Organizers in Chicago just broke ground on a 45-unit affordable housing project specifically for Native Americans that is scheduled to open this year. The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians just cut the ribbon in October for 40 new affordable housing units in Salem, Oreg. And Oakland, Calif. is working on 76 new homes for low-income Native Americans attached to a Native health facility. The surge in projects specifically geared toward urban Native Americans is meant to offset barriers that disproportionately affect their ability to keep a roof over their heads. We’ll hear about the factors fueling the surge in new affordable housing projects in various cities.

GUESTS

Shelly Tucciarelli (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin), executive director of Visionary Ventures NFP Corp. and vice president of the Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative

Sky Waters (Osage), community development director at the Native American Youth and Family Center

Anthony Guzman (Northern Ute), chief cultural officer at the Oakland, Calif., Native American Health Center

Bryan Singer (Crow), entrepreneur development specialist for the Montana Department of Commerce Indian Country Economic Development programs and member of the Mountain Shadow Association board

Break 1 Music: Journey Home (song) Susan Aglukark (artist) The Crossing (album)

Break 2 Music: Vipismal – The Hummingbird Song (song) Earl Ray (artist) Traditional Songs Of The Salt River Pima (album)

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are accused of forcefully dragging a Native American man from car and detaining him during the increasing tensions in Minneapolis, Minn. More than 2,000 ICE agents and other federal officers descended on the city in what the Trump administration insists is an immigration enforcement action. At least five Native Americans have been detained, several others have had confrontations with ICE agents. The crackdown is roundly condemned by local and state community leaders. We’ll talk to some of those caught up in the action and what more might be in store elsewhere.

We’ll also hear from the leader of Virginia’s Rappahannock Tribe about their opposition to a plan by county officials to use 9,000,000 gallons of water from the tribe’s namesake river for a proposed data center, a plan that tribal leaders say was drafted without proper consultation.

GUESTS

Little Crow Bellecourt (Bad River), executive director of Indigenous Protector Movement

Shawntia Sosa-Clara (Red Lake Nation descendant), aunt to Jose Ramirez

Amelia Schafer (Brothertown Indian Nation descendant), North Central Bureau correspondent for ICT News

Chief Anne Richardson (Rappahannock)

Break 1 Music: 500 Years O’ Blues (song) Digging Roots (artist) Seeds (album)

Break 2 Music: Vipismal – The Hummingbird Song (song) Earl Ray (artist) Traditional Songs Of The Salt River Pima (album)

The celebrations of the country’s independence are not the same for Native Americans. As a year of events, re-enactments, seminars, and commemorative coin creation gets under way to mark 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, many Native Americans are asking where they stand in the historical narrative. Some states have developed dialogues with tribes as they plan out the year’s events. Some tribes have a more direct connection to the resulting Revolutionary War than others. We’ll get an idea what Native citizens are anticipating as the country collectively honors what it calls “the Founding Fathers”.

GUESTS

Darren Bonaparte (Akwesasne Mohawk), director of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe’s tribal historic preservation office

Andrei Jacobs (Orutsararmuit Native Council), former director of Tribal Partnerships for America250, freelance consultant, and content creator

Robert Lilligren (White Earth Ojibwe Nation), chair of the Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors of Minneapolis and president and CEO of the Native American Community Development Institute

Break 1 Music: Water by Jim Pepper [Arranged by Jhoely Garay] (song) Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band (artist) Live at Joe’s Pub, NYC on January 13th, 2024 (performance)

Break 2 Music: Put Your Feathers On (song) Blue Moon Marquee & Northern Cree (artist) Get Your Feathers Ready (Album)

The U.S. Postal Service just implemented a seemingly minor rule that is worrying Native American voting rights advocates. They and others say it is among a number of changes that add to the barriers Native voters face getting their ballots counted come this November. The new rule changes when mail, including mail-in ballots, are postmarked, shortening the time frame for when the ballots are deemed valid. It applies most directly to voters in states with large Native populations, including California, Arizona, and New Mexico along with nearly a dozen others. We’ll talk with Native voting rights advocates about this rule change and other challenges to the Native voting access in 2026.

