Native America Calling

Tribal wildlife officials are trying to get a handle on the seemingly unstoppable increase in chronic wasting disease among large game animals. Now in at least three dozen states, the disease is always fatal for the deer, elk, and moose that contract it. Some public health officials are also cautioning about the potential for it to make the jump to humans. At the same time, measles cases have jumped over 1,000 in the United States. Decades after the highly contagious and easily preventable disease was all but eradicated, measles comes at at time when skepticism of scientifically proven vaccines is at an all time high. We’ll find out what wildlife managers and public health officials say about the threats from these two illnesses. GUESTS Dean Seneca (Seneca), CEO of Seneca Scientific Solutions+ and adjunct professor at the School of Public Health and Health Professions at the University of Buffalo and Adjunct Instructor at University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry Kari Kingery (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes), tribal wildlife program manager for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Tiffany Wolf, associate professor in the Department of Veterinary Population Medicine and co-director of Minnesota Center for Prion Research and Outreach at the University of Minnesota Erin Larson, deer herd specialist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources   Break 1 Music: Prayer Song (song) Salish Spirit Canoe Family (artist) Keep Singing, Keep Dancing (album) Break 2 Music: Crow Push Dance Song (song) Authentic Native American Music (artist) Authentic Native American Music (album)

A tool to help finance housing, business, and other community development projects on tribal land is in President Donald Trump’s crosshairs. President Trump’s executive order eliminates funding for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI). It’s unclear what the order means in practicality. His budget reduces federal funding for CDFIs by almost $300 million. If the cuts to CDFIs are realized, it could significantly curtail progress on affordable housing, small businesses, green energy, and other projects. GUESTS Jonelle Yearout (Nez Perce), executive director of the Nimiipuu Community Development Fund Pete Upton (Ponca Tribe of Nebraska), CEO and chairperson of the Native CDFI Network and executive director of the Native360 Loan Fund Roxanne Best (Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation), business owner Chrystel Cornelius (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians), president and CEO of the Oweesta Corporation   Break 1 Music: Intertribal (song) Sweetgrass (artist) Follow the Trail (album) Break 2 Music: Crow Push Dance Song (song) Authentic Native American Music (artist) Authentic Native American Music (album)

Indigenous leaders are forcefully denouncing Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s rhetoric inviting the idea of separating from Canada. The province includes wide swaths of treaty territory established through agreements with the federal government. First Nations leaders say there is no way to even enter the conversation of separation without first consulting with the tribes. The unprecedented talk of separation comes as President Donald Trump insists on promoting the unlikely scenario of the U.S. annexing Canada. We’ll learn about First Nations authority in Alberta and the sovereignty questions the separation discussions raise. GUESTS Chief Sheldon Sunshine (Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation) Matthew Wildcat (Ermineskin Cree Nation), assistant professor and director of Indigenous Governance in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta Steve Newcomb (Shawnee and Lenape), author of “Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery” and co-founder and director of the Indigenous Law Institute Wilton Littlechild (Cree), International Chief for Treaty Six Confederacy and former commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada   Break 1 Music: Cree Honor Song (song) Randy Wood (artist) The Gift of Life (album) Break 2 Music: Crow Push Dance Song (song) Authentic Native American Music (artist) Authentic Native American Music (album)

Ojibwe (Red Cliff) journalist Mary Annette Pember puts her own family’s boarding school experiences on display in her new book, “Medicine River: A Story of Survival and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools.” Pember builds from her relationship with her mother, a boarding school survivor, to offer personal insights into the origins and effects of generational trauma. She also documents her path to journalism and how one non-Native editor’s refusal to cover Native issues drove her to become one of country’s most trusted Native storytellers. We’ll hear from Pember and also get an update from the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition on what changes in federal government mean for the future of addressing past boarding school abuses. GUESTS Mary Annette Pember (Red Cliff Ojibwe), national correspondent for ICT News and author of “Medicine River” Fallon Carey (Cherokee Nation), digital archives manager for the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition   Break 1 Music: Oshki Manitou (song) Chuck Copenace (artist) Oshki Manitou (album) Break 2 Music: Chicken Dance (song) Blackfoot Confederacy (artist) Confederacy Style (album)

New Mexico is the latest of more than 20 states to formally recognize Native American students’ right to express their cultural heritage at graduation ceremonies. Those expressions are typically in the form of eagle feathers, beadwork, moccasins, or other traditional dress worn during the ceremony with gowns and mortarboard caps. But many Native students elsewhere continue to face resistance from school boards and administrators. One Wyoming school principal told a student if he “let one minority do it, then I’d have to let the rest.” We’ll recognize this year’s graduating seniors and get up to speed on the ongoing fight over ceremonial regalia. GUESTS Heather Hostler (Hupa), executive director of California Indian Legal Services Morgan Saunders, senior staff attorney in Washington, D.C. office at Native American Rights Fund (NARF) Tracie Yellowman Tséyíníítsó (Diné), University of Utah 2025 student commencement speaker   Break 1 Music: Intertribal 2 (song) Tha Tribe (artist) Woodland Groove (album) Break 2 Music: Chicken Dance (song) Blackfoot Confederacy (artist) Confederacy Style (album)

