Native America Calling

When it’s dark outside—and even darker inside—it’s prime time for the Native American Paranormal Project. They’re ghost hunters and they lug around cameras, sound recorders and other technical gear to try gather evidence of spirits in Native communities for their show, “The Other Side”. For this Halloween show, we find out what they’re after from spiritual realm and how they tap into their traditional understanding of the afterlife. Do you believe in ghosts?

The election is coming on fast and the political fault lines continue to shift. Despite all the money spent in one Montana congressional race, a Native American challenger is losing ground in a recent poll. Is it possible Native American woman might actually make the difference in some races? We also get an update from the front lines of the Dakota Access Pipeline protest. We'll talk with a drone pilot about a new way to capture the action from the sky.

It’s coming up on the time of year when teachers are looking for ways to bring Native American history into the classroom. November is Native American Heritage Month and there are usually discussions about the indigenous side of the Thanksgiving holiday. But sometimes good intentions go awry and kids end up wearing paper headdresses. We’ll speak with one family with a particularly bad experience and discuss some good alternatives for teaching Native heritage.

When you look at another person, what do you find attractive? This is something that's different for everyone and it also changes from generation to generation. There are many aspects of attraction between the sexes that are traditional and sacred. How does that fare with a public that’s comfortable with Tinder and the HBO show “Girls”? What are some traditional views of attractiveness we could use right about now?

You may have noticed everything around you turning pink. That’s because it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists the disease as the third deadliest form of cancer for Native American women. Are pink campaigns effective in Native America? Has anything changed since a 2009 study showed no improvement in cancer death rates in 20 years?

Three siblings out of the Seminole and Kiowa Nations will rock out our monthly spotlight. The Osceola Bothers talk about their debut release “Out of Nowhere.” Cameron, Tyson and Sheldon Osceola—all under the age of 20—play like they have several decades of experience. Their banging guitar riffs and ripping lyrics make the group’s mark on the Native music industry. But they also shake up the entire rock- and blues-loving planet.

It’s a staple of Native American culture. Frybread is so ubiquitous it’s become a symbol of Native cuisine. These greasy treats show up at festivities, gatherings, fundraisers and holiday events. But there’s another way of looking at it: frybread ingredients come not from tradition, but from the reservation rations and commodity goods provided by the federal government. And the high fat count and low nutrient content makes frybread an factor in obesity and high rates of diabetes in our Native communities. What do you think about frybread?

We’re taking a look at the innovative and interesting ways teachers are getting Native American students excited about science. One example is the Southwestern Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque creating a mini terrain to give students experience maneuvering robots on the surface of Mars. This is the first in a four part series focusing on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education. Native students math and science scores are both well below scores of white students. How can innovative science and math programs help students become future scientists?

Kicking drug and alcohol addiction is already complicated. For women who are pregnant, there’s an additional level of hardship. Three states have laws against illegal drug use during pregnancy, so seeking treatment can land a woman in jail. But without treatment, women risk causing significant harm to the fetus. Access, motivation and stigma are also barriers for those considering treatment for addiction. Every 25 minutes a baby is born suffering from opioid withdrawal according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. We’ll look at programs aimed at helping pregnant addicts and some of the barriers to implementing them.

Native American women have higher rates of cervical cancer compared to their white counterparts, according to a 2014 study published in the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. Native women are also more likely to die from cervical cancer. We’ll talk about the connection between cervical cancer and the sexually-transmitted disease, human papillomavirus, or HPV. A vaccination recommended for girls when they’re 11 or 12 years old is producing results, but it remains controversial. And HPV vaccinations among Native Americans is spotty.