Native America Calling

A number of Native-led live productions are taking the stage. They include an all-Indigenous production about Canadian residential schools written by a First Nations playwright - and the Rolling World Premiere of "Where the Summit Meets the Stars" by Frank Henry Kaash Katasse (Tlingit) at the Autry Museum of the American West's Wells Fargo Theater in Los Angeles. We get a look at upcoming theater productions.

GUESTS

Dr. Spy Dénommé-Welch (Algonquin-Anishinaabe), librettist and co-composer for “Canoe” 

Frank Henry Kaash Katasse (Tlingit), playwriter, educator, and actor  

Kim Gleason (Diné), artistic director of Two Worlds Native Theater

Break 1 Music: Pomok naka Poktoinskwes (song) Jeremy Dutcher (artist) Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa (album)

Break 2 Music: Memory Lane (song) Nitanis “Kit” Largo (artist) Serenity (album)

The state of Alaska released its first-ever list of missing Alaska Natives and Native Americans. The list also includes basic details about each case, including whether or not it’s suspicious. The report includes 280 names going back to 1960. It’s part of the state’s efforts to address the disproportionate percentage of Native people among missing persons cases. Meanwhile, two years after Oklahoma passed a law to address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives, the effort remains largely unfunded. We’ll assess how some specific programs are progressing after a high profile push to address law enforcement disparities.

Many low-income families got an unwelcome surprise after supplemental COVID food security programs expired earlier this year. Funds available for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) dropped to a fraction of what they were previously. Suddenly, people didn’t have enough to eat and no remedies in sight. Those cuts hit Native American families hardest, as they have a much higher percentage of SNAP participation than the population as a whole.

The Everson Museum of Art is featuring the work of Onondaga painter Frank Buffalo Hyde in a new exhibition, whose work meshes Native themes with pop culture images, such as sports mascots, corporate logos, celebrities, and fast food. His colorful paintings often infuse a heavy dose of satire. He recently appeared on the reality competition TV show “The Exhibit”. Today on Native America Calling, he is our Native In The Spotlight and taking your calls.

Where else can you get a young adult mystery and a lesson in the Native American Graves Protection Act but from Ojibwe writer Angeline Boulley (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians)? In Warrior Girl Unearthed, a follow-up to her debut novel The Firekeeper’s Daughter, Boulley catches readers up with the Firekeeper family’s subsequent generation on Sugar Island. As the title suggests, the young protagonist digs into connections to her people and culture she never realized were there.

Ada Deer was a pioneer in education as a lecturer and researcher in social work and Native American Studies at the University of Madison-Wisconsin. She was also renowned for her tireless advocacy and policy work. She was instrumental in achieving federal recognition for Alaska Native villages, her own Menominee Tribe and several others. Along the way, she helped dismantle the federal Termination Era. She was the first Native woman to run for Congress in Wisconsin. She lost the election, but went on to hold a number of influential positions including Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs.

Students at the Umoⁿhoⁿ Nation Public School are operating a successful farm and taking over a couple of acres on the school’s campus in Nebraska. It’s all in response to health concerns in the Native community. Former chef Brendan Shay Basham’s debut novel Swim Home to the Vanished takes readers along a journey of grief and suspense with food as a central theme. The main character, a line cook, hits the restart button after the death of his brother, but gets caught in a family’s internal conspiracies. All that and more on this month’s episode of The Menu hosted by Andi Murphy.

As fans mark the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip-hop, we’ll zero in on contributions by Native artists. Diné rapper Def-i is among the big winners at this month's International Indigenous Hip-Hop Awards in Vancouver, B.C. Gary Paul Davis aka Litefoot is one of the OGs of Native hip-hop, winning a handful of Native American Music Awards. We’ll hear from them and other artists about what’s fresh and current among Native talent as hip-hop pushes past middle age.

Millions of low-income people will lose Medicaid coverage over the next year after a pandemic safety net is expiring. Native Americans are among the populations that are especially affected by the coming changes. We’ll find out the important information and what people can do to prepare.

Officials are still sorting out the human and financial toll of the unprecedented fire on Maui. Many Native Hawaiians remain missing, hundreds more sustained serious damage to their homes and businesses. Meanwhile, Canada is dealing with a record-setting wildfire season with evacuations affecting many First Nations reserves. As the hottest summer on record winds down, we’ll get an assessment of what Native emergency management officials view as the path ahead.