Native America Calling

Self-taught playwright, Larissa FastHorse (Sičháŋǧu Lakota), tells an interesting story in her newest play, “What Would Crazy Horse Do?” The satirical play explores issues of racial preservation and cultural pride. We’ll talk to FastHorse about her new play and why it’s important to have a Native presence on the stage.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends all mothers breast-feed exclusively for a baby’s first six months. That’s because breast milk has long-lasting health benefits for both babies and mothers. Numbers are scarce, but one 2012 study reveals fewer than six out of ten Native American and Alaska Native mothers start breast-feeding. Most of those stop before the six month mark. Breast-feeding advocates say Native women face a number of barriers, including lack of education and poor access to work environments that support nursing mothers.

About 500 young Native athletes from across Alaska gather every year to test strength, balance, agility and teamwork. The annual NYO (Native Youth Olympics) Games just wrapped up in Anchorage. In addition to acknowledging physical feats, the games also emphasize traditional subsistence activities and encourage academics. We’ll hear from some of the young athletes about what drives them and how they connect to Alaska Native culture and tradition.

The Cherokee Nation faults several major drug companies and distributors for opioid addiction and overdose deaths among their members. Theirs is the first tribal lawsuit to combat the growing problems associated with prescription pain relievers. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are among the organizations that say opiate addiction is an epidemic. In 2015 more than twenty thousand people died from prescription opioid overdoses. Who is responsible when people abuse powerful prescription drugs?

Native America Calling reached out to the companies named in the Cherokee Nation lawsuit. Two of them and IHS issued written statements that you can read here.

The Grand Canyon is considered a national treasure. It’s also sacred to many tribes. There are projects proposed to increase tourism dollars and create economic development for areas surrounding the canyon. The Grand Canyon Escalade would bring a river walk and gondola ride to the northeast corner of the canyon, located on the Navajo Nation. Supporters say the project will bring much-needed economic development. The opposition says the project will encroach on sacred areas and damage the environment. Would you take a tram ride into the Grand Canyon?

A school in Kotzebue has immersed elementary students in the Inupiaq language for more than 25 years. Before then,their exposure to the language in public school was limited to 20 minutes a day. We’ll talk to educators with Nikaitchuat Ilisagviat Immersion School and an Ojibwe school about how emphasis on language helps students succeed.

The U.S. was in the grip of civil rights struggles in the 1960s. Among the sit ins and protests that led to legislation such as the Voting Rights Act, another civil rights struggle over fishing rights was gaining national attention. It was a period of time commonly known as the “fish wars.” Activists like Billy Frank Jr. (Nisqually) risked arrest to exercise their right to fish in what at least one treaty called ‘usual and accustomed places.’ We’ll speak with individuals closest to the fishing wars about what we can learn from this past experience.

There are not a lot statistics about missing Native Americans. When a loved one, a friend or a neighbor disappears, it throws communities into a world of anxiety and grief. To acknowledge the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls on May 5, we explore what happens in the family, in the tribal community and in the police station when someone goes missing.

Native American lawyers represent 0.4 percent of the total list of active lawyers in the U.S., according to the American Bar Association. That’s the smallest number and it hasn’t changed since 2007. A recent survey by the National Native American Bar Association reports a lack of support and full inclusion in the law profession for Native lawyers. What can be done to attract more Natives to the law profession?

James Pepper Henry (Kaw) has an exciting and momentous task to accomplish in the next three years. As the newly appointed director of the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum in Oklahoma City, he is responsible for making sure the stalled and controversial project opens. Museums are his expertise, with a long list of past experience including the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, the Heard Museum, Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, and the Gilcrease Museum. We’ll spend the hour chatting with him about his experience, Native art, and the future of the Native museum industry.