Nauwa [Where's My Drum] (song) Pamyua (artist) Drums Of The North: Traditional Yup'ik Songs (album)

Chelsey Luger (Anishinaabe/Lakota) and Thosh Collins (Onk Akimel O’Odham/Osage/Seneca) believe the best approaches to wellness are rooted in Indigenous knowledge. They draw from traditional teachings to find the most effective ways to improve one’s spiritual, physical, and emotional wellbeing. With their large social media presence, they educate others about healthy, traditional approaches to physical movement, sleep, masculinity, and parenthood. They are the authors of “The Seven Circles: Indigenous Teachings for Living Well” and are slated to publish a few more books on wellness. The married couple join us for a discussion about living a full and grounded life. Break 1 Music: This Love (song) Edzi'u (artist) Tunnel Vision (album) Break 2 Music: Traditional Side Step Song (song) Little Otter (artist) Side Step Songs (album)

The U.S. government and private mining corporations are ignoring the rights of tribes to free, prior, and informed consent when it comes to lithium mining in Nevada, according to a new report by Amnesty International. The report comes amid the Trump administration’s fast tracking of metals and minerals extraction. With more than 20,000 active mining claims across the state, tribes are having to weigh how every new proposal would impact their communities. The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska that the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) applies to remains buried at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, which is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army. The decision gets the tribe one step closer to repatriating two children from the oldest Indian boarding school, and could establish legal precedent for federal agencies to comply with NAGPRA in the future. GUESTS Chairman Coly Brown (Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska) Beth Margaret Wright (Laguna Pueblo), senior staff attorney with the Native American Rights Fund Fermina Stevens (Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone), executive director of the Western Shoshone Defense Project Clifford Banuelos (Te-Moak Tribe of the Western Shoshone), tribal-state environmental liaison for the Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada Break 1 Music: Chant Ancestral (song) Geneviève Gros-Louis (artist) Break 2 Music: Traditional Side Step Song (song) Little Otter (artist) Side Step Songs (album)

Former U.S. Poet Laureate and musician Joy Harjo (Mvskoke) immerses listeners in a diverse array of jazz styles and deeply emotional poetry on her new album, “Insomnia and Seven Steps to Grace”. Co-produced by Grammy-winning artist Esperanza Spalding, the album features originals and covers, including a re-interpretation of Charles Mingus’s “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat”. Harjo also transforms her 2015 poem, “I Pray for My Enemies”, into a feverish, free-form composition, while “Rabbit Is Up to Tricks” draws on the power of traditional oral storytelling and “Stomp All Night” delivers a fun, funk-filled jam. Acclaimed jazz vocalist Julia Keefe (Nez Perce) and the 16-piece ensemble of talented Native musicians known as the Indigenous Big Band make their album debut with “Incarnadine”. The album honors Native jazz pioneers like Mildred Bailey (Coeur d’Alene) and Jim Pepper (Kaw/Muscogee), as well as featuring innovative originals like “Wawasint8Da” and “Ddat Suite, MVT. 3 Iron Horse Gallup”. The ensemble continues to earn critical praise especially for their live performances, highlighted by their 2024 spring residency at the Kennedy Center. We’ll speak with both Joy Harjo and Julia Keefe about their new albums in this episode of Native Playlist, our regular feature on Indigenous music. Break 1 Music: Instinct (song) Joy Harjo (artist) Insomnia and Seven Steps to Grace (album) Break 2 Music: Traditional Side Step Song (song) Little Otter (artist) Side Step Songs (album)

Diné author Brian Lee Young puts much of his own experience in his first young adult novel, “Shards of Silence”. Protagonist Derrick Hoskie struggles with a grueling class schedule, homesickness, and the frustration over his classmates' ignorance at a prestigious prep school. At the same time, he is researching the life of his ailing great-grandmother. It's a story about coming of age, identity, and healing. Native Hawaiian writer Keala Kendall offers a different view of what many vacationing outsiders consider paradise in the supernatural thriller, “That Which Feeds Us”. Lehua follows the trail of her missing twin sister to the secluded Kōpa'a Island Resort in Hawaii. She recalls the stories her grandparents told of their homeland, which is now a commodity to wealthy resort patrons. A series of terrifying visions teach Lehua an all-too-real lesson about the land's brutal past. We add both books to our Native Bookshelf. Break 1 Music: Wahine U`i [Beautiful One] (song) Linda Dela Cruz (artist) Linda Dela Cruz Hawaii's Canary (album) Break 2 Music: Traditional Side Step Song (song) Little Otter (artist) Side Step Songs (album)

