In a city known for celebrities, a mountain lion’s improbable, decade-long occupation of Los Angeles' Griffith Park earned him a status any movie star would envy. P-22 was euthanized after wildlife officials determined his injuries and illnesses made it impossible for him to continue living in the wild without significant suffering. Now, area tribes say they want a say in what happens to the famous lion’s remains. Today on Native America Calling, we’ll look back on the life of P-22 and get an overview of how some tribes view mountain lions with tribal secretary Kimberly Johnson (Gabrieliño Tongva from the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians), Alan Salazar (Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians), tribal elder on the elder’s council and traditional storyteller; and Dr. Christina Swindall (Gabrieleño), secretary for the Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians–Kizh Nation.

The federal government issued translations on official documents to help Alaska Natives following destructive storms there. The trouble is, the text is indecipherable for those it was intended to help. An investigative report found the Iñupiaq and Yup’ik translations from FEMA are essentially unreadable for those familiar with the languages. One appears to be at least partly taken from a World War Two-era publication in the Soviet Union.  Today on Native America Calling, we’ll check in with Tara Sweeney (Inupiaq), Principal and CEO of Tack 71 Strategies and former Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of Interior; Julia Jimmie (Yup'ik), translator and Yup'ik language programming producer; Sam Berlin (Yup'ik), translator and KYUK talk show host; linguist Gary Houlton; and Emily Schwing, freelance reporter based in Alaska.

Federal law already protects artwork legitimately made by Native Americans. But once artwork is sold, the artists typically don’t benefit from any residual appreciation of the work’s value. Some Native-owned galleries and organizations are working to ensure artists get full value for their work. And an effort in Canada aims to pay artists and their heirs resale rights. Today on Native America Calling, we'll hear from Theresie Tungilik (Inuk), arts and traditional economy advisor for Nunavut government; Mathew Nuqingaq (Inuk), jewelry artist and sculptor; Dawn Iehstoseranón:nha Setford Whiteman Francis (Akwesasne Mohawk), president and founder of Indigenous Arts Collective of Canada; and Colleen Echohawk (Pawnee and Athabascan), CEO of Eight Generation.

Social connections and career networking are two of the top reasons college students seek out fraternities and sororities. Greek life supporters also say they offer mentorship, academic support, and life-long friendships. Native fraternities and sororities began in the mid 1990s and also offer a chance for Native students to connect with each other and draw support from shared cultural values. Today on Native America Calling, we'll speak with Mardella Richardson (member of the Lumbee Tribe of NC), national president of Alpha Pi Omega, and Destiny Hutson (Cheyenne and Arapaho), vice president and historian of the Theta Chapter (Northeastern State University) of Alpha Pi Omega, as well as Dr. Corey Still (citizen of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians), member on the national governance board for Iota Gamma.

Professional wrestling draws fans in with a mix of theatrics, colorful characters, and campy violence. Indigenous wrestlers comprise only a small faction of the wrestling world, but they are making names for themselves. In the process of entertaining their fans, they risk broken bones, concussions, cuts, and bruises in the ring. Today on Native America Calling, we’ll hear from Native wrestlers Kyle Hawk (Hopi Laguna and Lakota), professional wrestler and actor; Eric Bearspaw aka Chief Little Foot (Stony Nakoda), traditional dancer, musician, and professional wrestler; and Victoria Otis aka Princess Victoria (Samish Nation), wrestling booking agent and former professional wrestler.

An investigative report in New Mexico finds Native students are expelled at a far greater rate than their white counterparts. The report focuses on the public school district on the edge of the Navajo Nation with the highest percentage of Native students in the country. Today on Native America Calling, we’ll hear from Bryant Furlow, a New Mexico In-Depth reporter and member of ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network who pursued the story, as well as Native education experts Dr. Wendy Greyeyes (Diné), assistant professor of Native American Studies at the University of New Mexico, and Regis Pecos (Cochiti Pueblo), co-director of the Leadership Institute at the Santa Fe Indian School and former governor of Cochiti Pueblo.

Thousands of migrants, many of whom are seeking asylum as they escape violence, extreme poverty, and oppression, are stopped at the U.S. border. The lack of resources available to them is a serious life-and-death concern. Adding to the many other hurdles is a language disconnect for Indigenous migrants. Today on Native America Calling, we get an update on the crisis at the US-Mexican border and how it affects Indigenous people from Mexico and Central and South America with Odilia Romero (Zapotec), co-founder and executive director of Comunidades Indigenas en Liderazgo (CIELO); Javier Garcia (San Martín Peras from Juxtlahuaca in Oaxaca), interpreters program coordinator for the Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project; and attorney Allegra Love.

A new year offers a sense of promise. But that promise this year comes with the backdrop of lingering division that infects our personal and professional relationships. Heated political discourse is at the top of the list and permeates everything from how we protect our own health to how we approach international security. Today on Native America Calling, we’ll speak with Theda New Breast (Blackfeet), master trainer and facilitator for the Native Wellness Institute and board member of the Sovereign Bodies Institute; James Anderson (Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe), motivational speaker and success trainer; and D.J. Eagle Bear Vanas (Odawa Nation), motivational storyteller, bestselling author, and owner of Native Discovery Inc., about bridging divisions and avoiding the traps that drive wedges between us.

Stickball is the older, rougher cousin of lacrosse, developed many centuries ago as both a game and a training exercise. The U.S. government once deemed stickball one of the cultural connections they needed to eliminate in the effort to assimilate Native children through missionary-run boarding schools. The game survived that assault and keeps gaining momentum, played by local clubs and in competitive national tournaments. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce learns about the origins and growing future for the nation’s oldest team sport with Mike Slee (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), stickball player for the Walelu Cherokee Indian Ball team and the director of operations for the Museum of the Cherokee Indian; Miranda Long Stamper (Creek and a citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee), teacher, coach and stickball player; announcer and player Jeremy Bell (Mississippi Band of Choctaw member); and Casey Bigpond (Mississippi Band of Choctaw member), cultural revitalization specialist for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

It’s not the holidays in the Southwest without your favorite tamales or without attending an all-night tamale making party. These delicious, corn-wrapped gifts have origins dating back more than 10,000 years in Mexico. Today on Native America Calling in the latest helping of The Menu, Andi Murphy talks tamales with chef Neftalí Durán (Mixteco from Oaxaca) and Eric J. Garcia, the artist behind the Tamale Man comic book series. Plus, we check in with Inez Cook (Nuxalk Nation), owner of Salmon n’ Bannock Bistro and Salmon n’ Bannock on the Fly, a brand-new Indigenous restaurant opening at Vancouver International Airport.