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Some tattoos are works of art. Others represent important times in a person’s life. Some tattoos cause lifelong regret.  We are taking on these personal and permanent displays of expression. Native tattoo artists talk about how they use ink and another person’s skin to express themselves and the wishes of their clients. Do you have a tattoo? How did you decide which image you wanted to look at for the rest of your life?  Does your tribal tattoo actually have meaning?

Guests:

Keone Nunes (Native Hawaiian) – traditional tattoo practitioner

Sten Joddi (Muskogee Creek with Seminole heritage) – hip hop and tattoo artists

Holly Mititquq Nordlum (Inupiaq) – Inupiaq visual artist

Break Music: Stomp Dance (song) George Hunter (artist) Haven World (album)

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The changes in average global temperature will have consequences. How and when these things will happen is not clear. The Environmental Protection Agency predicts reductions in crop yield, increases in flood-causing rain, and an increase in wildfires in the future. Young people will bear a heavier burden of climate change. We’ll speak with young Native Americans about their concerns and what they are doing to prepare for the future.

Guests:

Quinn Buchwald (Mackinac Bands Of Chippewa And Ottawa Indians and Turtle Mountain Chippewa) –  student activist and a Udall Scholar

Isabella Zizi (Northern Cheyenne, Arikara and Muscogee Creek) – Idle No More SF Bay member, youth director of the Earth Guardians Bay Area Crew and Defenders of Mother Earth treaty signer

Lonyx Landry (Nor Rel Muk Wintu) – director of outreach for intertribal student services

Break Music: Encouragement Pipe Song (song) Joseph Shields, Jr. (artist) Wahancanka [Remember Me Grandfather] (album)

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A medical marijuana company is marketing directly to Native Americans. Scottsdale, Arizona-based Ultra Health signed a major sponsorship deal with the popular Gathering of Nations Powwow in Albuquerque. The deal includes putting the Ultra Health company name in the powwow title.  Is this the beginning of a new brand of Native American marketing? Are you worried about the association between marijuana and a major powwow?

Guests:

Derek Mathews – founder and director of the Gathering of Nations Powwow

Cristala Mussato-Allen (Caddo) – executive director of Native Workplace Inc.

Duke Rodriguez – president and CEO of Ultra Health

Break Music: Sewa Ania (song) Gabriel Ayala (artist) Live At the Mission (album)

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Bear Butte, South Dakota, or Mató Pahá, is a well-known sacred place to the Lakota.  The mountain has spiritual significance to many tribes, and is the setting for ceremony and prayers. That’s in contrast to the new Full Throttle Saloon. The owners bill it as the “World’s Largest Biker Bar” with 15,000 patrons a night during the Sturgis Bike Rally. In August, a group of Native American activists plans to protest the bar because of its proximity to Mató Pahá. We’ll check in with those who know the location the best and learn about how the famous motorcycle rally is encroaching on other important sites.

Guests:

Cody Hall (Cheyenne River Sioux) – activist and co-founder of Native Lives Matter

James Swan (Cheyenne River Sioux) – founder of the United Urban Warriors Society

Break Music: In the Time of Chiefs (song) Estun-Bah (artist) From Where the Sun Rises (album)

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For a fee, you can fill out an application, swab your cheek and find out if you have Native ancestry. Dozens of online services perform this service for hundreds of curious people. But does the result mean you can finally declare your Cherokee heritage? What do online DNA kits really tell us about Native ancestry? If you actually find out you have Native heritage, what do you do with that information?

Guests:

Dr. Kim Tallbear (Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate) – associate professor in the faculty of Native studies at the University of Alberta

Shannon Shaw Duty (Osage) – editor of the Osage News

Break Music: Redman (song) Elk Soldier (artist) A Soldier’s Dream: Powwow Songs Recorded Live at Ft.Randall (album)

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Various tribes have tried different strategies to try and recover important and sacred items. Some use the courts. Some negotiate with well-meaning museum curators. Others resort to bidding for them against wealthy collectors at auctions or on eBay. One approach proposed in Congress works to make it harder for unscrupulous sellers with new laws and harsher penalties. What does it take to have these significant items returned? We will hear about some success stories and some heartbreaking near misses.

Guests:

Jordan Dresser (Northern Arapaho/Eastern Shoshone) – public relations officer at the Wind River Hotel and Casino

Yufna Soliderwolf (Northern Arapaho) – Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, NAGPRA coordinator and director for Northern Arapaho tribe.

D. Bambi Kraus (Tlingit) – president of the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers

Break Music: Narbona (song) The Delbert Anderson Trio (artist) MANITOU (album)

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Some Native American men are part of the cross-dressing tradition known as drag performance. They don heels, bright dresses and sparkly make-up. The gender-bending art form has less of a direct correlation to traditional Native culture, but there are some parallels. We talk to drag queens about their form of expression and the support—or lack of support—in their communities.

Guests:

Miko Thomas (Chickasaw) – AKA “Landa Lakes”, founder Brush Arbor Girls Native drag troupe

Lady Shug (Navajo) – current reigning Miss New Mexico Pride

George Neptune (Passamaquody) – AKA  “Lyzz Bien: Indigenous Diva”,  museum educator at the Abbe Museum and master basket maker

Break Music: Idawadadi (Let Us Speak Our Voice) (song) Dawn Avery (artist) Our Fire Native American Contemporary Songs (album)

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We’ve come a long way from government-controlled boarding schools. Many tribes are now assuming control of their own education systems. But the transition from the federal to tribal control remains complicated and controversial. For example, teachers at Bureau of Indian Education schools on the Navajo Nation worry they might lose money, benefits, or even their jobs. School officials say the plan is not a done deal, but the goal of educational self-determination is paramount.

Guests:

Sue Parton (Kiowa) – president of the Federation of Indian Service Employees Union

Dr. Tommy Lewis (Diné) – superintendent of schools for Navajo Nation Department of Diné Education 

Anne Marie Bledsoe Downes (Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska) – Acting Director of the Bureau of Indian Education and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs

Willeen Benally (Diné) – First grade teacher at Sanostee Day School

Break Music: Happy Sundance (song) Dallas Arcand (artist) Modern Day Warrior (album)

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When Native guitars start to sing the people begin to move. That’s something The Jir Project Band’s lead man Jir Anderson (Cochiti Pueblo) has witnessed over and over on his tours across Native America. This month we welcome him as he presents his third musical release. This time he is calling on the place he calls home to set the scene for his heavy rock and blues sound. “The Pueblo” features his ability to glide over the strings of his guitar to electrify listeners. He’ll be live in studio to tell us more about his band and their compositions. Join us for this trip into Native sound with our July Music Maker Jir Anderson.

Break Music: Lonely Night (song) The Jir Project (artist) The Pueblo (album)

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Dirt roads, rural life, horses, and heartbreak. Those are words that might conjure one aspect of Native American living. They also describe some of the driving themes of country music. The simple lyrics and twangy guitar riffs definitely have their place in the hearts of Native American listeners. We bring together Native musicians rooted in these tunes to find out what it is about trucks, boots, jeans and hard living that makes people want to sing along. How do you connect to country music?

Guests:

Nate Chester (Navajo) -music director for KTNN radio and a member of the Country Music Association

Tracy Bone (Ojibwe) – multi-award winning country recording artist

Wayne Garner  (Cherokee) – singer songwriter

Kimberley Dawn  (Metis Cree) – singer

Break Music: Tender Side (song) Crystal Shawanda (artist) Dawn Of A New Day (album)