Native America Calling

Some Alaskan villages have no over-land roads so they rely heavily on air transportation. The small aircraft that fly people and supplies in and out of Alaska communities and wilderness are commonly known as bush planes. We’ll talk with Native bush pilots about their passion for flying, what it takes to become a pilot, and hear their stories of memorable flights in Alaska’s renowned and sometimes unforgiving landscape.

It’s National Radio Day and we’re celebrating by highlighting a small sample of the radio stations that maintain an important place in their communities. Native language, music and news are just part of the line-up that goes out over the air every day—all at no cost to listeners. We’ll talk with some of the dedicated people who keep broadcast radio going. They range from low-power stations that have a listening area of a few blocks, to established stations heard miles away. In an age of internet streams, podcasts and digital television, radio continues to serve an important purpose.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are gearing up for a celebration in North Carolina this weekend to honor the return of a sacred mound. It’s been a long journey for the Nikwasi Mound that was once the center of a Cherokee town, but is now surrounded by two busy roads. The mound was nearly bulldozed at one point. Now, after years of discussions, the city is transferring control of the land to a non-profit run by tribal members. It’s the last of three mounds to be returned. We’ll hear about the mound’s unique history and the years-long effort to get it returned and protected.

Native social media was abuzz when Shirlene (Navajo) confronted her catfish, Mya (Navajo/Zuni), on the MTV show “Catfish.” Catfishing refers to taking on a fake personality—usually online—to lure another person into a relationship, sometimes for months or even years. It’s a form of bullying that frequently causes a lot of emotional pain and anger. We’ll talk about the ramifications of catfishing and how people can protect themselves against online bullying.

A place where Maori first settled and thrived in New Zealand is the site of a proposed housing development. Protesters have been camping out at Ihumatao for almost three years. They want to halt plans to sell off the land that Maori people say was illegally seized by the government more than a century ago. Auckland city officials are in talks to try and resolve the dispute. At the same time, demonstrators are also calling for a change in the country’s child welfare system that puts Maori children in state care at a far greater rate than the rest of the population. We’ll hear more about New Zealand Maori people speaking out to protect sacred land and culture.

Alaska higher education officials are breathing a relative sigh of relief after they worked out a budget deal with the governor. The University of Alaska system will not accommodate the $136 million state funding cut this year that Governor Mike Dunleavy first dished out in a series of vetoes. But the system still faces significant funding reductions over the next three years. We will talk with university officials and students to see what they are learning from the recently averted crisis and how they plan to include the needs of Alaska Native students as they move forward.

Navajo MC Def-i is out with his fifth album, “Dream Trails.” The musical project opens with a cinematic sound that quickly accelerates with the rapid style of word tangling he’s known for. Listeners get a glimpses into the many trails the artist has traveled to share his message that resonates from New Mexico to Africa. Hip-hop greats like Kool Keith and JFK Ninjaface make an appearance on the album. So do Native women artists like E-Turn, Dawta Magma, Honey and Liv the Artist. Well hear about the inspirations and collaborations that went into making the album and what’s next for Def-i.

Kanaka Maoli and their allies are entering their fifth week of demonstrations to prevent construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope in Hawaii. They’re determined to stop further desecration of the sacred Mauna Kea. It’s the latest high profile effort to protect sacred places around the country. Others include the Blackfeet Tribe’s renewed defense of Badger Two Medicine in Montana against the reopening of oil and gas development plans. We’ll check in with some of the notable efforts to protect sacred places across Native America.

Almost 340 years later, the Pueblo Revolt remains a source of pride for the pueblos of New Mexico. Lead by Popé, the pueblo people summoned their combined strength on August 10, 1680 to drive Spanish soldiers and settlers out of the province. Freedom from Spanish oppression was short-lived but the victory was an important turning point for the preservation of pueblo culture and language. We’ll take time to revisit the history of the revolt and its significance for the pueblos of New Mexico.

Voter identification laws, redistricting, and restricted access to polls continue to threaten full Native voter participation. Voting rights advocates are currently looking ahead to potential problems in advance of the 2020 election. High profile issues like the voter I.D. law in North Dakota and the violation of the Voting Rights Act in San Juan County, Utah have voting rights advocates on high alert heading into the election season. We’ll talk with the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission about their efforts to count every vote and get updates on where other potential problems might occur.