In his book “Rabbit Decolonizes the Forest,” Euchee judge, Gregory Bigler, uses a mix of legal analysis, first-hand accounts, and traditional animal stories. He also includes lots of references to food and how Euchee people carried culinary tradition with them from Georgia to Oklahoma. Filmmakers follow a Yupik family who endured a barrage of hate messages after a traditional whale hunt. It shows the disconnection between traditional subsistence hunting in Alaska and outsiders who don’t have to rely on nature for their existence. And, some Native school gardens are no longer just a class project, but an established part of the curriculum. That’s on this episode of The Menu on Native America Calling, our regular feature on food sovereignty hosted by Andi Murphy
Monday, April 29, 2024 – Native in the Spotlight: Jon Proudstar
Jon Proudstar is coming off a successful run on the TV series, Reservation Dogs and a starring role in an all-Native movie set on the Osage Nation. On top of that, his ground-breaking 1996 comic, Tribal Force, is enjoying a triumphant return. We’ll catch up with the Pascua Yaqui actor and learn about the wisdom he’s picked up from his more than 40 films and TV shows.
Friday, April 26, 2024 – A sample of Native Guitars Tour 2024
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:30 — 38.8MB) | Embed
The year-round creative drive, Native Guitars Tour, heads up a two-day music and fashion presentation at the annual Gathering of Nations Powwow in Albuquerque. It’s a chance for us to hear from some of the musicians including Jir Anderson, Scotti Clifford, and Geneviève Gros-Louis – an hour of live music by Native talent.
GUESTS
Jir Anderson (Cochiti Pueblo), lead singer for the Jir Project and the founder of Native Guitars Tour
Geneviève Gros-Louis (Huron-Wendat), composer, violinist, and producer
Scotti Clifford (Oglala Lakota), singer-songwriter
Sage Nizhoni (Diné), singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer
Break 1 Music: Rumble (Remastered) (song) Link Wray (artist) Rumble (Remastered) (single)
Break 2 Music: Intertribal Song (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs Recorded Live at Coeur D’Alene (album)
Thursday, April 25, 2024 – How Native literature is changing the mainstream narrative
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:36 — 38.2MB) | Embed
We are in the midst of a new surge of Native writing talent. And their skill for engaging readers with compelling stories is propelling a new, complex and more sophisticated narrative about who Native Americans are. Gone are the Louis L’Amour stereotypes. The new Native characters are miscreants, bored office workers, dysfunctional family members, and reluctant heroes. And they all have a story to tell, with a voice that readers wouldn’t hear otherwise. We’ll explore the arc of Native literature from two writers who are part of the torrent of creative representation.
GUESTS
Deborah Jackson Taffa (Kwatsaán and Laguna Pueblo), author of Whiskey Tender, director of the MFA in Creative Writing program at the Institute of American Indian Arts, and editor-in-chief of “River Styx” literary magazine
Ramona Emerson (Diné), former forensic videographer and photographer, filmmaker, and author of Shutter
Break 1 Music: Totah (song) The Delbert Anderson Trio (artist) MANITOU (album)
Break 2 Music: Intertribal Song (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs Recorded Live at Coeur D’Alene (album)
And listeners in Albuquerque can continue the conversation with a special live panel discussion moderated by Shawn Spruce with writers Deborah Jackson Taffa, Ramona Emerson, and Brandon Hobson at Bookworks at 6 p.m. Friday, April 25:
Wednesday, April 24, 2024 – Horses: no ordinary animal
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:51 — 38.4MB) | Embed
The early bond between Native Americans and horses was both technical and spiritual. For centuries, horses amplified the range and power for tribes, especially in the west. New discoveries are potentially rewriting what we know about the use of horses by the earliest inhabitants of North America. Those ancient bonds translate into a lasting spiritual and vocational connection that continues for those who work with horses. We’ll hear from some of them about how Native knowledge and horses go together.
GUESTS
Dustina Abrahamson (Lemhi-Shoshone and Bannock), member of the Gathering of Nations Horse Parade Committee
George Goode (Yaqui), master farrier and president of the Native American Horseshoeing Education Foundation
Emerson Sam (Diné), horse trainer and farrier
Raquel Sam (Diné), Gathering of Nations horse and rider regalia parade competitor and fashion designer
Tommy Sam (Diné), horseback and professional bull rider
Break 1 Music: For the Horses (song) Randy Wood (artist) My Heart & Soul (album)
Break 2 Music: Intertribal Song (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs Recorded Live at Coeur D’Alene (album)
Tuesday, April 23, 2024 – Safeguards on Artificial Intelligence
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:39 — 38.2MB) | Embed
Some language advocates are excited about potential for AI to help revitalize and promote Native languages. The emerging technology could create more accessible tools for second-language learners. At the same time, AI has implications for both tribes and individuals when it comes to using information they hold dear. AI is advancing fast, and Native experts are expressing the need for policy and legal safeguards to make sure it doesn’t trample Native values.
