Podcast: Play in new window | Download (27.0MB) | Embed

When an Indigenous tribe on an island off the coast of India killed a missionary, it reignited a conversation about the appropriate practice of Christians working to expand their faith. Columbus’ arrival opened the door to European Christian missionaries in North America. Now many Native tribes and individuals adhere to a variety of Christian denominations. We’ll learn about the history of missionaries, and talk with Native people of faith about their own journeys to spread their message.

Guests:

Reverend David Wilson (Choctaw Nation) – ordained minister for Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, in the United Methodist Church

Donnie Begay (Navajo) – Nations national director

Hillel Echo-Hawk (Pawnee) – former missionary and owner of the catering company Birch Basket

Break 1 Music: Fancy Dance Song (song) Yellow Hammer (artist) Yellow Hammer (album)

Break 2 Music: Grass Dance (song) Tha Tribe (artist) Warriors In The Mist (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (27.0MB) | Embed

The Manage Our Wolves Act took a step forward in November when it passed the U.S. House of Representatives. If it becomes law, it would lift federal protections for gray wolves in the lower 48 states. That would enable states to make their own regulations concerning wolf hunting. The issue pits farmers and ranchers against wolf conservation groups and some tribes like the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, which has established a wolf sanctuary within their reservation boundaries.

Guests:

Dylan Jennings – director of public information for the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission and tribal council member for the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe

Al Pemberton (Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians) – director of the Department of Natural Resources at Red Lake and a tribal council member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians

Jay Huseby – director of wildlife for the Red Lake Department of Natural Resources

Peter David – wildlife biologist with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission

Break 1 Music: Edge Of The Rez, Part 2 (song) The Blue Stone Project (artist) Blue Stone (album)

Break 2 Music: Grass Dance (song) Tha Tribe (artist) Warriors In The Mist (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (27.0MB) | Embed

Throbbing pain, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound. Those are some of the symptoms of migraines listed by the Mayo Clinic. Those who suffer migraines know they can be debilitating and last for several hours. The National Center for Health Statistics says one out of every seven people in the United States experience migraines at least once a year. Native Americans have the highest prevalence of migraines of any other ethnic group according to the American Headache Society. We’ll talk with experts about what’s known about migraines and the best ways to manage them.

Guests:

Dr. Joanna Katzman – executive medical director of UNMH Pain Management Service

Dr. Emily Haozous (Chiricahua Fort Sill Apache) – living with migraines for 25 years and a research scientist with the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation

Break 1 Music: Groovy (song) Dallas Arcand (artist) Modern Day Warrior (album)

Break 2 Music: Grass Dance (song) Tha Tribe (artist) Warriors In The Mist (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (27.0MB) | Embed

The Muscogee (Creek) Nation tribal continues to face criticism from free press advocates. The council revoked a 2015 law protecting the tribally-owned Mvskoke Media from editorial control by tribal leaders. Mvskoke Media includes a newspaper and radio and TV broadcasts. The Native American Journalists Association condemns the law calling it “government censorship.” In a video of the council meeting, Council Member James Jennings said he thought “the newspaper itself could have more positive issues on the Nation and not so much negative issues.” We’ll look at what the Muscogee action means and discuss the press freedoms at other tribally-owned media outlets.

Guests:

Sterling Cosper (Muscogee) – former Mvskoke Media manager

Bryan Pollard (Cherokee Nation) – director of programs and strategic partnerships for the Native American Journalist Association

Lori Edmo (Shoshone-Bannock) – editor of the Sho-Ban News

Break 1 Music: Duck and Dive (song) Black Thunder Singers (artist) Black Thunder

Break 2 Music: Grass Dance (song) Tha Tribe (artist) Warriors In The Mist (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (27.0MB) | Embed

A New Mexico high school teacher was suspended after she cut a Native student’s hair and made an insensitive comment as part of a “Halloween stunt”. International human rights organizations are weighing in on allegations of modern day forced sterilizations for First Nations women. We’ll check in on these issues and others that come from Native America in our regular news roundup.

