Native America Calling

It takes more than just the right tools to carve a totem. Unless they are made by members of one of the traditional totem-carving coastal Pacific tribes, they may appropriating the often sacred symbols and methods those tribes reserve. Totems on public display by cities, schools, museums, and sports teams are coming under new scrutiny.

A coalition of Alaska Native tribes and organizations are urging federal officials to continue protections for 28 million acres of land in Alaska. Their action comes as the federal Bureau of Land Management is considering whether to remove protections against mining and other development that have been in place since the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) more than half a century ago. The lands are referred to as D-1 lands, referencing the section number in the ANCSA text. BLM is conducting an Environmental Impact Statement. The public comment period for that process ends soon.

Four Native designers took a major stride when their work was included in the Louis Vuitton Men's Fall-Winter Fashion Show in Paris in January. They contributed designs to Pharrell Williams’ new collection for the fashion powerhouse that displayed a strong western feel. Dee Jay Two Bears (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe/Lakota) has worked with Williams for years and coordinated the show. We’ll visit with some of the Native designers who brought Native artistry to a new level of fashion representation.

The Center for American Progress says about one in three U.S. adults have an incarceration, conviction, or arrest record. And research in 2023 by the MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge finds Native Americans are incarcerated at a rate 38% higher than the national average. What should you do if you do if police pull you over? Are there steps you can take now to prepare or to prevent a bad situation from getting worse? We’ll speak with legal experts about educating yourself about the criminal justice system.

New language in the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) is prompting museums to pull some Native items from public display. The rule went into effect in January that requires museums to consult with tribes more comprehensively when it comes to Native artifacts. That’s because, even though they may not be the human remains or sacred items that NAGPRA historically referenced, many items held by museums, universities, and other institutions could have been looted from Native sites or otherwise taken under suspicious circumstances.

Two of the newest National Book Awards winners reinterpret conventional views of their homelands through their unique, Indigenous lenses. Yale historian Dr. Ned Blackhawk (Western Shoshone) reexamines five centuries of U.S. history in his new book Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History. He explores Native people’s overlooked role from the arrival of Spanish explorers to self-determination. And a collection of experimental and visual poems, from unincorporated territory [åmot], by Dr. Craig Santos Perez (Chamoru) recounts recollections of his homeland of Guam. Åmot is the medicine he invokes to heal colonial traumas. We’ll speak with both of the authors about these new works and the Indigenous histories they rediscover.

Navarre Scott Momaday (Kiowa) introduced the world to Ben Benally and Abel in his first novel “House Made of Dawn”. He also established himself as a literary force with a distinctly Native American voice, winning the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. He published some 20 other works of fiction, poetry, and essays, earning many more awards and accolades and will always be known as the artist who cleared a path for a new generation of Native writers. We’ll remember Momaday with some of those who he knew and inspired.

Sharp knives make for easier, quicker, and safer work in the kitchen and that’s why Nikki Tsabetsaye started offering her knife sharpening skills in her hometown in Zuni, N.M. These cold months, also known as “soup season,” bring out the coziest and hottest pots of Native soups and stews, swimming with traditional and wild ingredients, that make up a big part community identity and culture. And, three Native-owned food businesses are nominated for a major culinary award. That’s on The Menu, our regular food feature hosted by Andi Murphy.

Members of the Yurok Tribe told California lawmakers that state’s first year using an alert system specifically for missing Native people is making a difference. The Feather Alert system issues public messages similar to the widely used the Amber Alert process. Yurok officials say the new alerts are widely used by tribal members and other Native residents, increasing the chances of finding people who go missing. The California effort is one of the tools in the constant battle against human trafficking that disproportionately affects Native Americans and other people of color.

One of the biggest changes for your tax return hasn’t happened yet. Congress is still mulling over a child tax credit that could very well send more money back to families and would apply retroactively to 2023 returns. Although more modest than the 2021 credit tied to pandemic relief, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says Native American families will be among the groups that would benefit most. We’ll discuss child credits and help clear up the confusion that comes with every federal income tax season.