Native America Calling

In his newest album, “Waiting for a Sign,” Hitaałiinez Wheeler (Diné), better known as ‘Hitaałii,’ takes listeners through Navajo country with his signature hazy and dreamy aesthetic. Sierra Kihega (Otoe-Missouria and Keetoowah Cherokee), who goes by Sierra Spirit, released new singles from her forthcoming collection of indie pop songs, “coin toss,” about personal growth. We’ll talk with these Indigenous artists about their new tunes to add to your Native Playlist.

An Albuquerque, N.M., organization is cutting the ribbon on a new building they say will help in their mission to developing Native entrepreneurs. New Mexico Community Capital (NMCC) has had to be flexible to meet Native business owners “where they are” to provide mentorship, business consultation, and other services that help them succeed. They’re among a number of business incubation efforts with a personal approach to help start and work with people who have ideas, but are from populations that statistically need more assistance to get going.

Republican U.S. Senate challenger Tim Sheehy is drawing fire from Montana tribal officials for comments deemed derogatory against the state’s Native American residents. A recording of the comments at a previous public appearance surfaced at the end of August. In a candidate debate, incumbent Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) called on Sheehy to apologize. In a state with 70,000 Native Americans and seven federally recognized Native reservations, how the candidates appeal to Native voters could make a difference in the outcome of a close race.

Plus, we'll get updates on Hurricane Helene damage from North Carolina.

The increasing demand for power is prompting challenges from a number of tribes who say the means to transmit that power is harming culturally significant tribal land. The Tohono O’odham, Hopi, Zuni, and San Carlos Apache tribes were dealt a legal setback by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year in their opposition to a proposed $10 billion transmission line through a pristine Arizona canyon. And pueblos and other tribes say they are concerned about additional transmission capacity planned to boost power at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. In both cases, tribal officials say the proposals did not adequately take cultural and archaeological significance into consideration.

Tlingit warriors enjoyed an initial victory in defending their home against Russians intent on re-establishing their settlement in Sitka. But after first driving the Russians back and wounding their leader, Alexander Baranov, in the first week of October, 1804, the Tlingits concluded they couldn’t sustain another armed assault. They moved to the far end of the island that now bears Baranov’s name, but remained contentious cohabitants with the Russians, keeping the settlers on guard. Even though the Tlingits lost, the battle was a landmark event that influenced Russian settlement that came after. We’ll hear about the Battle of 1804, and also the 1869 American assault on the Village of Kake, for which the U.S. Navy just formally apologized.

How much do the proposed USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans reflect what industries want to promote as opposed to what Native Americans consider nutritious? When the new version of the guidelines is released, it has implications for the food that makes its way into school lunches, the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, and SNAP.

Former President Donald Trump won't back away from promoting a false rumor about Haitian immigrants in Ohio eating cats and dogs. The Haitian residents now fear for their safety and say Trump is dehumanizing them for political gain. The same tactic has been used against Native Americans as well, and food is one means to do it.

With help from Lakers’ superstar Lebron James, a Native director and cast tell the story of trauma and healing playing out within a reservation small town high school basketball team. Sydney Freeland (Navajo) is a gifted storyteller (Echo, Reservation Dogs, Drunktown’s Finest), teaming up with Sterlin Harjo (Seminole/Muscogee) to tell the sometimes heartbreaking, always human drama of the fictional Chuska Warriors. It’s sure to resonate with current and past rez ball warriors and adds to the growing list of films that show the world what can be achieved when Native talent delivers Native stories.

Two years after the EPA found high levels of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) contamination in the drinking water at the K-12 tribal school on the Leech Lake Reservation, students and staff are still forced to consume only water brought in from outside the building. Leech Lake is one place tribes are having to respond to the presence of PFAS, a class of man-made chemicals used in fire suppressing foam, water repellents on textiles, and older nonstick cookware. High PFAS exposure is connected to some health problems including cancer and thyroid disease. Nearly 100% of Americans have PFAS in their body. Information specific to Native Americans is limited. We’ll talk with some tribes that are trying to address PFAS in their water and explore what can be done.

Playing college athletics takes more than just a love of sports. To be successful at that level takes years of dedication, focus, and a good deal of talent. We’ll hear from athletes turning athletics into a pathway to academics at Division 1 colleges about how to recognize and develop their own skills, lessons they learned along the way, and how to deal with setbacks.

There is a flip side to the narrative about the cultural richness that Spanish colonists brought to California. Likewise, the discovery of gold at Sutters Mill in 1848 did more than just spark the largest settler migration in the country’s history. In both cases, the damage to the lives and cultures of the state’s Indigenous populations was profound. At the time, there were far more Indigenous people than the Spanish or European-descended Americans. In its effort to provide Native-led historical instruction, the National Museum of the American Indian has developed curricula that provides perspective about the people who were there long before anyone else. We’ll learn about NMAI’s educational goal and how it’s being used.