As the state of New York works to eliminate school mascots with Native American names and imagery, they have run into a powerful adversary: the federal government. The U.S. Department of Education launched an investigation into whether the state is violating the civil rights of Long Island’s Massapequa School District by forcing them to change their “Chiefs” mascot. President Donald Trump personally weighed in, expressing his support for keeping the mascot. A lawyer for the school says the issue is “the battleground for the preservation of our history and values nationwide.” We’ll hear about the issues at play in New York and how it affects other efforts by other states and cities to end offensive Native mascots. We’ll also hear about developments of case addressing inequities for Native students in New Mexico. GUESTS Ted Trujillo (Passamaquoddy), enrolled member of the Passamaquoddy tribe John Kane (Mohawk), Host of Resistance Radio on WBAI in NYC and WPFW in Washington, D.C. David Glass (enrolled member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe), president of the National Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media Melissa Candelaria (San Felipe Pueblo), education director of the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and member of the plaintiff’s legal team for Yazzie/Martinez v. State of New Mexico   Break 1 Music: I’m Not A Mascot – I’m Not A Stereotype – I’ve Been Watching (song) Michael Bucher (artist) Break 2 Music: Chicken Dance (song) Blackfoot Confederacy (artist) Confederacy Style (album)

After decades of attempts by some political leaders to curtail or end federal funding for broadcasting, public media faces what PBS CEO Paula Kerger says is the most serious threat in its history. President Donald Trump’s order to end funding for NPR and PBS potentially has profound implications for everything from the existence of some rural Alaska stations to Native-language programs on tribal stations (and the continuation of Native America Calling). We’ll get another update on how the fight for public funding for Native American broadcasting is playing out. GUESTS Loris Taylor (Hopi and Acoma Pueblo), President and CEO of Native Public Media Jaclyn Sallee (Iñupiaq), President and CEO of Koahnic Broadcast Corporation Frank Blanquet (Yucatec Maya), producer and director of television for First Nations Experience (FNX) George Strong (Chippewa), general manager of KBFT 89.9FM Bois Forte Tribal Community Radio and host of Rez Rockin’ Radio   Break 1 Music:  Get Up Stand Up (song) Bailey Wiley, Che Fu, King Kapisi, Laughton Kora, Maisey Rika & Tiki Taane (artist) Break 2 Music: Chicken Dance (song) Blackfoot Confederacy (artist) Confederacy Style (album)

After the initial grief of losing her daughter to a hit-and-run driver on the Flathead Indian Reservation, Carissa HeavyRunner faced months of inaction by local law enforcement to adequately investigate and charge the person responsible. Her frustration grew into a personal mission to see justice served. HeavyRunner’s story is one of the chief complaints by Native Americans who have lost a loved one and wake up every day without any progress toward getting any answers. We’ll learn about some outstanding Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) cases and the effort to improve the statistics in spite of law enforcement foot-dragging. GUESTS Adrian Jackson (Yakama). eldest son of Mona Vallo Carissa HeavyRunner (Blackfeet and Diné), founder of Mika Matters, MMIP advocate Ahli-sha Stephens (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), co-host of “We Are Resilient: A MMIW True Crime Podcast” Sheyahshe Littledave (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), co-host of “We Are Resilient: A MMIW True Crime Podcast” Darlene Gomez, attorney and activist for MMIP   Break 1 Music: Remember Me (song) Fawn Wood (artist) Kikāwiynaw (album) Break 2 Music: Chicken Dance (song) Blackfoot Confederacy (artist) Confederacy Style (album)

An exhibition at The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Alberta celebrates the work of the Indigenous Group of Seven, influential Indigenous artists who, over a period of decades, pushed a new definition of Native art in Canada. We’ll also highlight exhibitions honoring contemporary and up-and-coming Native American artists including the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s McClung Museum of Natural History & Culture exhibition, “Homelands: Connecting to Mounds through Native Art“, and the Institute of American Indian Art’s annual showcase of work by the visual arts graduating class. GUESTS Joseph Sánchez, artist, former curator for IAIA’s Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, member of the Indigenous Group of Seven, and co-curator of “The Ancestors Are Talking” exhibit at The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies Kayla Wanatee (Meskwaki Tribe), multi-disciplinary artist and a spring 2025 IAIA Bachelor’s of Fine Arts graduate Kassidy Plyler (Catawba), artist and cultural public programs specialist for the Catawba Nation   Break 1 Music: Indigenous Life (song) Fiji (artist) Indigenous Life (album) Break 2 Music: Rodeo Song [Skip Dance Song] (song) Sweethearts of Navajoland (artist) From the Heart of Diné Nation Traditional Songs of the Navajo (album)  

Among the 168 people killed in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City was Raymond Lee Johnson (Seminole Nation of Oklahoma). He was volunteering with the Older Native American Program at the time and was heavily involved in education and other issues important to Native people. Cherokee Ballard was a television news anchor and reporter who covered the aftermath and the subsequent trials. And FBI special agent Walter Lamar was on the scene that day helping rescue survivors. He was also part of the FBI’s investigation into the bombing. We’ll hear stories about how the bombing affected the city with one of the highest percentages of Native citizens in the nation. GUESTS Walter Lamar (Blackfeet and Wichita), founder of Lamar Associates and former FBI special agent Anne Marshall (Muscogee), council representative for the Muscogee Creek Nation Cherokee Ballard (Cherokee), communications director for the Oklahoma County Clerk and former news anchor and reporter   Break 1 Music: 500 Years O’ Blues (song) Digging Roots (artist) Seeds (album) Break 2 Music: Rodeo Song [Skip Dance Song] (song) Sweethearts of Navajoland (artist) From the Heart of Diné Nation Traditional Songs of the Navajo (album)