Native America Calling

The Trump administration scrapped a civil rights agreement 14 years in the making with the Rapid City, S.D. school system. The agreement was aimed at correcting inequities for Native American students. Data show Native students in the district are given harsher punishments than their white counterparts. The students also are less likely to be in higher level classes. The decision comes as President Donald Trump has terminated nearly half of the federal Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights staff. We’ll also look at a Virginia tribe’s suit against the commonwealth for what the tribe says is withholding Medicaid reimbursements for tribal citizens’ health care. GUESTS Walt Swan Jr. (Miniconjou Lakota), Rapid City Area Schools board member and executive director of Friends of the Children – He Sapa Tyresha Grey Horse (Oglala Lakota), chair of Title VI Parent Advisory Committee for Rapid City Area Schools and program director of Friends of the Children – He Sapa Sarah White (Oglala Lakota), executive director of the South Dakota Education Equity Coalition Thomas Badamo (Nansemond), tribal council treasurer for the Nansemond Indian Nation  Jessie Barrington (Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians), attorney with Cultural Heritage Partners   Break 1 Music: Pocupine Singers’ Song (song) Porcupine Singers (artist) Alowanpi – Songs Of Honoring – Lakota Classics: Past & Present, Vol. 1 (album) Break 2 Music: Learned from the Late Ralph Kotay (song) Kenneth Cozad & Group (artist) Songs of Our Old People – Old-Time Round Dance Songs of Oklahoma (album)

The recent winter proved deadly for honey bee colonies. The Washington State University’s Honey Bees and Pollinators Program reports mass die-offs for commercial beekeepers. Honey bees, butterflies, and even small vertebrates like bats and birds are important to agriculture and are indicators of a healthy ecosystem. Their populations fluctuate and are affected by pesticide use, habitat loss, and climate change. Tribes and Native groups like the Euchee Butterfly Farm are among those devoting resources to pollinator restoration work. We’ll talk with Native pollinator protectors about efforts to help turn the threat to pollinators around. GUESTS Nathan Moses-Gonzales (Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation), entomologist and CEO of M3 Agriculture Technologies Jane Breckinridge (Muscogee and Euchee), director of the Euchee Butterfly Farm and the Tribal Alliance for Pollinators Melanie Kirby (Tortugas Pueblo), professional beekeeper, founder of Zia Queen Bees Farm and Field Institute, extension educator and pollinator specialist at IAIA, and a founder of Poeh Povi Flower Path Network Pam Kingfisher (Cherokee Nation), beekeeper and water protector Break 1 Music: Hug Room (song) Chuck Copenace (artist) Oshki Manitou (album) Break 2 music: Learned from the Late Ralph Kotay (song) Kenneth Cozad & Group (artist) Songs of Our Old People – Old-Time Round Dance Songs of Oklahoma (album)

At least one tribal library in New Mexico will have to close after the Trump Administration abruptly canceled federal grants administered through the Institute for Museum and Library Services. Many more libraries and museums in the state and around the country are forced to cut hours, eliminate staff, cancel traditional programs, and curb purchases for new books and other materials. They are among the latest in the on-going efforts by the Trump Administration to drastically change federal services. Those cuts also include supplements to low-income Navajo Nation citizens and hundreds more Native Americans nationwide who rely on the funds to help them heat their homes in the winter. We’ll get the latest rundown of staff and funding reductions by the federal government. GUESTS Dr. April Counceller (Alutiiq tribal member of the Sun’aq Tribe of Kodiak), executive director of the Alutiiq Museum & Archaeological Repository Cassandra Osterloh (Cherokee Nation), New Mexico State Library tribal libraries program coordinator Alicia Allard, tribal Head Start consultant and specialist for Little Hawk Consulting Jill Falcon Ramaker (Turtle Mountain Anishinaabe), assistant professor in food systems, nutrition and kinesiology and director of Buffalo Nations Food Sovereignty Initiative at Montana State University Andrea Pesina (Isleta Pueblo), executive director of Isleta Head Start & Child Care and president of the National Indian Head Start Directors Association   Break 1 Music: Rise Up (song) Big Every Time (artist) Universitile (album) Break 2 music: Learned from the Late Ralph Kotay (song) Kenneth Cozad & Group (artist) Songs of Our Old People – Old-Time Round Dance Songs of Oklahoma (album)

Early Pueblo residents are known for their complex, multi-level dwellings that date back centuries, but continue to influence architectural design today. A new exhibit at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center examines the enduring elements of ancestral architecture and how contemporary Pueblo architects are reclaiming them. Modern designs fell victim to non-Native interpretations and modern building codes. The exhibit, “Restorying Our HeartPlaces: Contemporary Pueblo Architecture”, tells the story of how Pueblos are asserting their sovereignty over their enduring architectural knowledge. GUESTS Dr. Ted Jojola (Isleta Pueblo), co-curator of the exhibit and founder and director of the Indigenous Design + Planning Institute at the University of New Mexico Brian Vallo (Acoma Pueblo), former governor of Acoma Pueblo, independent consultant, and board member for the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center Charelle Brown (Santa Domingo Pueblo), advisory board member for exhibit, intern architect with Woven Architecture, and grad student in the masters of architecture program at the University of New Mexico Dr. Lynn Paxson, co-curator of the exhibit, university professor emeritus in architecture in the College of Design at Iowa State University and an affiliate of the Indigenous Design + Planning Institute at the University of New Mexico   Break 1 Music: Chant (song) Robert Mirabal + Ethel (artist) The River (album) Break 2 Music: Vipismal – The Hummingbird Song (song) Earl Ray (artist) Traditional Songs Of The Salt River Pima (album)

