Native America Calling

Trick-or-treating and costume parties are back on this year after pandemic fits and starts. That means lots of candy and chocolate. Today on Native America Calling, in our regular feature The Menu, our resident foodie Andi Murphy takes a look at the Indigenous origins of chocolate with Julio Saqui (Mayan), founder and owner of Che’il Mayan Chocolate; checks out Itality, a new plant-based Native restaurant in Albuquerque, NM with founder and owner Tina Archuleta (Jemez Pueblo); and chats with Monie Horsechief (Pawnee and Cherokee), owner of Horsechief Catering and this year’s National Indian Taco champion. Plus, Acee Agoyo (Ohkay Owingeh/Cochiti/Kewa-New Mexico), co-founder of Indianz.com, gives us an update on the Elizabeth Hoover situation.

Tribal courts are asserting their ability to mete out justice and work toward healing. Many tribal courts are being recognized for restorative justice and for providing a means to address wrongs that go unresolved in other courts. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce speaks with Matthew Fletcher (Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians), law professor at the University of Michigan Law School and author of the “Turtle Talk” blog, and Matt Johnson (enrolled in the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla; the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation), court director of the Umatilla Tribal Court.

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act dictates remains from federal lands or in institutions receiving federal funds be returned to their tribal descendants. But what of remains from private lands or in museums that don’t take government funds? It was once common practice for archaeologists—both professional and amateur—to plunder burial sites. Some unscrupulous outlets still have ancestors’ remains on public display. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce gets a rundown of places that enjoy NAGPRA’s loopholes with Shannon Keller O’Loughlin (Choctaw), attorney and the executive director of the Association on American Indian Affairs; Kenny Bowekaty (Zuni), tour guide and archaeologist for the Pueblo of Zuni; and Bryon Schroeder, director of the Center for Big Bend Studies at Sul Russ State University.

There is no break in election campaigns anymore. Party operatives work long hours year round to find ways to bring voters to their side—or at least away from their opponents’ side. Even so, as the Midterm Election nears, information is moving at light speed and so much of it is exaggerated, misleading, and even false. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce provides tools the average citizen can use to make informed election decisions with Jason Begay (Navajo), associate professor at The University of Montana School of Journalism; Angela Willeford (Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community member), intergovernmental relations project manager at Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community; Adrian Jawort (Northern Cheyenne), transgender two-spirit journalist, fiction writer, fact checker, and research and Political Director Indigenous Transilience in Montana; and Dr. Torivio A Fodder (Taos Pueblo), manager of the Indigenous Governance Program at the University of Arizona.

Alaska’s snow crab season is cancelled for the first time ever after a mass die-off all but wiped out the crustaceans in the Bering Sea. Officials estimate the snow crab population plummeted by at least 11 billion in a relatively short time. Many experts theorize warming waters are the main culprit. The harvest is crucial for local economies. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce hears about the immediate implications and concerns about the future of crab harvests with Mike Litzow, marine biologist and director of the Kodiak Lab for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Fisheries; Phillip Zavadil, city manager of St. Paul Island, AK; and Dennis Robinson (Qawalangin Tribe), president of the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska.

Four Inuit teenage girls face off against murderous aliens that inhabit the bodies of people and animals in the film “Slash/Back”. The girls must save the world using mainly makeshift weapons, but first they will have to save their small Arctic community. The film is filled with First Nations talent both in front of and behind the camera. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce speaks with director and co-writer Nyla Innuksuk (Inuk) and lead actor Tasiana Shirley (Inuk) about the film coming to theaters, and on-demand and digital platforms.

The family of private land-owners just donated a valuable piece of land in California to the state-recognized Gabrielino Tongva tribe. It will be a place of ceremonial gatherings and conservation. Another California tribe, the Esselen, also regained ownership of more than 1,000 acres of land for conservation. Land donations by both private individuals and government entities are putting pieces of ancestral land back into tribal hands. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce talks more about the importance of donations toward restoring culturally-important land with Cris Stainbrook (Lakota), president of the Indian Land Tenure Foundation; Hillary Renick (enrolled member of the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians and descendant of the Hopland Shanel, Noyo River, and Ft. McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone communities), co-founder of the California Indian Land Institute; and David Weeden (Wampanoag), tribal council member and tribal historic preservation officer for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, chairman of the Mashpee Board of Selectmen, and a Cape Cod Commission member.

Tribal leaders make major decisions about finances, public safety, and societal well being. They need vision, dedication, and a thick skin. Wednesday on Native America Calling, in the latest conversation of our tribal leadership series, Shawn Spruce talks with tribal president Kevin Killer (Oglala Sioux), Chairman Jordan Dresser (Northern Arapaho), and Tribal Chief Mike Williams Sr. (Yupiit Nation) about what drives them to be in a position of authority and how they prepare for inevitable criticisms.

Getting signed to a college sports team is a dream for many Native athletes. It appeals to the competitive spirit and can be a major higher education financial boost. But it comes with responsibilities, pressures, and the possibility for injury. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce explores what it takes to reach and sustain NCAA status with Bennae Calac (Pauma Band of Luiseno Indians), co-founder, president, and executive director of the 7G Foundation; Zach Blankenship (Cherokee and Navajo), freshman at Oklahoma State University; and Amil Mitchell (Nez Perce), shooting guard for LeMoyne-Owen College.

Traditional Mohegan stories and William Shakespeare don’t automatically come to mind as complimentary influences. But Madeline Sayet (Mohegan) draws on these and other creative forces for her one-woman show "Where We Belong". It premiered at Shakespeare's Globe theater in London and is now headed to New York City's Public Theater. Sayet is an accomplished writer, playwright, and actress. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce catches up with her current show and her creative spirit, as part of our ongoing series Native In The Spotlight.