GUESTS
Dr. Ian Her Many Horses (Lakota), assistant teaching professor at the University of Colorado Boulder
Michael Running Wolf (Lakota and Cheyenne), Ph.D student studying computer science and a language advocate using AI
Dane Malenfant (citizen of Métis Nation Saskatchewan), AI researcher in Montreal
Robbie Jimerson (member of the Seneca Nation), Ph.D candidate at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)
Break 1 Music: Awe Hai Hai (feat. Andrée Levesque Sioui / Lead vocal & Francois Dorion / Conductor) (song) Francois Couture, Andrée Levesque Sioui, Akienda Lainé & Francois Dorion (artist) Yahndawa’ (album)
Break 2 Music: Intertribal Song (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs Recorded Live at Coeur D’Alene (album)
Monday, April 22, 2024 – Earth Day assessment: new climate report and oil leases
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:30 — 38.8MB) | Embed
Native Americans face a six-fold increased risk of flash floods because of climate change in the next two years. That is one of the predictions in a new study led by the University of Oklahoma. One of the study’s authors says “Indigenous communities are grappling with an imminent climate crisis.” And Native groups are both praising and lambasting the Biden Administration’s direction on oil leases on federal lands. Depending on where you stand, new policies are either protecting diminishing land, or denying Native people the jobs necessary to feed their families.
GUESTS
Taylor Patterson (Bishop Paiute), executive director of the Native Voters Alliance Nevada
Nagruk Harcharek (Iñupiaq), president of the Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat
Dr. Farina King (citizen of the Navajo Nation), Horizon Chair of Native American Ecology and Culture and associate professor of Native American Studies at the University of Oklahoma
Dr. Mengye Chen, research scientist at the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science at the University of Oklahoma
James LeClair (Laguna Pueblo), Otoe-Missouria Tribe Emergency Manager
Break 1 Music: The Gift of Life (song) Randy Wood (artist) The Gift of Life (album)
Break 2 Music: Intertribal Song (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs Recorded Live at Coeur D’Alene (album)
Friday, April 19, 2024 – Remembering the 1974 Navajo border town murders
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:30 — 38.8MB) | Embed
The torture and gruesome murders of three Navajo men by white high school students touched off a series of racially-fueled conflicts in Farmington, N.M. on the border with the Navajo Nation. The murders in April 1974 became known as the Chokecherry Massacre. One protest organizer at the time called Farmington “the Selma, Alabama of the Southwest,” referring to the simmering racial tensions. Demands by Navajos and other Native activists since then have improved relations in the border town and surrounding areas somewhat. But many residents and observers say the sources of the problems remain just below the surface. We’ll recount this little-known period of Four Corners history and discuss what community relationships are like 50 years later.
GUESTS
John Redhouse (Diné and Ute), longtime activist
Chili Yazzie (Diné), Shiprock community member
Dr. Jennifer Denetdale (Diné), professor and chair of American Studies at the University of New Mexico
Nate Duckett, Farmington mayor
Break 1 Music: Reservation of Education (song) XIT (artist) Silent Warrior (album)
Break 2 Music: Come to Life (song) Toni Heartless (artist) Dark Days (album)
Thursday, April 18, 2024 — Can the right approach close the Native immunization gap?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:46 — 38.3MB) | Embed
Native Americans are among the populations with the lowest rate of vaccinations, whether it’s for flu, measles, COVID-19, or hepatitis B. Health professionals urge parents to immunize their infants against more than a dozen serious diseases including polio, pertussis, diphtheria, and mumps. But poverty, lack of health insurance, and distance to health providers are among the barriers that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says keep rates for Native Americans low. On top of that, misinformation and confusion about vaccines creates additional hesitation for parents. We’ll talk with doctors about the factors that might improve immunization rates as a way to improve overall health.
Break 1 Music: Wiconi (song) Primeaux & Mike (artist) Road to Peace (album)
Break 2 Music: Come to Life (song) Toni Heartless (artist) Dark Days (album)
Wednesday, April 17, 2024 – Eyes in the sky for development, public safety, and recreation
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:45 — 38.3MB) | Embed
Drones are for more than just appealing aerial videos. Native drone pilots are building careers using drones for scoping out landscapes for construction, searching for lost hikers, and even assessing potentially sacred areas. One First Nations enthusiast sees the novelty factor of drones, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, as a means to attract young Native people into STEM fields. We’ll talk to Native drone pilots about how they’re using their skills for enterprise and to help make their communities better.
GUESTS
Jacob Taylor (Curve Lake First Nation), CEO of Indigenous Aerospace
James Grimsley, executive director of Advanced Technology Initiatives for the Choctaw Nation
Robert Hart (Ho-Chunk and Ojibwe), owner and chief pilot of L.I.D.A.R. Drone Services
Break 1 Music: Eagle Dance REMIX (single) Jason Brown/Decontie & Brown (artist)
Break 2 Music: Come to Life (song) Toni Heartless (artist) Dark Days (album)
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 193
- Next Page »