Native America Calling

In honor of Earth Day, we’re starting off a week of shows devoted to environmental issues with a discussion about totem poles. For the communities that create them, they hold significant cultural value and are much more than art. There are many tribes in Canada and the U.S.—including the Tlingit, Haida and the Tsimshian, to name a few—that carve poles. They typically use old growth trees, which are harder and harder to come by. We’ll talk with carvers about the history and tradition of totem poles.

The songs, players and methods might be different across Turtle Island, but the fun is the same. Hand games are played between families and within tribal communities. We celebrate hand games and talk with the pros about what makes them so fun. We also dig into the roots of hand games and why it’s important to keep them going.

Pervasive alcoholism is among the main reasons tribal leaders ban the sale of alcohol on reservations. But that can be big business for liquor stores just outside of the border. Tribal leaders from the Pine Ridge Reservation are working to shut down four stores in nearby Whiteclay, Neb. They say the vast majority of their sales goes to worsen alcohol-related problems within Pine Ridge. Critics of the strategy say people wanting a drink will get alcohol somewhere else and might even increase the hazard by drinking and driving. Does banning alcohol on the reservation help the people or not?

We make way for some killer Native blues this month. Our April Music Makers, Bluedog, are out of the Minneapolis, Minnesota area. For years they have given blues lovers what they love: great tunes flavored with a lot of Native soul and get-down boogie rhythms. We’ll visit with them about their new album “Red, White & Blues.” We’re inviting you to into the discussion as we pay tribute to the blues.

Of all the previous presidents to choose from, Donald Trump likes to align himself most with Andrew Jackson. He visited Jackson’s Hermitage in Tennessee and laid a wreath on his grave. For Native Americans, Jackson is forever associated with the Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears. His presidency also ended with a crippling economic depression. Since he’s back in the spotlight, we’ll take time to talk with historians about the full legacy of Andrew Jackson.

A tribal police officer in California is fighting charges of assault and false imprisonment. It all stems from his attempt to make an arrest during a domestic dispute on reservation land. This is one example of jurisdictional clashes that result from the 1953 measure called Public Law 280. There are instances when tribal law enforcement officers can’t take action even if they see a crime because PL 280 complicates an already complex jurisdictional landscape. The Tribal Court Clearinghouse says “it has often been misunderstood and misapplied.” We hear about PL 280 and ways tribes are trying to get out from under it.

When a federal judge in Hawaii put a halt to President Trump’s travel restrictions, supporters of the policy vowed to boycott the state. The boycott appears to have fizzled, but not before Native Hawaiians actually expressed support of it--some tongue-in-cheek and some seriously. They were expressing their frustration over losing more and more control of their culture and island homeland. The news comes on the heels of a legal tussle involving an island purchased by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. We’ll get an update from Native Hawaiians.

The governor of Wyoming recently signed the Indian Education For All bill, which requires educators to create Native curricula for public schools statewide. The bill mandates organizers work with Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes to come up with the lesson plans. Wyoming is one of a handful of states putting an emphasis on teaching Native viewpoints. What’s behind states mandating the Native perspective of history, culture, the arts and other classroom subjects? What benefits are they hoping to see?

The average funeral costs more than $7,000, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. That’s a hefty sum, especially when a family doesn’t plan ahead. Families face additional confusion when there’s no will for valuables, homes or land left behind. Death is a taboo subject in some parts of Native America so people avoid talking about the costs and legal issues ahead of time. We will go over some basic, appropriate ways to prepare for the inevitable.

A report for the FCC in 2015 found nearly two million people living on tribal land lack access to the internet. Even more than that can’t sign onto broadband. That digital divide makes it harder for Alaska Natives and Native Americans living in rural areas to complete tasks online that the rest of us take for granted: paying bills, looking for a job, and communicating with each other. President Trump has promised a $1 trillion infrastructure bill. There’s no indication it will include any fixes for the problem. Some tribes are taking the solution into their own hands.