Native America Calling

A frequent location of summer wildfires, eastern Washington State, is suffering one of the most destructive fires seasons in memory. Fires on the Confederate Tribes of Colville Reservation have prompted evacuations and destroyed more than 50 homes and other structures. They are among the some 700 buildings destroyed in the current fire season in the state. On Oregon’s Warm Springs Reservation, fires started early and were fueled by persistent winds. In addition to coping with the fires, the community is now facing worries about having adequate clean drinking water. Fires in Washington and Oregon have charred more than three million acres so far. We’ll talk with tribal officials working to save people, buildings, and land during an unusually destructive wildfire season.

Voters will soon find out whether the bid by Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (White Earth Ojibwe/D-MN) to become the first Native American woman elected to the U.S. Senate clears the primary election hurdle in a hotly-contested race. It is one of the many races with Native candidates that are coming into clearer focus after a summer of primaries. Native women are particularly well represented in national and statewide races and some progressive Democratic wins might offer clues about what’s on voters’ minds. We’ll look at some key national, state, and tribal races as the midterm election draws closer.

A dangerous secret lurks just under the surface in the play, “Bad Medicine,” making its debut at the Santa Fe Playhouse. Written by P.C. Verrone (Osage and Kiowa) and produced with a largely Native cast, it is a live production that claims elements of both horror and comedy. It comes with a warning that it “sheds light on how settler colonialism dehumanizes and exploits Indigenous peoples.”

Brooklyn, N.Y.’s renowned Spiderwoman Theater is marking 50 years of Indigenous plays, outreach, and education. Rising from the feminist movement of the 1970s, its core leadership under Lisa Mayo, Gloria Miguel, and Muriel Miguel have built the space into a destination for urban Native storytelling. We’ll talk with the organizers about the the mission and legacy of this groundbreaking theater.

Two separate instances are putting Native authority related to religious freedom to the test.

The Northern Arapaho Tribe demands the Christian ministry, Foundations Nations Church, leave the Wyoming reservation. The demand comes after video circulated on social media showed one of the church’s pastors characterizing Native sacred practices — including the Sun Dance — as “idol worship” and “demonic.” Top tribal leadership calls the comments “despicable” and link them to past abuses of Native Americans at the hands of Christian church officials. The Foundations Church leaders say they’ll fight the tribe’s efforts to remove them. We’ll hear about what’s next in the dispute.

At the same time, Native American inmates in a Nebraska state prison scored a victory in securing access to religious ceremonies. In a settlement of a federal civil rights lawsuit, corrections officials lifted a temporary ban on accessing a place where Native men conducted ceremonies like sweats and smudges. They instituted the ban after finding contraband at the site. We’ll hear about the legal principles behind the outcome.