Break 1 music: Smoke Dance One (feat. Frazer Sundown) (song) DJ Shub (artist) PowWowStep – EP (album)

Break 2 Music: Itchick (Tim Yellowtail’s Song) (song) Supaman (artist) Illuminatives (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (27.0MB) | Embed

A new analysis finds more than 500 cases of missing or murdered women and girls in the United States since 1943. The authors of the study from the Urban Indian Health Institute say that is likely far lower than the real number. They point to poor record-keeping, bad information- sharing between local and tribal law enforcement agencies, and institutional racism as the main barriers to getting the full picture. Any legislation at the federal level to help remedy the situation remains stalled. We’ll hear recommendations from the researchers and get updates from women’s advocates about this ongoing issue.

Guests:

Annita Lucchesi (Southern Cheyenne descendant) — Ph.D. student at the University of Lethbridge and co-author of the study, “A Nationwide Data Crisis: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls”

Esther Lucero (Diné and Latina) — chief executive officer of the Seattle Indian Health Board

Kyle Nayback  (Sault Ste. Marie of Chippewa Indians) — supervisory assistant U.S. attorney in the Indian Country crimes section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office

 

Break 1 Music: Mahk Jchi (song) Ulali (artist) Heartbeat: Voices of First Nations Women (album)

Break 2 Music: Itchick (Tim Yellowtail’s Song) (song) Supaman (artist) Illuminatives (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (27.0MB) | Embed

The news about the fires in California keeps getting worse. The state’s governor says the increased frequency and growing intensity of wildfires ‘are the new abnormal.’ The human, environmental and economic costs keep rising. And California isn’t alone. Are there answers for slowing the troubling trend? We’ll talk with tribal forest managers about active efforts to reduce forest fires and ways to help individual property owners reduce the threat.

Guests:

Debra Utacia Krol (Xolon Salinan Tribe) – independent journalist

Jeremy Hunt – forest management and inventory planning forester for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation for the Bureau of Indian Affairs

Rebecca Hunt (Colville) – administrative forester for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville

Break 1 Music: Red Man Groove Thing (song) Anthony Wakeman (artist) Handprints Of Our People (album)

Break 2 Music: Itchick (Tim Yellowtail’s Song) (song) Supaman (artist) Illuminatives (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (27.0MB) | Embed

The “Sea of Grass” is a fictional account of real people and events. Walter Echo-Hawk (Pawnee) tells the history of the Pawnee Nation through the voices of ten generations of the Echo-Hawk family. It’s an account of the spirit, heroism and family connections as well as the wars, diseases, and broken treaties that all shaped the tribe’s fortunes on their Central Plains homeland. The author is a respected Native American rights attorney and served as a Supreme Court justice for the Pawnee Nation. He’s also penned two books on the intersection of Native rights and U.S. law.

Break 1 Music: Blast From The Past (song) Young Bird (artist) Change Of Life (album)

Break 2 Music: Itchick (Tim Yellowtail’s Song) (song) Supaman (artist) Illuminatives (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (27.0MB) | Embed

Bison were hunted almost to extinction in the 1800s, then cattle ranches displaced nearly all of what was left. Now, tribes are among those working to restore bison herds with a genetic connection to the original wild, roaming herds. There are both cultural and economic benefits. But raising healthy animals with pure genetic ties takes skill, science and stamina.

Guests:

Jason Baldes (Eastern Shoshone) – tribal buffalo coordinator for the tribal lands partnerships program for the National Wildlife Federation

Charles “Bamm” Brewer (Oglala Lakota) – buffalo rancher, manager for the One Spirit food program and organizer of the annual Crazy Horse Ride

Valentina Sireech (Ute) – CEO of Ute Tribal Enterprises

Break 1 Music: Buffalo (song) Algin Scabby Robe (artist) Along The Way: Round Dance Songs (album)

Break 2 Music: Itchick (Tim Yellowtail’s Song) (song) Supaman (artist) Illuminatives (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (27.0MB) | Embed

Native art is often pegged as creations that depict pre-1900s Native symbols and imagery. But modern Native artists are also drawing from their traditions in ways that invite audiences to see Native people in a new way, whether it’s a neon-lighted buffalo skull or an exploration of creation stories through classical music. We’ll talk with artists working to update what it means to be Indigenous in a contemporary context.

Guests:

Raven Chacon (Diné) – artist and composer

Candice Hopkins (Tagish First Nation) – artist and curator

Break 1 Music: 2 Hour Parking (song) Cris Derksen (artist) The Cusp (album)

Break 2 Music: Ideal Dub (song) Casper Loma Da-Wa (artist) Honor the People (album)