Past Shows Archives » Native America Calling

After record-setting temperatures across the country, dangerous summer heat continues to spill into September. The number of heat-related deaths in the Phoenix area are on track to triple last year’s numbers. Schools, businesses, and events are shutting down across the Midwest from Iowa to Michigan. Institutions are also forced to close down in Pennsylvania and other states along parts of the Eastern Seaboard. Tribal officials are busy reacting to the current threat while also preparing for the likelihood that adapting to such conditions is a permanent concern. We’ll look at the affect on people and the environment as the heat moves in.

GUESTS

Caine Palone (Quechan), Tribal Employment Rights Office director and emergency manager for the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe

David Simeral, associate research climatologist for the Desert Research Institute and Western Regional Climate Center

Dr. Paul Charlton, emergency medicine physician and emergency department director for the Gallup Indian Medical Center

Break 1 Music: Bird Song (song) Joe Guachino, JR Holmes, & Wally Antone (artist) Bird Songs of the Colorado River (album)

Break 2 Music: Mountain by the Sea (song) Various Artists (artist) Traditional Voices: Historic Recordings of Traditional Native American Music (album)

The eye-opening findings by researchers in Boston that 1 in 4 NFL players who died over a five-year span showed signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy is the latest in the growing understanding about the need to protect athletes at all levels. CTE is connected to repeated head injuries. The new study of hundreds of test subjects shines a light on the extent of the issue that is difficult to track. It’s an additional warning for high school, college, and recreational sports operations about the need for heightened vigilance to keep athletes safe and healthy. We’ll talk with Native athletes and sports medicine experts about how awareness around CTE is changing.

GUESTS

John Sunchild (Chippewa Cree), athletic trainer and cultural coordinator at the Mīyō Pimātisiwinkamik Youth Center

Alyssa Fredericks-Tafoya (Hopi), athletic trainer at Ignacio School District

Levi Horn (Northern Cheyenne), former NFL player, motivational speaker, and mental performance coach

Charlotte Luster, research program director of the HealthSpan Lab at Mass General Brigham

Break 1 Music: Northern Cheyenne Sun Dance Song (song) Phillip Whiteman, Tom Wooden Legs, Gilbert White Dirt, Harvey Whitman, Ross Teeth, James Red Cloud (artist) Traditional Voices: Historic Recordings of Traditional Native American Music (album)

Break 2 Music: Mountain by the Sea (song) Various Artists (artist) Traditional Voices: Historic Recordings of Traditional Native American Music (album)

Native American ranchers and beef producers are among those pushing back against President Donald Trump’s initiative to import cheap foreign beef to lower consumer prices. Critics of the plan say it will do little reduce prices and undercuts producers in this country who are already facing major industry headwinds including drought, unpredictable policies, and high operating costs. The American cattle herd numbers are slowly recovering after reaching a historic low. We’ll hear from industry experts about what would truly help them and consumers alike.

Beef producers aren’t the only agriculture industry having trouble getting traction. Staffing cuts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture are blamed for complications and delays in how existing and prospective producers get basic federal support in the form of low-interest loans, grants, and technical assistance that was once widely available. We’ll talk with one Native farmer who was forced to bypass USDA support after years of delay.

GUESTS

Marjorie Lantana (Navajo), northwest vice president of the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association

Alexandra Carlisle (Navajo), assistant agent at the University of Arizona tribal extension program

Zachariah Ben (Diné), owner and co-founder of Bidii Baby Foods

Tom Paterson, president of the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association

Break 1 Music: Edge of The Rez, Part 2 (song) The Blue Stone Project (artist) Blue Stone (album)

Break 2 Music: Mountain by the Sea (song) Various Artists (artist) Traditional Voices: Historic Recordings of Traditional Native American Music (album)

Efforts to improve representation of Native American perspectives in historical and cultural lessons just made considerable progress in two states. A curriculum developed by the Suquamish Tribe over the past decade is now available for Washington States schools. Organizers say it fleshes out the details of past events that previous history lessons portrayed as favorable to colonizing forces and people at the expense of the area’s tribes. And in Montana, state officials settled a lawsuit demanding public schools show accountability in how they adhere to constitutionally mandated instruction on the history of the state’s tribes.

We’ll also zoom out to get a broader view of how Native students fit in across the country with the evolving efforts to connect with them amid persistently low test scores and educational attainment.

GUESTS

Chairman Leonard Forsman (Suquamish)

Cammie DuPuis-Pablo (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes), plaintiff in the DuPuis-Pablo v. Montana Office of Public Instruction class action lawsuit

Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy (Lumbee), professor and dean of the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University

Alex Rate, legal director for the ACLU of Montana

Break 1 Music: Suquamish Drum Songs 2015 (song) Sacred Water Canoe Family (artist)

Break 2 Music: Indian Rock N Roll (song) Marc Brown & the Blues Crew (artist) The Blues Crew Compilation (album)

Set against the backdrop of a historic time in Métis history, a young boy’s disappearance begins a tense story of justice and defiance in Métis author Blair Palmer Yoxall’s debut novel, “Treat Them as Buffalo“. It all takes place during the 1885 Northwest Resistance — a conflict between Métis and the Canadian federal government. When those entrusted to enforce the law turn a blind eye to a disturbing trend of disappearing Indigenous boys, the community members must take things in their own hands. The account is told from the perspective of young Niko, who comes to realize the difficult world of injustice his people are forced to endure. Dubbed an “anti-Western” by the author, it is both triumphant and tragic in its depiction of a time when the conquest of Indigenous peoples were celebrated as progress. Blair Palmer Yoxall joins us for our next Native Bookshelf discussion.

