Native America Calling

The Trump Administration promises new efforts to clean up mineral mining sites that continue to contaminate water, soil and air decades after the companies that started them pulled out. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it’s opening up offices to focus on tracking and cleaning up the environmental threats from abandoned mines in several Western states. There are more than 500 abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation alone. Tribal leaders and environmental advocates are cautiously optimistic, praising any progress toward addressing the lingering threat of former gold, mercury, uranium and molybdenum mines. But critics remain skeptical about the commitment for taking on such an expansive and expensive operation.

There is no national COVID-19 testing strategy and so procedures and results vary from place to place. Recently, the nation’s top public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, faced backlash after recommending against testing people who don’t show symptoms, even though there’s evidence asymptomatic people can spread the disease. As many tribes struggle to get control over the coronavirus, consistent testing is among the most effective tools they have. We’ll check in on how COVID-19 testing has changed since the start of the pandemic, and how testing informs efforts to prevent more infections.

Dozens of Oklahoma tribal members convicted of crimes in state court are asking for a second look at their cases in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark McGirt vs. Oklahoma decision in July. But the decision that reaffirmed Muskogee Reservation status has implications well beyond criminal convictions. Tribes and state officials are now working to map out how the decision affects key areas like taxes, Indian child welfare and public safety. We’ll get an update on what potential changes tribal leaders and scholars see in the wake of this major victory for tribal sovereignty and jurisdiction.

Storytelling has always been an important tradition for Indigenous people. And modern personal technology provides a means to share that tradition more broadly. A collaborative effort by KSUT Tribal Radio and Rocky Mountain PBS aims to amplify Native voices by collecting personal stories from Native people of all ages and backgrounds. Each storyteller is encouraged to talk about what they think is important. The results—individually produced short videos, audio recordings, and even photographs—will be compiled in the project called “Native Lens.” We’ll talk about the power of stories and the way they help others understand Native people and issues.

The four Native Americans in Congress are poised for re-election in November. And there are dozens of other new Native candidates to keep an eye on all over the country. One, Christina Haswood (Diné), won her primary race and is the presumptive winner since she has no major party challengers for the Kansas House of Representatives seat. If elected, the 26-year-old will be the youngest sitting legislator in the state. She’s one of four Native candidates in Kansas following the primaries. In Wyoming, Lynnette Grey Bull (Northern Arapaho/Hunkpapa Lakota) won the Democratic primary for the only congressional district in the state. Local media report she is the only Native woman to ever run for federal office in Wyoming. We’ll take a look at some notable Native candidates heading to November.

The death of Chadwick Boseman sparks a new national discussion about colon cancer. It also highlights racial disparities for what doctors say is among the most preventable and curable cancers. Boseman, the actor known for the lead role in the film, Black Panther, was only 43 when he died of the disease. Native American colon cancer rates are about the same as other minority groups, which are generally higher than the population as a whole. We’ll get reminders on prevention, treatment and warning signs.

Another series of destructive fires in California prompt new questions about how best to prevent and prepare for wildfires. Many of the state’s tribes have cultural fire management practices that go back centuries, and include minimizing wildfire risks through controlled burns, something California officials once banned. We’ll take a look at wildfires in California and elsewhere through a Native lens and hear from tribes that are on the ground about what it takes to heal with fire rather than just fight it.

The dead speak to Renee “Cash” Black Bear in her dreams. They help her solve gruesome murders in the Upper Midwest. She is the protagonist in Marcie Rendon’s (White Earth Anishinaabe) Cash Blackbear Mysteries Series who brings Native knowledge to a crowded genre that so often gets it wrong. In addition to writing mysteries and short stories, Rendon is a playwright, poet and educator. She is a champion of other Native artists. She was just awarded the McKnight Foundation’s Distinguished Artist Award. We’ll talk with her about how she created Cash and the many other characters and plot lines she’s developed.

(Pre-recorded show) Since 2007, the Leadership Institute has invited Native American high school and college students in New Mexico to its Summer Policy Academy out of the Santa Fe Indian School. The students team up with professionals in different fields including law and cultural revitalization. The Academy encourages the students to draw from the richness of their culture to build strong leadership skills. The goal is to get them thinking critically about how public policy affects their communities and bring about positive changes. We’ll hear from the organizers of this unique opportunity about utilizing the gifts handed down from past generations to fortify a resilient future.

Creating animated films takes months of artistic and technical work; from character design and storyboards to voiceover recording and digitizing. Native artists are among those bringing unique and compelling stories to life with hand-drawn, digital, stop-motion and clay animation. We’ll talk with Indigenous animators about their passion and get a look behind the scenes.