GUESTS

Jacqueline de León (Isleta Pueblo), senior staff attorney for the Native American Rights Fund

OJ Semans Sr. (Rosebud Sioux), co-executive director of Four Directions Vote

Jonnette Paddy (Navajo), communications associate for Indigenous Voices of Nevada

Michelle Sparck (Qissunamiut Tribe of Chevak), director of Get Out the Native Vote

Break 1 Music:  Get Up Stand Up (song) Bailey Wiley, Che Fu, King Kapisi, Laughton Kora, Maisey Rika & Tiki Taane (artist)

Break 2 Music: Put Your Feathers On (song) Blue Moon Marquee & Northern Cree (artist) Get Your Feathers Ready (Album)

Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Northern Cheyenne) is remembered as an effective congressional leader who passionately advocated for Native American issues. He served in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Among other things, he was instrumental in the political advocacy for establishing the National Museum of the American Indians (NMAI).

Harvey Pratt (Cheyenne and Arapaho) was a national voice in support of Native American arts. A large part of his career was as a police sketch artist. He also headed the Indian Arts and Crafts Board for a decade. A former U.S. Marine, he was an advocate for military veterans. His design for a Native American Veterans Memorial was chosen and built on the NMAI campus in 2022.

GUESTS

Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee), president of the Morning Star Institute and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Rick West (Cheyenne and Arapaho), founding director and director emeritus of NMAI

Shanan Campbell (Northern Cheyenne), founder and CEO of Sorrel Sky Gallery and daughter of Ben Nighthorse Campbell

Gina Pratt (Muscogee and Yuchi), wife of Harvey Pratt

Nathan Pratt (Cheyenne and Arapaho), artist and son of Harvey Pratt

Dee Cordry, former Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and author of “Children of White Thunder”

Break 1 Music: I Walk with You (song) Joseph Fire Crow (artist) Face the Music (album)

Break 2 Music: Put Your Feathers On (song) Blue Moon Marquee & Northern Cree (artist) Get Your Feathers Ready (Album)

Anishinaabe call the cluster of seven stars in the winter sky Bugonagiizhig, or “Hole in the Sky”. Navajos say it is Dilyéhé, or “Sparkling.” And Senecas say it is the Seven Dancers. On conventional Western star maps, the cluster is known as the Pleiades, a name that refers to Greek mythology. Prominent during winter months, these stars bookmark the winter season and are important symbols for many tribes’ origin stories. We’ll hear about those stories and the teachings connected to the Pleiades.

GUESTS

Michael Waasegiizhig Price (Wikwemikong First Nation), Anishinaabe culture and language keeper

Cal Nez (Navajo), fine arts artist and graphic designer, Navajo spiritualist

Jamie Jacobs (Tonawanda Seneca), managing curator for the Rock Foundation collections at the Rochester Museum and Science Center

Break 1 Music: Starry Night (song) Dallas Arcand (artist) Modern Day Warrior (album)

Break 2 Music: Put Your Feathers On (song) Blue Moon Marquee & Northern Cree (artist) Get Your Feathers Ready (Album)

Elaine Miles (Cayuse and Nez Perce) didn’t seek out her breakout role as the humorously deadpan Lingít office manager Marilyn Whirlwind in the hit TV show, “Northern Exposure“, but after she was cast and became a beloved addition to the show, acting was her vocation from then on. She had a hilarious presence in the classic movie, “Smoke Signals“, and just appeared on the acclaimed HBO series, “The Last of Us“. Behind the scenes, Miles is an advocate for Indigenous rights and a steady voice of support for Native veterans. She is our January Native In The Spotlight.

