Native America Calling

Can you name the Super Indian comic book character whose name sounds a lot like a 1970s rock musician? How many members of Congress are Native American? What historical event precipitated colonial encroachment on California tribes? Those are some of the questions that careful listening to Native America Calling this year could provide answers to. We’ll test listeners’ knowledge of Native history, current events, and pop culture.

GUEST

Vincent Schilling (Akwesasne Mohawk), editor and founder of NativeViewPoint.com and a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic

Break 1 Music: Starlight (song) The Zoniez (artist)

Break 2 Music: Ridin’ Out the Storm (song) Samantha Crain (artist)

After a hiatus, horse riders resumed a tradition to remember the Dakota men hanged by the U.S. Government on December 26, 1862 in Mankato, Minn. The original organizer of the ride, Jim Miller, died in March 2023. A new group of riders has now taken up the task and reformed under the title Makatoh Reconciliation and Healing Horse-Ride – from the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota to Mankato. We’ll hear from the riders about the journey and the history they are highlighting. We’ll also check on the work to have the federal government rescind the medals given to the U.S. Army soldiers who participated in the Wounded Knee Massacre Dec. 29, 1890.

GUESTS

Kameron Runnels (Santee Dakota), vice chairman of the Santee Sioux Nation

Dr. Kate Beane (Flandreau Santee Dakota and Muscogee), executive director of the Minnesota Museum of American Art

Josette Peltier (Dakota and Lakota), sister to Jim Miller, founder of the Dakota 38+2 rides

OJ Semans Sr. (Rosebud Sioux), co-executive director of Four Directions Vote

Break 1 Music: Intertribal Song (song) Dakota Nation (artist) Home of the Champions (album)

Break 2 Music: Ridin’ Out the Storm (song) Samantha Crain (artist)

The Faces backstage at a concert, 1975. Bobby Daniels, left, Ronnie Wood, Rod Stewart, and Jesse Ed Davis. (Photo: Patti Daley / Patti Daley Collection; courtesy The Bob Dylan Center)

Guitarist Jesse Ed Davis (Kiowa) was an in-demand session player starting in the mid 1960s, appearing on dozens of recordings with artists such as Taj Mahal, Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton, and Jackson Browne. He appears on solo albums by three of the four Beatles. Davis toured with The Faces, alongside Rod Stewart and Ron Wood. The Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Okla., is mounting an exhibition celebrating Davis’ life and work along with a tribute concert featuring Jackson Browne, Taj Mahal, and Joy Harjo. We’ll hear from some of the people who knew and worked with the man Bonnie Raitt called “one of the most original, and soulful, and cool guitar players.” We hear about Davis and the exhibition honoring him in this encore show (we won’t be taking live telephone calls from listeners).

GUESTS

Joy Harjo (Mvskoke), 23rd U.S. Poet Laureate, musician, playwright, and co-curator of the Jesse Ed Davis: Natural Anthem exhibition

Chebon Tiger (Seminole and Mvskoke), musician

Douglas Miller, author of Washita Love Child: The Rise of Indigenous Rock Star Jesse Ed Davis and co-curator of the Jesse Ed Davis: Natural Anthem exhibition

Steven Jenkins, director of the Bob Dylan Center

Break 1 Music: Beauty in a Fade (song) John Trudell (artist) Graffiti Man (album)

Break 2 Music: Ridin’ Out the Storm (song) Samantha Crain (artist)

Rebecca Jim (Cherokee) was a school counselor in 1979 when she witnessed Tar Creek run orange with pollution from nearby mining tailings. The federal government eventually made it a Superfund site. She has been an environmental advocate ever since and is even known as the Tar Creek Keeper, raising awareness for the 11-mile waterway and leading a non-profit organization dedicated to ongoing cleanup and holding polluters accountable. Jim is our December Native in the Spotlight.

Break 1 Music: Elders Land Ballad (song) Paula Nelson (artist) C.H.A.N.T. Cherokee Hope and New Traditions (album)

Break 2 Music: Ridin’ Out the Storm (song) Samantha Crain (artist)

Native America Calling runs down some of the standout Indigenous tracks from the past year. We get expert recommendations from The Mainstream‘s Brett Maybee (Seneca), Indigenous in Music’s Larry K (Ho-Chunk), and Sounds of Survivance’s Tory J (Quinault) from KEXP. They give us a wide range of selections that include rock, folk, jazz-fusion, soul, and more, in addition to the insightful stories behind the music. We wrap up the 2024 Native Playlist with music you don’t want to miss.