The U.S. Department of Interior just canceled grazing leases for hundreds of bison on federal land in Montana. The action halts the progress of a well-funded private group, American Prairie, that has been buying up land and acquiring leases in an ambitious conservation plan. The group often provides bison to tribes that work to revive bison herds. The canceled leases also indicate a change in federal policy away from accommodating bison in favor of domesticated cattle to make federal lands more agriculturally productive. Many tribes say such actions jeopardize efforts to restore the animal that is intrinsically associated with Native Americans from the Great Plains. GUESTS OJ Semans Sr. (Rosebud Sioux), executive director of the Coalition of Large Tribes Heather Dawn Thompson (Cheyenne River Sioux), vice president of Native Nations Conservation and Food Sovereignty at the World Wildlife Fund Dallas Gudgell (Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes), vice president of the Buffalo Field Campaign Keegan King (Acoma Pueblo), founder and CEO of the Native Land Institute Scott Heidebrink, director of landscape stewardship at American Prairie Break 1 Music: Buffalo (song) Algin Scabby Robe (artist) Along The Way: Round Dance Songs (album) Break 2 Music: Traditional Side Step Song (song) Little Otter (artist) Side Step Songs (album)

Raquel Montoya-Lewis (Isleta and Laguna Pueblos) built an impressive legal career that includes a foundation at tribal court systems in the Pacific Northwest. That career led her to become the first Native American to serve on the Washington State Supreme Court. She is only the second Native jurist in the country to hold a supreme court seat. That position is also a platform to educate others about her unique family lineage, offering a personal account of the history and policies that make up Native Americans' shared experience. Break 1 Music: Chant (song) Robert Mirabal + Ethel (artist) The River (album) Break 2 Music: Fearless I Live (song) Courtney Yellow Fat (artist) The Lost Songs of Sitting Bull (album)

The U.S. Supreme Court has, in the words of the Native American Rights Fund, diluted Native Americans' “ability to secure good schools, adequate infrastructure, health care access, environmental protections, and economic opportunity.” Louisiana is moving fast to redraw voting districts to further minimize the political power of Native Americans and other minorities. Other states are preparing similar changes. The High Court's recent invalidation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act follows the 2013 decision striking down the Act's Section 5. That eliminates the most powerful tools Native voters had in challenging the long history of demonstrated efforts to exclude Native voices from political dialogue. We'll examine the looming implications of the Court's decisions and examine the strategies Native voting advocates have going forward. We'll also discuss some important indicators for Native candidates in pivotal races, including the potential for history to be made in the upcoming Midterm Elections. GUESTS Patty Ferguson-Bohnee (Pointe-au-Chien), professor of law at Arizona State University and Native Vote Election Protection coordinator for the State of Arizona Torey Dolan (Choctaw), assistant professor of law at the University of Wisconsin Law School Samantha Blencke, senior staff attorney with the Native American Rights Fund Mark Trahant (Shoshone-Bannock), journalist and former editor of ICT Marjorie Childress, managing editor of New Mexico In Depth Break 1 Music: Fool's Paradise (song) Samantha Crain (artist) Gumshoe (album) Break 2 Music: Fearless I Live (song) Courtney Yellow Fat (artist) The Lost Songs of Sitting Bull (album)

New infections aboard a cruise ship have thrust the hantavirus into the global spotlight. Hantavirus infections remain rare, with only about 1,000 cases reported in the U.S. in more than 30 years. What the world knows about the illness started in 1993 on the Navajo Nation. After struggling to identify the dangerous respiratory illness, medical researchers gained crucial insights from Navajo elders, noting that traditional oral histories had long associated spikes in deer mouse populations — driven by specific rainfall patterns — with deadly disease. That knowledge directly informed the scientific discovery of what we know now as the Sin Nombre virus. The discovery also offers a lesson in public notification of diseases. Early media reports labelled the pathogen as the “Navajo flu”, which stigmatized the community for years afterward. We'll look at the history of the hantavirus and the current efforts to prevent its spread. GUESTS Dean Seneca (Seneca), CEO of Seneca Scientific Solutions+, adjunct professor at the School of Public Health and Health Professions at the University at Buffalo, and Adjunct Instructor at University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry Dr. Steven Bradfute, associate professor in the Center for Global Health at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine Department of Internal Medicine Dr. Erin Phipps, New Mexico State public health veterinarian  Dr. Victoria Sutton (Lumbee), distinguished Horn Professor at Texas Tech University School of Law Dr. Jonathan Iralu, Indian Health Service infectious diseases physician Break 1 Music: Healing Song (song) Judy Trejo (artist) Circle Dance Songs of the Paiute and Shoshone (album) Break 2 Music: Fearless I Live (song) Courtney Yellow Fat (artist) The Lost Songs of Sitting Bull (album)

