Native America Calling

As the federal government shutdown drags on, tribes are feeling the brunt more than the general population. That’s among the conclusions in a new report from the Brookings Institution that examines how the government distributes the funds it is obligated to. The report finds that a large portion of the money for tribal necessities like health care, education, and economic well-being required under the Trust and Treaty Responsibility is dependent on annual action by Congress rather than being baked into the automatic allocations that other federal funding recipients enjoy. The report calls on a more reliable funding system for tribes.

The shutdown has prompted several tribes, including the Spirit Lake Nation, Standing Rock Tribe, and Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, to declare states of emergency, mainly because of the lack of food and winter heating assistance. We’ll hear more about how the shutdown is grinding away at tribes’ ability to help their citizens.

Researchers are documenting more and longer-lasting wildfires in northern Alaska and Canada. In fact, the increase of wildfires is a trend across the Arctic, as far as Norway and Siberia, driven by higher temperatures and dryer conditions. The trend has immediate threats to people’s homes and health. Some tribes in Alaska and Canada also worry about the possibility of a long-term cataclysmic cycle of fires burning through vast stores of peat, producing uncountable amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. We’ll get a look at the latest research and learn what concerned Alaska Native tribes and other Indigenous stakeholders are doing to prepare.

The practice of celebrating dead ancestors started long before Spanish colonizers came to what is now Mexico, but the Aztec and Mayan custom eventually engulfed the entire country, blending Catholic, Spanish, and Indigenous elements into what is now Dia de los Muertos. The festival even spills into parts of the U.S. Some people with Mexican Indigenous ties are working to cut through the contemporary pop culture trappings of the holiday and reconnect with the deeper, more spiritual origins.

We’ll also hear about Vision Maker Media’s expanded push to train and support young filmmakers to tell stories driven by mission. The Native Youth Media Project partners with tribes, organizations, and individuals to develop storytellers at a time when federal support for such projects has disappeared.

A struggle over who is running the Northern Cheyenne tribal government has resulted in arrests of government officials, frozen bank accounts, and an emergency action by traditional tribal leaders to ban women from voting. The divide started after newly elected President Gene Small authorized a forensic financial audit. Another long-standing divide is coming to a head on the Navajo Nation, prompting President Buu Nygren to state he will not resign his position. We’ll talk with reporters covering these two internal government disputes and take a look at some other notable issues and events.

A historic legal decision secures tribal land rights over a little more than four square miles within the boundaries of the city of Richmond, British Columbia. The ruling by the provincial Supreme Court sent shockwaves through an enclave of non-Indigenous property owners fearful their land and its monetary value would be handed over to the Cowichan Tribes. If the decision stands, it would have far-reaching implications for tribal land rights across Canada. We’ll hear about the legal and historical significance of the decision.

We’ll also get perspectives on the controversial King Cove Road in Alaska. The Trump administration recently signed off on the proposed 11-mile road which will connect the small Aleutian town through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge to an airport. Supporters say it will provide reliable access to emergency medical care, but detractors say it will cause harm to millions of migratory birds who use the refuge as a stopover.

Among the thousands of staff cuts and billions of dollars eliminated from federal programs is support to prevent and respond to domestic violence. Organizations that facilitate women’s shelters, preventative outreach, case managers, and legal help are mostly going it alone without the once-powerful assistance of the federal government. Many are in survival mode after the sudden and unexpected elimination of funding that had been promised. The U.S. Department of Justice has also removed its access to research and recommendations about violence against Indigenous women. We’ll find out how some shelters are working despite the setbacks.

We’ll also remember long-time women’s advocate Charon Asetoyer. Among other things, she founded the Native American Community Board that works to strengthen women’s health, safety, and justice. Asetoyer walked on September 26.