Native America Calling

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. GUESTS Tara Moses (Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and Mvskoke), playwright and director Merna Wharton (Yup’ik), artist Demian DinéYazhi’ (Diné), transdisciplinary artist, poet, and curator Brooke Pepion Swaney (Blackfeet Nation and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes), filmmaker   Break 1 Music: I Saw the Witch Cry (song) Anasazi (artist) Break 2 Music: Gumshoe (song) Samantha Crain (artist) Gumshoe (album)

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. GUESTS Vera Metcalf (Yu’pik), director of the Eskimo Walrus Commission Eduard Kergytagyn Zdor (Chukchi), cultural anthropologist and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alaska’s Arctic Leadership Initiative Leon Misak Kinneeveauk (Iñupiaq), artist and director of the Alaska Art Alliance   Break 1 Music: Kaukuarjuk (song) Silla (artist) Inua (album) Break 2 Music: Gumshoe (song) Samantha Crain (artist) Gumshoe (album)

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. GUESTS Sandra Lazarte (Quechua), former Indigenous Peoples and Climate advisor for U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Leonardo Crippa (Kolla), senior attorney at the Indian Law Resource Center Brian Keane, co-founder of Land is Life, former UN Permanent Forum rapporteur, and the first advisor on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues for U.S. Foreign Assistance Andrew Miller, advocacy director for Amazon Watch   Break 1 Music: Côco (song) XOCÔ (artist) XOCÔ (album) Break 2 Music: Gumshoe (song) Samantha Crain (artist) Gumshoe (album)

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. GUESTS Maggie Lorenz (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and Spirit Lake Dakota Nation), executive director of Waḳaŋ Típi Awaŋyaŋkapi Ke’eaumoku Kapu (Native Hawaiian), executive director of Nā ‘Aikāne o Maui and cultural specialist for Lahaina Town   Break 1 Music: Intertribal Song (song) Dakota Nation (artist) Home of the Champions (album) Break 2 Music: Gumshoe (song) Samantha Crain (artist) Gumshoe (album)

Someone looking to move to any of the Native American reservations in Montana will have a hard time finding a home. A three-part series by the Montana Free Press finds there is a chronic shortage of housing on Native land caused by confusing land ownership frameworks, hurdles for conventional financing, and a lack of infrastructure. The government shutdown, funding cuts, and other changes at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development could only exacerbate the struggle Native people have for finding homes. Native people typically have the worst housing needs in the country. We’ll hear about the problems facing Native homeowners and some of the innovative ways tribes are working to solve them. GUESTS Rudy Soto (Shoshone-Bannock), executive director for National American Indian Housing Council Jody Perez (Salish and Kootenai), executive director of the Salish and Kootenai Housing Authority Nora Mabie, Indigenous affairs reporter with Montana Free Press Christine De Los Santos, executive director of the Northern Circle Indian Housing Authority   Break 1 Music: Prayer Song (song) Salish Spirit Canoe Family (artist) Keep Singing, Keep Dancing (album) Break 2 Music: Gumshoe (song) Samantha Crain (artist) Gumshoe (album)

Two Native American women from Oklahoma are carving distinct and inviting musical paths through the music world. Samantha Crain’s seventh album, “Gumshoe“, offers the latest installment in the veteran Choctaw singer-songwriter’s musical evolution. The cover artwork — a photo of her own beadwork — is a clue to the roots she draws on for strength and inspiration. And Ken Pomeroy’s debut album, “Cruel Joke“, invokes a simmering depth of feeling that transcends her young age. She is a natural storyteller from the Cherokee Nation with a lot to say. Both of these creative artist are added to our Native Playlist.   Break 1 Music: Gumshoe (song) Samantha Crain (artist) Gumshoe (album) Break 2 Music: Fancy Dance (Song) Yellow Hammer (artist) Yellow Hammer (album)

