Native America Calling

Hawai’i has a long association with pineapples. Although the precious fruit likely came to the islands in the 18th Century, it wasn’t until industrialized agriculture arrived with the Dole corporation — backed by U.S. military support to overthrow the existing Hawaiian government — that the pineapple became so ubiquitous. Sugar cane has a similar role in colonizing places like Hawai’i, Puerto Rico, and the American Southeast with plantations that flourished at the expense of Indigenous people and culture.

GUESTS

José Barreiro (Taino), scholar emeritus from the Smithsonian Institution, writer and author of Taino: A Novel

Dr. Sydney Iaukea (Native Hawaiian), author of The Queen and I: A Story of Dispossessions and Reconnections in Hawaiʻi and Kekaʻa: The Making and Saving of North Beach West Maui

Dr. Gary Okihiro, visiting professor of American studies at Yale University; professor emeritus at Columbia University

After decades of drought, the Navajo and Apache reservations in Arizona are now recovering from flooding that destroyed homes and property. Tribes in California endured record-breaking rains and are bracing for overflowing rivers from mountain snowmelt. California flooding also threatened sacred tribal burial grounds. Tribes are working with state and federal sources to both prepare for such natural disasters and also recover from the devastating damage in the wake of climate change.

GUESTS

Lisa Christensen (Washoe tribal member), Washoe Tribe Emergency Operations Center operations planning chief

Dr. Crystal Tulley-Cordova (Diné), principal hydrologist for the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources

Dr. Lani Tsinnajinnie (Diné), assistant professor of community and regional planning at the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of New Mexico

Sandra Warlie (Bishop Paiute Tribe), public works director for the Bishop Paiute Tribe

Brian Adkins, environmental director for the Bishop Paiute Tribe

Longform stories, deep dives into exclusive content, and vivid photos all presented on glossy pages are some of the reasons people continue to read magazines. Titles like “First American Art” and “Native Max” are among the Indigenous-led magazines in the evolving industry that mixes social media, online extras, and the printed page to keep readers coming back. We’ll talk with Native publishers about the continuing appeal of magazines.

GUESTS

America Meredith (enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation), publishing editor of First American Art Magazine, writer, visual artist, and independent curator

Kelly Holmes (Cheyenne River [Mnicoujou] Lakota), founder and editor-in-chief of Native Max Magazine

Montoya Whiteman (Cheyenne and Arapaho), managing director of editorial and special projects at American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES)

The Boy Scouts of America is asking its membership whether the organization should reconsider its long practice of incorporating Native words, concepts and ceremonial dances. We look at the organization’s history of problematic appropriation including headdresses, fake ceremonies, and public performances based on dances tribes consider sacred.  

GUESTS

Graham Lee Brewer (citizen of Cherokee Nation), investigative reporter for NBC News

Stewart Koyiyumptewa (Hopi), Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Hopi Tribe

Robert DesJarlait (Red Lake Ojibwe), writer, artist, and dancer

Chief Brad Kills Crow (Delaware Tribe of Indians), Chief of the Delaware Tribe of Indians

The battle over transgender rights is playing out in school bathrooms, sports fields, and doctors’ offices. States are enacting strict rules over gender-affirming care, and trans athletes, and even dress codes. Many of the laws face legal challenges over constitutional bans on discrimination. Native trans and Two-Spirit people look at how the new trend could play out.

GUESTS

Mattee Jim (Diné), trans advocate  

Stephanie Byers (Chickasaw), former Kansas state representative for district 86   

Montana Wilson (Gros Ventre, Assiniboine, and Sioux), vice chair for Western Native Voice

Earl Old Person was a respected Blackfeet leader and strong proponent of cultural preservation. He was the longest serving elected tribal official in the country. He was an advocate for education up until his death in October 2021 at the age of 92. He lived by example, embodying the language, culture, and accomplishments of the Blackfeet Nation.

GUESTS

John Murray (Blackfeet), Blackfeet tribal historic preservation officer

Erlina Old Person (Blackfeet), daughter of Chief

Sen. Susan Webber (Blackfeet), Montana State Senator (D-MT 8th)

Jir Anderson’s Native music project is coming off a successful series of concerts in Las Vegas. He brings his unique artistic vision back to Albuquerque for a multi-venue celebration of music, art, and fashion.

GUESTS

Jir Anderson (Cochiti Pueblo), lead singer for the Jir Project band and founder of Native Guitars Tour

Alicia Ortega (Santa Clara and Pojoaque Pueblo), Native Guitar Tours development strategist

Scotti Clifford (Oglala Lakota) singer-songwriter

Rod Lacey (Navajo and Mescalero Apache) - guitarist and songwriter with The Old Main

The annual Gathering of MCs event in Albuquerque enters its second decade, celebrating hip-hop with a Native punch. Vel Nine, MAZZI & S.O.U.L Purpose, and Nataanii Means are among the artists appearing live. We talk with musician and Gathering of MCs founder DEF-I (Diné) and rapper/singer A$h Da Hunter (Yavapai-Apache Nation) about the event and the direction of Native hip-hop.

Twitter is one of the social media outlets that help individuals connect with each other - and is a tool for outlets like Native America Calling to connect with the public. But Twitter has been making some erratic decisions lately, some of which are giving people misleading information. And some could be dangerous. Are they crossing the line for some Twitter users?

GUESTS

B. Toastie Oaster (citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), staff writer at High Country News

Raven Payment (Ojibwe and Mohawk), member of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Task Force of Colorado

Jourdan Bennett-Begaye (Diné), editor for Indian Country Today and member of the board of directors for the Native American Journalists Association

Oglala Lakota chef Sean Sherman was named a TIME100, the magazine’s list of 100 most influential people of 2023. He’s a high-profile leader in the Native American food movement, the founder of non-profit groups advocating for food sovereignty, and the founder of the award-winning restaurant Owamni. Also shaking things up in the kitchen is Kickapoo chef and owner of Wahpepah’s Kitchen, Crystal Wahpepah. She went head-to-head with celebrity chef Bobby Flay on the Food Network culinary competition show “Beat Bobby Flay”. In this episode of The Menu, we catch up with both chefs and also hear about how all the tribes in one state are providing traditional foods for their elders.

 

GUESTS

 

Sean Sherman (Oglala Lakota), chef and owner of Owamni, co-founder of The Sioux Chef and North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS)

 

Crystal Wahpepah (Kickapoo and Sac and Fox), chef and owner of Wahpepah’s Kitchen

 

Marlon Skenandore (Oneida Nation citizen), manager, Oneida Emergency Food Pantry