Native America Calling

Nine out of ten people seeking jobs say they have a side hustle — a second or even third job. An Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll from October 2025 also says a higher percentage of younger job-seekers — Gen Z and Millennials —expect to be able to overlap their side jobs on company time. Money is a major factor – and the Bureau of Labor and Statistics reported this year that more employers are cutting hours. We’ll talk with some of those who are working multiple jobs about the ups and downs of juggling a side hustle. GUESTS Mikailah Thompson (Nimiipuu), owner of Beadwork by Mikailah and owner of Indigenous Creatives, LLC Roberta Begaye (Diné), owner of Bitterwater Galerie Stephanie Garcia (Santa Domingo, Laguna, and Isleta), owner of Pueblo Creations and Pueblo Collective Enterprise Roxanne Best (Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation), businessowner and founder of R. Best Life: Yoga and Coaching   Break 1 Music: Working for the Man (song) Bluedog (artist) Red, White & Blues (album) Break 2 Music: Coffee (song) James Bilagody (artist) Near Midnight (album)

A one-time allocation for Tribal Colleges and Universities unexpectedly just doubled the federal allocation compared to the previous year. And a small handful of colleges are rejoicing over multi-million-dollar windfalls from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. But that doesn’t mean officials at any of those institutions are breathing a sigh of relief. Instead, the unpredictable nature of federal funding and other factors — including the Trump administration’s stated plan earlier this year to all but eliminate their funding, has tribal higher education administrators scrambling. We’ll speak with some of them about the educational institutions that thousands of Native students depend on. GUESTS Christopher Caldwell (Menominee), president of the College of Menominee Nation Leander McDonald (Dakota, Arikara, Hidatsa and Hunkpapa), president of the United Tribes Technical College Manoj Patil, president of Little Priest Tribal College   Break 1 Music: Intertribal Song (song) Dakota Nation (artist) Home of the Champions (album) Break 2 Music: Coffee (song) James Bilagody (artist) Near Midnight (album)

“Braids” by director, writer, and editor Elise Aachix̂ Qağaduug Beers (Unangan) tells the story of a Native student who contends with bullying and uninformed school policy. It’s a modern-day tale with a long historical reach. “Guts,” a comedy by Elias Gold (Diné), is a story of a drifter who wreaks havoc on the Navajo reservation in search of a particular traditional food. We’ll talk with both filmmakers and also get an update on a new initiative to elevate Indigenous voices across film and TV. GUESTS Elise Aachix̂ Qağaduug Beers (Aleut, Unangan), director, writer, and editor of “Braids” Elias Gold (Diné), filmmaker and operator of the YouTube channel “Native Media Theory” Joey Clift (Cowlitz), comedian, Emmy-nominated producer and television writer, and the writer and director of “Pow!” Dr. Shelly Lowe (Diné), president of the Institute of American Indian Arts   Break 1 Music: Chant Ancestral (song) Geneviève Gros-Louis (artist) Break 2 Music: Coffee (song) James Bilagody (artist) Near Midnight (album)

Despite promises by elected leaders to address the disproportionate number of Native Americans and Alaska Natives who are murdered or go missing, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) advocates say there is little progress and even steps backward for victims and their families. Advocates say the Trump administration’s removal of the Not One More report from the Department of Justice’s website is a setback for public awareness and the work to fight the ongoing problem. Advocates also complained that Alaska officials are not adequately acknowledging the number of unsolved cases. Since that complaint, state officials added 50 names to the unsolved cases list. Numerous data sources point to the disproportionate rate that Native people are victims of violence and their cases go unresolved. GUESTS Charlene Aqpik Apok (Iñupiaq), executive director of Data for Indigenous Justice Karrisa Newkirk (Caddo), president and founder of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women-Chahta Cheryl Horn (Nakota and Aaniiih), Fort Belknap MMIP advocate   Break 1 Music: Remember Me (song) Fawn Wood (artist) Kikāwiynaw (album) Break 2 Music: Coffee (song) James Bilagody (artist) Near Midnight (album)

In his second cookbook, “Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America,” Sean Sherman (Oglala Lakota), James Beard Award-wining chef and restaurateur, dives deeper into the Indigenous culinary communities of 13 regions of North America and Mesoamerica. He shares dozens of recipes inspired by his travels and the people he calls friends, teachers, and leaders that he encounters along the way. Pyet DeSpain (Prairie Band Potawatomi) was already familiar with traditional everyday foods like frybread, meat pies, and corn soup growing up on the Osage reservation in Oklahoma. And on the Mexican side of her family, tamales, pozole, and atole were a staple. Now a well-known and award-winning chef, DeSpain is sharing that fusion of Native and Mexican cuisine and heritage in her debut cookbook, “Rooted in Fire: A Celebration of Native American and Mexican Cooking.”   Break 1 Music: Hoka Hey (feat. Jayden Paz & Dancin Dave) [Radio Version] (song) DJ krayzkree (artist) Future Generations (album) Break 2 Music: Stomp Dance (song) George Hunter (artist) Haven (album)

