Native America Calling

A number of Native artists are among those perfecting the growing trend of public murals. They’re putting Native inspiration on a large scale. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce hears from Native muralists Michael Toya (Isleta Pueblo), Moira Villiard (Ojibwe), and Andrew Morrison (Haida, San Carlos Apache) about what it takes to work in the public sphere facing challenges of both size and materials.

Pope Francis is set to visit with First Nations leaders again. This time in Canada where he’s expected to issue a formal apology for Catholic Church’s role in running residential schools. Today on Native America Calling, Andi Murphy discusses how a formal papal apology fits into Indigenous healing and Canada’s truth and reconciliation process with Andrew Carrier (Métis), vice president of the Manitoba Métis Federation, the national government of the Red River Metis; Angela White (Snuneymuxw), executive director of the Indian Residential School Survivors Society of British Columbia; and Michelle Schenandoah (Oneida), executive and creative director of Rematriation magazine.

The 1980s saw the rise of gaming on Native nations, a momentum that brought about the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988 with revenue quickly hitting $100 million. Wilma Mankiller became the first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation and Ben Nighthorse Campbell started his long and historic career as an elected leader. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce has the next installment of our new series Through the Decades with Dr. James Riding In (Pawnee), a retired professor and founding member of the American Indian Studies program at Arizona State University focusing on repatriation, sacred sites protection, and Pawnee history and culture; Larry Nesper, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and American Indian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of the book The Walleye War: The Struggle for Ojibwe Spearfishing and Treaty Rights; and America Meredith (Cherokee), writer, visual artist, independent curator, and publishing editor of “First American Art Magazine”.

Cherokee pitcher Ryan Helsley is headed to his first MLB All Star game. The St. Louis Cardinals’ flame-throwing, right-handed reliever from Tahlequah, OK is having a career year with a miniscule 0.69 ERA and fastballs topping out at 103mph. Helsley, along with fellow Cherokee reliever Adrian Houser on the Milwaukee Brewers, are the two Native players in the show right now and are part of a long line of Native Major Leaguers providing inspiration for players on reservation diamonds all over the country. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce takes us out to the ballgame with  Ryan's dad Jason Helsley (Cherokee), who is in Los Angeles for All-Star game; Brandon Bailey (Chicksaw), a pitcher in Cincinnati Reds organization; Kailyn Bearpaw (Euchee and Creek), rightfielder for the University of Tulsa and member of the American Athletic Conference All-Rookie Team; and Curt Brown, history columnist for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and champion for the often-forgotten career of Native Hall of Famer Charles Bender.

Chances are, at some point in your life, you will get a per-capita payment, an insurance payout, or an inheritance. Even a tax refund can be a large amount of cash for most people. A larger-than-usual payout offers a chance to buy a car, a boat or some other material item. It can also provide a chance to invest, start a business, or reduce your debt. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce looks at how to prepare for when you have more money with which you know what to do with Leilani Wilson Walkush (Tlingit), chief compliance officer for Breakwater Investment Group; Miranda Lente (Isleta Pueblo), loan officer for Tiwa Lending Services; and Yolanda Pushetonequa (Meskwaki).

A Michigan non-profit is taking on the task of forming a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to help heal from past Indian Boarding School abuses. The state of Maine previously mounted its own effort to help move on from Native child welfare traumas. Both are smaller-scale attempts to confront and process past abuses in the absence of a formal federal system to do so. Today on Native America Calling, Andi Murphy speaks with two folx from National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition: Theresa Sheldon (Tulalip), director of policy and advocacy, and Lacey Kinnart (Chippewa), program and operations coordinator.

The government of Canada will pay $20 billion dollars to Indigenous children and their families following a historic settlement. The agreement, just finalized, compensates Indigenous children harmed through discriminatory practices by the First Nations Child and Family Services from 1991 to 2022. Another $20 billion will go toward reforming the federal child welfare service that allowed thousands of Indigenous children to fall through gaps. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce discusses the history that led up to the settlement and the changes in store that could make a difference going forward with Mary Burton (Cree), executive director and co-founder of Fearless R2W; Cora Morgan (Sagkeeng), First Nations Family Advocate from the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs; and Dr. Jacqueline Marie Maurice (Métis descendant), CEO of the Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation.

Watergate, Vietnam, and disco are some of the major highlights that define the 1970s. For Native people, it’s the decade of the Wounded Knee occupation, Self-determination, the federal Boldt decision, and Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love”. Today on Native America Calling, as we continue our trip through the decades, Shawn Spruce looks at some of the highs and lows of the ‘70s through a Native lens with Dr. David Wilkins (Lumbee), professor at the University of Richmond; Dr. LaNada War Jack (Shoshone-Bannock), writer, activist, and the chair of Indians of All Tribes in San Francisco, CA; Vincent Schilling (Akwesasne Mohawk), editor of NativeViewPoint.com and certified Rotten Tomatoes critic; and Pat Vegas (Mexican/Yaqui/Shoshone descent), singer, songwriter, producer, and bass player for the band Redbone.

A citizen of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin just walked free after serving 18 years in prison for a wrongful conviction. Danny Wilber (Oneida) spent those 18 years behind bars working to prove his innocence. With help from his partner and legal representation, he was recently exonerated. His journey sheds light on the difficulty that those who are improperly convicted face to prove their innocence. Tuesday on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce speaks with Wilber about his experience and how he maintained hope as well as Lacey Kinnart (Chippewa), program and operations coordinator at National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition.

Tribal leaders and legal scholars are preparing for what they say are the significant and long lasting effects of the Supreme Court’s decision in Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta. The High Court ruled that states have jurisdiction on tribal land for crimes committed by non-Native people. The implications have yet to play out, but experts are raising the alarm about a major departure in the legal and practical understanding of sovereignty. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce gets additional perspectives on the ruling and discusses the strategies tribes are considering in the coming days and years with Rebecca Nagle (Cherokee), writer, advocate, and host of This Land podcast; Robert Miller (Eastern Shawnee), law professor at Arizona State University and tribal judge; and Elizabeth Hidalgo Reese (Nambe Pueblo), assistant professor at Stanford Law School.