Payments to tribes for federal contracts, BIA law enforcement, food distribution to schools, and health care access could all be affected by the federal government shutdown. It also has a significant effect on the 30,000 Native American federal employees and members of the military who may not be furloughed, but will not receive paychecks until the shutdown is over. This is the second government shutdown in the past decade; the previous one was the longest on record. We’ll get the Native perspective on what’s potentially in store as the shutdown progresses. GUESTS Aaron Payment (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians), tribal councilman and former chairperson for the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians A.C. Locklear (Lumbee), CEO of the National Indian Health Board Mike Stopp (Cherokee and Muscogee), president and CEO of SevenStar Holdings, LLC Sue Parton (Kiowa), President of the Federation of Indian Service Employees   Break 1 Music: Intertribal (song) Blackfoot Confederacy (artist) Confederacy Style (album) Break 2 Music: Fancy Dance (Song) Yellow Hammer (artist) Yellow Hammer (album)

Culture keepers and historians are closely watching President Donald Trump’s review of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and other institutions to eliminate what he calls derisive or partisan narratives. It’s among eight museums that receive federal funding are that are currently under review. NMAI’s exhibits include Native American perspectives on historical documents and events that include treaties, Indian Boarding Schools, the Termination Era, the American Indian Movement, and the Indian Child Welfare Act, among many others. Those watching are concerned Trump’s directive could permanently alter how those topics are presented to the public. NMAI also develops educational curricula that counters incomplete instruction on historical events, like Thanksgiving. We’ll hear from those who were instrumental in NMAI’s founding, as well as get perspective on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s announcement that soldiers that took part in the Wounded Knee Massacre would retain their Medals of Honor. GUESTS Dr. Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee), president of the Morning Star Institute, a founding trustee of NMAI, and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom Rick West Jr. (Cheyenne and Arapaho), CEO emeritus of the Autry Museum of the American West and founding director of NMAI OJ Semans Sr. (Rosebud Sioux), co-executive director of Four Directions Vote   Break 1 Music: War Dance Song 1 (song) Burton Fisher, George Fisher, Charles Little Oldman, & Clifford Bighead (artist) 12 Northern Cheyenne Songs (album) Break 2 Music: Fancy Dance (Song) Yellow Hammer (artist) Yellow Hammer (album)

For more than three decades, Tina Kuckkahn‘s work has centered on supporting Native culture and the arts. The Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe citizen is the new head of the Native artist non-profit organization, the First Peoples Fund. She previously directed s’gʷi gʷi ʔ altxʷ: House of Welcome (The Evergreen State College Longhouse) and most recently helped build NDN Collective’s philanthropic infrastructure and grantmaking programs. She is in the process of organizing a canoe journey through the Great Lakes, retracing her ancestors’ historic migration. Tina Kuckkahn joins us as this month’s Native in the Spotlight to talk about the state of Native art, Ojibwe culture, and motorcycles. Ernie Stevens (Photo: courtesy the Indian Gaming Association) We’ll also look back at the life of Indian Gaming Association chairman Ernie Stevens Jr., who just walked on. GUESTS Tina Kuckkahn (Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa), president and CEO of the First Peoples Fund Jason Giles (Muscogee), executive director of the Indian Gaming Association Levi Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation), publisher and editor of Native News Online and Tribal Business News   Break 1 Music: ABE (song) Chuck Copenace (artist) Oshki Manitou (album) Break 2 Music: Fancy Dance (Song) Yellow Hammer (artist) Yellow Hammer (album)

The action by Republican Texas lawmakers to redraw congressional voting boundaries to favor Republican candidates has clear implications for the Alabama Coushatta Tribe of Texas. The new contorted boundaries put the tribe at least four times the distance away from their elected representative’s base of operation. The Texas move has also spurred other states to do that same and voting advocates worry about losing hard-fought ground for Native voter representation at the polls. We’ll look at what the latest potential problem areas are and how it relates to the midterm elections. Also, we’ll talk with a New Mexico District Attorney Bernadine Martin (Diné). She is fighting to keep her job amid allegations of incompetence and misconduct. Martin is the only female Native American district attorney in the state. She says she is being unfairly targeted. GUESTS Cecilia Flores (Alabama-Coushatta), tribal council chairwoman of the Alabama Coushatta Tribe of Texas Nita Battise (Alabama-Coushatta), tribal council member of the Alabama Coushatta Tribe of Texas Lenny Powell (Hopland Band of Pomo Indians), Native American Rights Fund staff attorney Daniel McCool, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Utah Bernadine Martin (Diné), McKinley County District Attorney   Break 1 Music: Red Dust Rising (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album) Break 2 Music: Fancy Dance (Song) Yellow Hammer (artist) Yellow Hammer (album)