Tens of thousands of federal job cuts, on-again, off-again tariffs on everyday goods, and policies affecting the operations of schools, businesses, and tribal governments are generating widespread uncertainty. Tribal leaders are working proactively to both influence decisions at the federal level and to prepare for inevitable changes. We’ll talk with tribal leaders about how they are adapting to the unpredictable and dramatic changes headed their way. GUESTS Chairwoman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais (Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Aquinnah) U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI)   Break 1 Music: Eagle Dance REMIX (single) Jason Brown/Decontie & Brown (artist) Break 2 Music: Vipismal – The Hummingbird Song (song) Earl Ray (artist) Traditional Songs Of The Salt River Pima (album)

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. is overseeing an unprecedented cut of nearly a quarter of the department’s staff, drawing widespread concerns about possible adverse affects for thousands of Native Americans who depend on those services. Everything from bill processing to testing and research to prevent lead contamination in children could be constricted. At the same time, Sec. Kennedy successfully reversed Elon Musk’s termination of 900 Indian Health Service employees by the Department of Government Efficiency. Kennedy is also reaching out to tribes and maintaining contact through the department’s Tribal Self Governance Advisory Committee. We’ll look at the latest word on what some of the potential effects of the federal actions are on Native health and health care. GUESTS A.C. Locklear (Lumbee), CEO of the National Indian Health Board Kristen Bitsuie (Navajo), tribal health care outreach and education policy manager for the National Indian Health Board Kim Russell (Navajo), policy advisor for Sage Memorial Hospital   Break 1 Music: Take Your Troubles to the River (song) Vincent Craig (artist) Self-titled Release (album) Break 2 Music: Vipismal – The Hummingbird Song (song) Earl Ray (artist) Traditional Songs Of The Salt River Pima (album)

Philanthropy matches a donor’s passion with an organization’s drive to make a difference. It is an arrangement that helps build equity in areas that are not served by profit-driven interests. Philanthropy becomes even more important during times of financial uncertainty and government austerity. We’ll get a view of the current directions for philanthropic giving and what the new pressures to fill the gaps. GUESTS Erik Stegman (Carry the Kettle First Nation), CEO of Native Americans in Philanthropy Gina Jackson (Western Shoshone and Oglala Lakota), co-founder and CEO of the Return to the Heart Foundation MENTIONED: Tribal Funding Registry  Break 1 Music: We Are the Stars (song) Mike Bern (artist) Break 2 Music: Vipismal – The Hummingbird Song (song) Earl Ray (artist) Traditional Songs Of The Salt River Pima (album)

Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. calls the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEA) “one of the singular accomplishments of this country”. The legislation championed by President Richard Nixon opened the doors to tribal control over their own health care, law enforcement, natural resources management and economic development. We’ll look at the progress since ISDEA, and what tribes intend to strengthen self-governance in the future. GUESTS W. Ron Allen (Jamestown S’klallam), tribal chairman for the Jamestown S’klallam Tribe Jay Spaan (Cherokee), executive director of the Self-Governance Communication and Education Tribal Consortium Laura Harris (Comanche), executive director for Americans for Indian Opportunity   Break 1 Music: Traveling Song (song) Judy Trejo (artist) Circle Dance Songs of the Paiute and Shoshone (album) Break 2 Music: Vipismal – The Hummingbird Song (song) Earl Ray (artist) Traditional Songs Of The Salt River Pima (album)

In Larissa FastHorse’s (Sičháŋǧu Lakota) new play, a nonprofit works to accommodate “race shifters”, people who are compelled to change the ethnicity they’re born with. “Fake it Until You Make It” is a satirical look at the serious topic of Native identity, helped out by a talented cast and Indigenous-grounded writing. The new children’s TV puppet series, Navajo Highways, is making the rounds on screens across the Southwest. Written and directed by Pete Sands (Diné), the show follows young Sadie from her urban home to her introduction to Navajo land, culture, language and food. With a nod to the popular PBS show, Sesame Street, it’s filled with characters Native audiences will find familiar. It’s slated for public distribution on FNX. GUESTS Larissa FastHorse (Sičháŋǧu Lakota), playwright Pete Sands (Diné), writer and director of “Navajo Highways” Kimberly Kee (Diné), tribal early childhood specialist and she plays Ms. Pete   Break 1 Music:  New Orleans Rag (song) Lakota John (artist) The Winds of Time: Ragtime,Piedmont Blues, Folk and Native Americana  (album) Break 2 Music: Scream, Holler, and Howl (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)

Indigenous business leaders in the U.S. and all over the world will now have to adjust to the uncertain effects of President Donald Trump’s aggressive new series of tariffs. Economic experts predict some measure of chaos in the short term. It’s impossible to predict how the tariffs will play out in the long run, but it will certainly affect everything from the beads used in regalia to groceries to auto sales. Trump insists the new tariffs will put American businesses on a more level playing field and boost the federal government’s coffers. We’ll hear how Native business experts are responding to the new economic reality. GUESTS Tabatha Bull (Nipissing First Nation), president and CEO of Canadian Council for Indigenous Business John Desjarlais (Cree-Métis), executive director of the Indigenous Resource Network Dante Biss-Grayson (Osage), founder of Sky-Eagle Collection Tally Monteau (Hunkpati Dakota and Chippewa-Cree), program manager for the Native American Development Corporation (NADC) Triia program and beadwork artist Benjamin Haile (Shinnecock), owner of Thunder Island Coffee Roasters   Break 1 Music: Mr. Businessman’s Blues (song) DM Lafortune (artist) Beauty and Hard Times (album) Break 2 Music: Scream, Holler, and Howl (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)