Break 1 Music: Blueberry Hill (song) Métis Fiddler Quartet (artist) Northwest Voyage Nord Ouest (album)

Break 2 Music: Indian Rock N Roll (song) Marc Brown & the Blues Crew (artist) The Blues Crew Compilation (album)

A potential food crisis is brewing in Arizona that could be a warning to other states as changes to the Supplemental Food Assistance Program start to take effect. Federal funding cuts and major changes to state administration of SNAP have caused enrollment in that state to drop by half. As many as 200,000 children who once received SNAP benefits now go without. Many of those who were dropped are eligible, even with new work requirements, but they can’t get through the state’s restructured system. State officials estimate one in three Navajo Nation residents receive SNAP benefits. Native Americans in general are much more likely to rely on SNAP than the general population. Arizona has been aggressive in initiating SNAP changes. Those same changes in other states are expected to start rolling out after the midterm elections. We’ll find out what’s different — and what’s the same — in Arizona when it comes to the looming SNAP changes.

GUESTS

Chairman Julian Hernandez (Pascua Yaqui Tribe)

Carly Griffith Hotvedt (Cherokee Nation), executive director at the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative

Mary Greene-Trottier (Spirit Lake Nation), president of the National Association of Food Distribution Programs on Indian Reservations and director of the Spirit Lake Tribe Food Distribution Program

Jaynie Parrish (Diné), executive director of Arizona Native Vote

Michelle Estradé, research associate at the Center for Human Nutrition at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Break 1 Music: Tosay Hwilit [White Bird] & Taciovakok [a Herb] – Deer Dance (song) Musicians & Singers from Old Paschua Village, Tucson & Rio Yaqui, Sonora (artist) Yaqui Ritual and Festive Music (album)

Break 2 Music: Indian Rock N Roll (song) Marc Brown & the Blues Crew (artist) The Blues Crew Compilation (album)

The standard elements of a healthy, long-term relationship are well documented: communication, trust, honesty, mutual respect, and practicing healthy approaches for inevitable disagreements. But if combining those elements were easy, there wouldn’t be a need for relationship counselors. Native relationship specialists also often have to navigate differing cultural practices and concerns about relationships outside of one’s tribe. We’ll talk about the common stressors on long-term relationships as well as the roles of culture and community in maintaining healthy relationships.

GUESTS

Roger Kuhn (Poarch Band of Creek Indians), licensed marriage and family therapist and certified sex therapist

Monique Castro (Diné/Xicana), licensed marriage and family therapist and CEO of Indigenous Circle of Wellness

Break 1 Music: This Love (song) Edzi’u (artist) Tunnel Vision (album)

Break 2 Music: Love Affair (song) Pepper (artist) In with the Old (album)

Even after learning her clinical skills at Stanford School of Medicine and becoming a practicing surgeon, Lori Arviso Alvord (Diné) realized she had more to learn about being a healer. She sought out the wisdom of her tribe’s cultural healers to help her understand how to treat the whole person. That guidance remains one of the driving factors in her current surgical practice near the Yakama Nation in Washington. Her groundbreaking story as the first female Navajo surgeon is recounted in her memoir, “The Scalpel and the Silver Bear“, and is an inspiration for the generations of prospective Native American medical practitioners.

Break 1 Music: Classical Moment (song) Jay Begaye (artist) Horses Are Our Journey (album)

Break 2 Music: Indian Rock N Roll (song) Marc Brown & the Blues Crew (artist) The Blues Crew Compilation (album)

The wooden boards made by lifelong surfer and cultural practitioner Tom “Pōhaku” Stone (Kanaka Maoli) are heavy and cumbersome compared to the space-age composite boards most modern surfers prefer, but they are a connection to his father, a master board maker, and the generations of Kanaka Maoli surfers before him. Stone is among a growing number of Native Hawaiians nurturing the cultural significance of the sport at a time when many others are focused on technique, expensive gear, and image. Surfing’s rise in popularity means pressure away from the spiritual and healing elements that are so important to Hawaiian culture. We’ll talk with Native surfers about the origins of surfing and how that can map a more meaningful path for the sport’s future.

GUESTS

Kaliko Kahoonei (Kanaka Maoli), waterman

Tom “Pohaku” Stone (Kanaka maoli), cultural practitioner

Sunny Kazama, surfer and college student at the University of San Diego

Break 1 Music: He’eia [A Surfing Chant] (song) Halau Hula Ka No’eau [Hawai’i Arts Ensemble] (artist)

Break 2 Music: Another Night to Cry (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)

Backlash over privacy concerns continues to grow across the country against the use of law enforcement surveillance cameras. The automatic license plate readers, led by private security company Flock Safety, are proliferating as officials look to maximize public safety and traffic violation enforcement. The Navajo Nation is now installing hundreds of Flock cameras to support public safety on its 27,000-square-mile reservation that is notoriously difficult to patrol. Navajo leaders say the cameras will both curb traffic infractions and aid criminal investigations. But as the use of cameras grows, so does criticism by the public. Several cities are now cancelling contracts to use the cameras. Some Navajo Nation citizens say the trade-off is too great. We’ll hear what these cameras could mean for tribes hoping to boost public safety.

We’ll also hear from University of Arizona professor Stephanie Russo Carroll, a leading authority on Indigenous data sovereignty and policy. Carroll is developing frameworks for how tribal data should be protected. Recently she helped develop a policy that regulates how the public health data of tribes in Arizona is collected, shared, and used on the state level.

GUESTS

Carl Slater (Diné), Navajo Nation council delegate

Brandon Benallie (Diné and Hopi), cybersecurity expert

Stephanie Russo Carroll (Native Village of Kluti-Kaah), associate professor at the University of Arizona and co-director of the Indigenous Data Alliance

Break 1 Music: Obsidian (song) Red-209 (artist)

Break 2 Music: Another Night to Cry (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)