Native America Calling

An illegal voting case in Alaska highlights lingering confusion over the rights extended to the citizens of American Samoa, a U.S. territory. Eleven Samoans from Whittier, Alaska are charged with felonies for alleged voter fraud by participating in their local election. All have U.S. passports, were born on U.S. soil, and can even participate in the presidential primary process. The territory has been under heavy colonial pressure for centuries and has been under U.S. oversight for more than 125 years. But Congress never granted its citizens the right to vote in national elections.

In another case, tribes in North Dakota were dealt a serious blow in their ongoing fight against redistricting that reduces their collective power in state elections.

This is an encore presentation so we won’t be taking calls

A documentary filmmaker’s chance encounter with the Blackfoot man who became a social media sensation in connection with the phrase “skoden” (“let’s go then”), turns into a moving profile of Pernell Bad Arm. We’ll hear from Damien Eagle Bear (Blackfoot) about the person behind the meme who was initially mocked, but became a rallying cry for Indigenous people.

And we’ll also talk with Inuit actress Lucy Tulugarjuk who shares the screen with Tom Cruise in the summer blockbuster “Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning”. It’s the latest in a series of notable films for the Inuit actress who is also the executive director of the Nunavut Independent Television Network in Canada and an accomplished throat singer.

The U.S. Supreme Court didn’t rule on the constitutionality of birthright citizenship, a legal challenge closely watched by Native Americans. But their related decision in that case significantly changes the current practice in how all Americans can keep the federal government, corporations, and others from continuing actions with questionable constitutionality. We’ll review what’s at stake in the fight over birthright citizenship and how the High Court’s ruling preventing further nationwide injunctions will alter how lawyers tackle Native issues from now on.

We’ll also learn about a legal settlement in Montana that aims to ensure schools adequately teach Native American history.

The Indian Health Service (IHS) remains largely misunderstood by those not directly connected to it, and often derided as a bureaucratic and confusing system by those who are. IHS marks its 70th anniversary, providing care to all Native citizens. Of course, the agency’s history is also documented in the hundreds of treaties over almost 200 years in which the U.S. Government explicitly signed on to its responsibility. We’ll trace the history of IHS from the first immunizations to Public Law 638, and chart its future amid a major reassessment of federal government services.

The Muscogee Nation will assume some law enforcement duties in the city of Tulsa, Okla., when it comes to tribal citizens. The development over jurisdiction ends a federal lawsuit filed by the Muscogee Nation in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark McGirt decision in 2020. The Cherokee and Osage Nations also potentially have jurisdiction claims in Tulsa and other cities. Local law enforcement officials and Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK) oppose the agreement, saying it creates a two-tiered system of justice. We’ll find out what the new agreement solves and what it leaves unanswered.

Also, tribes connected to Florida are speaking out against the Trump administration’s fast track plans to establish a detention center for immigration actions near the Florida Everglades. Miccosukee and Seminole tribal officials and citizens say the center, dubbed the “Alligator Alcatraz,” infringes on land that is their “cultural, spiritual, and historical identity.”

The violent attacks on legislators in Minnesota are a shocking reminder of the pervasive threats rising from political divisions. The Brennan Center for Justice finds the volume and severity of abuse directed at public officials is increasing, and is disproportionately directed at women and people of color. As officials in Minnesota and the rest of the nation grieve the recent tragedy, we’ll look at the potential effect rising threats has on the willingness of Native Americans, and others, to hold public office.

We’ll also learn more about a theatrical production offered by a church in the Navajo border town Gallup, N.M. that has many Navajo citizens upset over insensitive portrayals of Navajo spiritual culture.

An illegal voting case in Alaska highlights lingering confusion over the rights extended to the citizens of American Samoa, a U.S. territory. Eleven Samoans from Whittier, Alaska are charged with felonies for alleged voter fraud by participating in their local election. All have U.S. passports, were born on U.S. soil, and can even participate in the presidential primary process. The territory has been under heavy colonial pressure for centuries and has been under U.S. oversight for more than 125 years. But Congress never granted its citizens the right to vote in national elections.

In another case, tribes in North Dakota were dealt a serious blow in their ongoing fight against redistricting that reduces their collective power in state elections.

Minnesota is the first state to sign compacts with tribes for cannabis operations. The White Earth Nation just opened that state’s first off-reservation recreational marijuana retail store. A second store is already in the works with the tribe envisioning as many as eight dispensaries statewide. But as some tribes lead the way with economic development potential for cannabis, some other tribes elsewhere are subject to law enforcement actions and regulatory hurdles. We’ll hear about both the success stories and dead ends for tribal cannabis operations.