Tatanka Means (Lakota/Diné) maintains a busy schedule as a stand-up comedian, all while portraying serious on-screen roles in Killers of the Flower Moon, Echo, and Reservation Dogs. He carries the name of his notable Lakota father, has close ties to his Navajo roots in Chinle, Ariz., and is fully embracing his role as a basketball dad. We’ll hear about his life and creative drive as our February Native in the Spotlight.
Past Shows

Thursday, February 6, 2025 — Medicaid’s next chapter
One possible change to Medicaid being floated in Congress right now includes a $2.3 trillion cut over the next 10 years. Other potential changes include adding certain work requirements and shifting costs and distribution of Medicaid funds to states, which have no trust obligations to tribes. As it is, Medicaid provides direct support to at least one million Native Americans. It’s also one of the secondary sources that help provide health care through the Indian Health Service. Advocates are bracing for changes as they continue to make the case for the program’s life-and-death importance in Indian Country.

Wednesday, February 5, 2025 — Rising home insurance rates put more Native Americans at risk
Even before the recent wildfires in California, soaring home insurance rates were pushing homeowners to go without. Now State Farm, the country’s largest home insurer, is asking for a 22% rate hike in California. That’s on top of a 30% increase request last summer. Increasing natural disasters, rising home values, and the high cost of rebuilding are putting insurance out of reach for more homeowners nationwide. Native Americans already have the highest uninsured rate for homeowners. We’ll discuss alternatives to a future without coverage for people’s biggest financial asset.

Tuesday, February 4, 2025 – Native Bookshelf: ‘Punished’ by Ann-Helén Laestadius
Samí journalist and author Ann-Helén Laestadius offers readers a glimpse into the government-backed school system for the Indigenous children of Sweden that has parallels with the U.S. Indian Boarding School Era. Her novel, Punished, follows five Sami children forced to attend a nomad school in the 1950s. The story stays with them into adulthood, where each copes with the physical, mental, and cultural abuse scars just below the surface. Originally published in Swedish, the English translation of Punished is now available. Laestadius joins us for this month’s Native Bookshelf discussion.

Monday, February 3, 2025 – Balancing economic safety and economic development for payday loan businesses on tribal land
A Wisconsin tribe agreed to stop operating an online high-interest loan operation in neighboring Minnesota in a lawsuit settlement just announced. But the Lac du Flambeau tribe and several others still insist on their sovereign ability to operate the businesses, despite laws in several states working to prevent consumers from falling victim to interest rates that reach up to 800% in some cases. We’ll talk about the struggle between tribes’ ability to operate unrestricted payday loan business – and the ongoing efforts to regulate damaging loan businesses.

Friday, January 31, 2025 — The Menu: Mohawk chef’s TV show, Ducheneaux leaves USDA office, and a kids’ cookbook
In the new APTN series One Dish One Spoon with chef Tawnya Brant (Mohawk), viewers follow her and her sister Dakota to local kitchens, farms, and waterways to expose the traditional foodways of the Six Nations.
Zach Ducheneaux (Cheyenne River Sioux) leaves his post this month as the administrator of the USDA’s Farm Service Agency where he helped direct some of the federal government’s key agriculture and faming programs and policies.
The work of Mariah Gladstone (Cherokee and Blackfeet) teaching people about Indigenous food and cooking leads her to publish an Indigenous foods cookbook for kids, Mountains to Oceans: Kids’ Recipes from Native Land.
That’s all on The Menu, our regular feature on Indigenous food sovereignty hosted by Andi Murphy.

Thursday, January 30, 2025 – Federal funds under fire
President Donald Trump’s sudden freeze on federal grants rattled tribes and Native American organizations that depend on those funds. His just-as-sudden retreat is little reassurance to those institutions, some of whom are preparing for a worst-case future for funding.
A prime target for President Trump’s directives is anything associated with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives. That has implications for everything from Native pre-school students to contractors.
Organizations in Los Angeles that work with Native urban residents are assessing the damage after the recent fires and how to look ahead to future threats.
We’ll get updates on recent fast-moving news that affects Native Americans.

