Native America Calling

A proposed gold mine in southwest Alaska promises riches for investors and Alaska Native workers alike over nearly three decades. The open pit Donlin Gold Mine has the necessary federal permits in place. But several Alaska Native villages and environmental groups say the cost to retrieve the gold is too high, harming the health and livelihoods of the people who live there. A coalition of tribal and environmental groups are suing to halt the mine. Today on Native America Calling, we hear more about the history, economic promise, and potential threats to the people, wilderness, and wildlife the Donlin Gold Mine poses with Thom Leonard (Tribal member, Chevak Native Village), Calista Vice President of Corporate Affairs; Tisha Kuhns (Tribal member, Akiachak Native Community), Calista Vice President of Land and Natural Resources; Tom Waldo, senior advisor for Earthjustice and the tribes; Sophie Swope (Yup'ik), director of Mother Kuskokwim Tribal Coalition; Council member and elder John Andrew (village of Kwethluk); and Organized Village of Kwethluk president Boris Epchook.

This week the Reservation Economic Summit (RES) is celebrating the new class of Native 40 under 40. The annual group selected by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development includes attorneys, educators, business owners, visionaries, and elected leaders who are making a difference in their respective communities, including Andi Murphy, our own senior producer and host of the Toasted Sister podcast. Today on Native America Calling, we meet Travis Ruiz (Cheyenne and Arapaho), speaker of the legislator for the Arapaho District 3 of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes; model and activist Quannah Rose Chasinghorse (Hän Gwich’in and Sicangu-Oglala Lakota); and Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren (Diné).

Spring is the time when many Native athletes dust off their running shoes and compete in events like the 400 meter sprint, hurdles, relay, high jump, and shot put. Today on Native America Calling, we speak with Kutoven "Ku" Stevens (Yerington Paiute), cross country runner at the University of Oregon; Ahli-sha Stephens (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), Cherokee High School head track and field coach and head cross country coach (boys and girls); Tiajhae Nez (Navajo), Haskell Indian Nations University sophomore and long distance runner; and Jeremy Bockus (Blackfeet), Haskell Indian Nations University freshman and middle distance runner.

For Native folx, raising public awareness about the importance of hair is an ongoing struggle. Some North Carolina families are fighting a school policy that says their first graders must cut their hair. Their parents say the school is forcing the boys to give up an important part of their culture. A Native hair dresser helped change policy about hair in her states. And bestselling author Carole Lindstrom (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe/Métis) and illustrator Steph Littlebird (Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde) are working to inform people with their children's book My Powerful Hair. Today on Native America Calling, we check in on the meaning and importance of Native hair with Carole Lindstrom, author of My Powerful Hair; Ashley Lomboy (Waccamaw Siouan), mother of Logan Lomboy; and Afro-Indigenous activist Amber Starks (Muscogee Creek Nation and African-American) in a pre-recorded interview.

The Vatican's recent repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery has been described as a "major step" by some Indigenous leaders, but for others, the Holy See has a long way to go before it can heal the centuries of pain caused by the doctrine's colonization and control. Today on Native America Calling, we speak with Steve Newcomb (Shawnee and Lenape), author of Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery and cofounder and director of the Indigenous Law Institute, and Bruce McIvor (Métis), lawyer and partner at First Peoples Law.

There are three dozen tribal colleges and universities around the country. None of them have a doctoral program. But that’s all set to change this fall when Navajo Technical University starts up an accredited advanced degree track in Diné culture and language sustainability. Administrators say it will bolster language preservation, but also lead to research aimed at tackling specific issues on the Navajo Nation. The new program also represents a major leap forward for Native higher education and could be a model for other tribal colleges that are looking to both increase their educational attainment and provide culturally-specific academic insights to help tribal citizens. Today on Native America Calling, we speak with Dr. Wafa Hozien, dean and head of Diné and graduate studies, and Dr. Colleen Bowman (Navajo), provost for Navajo Technical University.

Native agriculture producers and the federal government have an opportunity right now to collaborate in everyone’s best interests. That’s one of the messages from the first-ever State of Native Agriculture Address hosted by the Native American Agriculture Fund. And the thawing ground means it’s time to start planning your garden. Today on Native America Calling, our resident foodie Andi Murphy serves up the latest helping of The Menu, our regular special feature on Native food news and sovereignty, with Zach Ducheneaux (Cheyenne River Sioux), USDA Farm Service Agency administrator; Nick Taylor (Navajo), CEO of NN Shopping Centers Inc.; and Rowen White (Akwesasne Mohawk), farmer, seed keeper, and founder of Sierra Seeds. Plus, a special treat from Andi's sister Alisha Murphy, who caught up with Victoria Largo, the new brick-and-mortar restauranteur who defied the odds in one Navajo community when she opened Victoria's PIZZA.

Lozen (Chiricahua Apache) was known as a fearless warrior, battle strategist, and healer in New Mexico and Arizona. Buffalo Calf Road Woman (Northern Cheyenne) fought next to her husband at the Battle of Little Bighorn and was even believed to have delivered the fatal blow to George Armstrong Custer. Today on Native America Calling, as we wrap up National Women’s History Month, we learn more about these two Native female warriors and others with Carol Murray ([Blackfeet] Pikuni), retired administrator for the Blackfeet Community College; Eryn Wise (Jicarilla Apache and Laguna Pueblo), land and body sovereignty advocate; and Sgt. First Class Keshon Smith (Ft. McDermitt Paiute and Shosone Indian Reservation), president of Native American Women Warriors (NAWW).

A spate of preventable deaths from suicide, drugs, violence, and inadequate health care has prompted a regional First Nation body in Canada to declare a state of emergency. The Keewatin Tribal Council is calling for immediate government action to correct what 11 First Nations are calling a dire situation. Today on Native America Calling, we find out how the First Nations are coping with Keewatin Tribal Council Grand Chief Walter Wastesicoot (from York Factory First Nation) and George Neepin (Fox Lake Cree Nation), chief executive officer of the Keewatin Tribal Council.

The Yurok Tribe hired its own investigator to pursue unsolved cases of their citizens who are missing or murdered. Arizona is among the states establishing an MMIP task force that the new governor says will “ensure that not one more Indigenous man, woman, or child is a target of violence, abuse, or exploitation.” The actions are part of the attempts to address the slow momentum to investigate and solve cases with Native victims. Today on Native America Calling, we speak with Jessica Carter (Yurok), Yurok Tribal Court Director; Daisy Bluestar (Southern Ute), member of the MMIR Taskforce in Colorado; Skye Alloway (Forest County Potawatomi tribal member), co-chair of Wisconsin’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force; and Annie Forsman-Adams (Suquamish), program director for the Washington State Native American Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (Women Spirit Coalition).