Native America Calling

Anime, a style of Japanese animation, is wildly popular everywhere. It’s no wonder some contemporary Native artists draw from anime styles and vibes for their own works.

Today on Native America Calling, Andi Murphy talks with Indigenous graphic artist and designer Ovila Mailhot (Stó:lō and Nlaka’pamux Nations), comic book artist Kayla Shaggy (Diné/Anishinaabe) from Triple Jeopardy Publications, and Dimi Macheras (Ahtna-Athabascan), artist, illustrator, and graphic novelist with 80% Studios, about their love for anime and manga and how they implement the style in their own storytelling.

Indigenous leaders are among those reflecting on the legacy of Queen Elizabeth II. Her supporters mourn her recent death. Many others take the opportunity to question her role in important issues such as reconciliation for Indigenous peoples in Canada. The Queen and the rest of the Royal Family are largely figureheads for the United Kingdom, but have a significant platform for advancing important causes. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce examines the late Queen’s 70-year reign and the prospect of a new British monarch from an Indigenous perspective with Adam Olsen (member of the Tsartlip First Nation), member of the Legislative Assembly for Saanich North and the Islands; Dr. Natasha Lightfoot, professor of history at Columbia University; Niigaan Sinclair (Anishinaabe), columnist for the Winnipeg Free Press and professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Manitoba; and Nancy Kelsey (Anishinaabe of Little River Band of Ottawa Indians and Indigenous Salvadoran), columnist for Cleveland.com.

A new survey finds Native American renters faced evictions at a far higher rate than other ethnic groups over the past year. The report comes as the U.S. Census Bureau estimates there could be as many as 3.8 million evictions by October. At the same time, there is some glimmer of hope for renters. Realtor.com shows average rent prices were mostly flat compared to a year ago and employment data shows the labor market is rebounding following the pandemic. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce talks about the status of the rental market and evictions with Earl Tulley (Navajo), Emergency Rent Assistance Program manager for the Navajo Nation; Tony Walters (citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma), executive director of the Native American Indian Housing Council; Coya Delfina Crespin (Acjachemen Nation), senior metro community organizer for the Community Alliance of Tenants; and Elizabeth Elliott (they/them), executive director for the Northern Circle Indian Housing Authority.

Native borrowers have a number of choices beyond the bank loan to finance big items like homes and starting a business. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce looks at who’s eligible for various alternative financing options and whether they’re appropriate for your next major endeavor with Jaime Gloshay (Navajo, White Mountain Apache, and Kiowa), co-founder of Native Women Lead; Jodi Fisher (Wyandotte), senior projects manager at First Nations Community Financial; and Russ Seagle, executive director of the Sequoyah Fund.

Nicole Aunapu Mann is scheduled to become the first Indigenous woman in space later this month with the launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew Dragon. The Wailacki Nation astronaut is headed to the International Space Station as the mission commander. The space flight also comes as NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope is providing awe-inspiring images and scientific revelations that promise new insights into the origins of the universe. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce hears from Dr. Aaron Yazzie (Diné), mechanical engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory; George Gorospe (Laguna Pueblo), senior research engineer at NASA Ames Research Center; and Edward Gonzales (Apache and Mexican), Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Lead for NASA about how Native people are playing bigger roles in major space exploration advances.

TheRA11N, Pooky G, She Rōze, and Sten Joddi are some of the artists who won big this year at the annual International Indigenous Hip Hop Awards. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce gets to know some of the artists and hear their perspectives of the awards and the direction of Native Hip Hop with Melody McArthur (Big Stone Cree Nation), Best R&B Single of the Year winner; Sten Joddi (Muscogee Creek from Oklahoma), Best Male Artist of the Year winner, tattoo artist, musician, rapper, actor, and entrepreneur; Roni Gauthier AKA Pooky G (Treaty 6, Misquitchi weskiegen First Nation), Best Hip Hop Album of the Year winner, hip hop artist, model, and actor; and Michelle Lee Runns AKA MZShellz (Cree), Best Female Artist of the Year winner, hip-hop artist, and owner of “Native by Nature” apparel.

A number of Native DIY-ers are taking on what is traditionally the largest expense of their lives: their own home. By putting the work in, homeowners are reducing their mortgages - or eliminating it altogether. One initiative also has home owner/builders share their experience with others just getting started. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce speaks with those who are sweating it out like Carmirae Holguin (Diné), co-founder and executive director of the Nááts'íilid Initiative, and Bettina Sandoval (Pueblo), who is in the process of building her own home.

The failed water treatment system in Jackson, MS. disproportionately affects that state’s Black residents. The crisis there is a reminder of the dozens of failed drinking water systems for tribes across the country. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce examines the lingering problem of failing to provide the most basic utility for all of America’s residents with State Rep. Ronnie Crudup Jr. (D-MS), executive director for New Horizon Ministries Incorporated; Dr. Carrie Nuva Joseph (Hopi), director of the department of natural resources for the Hopi tribe; Clayton Dumont Jr. (Klamath), chairman of the Klamath Tribes; Iqaluit Mayor Kenny Bell; and Dr. Tommy Rock (Diné), environmental scientist and postdoctoral researcher fellow at Princeton University.

As the nation’s mental health crisis worsens, Native American youth are those at highest risk. Native Americans and Alaska Natives have the highest suicide rate of any other group. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list suicide as the second leading cause of death for Native people between the ages of 10 and 34. National experts warn mental health has reached emergency crisis levels. The good news is there are increasing numbers of tools and methods to fight the problem. Tuesday on Native America Calling, as part of National Suicide Prevention Week, Shawn Spruce looks at the factors contributing to the problem and what is available to turn it around with Cheyenne Kippenberger (Seminole), communications coordinator for the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute; Dr. Mark Standing Eagle Baez (Mohawk, Pawnee, Coahuiltecan and Mexican descent), assistant professor of Counseling and Clinical Psychology at Bemidji State University; and behavioral health consultant Ray Daw (Diné).

From the rich colors used in Navajo weaving to all the colors of the rainbow beaded into medallions and regalia, Indigenous hues carry meaning, stories, and emotion. Some colors specific to tribes represent the available animals, plants, and minerals used to make them. This Labor Day on Native America Calling in a special encore presentation, Shawn Spruce talks with Native artists about traditional and contemporary meanings, sources, and uses of color: Anong Beam (M’Chigeeng), founder of Beam Paints; Michael Sheyahshe (Caddo), founder and technologist at alterNative Media; Zefren Anderson (Diné), experimental archaeological weaver and silversmith.