Wednesday, January 29, 2025 – Native youth building the foundation for future leadership
A Kanaka Maoli student at Yale is working on an AI tool to help clear criminal records of fellow Native Hawaiians. A Kiowa writer and artist is developing creative pathways to address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives. And a Tohono O’odham knowledge protector is archiving recordings and pictures from her tribe. Those are among this year’s young people selected as Champions for Change by the Center for Native American Youth. We’ll hear from them and get their stories of inspiration.

Tuesday, January 28, 2025 – From road access to ICE immigration raids, tribes are asserting sovereignty
Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians say it will keep road access open for now on tribal land. The announcement comes in a dispute with a nearby town over easements to non-Native homeowners on tribal land.
Tribes are advising members of their constitutional rights after reports that Native people are among those being questioned and detained by ICE agents in ramped up immigration raids.

Monday, January 27, 2025 – Native American representation in television news
Even as digital sources dominate the way people get their information, television news remains a go-to source for people looking to stay up-to-date. Representation on TV is a powerful medium to provide the public with a more rounded view of Native Americans. It’s a competitive and high-skilled line of work and we’ll talk to some talented Native professionals about what it takes to be in front of the camera.
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Through The Decades

Wednesday, July 27, 2022 — Through The Decades: 1990s
The U.S. Congress passed both the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and the Indian Arts And Crafts Act in 1990—two pieces of legislation with significant power to protect culture. On the international front, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation in Mexico rose up in an effort to reclaim their land and resist globalization. Dances With Wolves captured audiences’ attention with a Native cast and a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for Graham Greene, while a new generation of Native writers and directors made their voices heard. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce remembers the Native ’90s, as part of our series Through The Decades. Shannon Keller O’Loughlin (Choctaw), executive director of the Association on American Indian Affairs, and Vincent Schilling (Akwesasne Mohawk), editor of NativeViewPoint.com and certified Rotten Tomatoes critic.

Wednesday, July 20, 2022 – Through the Decades: 1980s
The 1980s saw the rise of gaming on Native nations, a momentum that brought about the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988 with revenue quickly hitting $100 million. Wilma Mankiller became the first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation and Ben Nighthorse Campbell started his long and historic career as an elected leader. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce has the next installment of our new series Through the Decades with Dr. James Riding In (Pawnee), a retired professor and founding member of the American Indian Studies program at Arizona State University focusing on repatriation, sacred sites protection, and Pawnee history and culture; Larry Nesper, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and American Indian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of the book The Walleye War: The Struggle for Ojibwe Spearfishing and Treaty Rights; and America Meredith (Cherokee), writer, visual artist, independent curator, and publishing editor of “First American Art Magazine”.

Wednesday, July 13, 2022 – Through the Decades: the 1970s
Watergate, Vietnam, and disco are some of the major highlights that define the 1970s. For Native people, it’s the decade of the Wounded Knee occupation, Self-determination, the federal Boldt decision, and Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love”. Today on Native America Calling, as we continue our trip through the decades, Shawn Spruce looks at some of the highs and lows of the ‘70s through a Native lens with Dr. David Wilkins (Lumbee), professor at the University of Richmond; Dr. LaNada War Jack (Shoshone-Bannock), writer, activist, and the chair of Indians of All Tribes in San Francisco, CA; Vincent Schilling (Akwesasne Mohawk), editor of NativeViewPoint.com and certified Rotten Tomatoes critic; and Pat Vegas (Mexican/Yaqui/Shoshone descent), singer, songwriter, producer, and bass player for the band Redbone.

Wednesday, July 6, 2022 — Through the Decades: The 1960s
The 1960s were the genesis of Native American activism. Urban Native communities, formed by the American Indian Urban Relocation program of the 1950s, were tough and deplorable places to live. The American Indian Movement formed as a result and by 1968, the Indian Civil Rights Act was passed. This decade is also marked by the arrival of the color TV, an explosion of (rock) music, and a new style of Native art. In the first episode in our new series “Through the Decades”, Shawn Spruce remembers the politics, significant events, and pop culture that helped shape Native America with Donovin Sprague (Cheyenne River), author, historian, and professor of history at Sheridan College; actress Dawn Little Sky (Standing Rock and Cheyenne River); Dr. Jonathan Tomhave (MHA Nation), lecturer at the University of Washington; America Meredith (Cherokee Nation), publishing editor of First American Art Magazine, art writer, visual artist, and independent curator; and Deanna Aquiar (Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo), director of programs and development for the National Indian Youth Council.