Native America Calling

Reputable, community minded financial services and tools are a prerequisite for a healthy local economy. They also play a vital role in empowering Native people with skills and resources to manage money while making informed financial decisions. But not every Native community has a bank where people can open a savings account, an ATM to make a deposit or withdraw cash, or a financial institution that offers home loans, credit cards, and other types of consumer credit. We talk about the importance of financial services and technology that meet the needs of tribal citizens and what some tribes and native led organizations are doing to bridge the gap.

Reputable, community minded financial services and tools are a prerequisite for a healthy local economy. They also play a vital role in empowering Native people with skills and resources to manage money while making informed financial decisions. But not every Native community has a bank where people can open a savings account, an ATM to make a deposit or withdraw cash, or a financial institution that offers home loans, credit cards, and other types of consumer credit. We'll talk about the importance of financial services and technology that meet the needs of tribal citizens and what some tribes and native led organizations are doing to bridge the gap.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is often thought of as a disorder affecting children. But adults live with this condition too. It’s notoriously difficult to diagnose, but adult ADHD symptoms include impulsiveness, poor time management skills and trouble coping with stress. That all has implications for maintaining regular work schedules and social interactions.

It’s the time of year to throw our mortar boards in the air and mark new educational milestones. It’s also a time to fight back against school officials trying to keep Native students from wearing eagle feathers at graduation ceremonies. For many high schools and colleges this year is the first in-person graduation celebration in three years. We’ll take a snapshot of what the class of 2022 has in store.

The U.S. Department of Interior released its much-anticipated report chronicling a century and a half of widespread abuses at federally sanctioned boarding schools. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland now promises a year-long tour of the country, establishing an oral record, from a Native viewpoint, of a devastating period in history. As important and historic as the DOI report is, how much confidence should we put into the federal government’s role in mitigating the trauma?

A congressional report lists a number of persistent barriers for Native students when it comes to higher education. Because of that, Native people have statistically lower educational attainment and lower incomes over their lifetimes. We assess those barriers and what’s being done to help students achieve their highest educational potential.

The story of Mohawk ironworkers building the skyline of New York is legendary. Mohawk tradesmen battled prejudice, immigration officials and perilous working conditions to continue a century-old steel construction tradition. It’s physically demanding and dangerous work, and many Mohawks made it their niche. We remember the contributions of Native steelworkers and find the modern examples of their work.

If you know the names Brian Trottier, Reggie Leach, and Theo Fleury, you are a hockey fan. If you don’t know those names, you can look forward to hearing about a sport where Indigenous players excel. Many NHL standouts are Native. And the sport has long been an outlet for Indigenous youth from the reservations […]

Fire season is well under way in parts of the country. Tribal forestry officials are watching the landscape, and Native firefighters are already on the scene at several hot spots, trying to contain forest fires. We get updates on where the problem areas are and what the experts are doing to try and head off […]

There was never a significant Indigenous settlement near Manitou Springs, Colorado. But the Manitou Cliff Dwellings site is drawing 100,000 paying tourists a year with the promise of seeing "ancestral Puebloan ruins that date back 800 to 1000 years". The structures are really non-Native interpretations of a once-thriving pueblo that organizers built nearly a century ago using materials stolen from their original site. Those original organizers looted and destroyed the pueblo ruins under the guise of protecting them from being looted and destroyed. We hear about the importance of encouraging tourism and other experiences that originate from Native sources.