Break 1 Music: Aster and daffodils (song) THRONE (artist) Singing Bear Speaks (album)

Break 1 Music: Ridin’ Out the Storm (song) Samantha Crain (artist)

Top five artists and songs of 2024 picked by guests and staff:

Larry K’s 2024 top artists and songs:

Tory J’s 2024 top artists and their songs:

Brett Maybee’s 2024 top artists and songs:

Honorable Mention: “Ocean Child I Am” by Khu.éex’

Shawn Spruce’s 2024 top artists and songs:

Andi Murphy (producer) 2024 top artists and songs:

Sol Traverso (producer) 2024 top artists and songs:

Snow is on the ground and that means it’s story time. Storytelling is an art. But it is also the primary method for so many tribes to convey history, cultural lessons and spiritual guidance. The Diné story about the coyote and the lizard warns listeners to be wary of who they trust. A Chickasaw story explains how two brothers split up on their journey, becoming the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes. We’ll hear those and some other selected stores by experienced Native storytellers.

GUESTS

Ogimaawab aka Joseph Sutherland (Nishnawbe Aski First Nation), Ojibwe language and culture educator

Sunny Dooley (Diné), blessing way Hané teller

Dancing Star aka Donna Courtney (Chickasaw), Chickasaw Nation Storytelling program manager

Gene Tagaban (Tlingit, Cherokee, and Filipino), storyteller, performing artist, and wellness and health trainer

Break 1 Music: Ridin’ Out the Storm (song) Samantha Crain (artist)

Break 2 Music: Ballad of Athabascan Theory (song) Hataałii (artist) Waiting for a Sign (album)

The Osage Nation successfully transferred more than 40,000 acres of land it purchased years ago into trust. It’s the second largest tribal trust land transfer in history. Their Oklahoma neighbor, the Cherokee Nation, is celebrating the transfer of five former boarding school properties into trust. The tribe says the properties on their reservation present opportunities to improve their surrounding communities. We’ll hear from each of the tribes and others about significant tribal land agreements.

GUESTS

Geoffrey Standing Bear, principal chief of the Osage Nation

Chuck Hoskin Jr., principal chief of the Cherokee Nation

Lora Ann Chaisson, principal chief of the United Houma Nation

Break 1 Music: Sovereign Land by the Summit Dub Squad (song) The Native Movement Native Music Compilation (artist) Written in Blood (album)

Break 2 Music: Ballad of Athabascan Theory (song) Hataałii (artist) Waiting for a Sign (album)

President Joe Biden’s apology for the federal government’s role in Indian Boarding School abuses was among the top news stories for Native Americans this year. It was an unprecedented event, but received a mixed reaction from Native policy watchers. Other notable news includes a survey showing significant Native voter support for Donald Trump in the presidential election. We’ll get additional insights into the stories important to Native Americans, plus a few you may have missed.

GUESTS

Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post reporter

Levi Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi), publisher and editor of Native News Online and Tribal Business News

Shaun Griswold (Laguna, Zuni, and Jemez Pueblo), journalist

Mary Annette Pember (Red Cliff Ojibwe), national correspondent for ICT

Break 1 Music: Over and Over (song) Celeigh Cardinal (artist)

Break 2 Music: Ballad of Athabascan Theory (song) Hataałii (artist) Waiting for a Sign (album)

A focus on reducing chronic absenteeism for Native American students is paying off in a Cheyenne-Arapaho school system. It’s a hands-on initiative with an intensive interest in reaching students in the Oklahoma tribe. It comes as absenteeism remains at high levels for all students since the COVID-19 pandemic, but especially so for Native students. We’ll hear about promising methods to help keep kids on the track for learning.

GUESTS

Hollie Youngbear (Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes), Watonga Public Schools Indian Educator

Jacob Metoxen (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin), legal specialist with the Tribal Law and Policy Institute

Johanna Farmer (Rosebud Sioux Tribe), program attorney with the National American Indian Court Judges Association

Break 1 Music: Children’s Honoring Song (song) Red Hawk Medicine Drum (artist) New Beginnings (album)

Break 2 Music: Ballad of Athabascan Theory (song) Hataałii (artist) Waiting for a Sign (album)

After a period of colonial suppression, traditional kapa making is enjoying a sustained resurgence. In recent decades, a growing number of Native Hawaiian artists have mastered the labor-intensive process of harvesting, scraping, and soaking the bark of the wauke plant and embellishing the resulting fabric with colorful traditional designs. A new generation of artists is benefiting from this reclaimed expertise.

GUESTS

Dalani Tanahy (Native Hawaiian), Hawaiian kapa artist

Lehuauakea (Native Hawaiian), Hawaiian kapa artist

Roen Hufford (Native Hawaiian), Hawaiian kapa artist

Break 1 Music: Wahine U`i (Beautiful One) (song) Linda Dela Cruz (artist) Linda Dela Cruz Hawaii’s Canary (album)

Break 2 Music: Ballad of Athabascan Theory (song) Hataałii (artist) Waiting for a Sign (album)

Here’s an extended interview with 2023 National Heritage Fellow Roen Hufford (Native Hawaiian). She spoke with producer Sol Traverso about her favorite part of the kapa making process and being taught by her mother Marie Leilehua McDonald.