The cost of fuel is a major expenditure for farmers, commercial fishermen, long-haul truckers, and dozens of other businesses. The persistently high cost of gas since February's start of the Iran War is eroding the profit margin for those businesses. They ultimately either absorb those costs, pass them on to customers, or shut down. For individuals, the price of oil is showing up in everything from people's vacation plans to how much they heat their homes at night. We'll hear about where the cost of petroleum shows up beyond just the gas pump and how Native businesses and individuals are coping. GUESTS Boyd Gourneau (Lower Brule Sioux), chairman of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe Bill McCabe (Diné), principal of McCabe and Associates Jason Pitre (Houma), owner of Bayou Rosa Oysters Kiera McCabe (Diné), founder of Skoden Farm Lionel Bigthumb (Diné), co-owner and CEO of Blackstreak Holdings Break 1 Music: Mr. Businessman's Blues (song) DM Lafortune (artist) Beauty and Hard Times (album) Break 2 Music: Fearless I Live (song) Courtney Yellow Fat (artist) The Lost Songs of Sitting Bull (album)

A dedicated effort to learn more about Native elders living in urban areas reveals they suffer a high rate of chronic illnesses and have limited social interactions. Those conclusions come from the most recent Native Urban Elder Needs Assessment Survey that aims to fill a void of information about the needs of Native American elders — the vast majority of whom live in cities. The survey is among the efforts to better understand and provide effective services for Native elders. The effort is all the more pressing as federal cuts to Medicaid and Medicare approach, costs for medical care rise, and pressure increases to cut support for the Indian Health Service. GUESTS Dr. Collette Adamson (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians), director of the National Resource Center on Native American Aging and research assistant professor at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences University of North Dakota Michael Bird (Kewa Pueblo and Ohkay Owingeh), past president of the American Public Health Association and past national consultant for AARP Dr. Emily Haozous (Fort Sill Chiricahua-Warm Springs Apache Tribe), research scientist for the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation Break 1 Music: Grandmother's Song (song) Fawn Wood (artist) Iskwewak (album) Break 2 Music: Fearless I Live (song) Courtney Yellow Fat (artist) The Lost Songs of Sitting Bull (album)

A former DJ who once struggled as a student, Cailean Dakota MacColl built her way to medical school from the ground up. She's now graduating from the University of Minnesota Medical School. Jerrick Hope-Lang took on preserving a Tlingit clan house in Sitka, Alaska that was named on the America's most endangered historic places. Now he's a Henry Luce Foundation Indigenous knowledge fellow and a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts. Lawren “Lulu” Goodfox is a budding actor balancing film and stage roles with especially busy extra-curricular activities like tennis, student council, honors society, and preparation for traditional dances. She is now graduating from Stillwater High School in Oklahoma and setting off to study drama at New York University’s Tisch School of Arts. We’ll talk to each of them about what’s ahead for the class of 2026. GUESTS Dr. Cailean Dakota MacColl (Lac La Ronge Indian Band), University of Minnesota Doctor of Medicine graduate Jerrick Hope-Lang ( Tlingit and Tsimshian), director of Point House Revitalization and a 2026 Luce Knowledge Fellow Lawren “Lulu” Goodfox (Osage and Pawnee), 2026 graduate of Stillwater High School Brandin Naabaahi Upshaw (Diné), 2026 graduate of Navajo Preparatory School Break 1 Music: Wahzhazhe (song) Scott George (artist) Killers of the Flower Moon Soundtrack (album) Break 2 Music: Bad Dude (song) Joe H Henry (artist) Real Things (album)