Native America Calling

It’s been almost a full century since Ojibwe hockey player Taffy Abel first set foot on the ice as a New York Rangers defenseman. It was a historic moment that was not acknowledged at the time in the professional hockey world or even by Abel himself. At the time, he kept his Native American identity a secret — at first to escape the forced attendance at Indian Boarding Schools, then later to avoid the discrimination that could hinder his career. Now, his descendants want him recognized, after the fact, as the man who broke the pro hockey color barrier. Abel carried the American flag in the first Winter Olympics in 1924. He went on to help both the Rangers and the Chicago Blackhawks win Stanley Cup championships.

The Trump administration just gave the final approval for a new 211-mile road that punches across the Brooks Mountain Range and the expansive wilderness that surrounds it. Ambler Road promises to clear the way for several mining operations, providing minerals like copper, cobalt and gold that President Trump says is needed to “win the AI arms race against China.” But at least 40 Alaska Native tribes have officially lined up against the controversial project citing subsistence hunting habitat among other concerns. We’ll hear about that – and get an update on struggles over tribal control over hunting permits in Oklahoma.

The stories and written documentation on boarding schools, Indian Agents, and even the fictional character, Paul Bunyan, all have an influence on how we view history. The Western History Association Conference in Albuquerque, N.M., this week assembles a number of discussions led by Native American historians on those and other topics, gauging how well Native perspectives are taken into account. We’ll hear from some of those historians about the changing influence of Native historical scholarship.

After an intensive two-year adult immersion program, the number of fluent Spokane Salish language speakers nearly doubled. Some of those program graduates will be hired on as full-time language teaching staff as the tribe expands its language revitalization efforts. And the Yuchi Tribe in Oklahoma has established a unique partnership with an Australian Aboriginal nation to exchange ideas for revitalizing both of their endangered languages. We’ll hear about these two recent success stories.

We’ll also hear about a five-part talk show, “Rematriated Voices”, centered on Haudenosaunee culture and principles. The first episode airs on Indigenous Peoples Day on New York PBS affiliate WCNY.

In the Tara Moses play, “Haunted,” two Native ghosts are caught in a seemingly endless cycle of haunting the prospective owners of a house, while also being haunted in return by racist stereotypes. The Millennial siblings have a penchant for the soundtrack of their youth that leans heavily on Britney Spears. Along the way they find themselves on a journey to a higher calling. We’ll hear from Moses about her work that comes to the stage in Los Angeles.

We’ll also hear from artists recognized with a $100,000 prize for the 2025 SHIFT – Transformative Change + Indigenous Arts Awards by the Native Arts + Culture Foundation for works that address social change through a Native lens.

An Indigenous anthropologist is embarking on a years-long process to document how Alaska Native hunters are changing their hunting patterns in the face of climate change. To complicate things, the war in Ukraine is preventing Native researchers from sharing information with their counterparts in Russia, which plays a role in the overall health of walrus herds. In addition to food and other uses, walrus ivory is a significant part of a traditional Native artform. We’ll talk with Indigenous people who have a stake in Pacific walruses and are working to protect them.

President Donald Trump and his administration abruptly ended billions of dollars in aid to foreign countries, calling it wasteful and inappropriately supporting a liberal agenda. In addition to food and medicine that went directly to Indigenous people who need it, the money and goods also promoted agriculture programs and other incentives toward preventing people with few other options from resorting to the illegal drug trade and other criminal activity that has significant bearing on American interest abroad. We’ll hear about the direct effects of ending U.S. support of foreign countries as well as the long-term implications.

Sacred sites sometimes get lost in urban settings as cities prioritize the needs of non-Native residents and commercial interests over the historical and spiritual value for Native Americans, but tribes and Native organizations are having some success connecting with city officials to see that sacred spaces are protected and accessible. After years of restoration work, what were known as the Indian Mounds in St. Paul, Minn., have a whole new look, a new Dakota name — Wicaḣapi — and an educational cultural center. St. Louis, Mo. just solidified a transfer of property that signifies the city’s first-ever recognition of tribal sovereignty. We’ll talk about the difficult work to recognize and preserve sacred places in population centers.