Native America Calling

In the Southwest, the Navajo shoe game is a big draw for storytelling and games in winter. It’s essentially a guessing game but it’s laced with songs, origin stories and some valuable life lessons. In the Great Lakes, males play Makazinitaagewin, or moccasin game. It’s a different kind of guessing game with as much culture, music and community bonding. We’ll hear more about shoe games and how they incorporate and preserve Native culture.

Tiffany Midge’s (Hunkpapa Lakota) 2019 collection of personal essays, “Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese’s,” is her own take on identity, politics and colonialism. It adds up to a revealing and often humorous memoir for the award-winning writer of poetry, opinion and humor pieces and social media posts. Her work garnered a fellowship at the University of Kansas and a column in “Indian Country Today” and she served as the poet laureate for Moscow, Idaho. Among the achievements she lists in her bio are a “sparkling personality,” a “member of the Raiders of the Lost Arch Support,” and was “voted least likely to be impaled by Narwals.” Midge is our January Native In the Spotlight.

Homeless advocates in Minneapolis say the city’s plans to help Native homeless people fall short. Activists recently occupied the location that previously held a homeless encampment of mostly Native people. The original encampment prompted city leaders to try and work toward a solution that includes construction of a temporary shelter. In Seattle, homeless Natives can now find temporary housing in modular trailers. The housing village offers more than just a place to stay. It’s part of a program that includes culturally appropriate services to help residents find permanent homes. In this hour we'll explore what is being done to address homelessness in Native America and the pervasive challenges that remain.

The road to Hawaii’s Mauna Kea is open for the first time since July. Backers of the Thirty Meter Telescope say they’re putting off plans for the $1.6 billion project for at least the next two months. Officials withdrew any law enforcement presence that has been in place since opponents of the project blocked the road prevent construction crews from reaching the top of the sacred mountain. Opponents of the project say they have time now to switch focus to providing a more permanent solution. We’ll get an update on the on-going fight over construction of the new telescope on Mauna Kea.

Are you a dog person or a cat person? Maybe you’re more partial to hedgehogs or iguanas. Our pets earn a special place in our hearts and it’s time to give them some attention. Whether you like goldfish or golden retrievers, our guests will offer insights on why pets are so important in our lives and give advice on how to best take care of the animal members of our households.

Every January is a time for new beginnings and resolutions. We’ll get you off on the right foot with some positive vibes from some inspirational people. Whether it’s studying harder, finding more patience or reaching physical fitness goals, our guests can offer some encouraging words to get you off on the right foot.

It was a relatively simple act: Ponca Chief Standing Bear left his reservation in 1878 to bury his son on the tribe’s ancestral land in Nebraska. But the journey would lead to a major federal court decision establishing Native Americans as people under the law. The U.S. Government argued “an Indian is neither a person nor a citizen.” The state of Nebraska is honoring Standing Bear as a civil rights leader with a statue in the U.S. Capitol. We’ll review Standing Bear’s legacy and his remarkable accomplishment during a troubling time in history. (This is an encore show from Dec. 11, 2019).

It’s time to turn the page on another year. We’ll help you visualize your new year with the 2020 Salina Bookshelf Calendar. It is not only a look at the months ahead, but also a lesson in the Navajo Nation’s culture and language. It lists the months and days of the year and marks the moon cycles. At the same time it highlights the work of renowned Navajo artists including Baje Whitethorne Sr., Emmett Navakuku, Peterson Yazzie and Corey Begay. We’ll start counting the days of 2020 with our December Book of the Month.

We’re taking time to celebrate the lives of some of the Native people we lost this year.

The life of hip hop artist Wake Self, whose given name was Andrew Martinez (Apache) was tragically cut short before his latest album was set to release. We’ll talk with his close friend Def-i about his life and legacy. We’ll also remember other notable people who died, and we’ll take your calls.

The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians is finally federally recognized. We'll talk with the tribe's chairman about this hard fought journey. Also we'll check in with reporter Tripp Crouse (Ojibwe) about a piece in High Country News on young climate activists. And Mark Trahant (Shoshone Bannock) from Indian Country Today will join for a wrap up of the big Native news stories of 2019. It's our December news round up.  These stories and more in our round-up of important Native news.