The Aboriginal people of Australia have cemented a historic agreement with the state of Victoria that could provide a blueprint for recognizing Indigenous peoples and incorporating their voices and cultures into the political process going forward. The treaty is a first for Australia and comes after years of research, negotiation, and a failed political referendum in 2023. Among other things, those crafting the treaty look to avoid the pitfalls of federal treaties with Native Americans and First Nations peoples of Canada. In this encore show, we’ll hear from those who worked to make the treaty happen and what about their hopes and concerns following this historic action. GUESTS Dr. Julian Rawiri Kusabs (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Maru [Hauraki], and Tainui), research fellow at the University of Melbourne Dr. Nikki Moodie (Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, and Gamilaraay), professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Melbourne Travis Lovett (Kerrupmara Gunditjmara, Boandik), inaugural executive director of the Centre for Truth Telling and Dialogue at the University of Melbourne Lidia Thorpe (Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung), Independent Senator for Victoria and represents the Blak Sovereign Movement   Break 1 Music: Talkin’ Treaty (song) Blackfire [Australia] (artist) Regeneration (album) Break 2 Music: Burn Your Village to The Ground (single) The Halluci-Nation (artist)

Mel Tonasket (Colville Tribes) is one of the key reasons the Colville Tribes remain thriving today. As a newly elected tribal council member in 1971, he cast the deciding vote against a deal with the federal government that traded cash payouts to individual tribal members for the tribe’s permanent termination. Tonasket credits the mentorship of tribal activist Lucy Covington for guiding his insights and energy to protect the sovereignty of the 12-tribe coalition under the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. He since went on to an ongoing vigilance for hunting, fishing, and other treaty rights. He still serves on the tribal business council after decades of service in many capacities. We’ll speak with Tonasket about the history of his tribe, his own call to leadership, and what’s next for his people.   Break 1 Music: Country Man (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album) Break 2 Music: Stomp Dance (song) George Hunter (artist) Haven (album)

On the cusp of what could be a new era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), some researchers are urging caution and the need for deliberate controls to keep the developing technology from robbing Indigenous people of their cultures and sovereignty. A project with three universities provides a framework of standards to prevent AI from stripping Native Americans and all other Indigenous peoples of their right to control images, language, cultural knowledge, and other components of their identities they’ve worked so hard to retain. We’ll hear about the potential benefits and threats of AI to Native people. GUESTS Danielle Boyer (Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians), robotics inventor Randy Kekoa Akee (Native Hawaiian), Julie Johnson Kidd Professor of Indigenous Governance and Development at Harvard University Michael Running Wolf (Lakota and Cheyenne), community leader in AI research Crystal Hill-Pennington, professor at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks   Break 1 Music: Diyin Creates Sound (song) Randy Boogie (artist) The Blessingway Boogie (album) Break 2 Music: Stomp Dance (song) George Hunter (artist) Haven (album)

Social worker and political newcomer Sierra Yazzie Asamoa-Tutu will take office in January 2026 as Gallup, N.M.’s first Diné city council member. Notably a city along Route 66 and on the edge of the Navajo Nation, Gallup’s population is more than half Native American. Yazzie Asamoa-Tutu is one of a number of Native candidates filling local elected seats since the mid-term elections. We’ll talk with some of them about what their hopes are for their coming term of elected public service. GUESTS Sierra Yazzie Asamoa-Tutu (Diné), city member-elect for the city of Gallup Ed Lowery Jr. (Lumbee), mayor-elect of Parkton, N.C. Chris Roberts (Choctaw), mayor of Shoreline, Wash. David Holt (Osage), mayor of Oklahoma City, Okla.   Break 1 Music: C.R.E.A.M. [Instrumental] (song) Wu-Tang Clan (artist) Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers [Instrumentals] (album) Break 2 Music: Stomp Dance (song) George Hunter (artist) Haven (album)

New works by two best-selling Cherokee writers intertwine riveting fictional narratives with a dose of Native American historical reality. Vanessa Lillie’s “The Bone Thief” continues the suspenseful trajectory of Syd Walker, a BIA archaeologist first introduced in Lillie’s novel, “Blood Sisters.” This time, the setting for the story is present-day Narragansett territory in New England and colonial mythology about the first Thanksgiving plays a part. Brandon Hobson’s “The Devil is a Southpaw” takes readers back almost four decades to the heart of Cherokee country, but readers are warned upfront that the memories portrayed now may not be reliable. Hobson takes a surrealistic detour where both Salvador Dali and a character named Brandon H. make appearances. It’s an imaginative character study that propels a gripping story of love and loss.   Break 1 Music: Ghost (song) Sierra Spirit (artist) Break 2 Music: Treemen (song) Digger Jonez (artist)