Native America Calling

The state of Alaska is actively working to shut down a gaming hall just opened by the Native Village of Eklutna. The Chin’an Gaming Hall is doing a brisk business with pull-tabs and 85 bingo machines in an unassuming building just outside of Anchorage. But state officials maintain the operation is illegal because the tribe does not control the land it is on. Elsewhere, in Maine, tribes are also working against state resistance to expand gaming. They face a regulatory reality that is different from tribes in other states because of legislation in 1980 limiting Maine’s tribes’ gaming enterprise ability.

The Trump administration scrapped a civil rights agreement 14 years in the making with the Rapid City, S.D. school system. The agreement was aimed at correcting inequities for Native American students. Data show Native students in the district are given harsher punishments than their white counterparts. The students also are less likely to be in higher level classes. The decision comes as President Donald Trump has terminated nearly half of the federal Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights staff.

We’ll also look at a Virginia tribe’s suit against the commonwealth for what the tribe says is withholding Medicaid reimbursements for tribal citizens’ health care.

The recent winter proved deadly for honey bee colonies. The Washington State University’s Honey Bees and Pollinators Program reports mass die-offs for commercial beekeepers. Honey bees, butterflies, and even small vertebrates like bats and birds are important to agriculture and are indicators of a healthy ecosystem. Their populations fluctuate and are affected by pesticide use, habitat loss, and climate change. Tribes and Native groups like the Euchee Butterfly Farm are among those devoting resources to pollinator restoration work. We’ll talk with Native pollinator protectors about efforts to help turn the threat to pollinators around.

At least one tribal library in New Mexico will have to close after the Trump Administration abruptly canceled federal grants administered through the Institute for Museum and Library Services. Many more libraries and museums in the state and around the country are forced to cut hours, eliminate staff, cancel traditional programs, and curb purchases for new books and other materials. They are among the latest in the on-going efforts by the Trump Administration to drastically change federal services. Those cuts also include supplements to low-income Navajo Nation citizens and hundreds more Native Americans nationwide who rely on the funds to help them heat their homes in the winter. We’ll get the latest rundown of staff and funding reductions by the federal government.

Early Pueblo residents are known for their complex, multi-level dwellings that date back centuries, but continue to influence architectural design today. A new exhibit at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center examines the enduring elements of ancestral architecture and how contemporary Pueblo architects are reclaiming them. Modern designs fell victim to non-Native interpretations and modern building codes. The exhibit, “Restorying Our HeartPlaces: Contemporary Pueblo Architecture”, tells the story of how Pueblos are asserting their sovereignty over their enduring architectural knowledge.

Tens of thousands of federal job cuts, on-again, off-again tariffs on everyday goods, and policies affecting the operations of schools, businesses, and tribal governments are generating widespread uncertainty. Tribal leaders are working proactively to both influence decisions at the federal level and to prepare for inevitable changes. We’ll talk with tribal leaders about how they are adapting to the unpredictable and dramatic changes headed their way.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. is overseeing an unprecedented cut of nearly a quarter of the department’s staff, drawing widespread concerns about possible adverse affects for thousands of Native Americans who depend on those services. Everything from bill processing to testing and research to prevent lead contamination in children could be constricted. At the same time, Sec. Kennedy successfully reversed Elon Musk’s termination of 900 Indian Health Service employees by the Department of Government Efficiency. Kennedy is also reaching out to tribes and maintaining contact through the department’s Tribal Self Governance Advisory Committee. We’ll look at the latest word on what some of the potential effects of the federal actions are on Native health and health care.

Philanthropy matches a donor’s passion with an organization’s drive to make a difference. It is an arrangement that helps build equity in areas that are not served by profit-driven interests. Philanthropy becomes even more important during times of financial uncertainty and government austerity. We’ll get a view of the current directions for philanthropic giving and what the new pressures to fill the gaps.

Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. calls the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEA) “one of the singular accomplishments of this country”. The legislation championed by President Richard Nixon opened the doors to tribal control over their own health care, law enforcement, natural resources management and economic development. We’ll look at the progress since ISDEA, and what tribes intend to strengthen self-governance in the future.