Break 1 Music: Mama (song) LOV (artist) Mama (single)

Break 2 Music: Put Your Feathers On (song) Blue Moon Marquee & Northern Cree (artist) Get Your Feathers Ready (Album)

Whether you view the New Year as a good time for a hard reboot or just a few tweaks here and there, a few words of encouragement can’t hurt. A lot of people see January as the time to launch a new exercise routine or start being a more patient parent. It doesn’t necessarily take an established place of worship or hours in a quiet room to engage with your own internal strengths. We have a panel of experts in mindfulness and using one’s own cultural connections to help stay on a more positive and meaningful path.

GUESTS

D.J. Eagle Bear Vanas (Odawa), motivational storyteller, host of the PBS special, “Discovering your Warrior Spirit”, and author of “Warrior Within” from Penguin Random House

Michael Yellow Bird (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara), professor at the faculty of social work at the University of Manitoba

Eduardo Duran (Apache, Tewa, and Lakota), psychologist and author of “Healing the Soul Wound”

Break 1 Music: On the Road Missing Home [Corn Dance] (song) Sheldon Sundown (artist) Hand Drum/Smoke N’ Round Dance (album)

Break 2 Music: Oshki Manitou (song) Chuck Copenace (artist) Oshki Manitou (album)

A team of researchers are actively sifting through archival documents, artifacts, even artwork to expand the story of Indigenous slavery. The Native Bound Unbound project includes interactive maps, digitized documents, and recent interviews with descendants whose ancestors endured enslavement. The publicly available digital archive aims to document every instance of Indigenous slavery in the Western Hemisphere to illuminate where and when slavery took place, and the lasting effects for Indigenous communities and their descendants. This is an encore show so we won’t be taking calls from listeners.

GUESTS

Philip J. Deloria (Yankton Dakota), professor of history at Harvard University

Theresa Pasqual (Acoma Pueblo), executive vice president of Indigenous Affairs at the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center and the former tribal historic preservation officer for the Pueblo of Acoma

Estevan Rael-Galvez, executive director of Native Bound Unbound: Archive of Indigenous Slavery

Break 1 Music: Crossroad Blues (song) Lakota John (artist) Lakota John and Kin (album)

Break 2 Music: Oshki Manitou (song) Chuck Copenace (artist) Oshki Manitou (album)

The scariest clown to ever appear on screen drives a storyline involving a fictional tribe in Maine. “IT: Welcome to Derry” uses horror writer Stephen King’s 1986 novel as a jumping off point. The hit HBO Max miniseries provides a new Native American theme to the plot with some veteran Native talent in front of and behind the camara. It is one of the notable projects from 2025, a list that also includes Sterlin Harjo’s “The Lowdown”, the TIFF Best Canadian Feature winner, “Uiksaringitara,” and SXSW Documentary Feature Special Jury Award winner, “Remaining Native.” We’ll recall some of the best film and TV projects from the year and see what’s in store for 2026.

GUESTS

Johnnie Jae (Otoe-Missouria and Choctaw), founder of Red Pop! News

 Jason Asenap (Comanche and Muscogee), writer, critic, and filmmaker

Sunrise Tippeconnie (Commanche, Navajo and Cherokee), director of programming at deadCenter Film and co-host of the Reel Indigenous Podcast

Kimberly Guerrero (Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and Salish and Kootenai), actress, screenwriter, and professor at the University of California, Riverside

Break 1 Music: Put Your Feathers On (song) Blue Moon Marquee & Northern Cree (artist) Get Your Feathers Ready (Album)

Break 2 Music: Oshki Manitou (song) Chuck Copenace (artist) Oshki Manitou (album)

Favorite films and television shows of the year

Sunrise Tippeconnie:

Jason Asenap:

Johnnie Jae:

Here’s an extended interview with “IT: Welcome to Derry” star Kimberly Guerrero speaking on her role of Rose in the television series. She starts off describing her early career in Hollywood.