Native America Calling

Four Native women are throwing their hats into the ring for the chance to become the first Native woman elected to the U.S. Congress. In addition there are two Native women running for governor and one for lieutenant governor. What’s behind the surge in Native female candidates? We’ll get insights from some of them about what prompted their run for office and what issues they think are important.

Two-time Grammy award winner, Robert Mirabal (Taos Pueblo) and renowned ballet dancer and instructor Jock Soto (Navajo) are teaming up for an live production honoring Native culture and history in New Mexico. The stage production is a combination of dance, music and spoken word. They’ll join us in Studio 49 to talk about their collaboration and their decades of influential work.

Two-time Grammy award winner, Robert Mirabal (Taos Pueblo) and renowned ballet dancer and instructor Jock Soto (Navajo) are teaming up for an live production honoring Native culture and history in New Mexico. The stage production is a combination of dance, music and spoken word. They’ll join us in Studio 49 to talk about their collaboration and their decades of influential work.

Advance directives or living wills deal with the painful discussions about the end of life and resorting to artificial life support. But one health organization in Alaska is taking a different approach to the subject. They are starting with a simple question ‘how do you want to live’? In classes and conversations, health professionals are guiding people through the process of creating a legal document that let’s loved ones know their wishes in case of accident or major health issue. They tackle difficult decisions like whether you want to machines to help you breathe and who you entrust to carry out your wishes. We’ll speak with experts about the importance of having these vital conversations ahead of time.

Advance directives or living wills deal with the painful discussions about the end of life and resorting to artificial life support. But one health organization in Alaska is taking a different approach to the subject. They are starting with a simple question ‘how do you want to live’? In classes and conversations, health professionals are guiding people through the process of creating a legal document that let’s loved ones know their wishes in case of accident or major health issue. They tackle difficult decisions like whether you want to machines to help you breathe and who you entrust to carry out your wishes. We’ll speak with experts about the importance of having these vital conversations ahead of time.

When you think of “Native American music” flutes and drums probably come to mind right away, right? But that’s not all there is. Native musicians are producing tunes in every genre. They’re even engineering their own sounds by mixing music and audio from wherever their imagination takes them. In this program, we’ll hear what it sounds like when a Native DJ gets behind the decks and scratches up some records

When you think of “Native American music” flutes and drums probably come to mind right away, right? But that’s not all there is. Native musicians are producing tunes in every genre. They’re even engineering their own sounds by mixing music and audio from wherever their imagination takes them. In this program, we’ll hear what it sounds like when a Native DJ gets behind the decks and scratches up some records

A book on Canadian residential schools was too traumatic for a third grader according to one mother who complained to the CBC. The book, I am Not a Number, tells a story of a Jenny Kay Dupuis’ grandmother, a residential school survivor. The school apologized for sending the book home, but the incident brings up a good question: when is it appropriate to introduce difficult topics like boarding schools, genocide and forced removal of Native people? We’ll talk with educational experts about how and when these topics can make their way into the classroom.

A book on Canadian residential schools was too traumatic for a third grader according to one mother who complained to the CBC. The book, I am Not a Number, tells a story of a Jenny Kay Dupuis’ grandmother, a residential school survivor. The school apologized for sending the book home, but the incident brings up a good question: when is it appropriate to introduce difficult topics like boarding schools, genocide and forced removal of Native people? We’ll talk with educational experts about how and when these topics can make their way into the classroom.

Traditional foods like caribou and seal meat were not on the menu at an elder care center in Kotzebue, Alaska. That’s because the center couldn’t allow anything the U.S. Food and Drug Administration didn’t approve of. Some residents went from their traditional diets to eating cafeteria spaghetti and packaged pudding. That all changed when the Maniilaq Association helped build a traditional foods processing center. Tribes are finding the importance of restoring traditional diets for their people in institutional settings, even though it can take years to satisfy state and federal rules.