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It’s a staple of Native American culture. Frybread is so ubiquitous it’s become a symbol of Native cuisine. These greasy treats show up at festivities, gatherings, fundraisers and holiday events. But there’s another way of looking at it: frybread ingredients come not from tradition, but from the reservation rations and commodity goods provided by the federal government. And the high fat count and low nutrient content makes frybread an factor in obesity and high rates of diabetes in our Native communities. What do you think about frybread?

Ramona Horsechief (Pawnee and Cherokee) – five-time National Indian Taco Champion and frybread champion

Brian Yazzie (Navajo) – chef de cuisine at The Sioux Chef

Break music:  Frybread (song) Keith Secola (artist) Wild Band Of Indians (album)

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We’re taking a look at the innovative and interesting ways teachers are getting Native American students excited about science. One example is the Southwestern Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque creating a mini terrain to give students experience maneuvering robots on the surface of Mars. This is the first in a four part series focusing on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education. Native students math and science scores are both well below scores of white students. How can innovative science and math programs help students become future scientists?

Guests:

Dr. Nader Vadiee – Engineering Faculty – Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute – Director of the I-C-MARS ROSE STEMS Laboratory

Sherrill George (Navajo) – SIPI IC-MARS Research assistant

Dr. Mark Sorensen – CEO and co-founder of the STAR School

Break music:  Voodoo Child (song) Qvln (artist) Paleta – EP (album)

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Kicking drug and alcohol addiction is already complicated. For women who are pregnant, there’s an additional level of hardship. Three states have laws against illegal drug use during pregnancy, so seeking treatment can land a woman in jail. But without treatment, women risk causing significant harm to the fetus. Access, motivation and stigma are also barriers for those considering treatment for addiction. Every 25 minutes a baby is born suffering from opioid withdrawal according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. We’ll look at programs aimed at helping pregnant addicts and some of the barriers to implementing them.

Guests:

Shirley Cain (Red Lake Nation) – Native American equity policy specialist in the child safety and permanency division at the Minnesota Department of Human Services

Don Moore (Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians) – director of chemical dependency in special communities in the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division for the Minnesota department of Human Services

Julie Williams (White Earth Nation) – MOMs program manager

Mina Spalla (White Earth Nation) – Registered Nurse with the MOMs program

Break music:  Little Earthings (song) The Jir Project Band (artist) Sun Child (album)

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Native American women have higher rates of cervical cancer compared to their white counterparts, according to a 2014 study published in the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. Native women are also more likely to die from cervical cancer. We’ll talk about the connection between cervical cancer and the sexually-transmitted disease, human papillomavirus, or HPV. A vaccination recommended for girls when they’re 11 or 12 years old is producing results, but it remains controversial. And HPV vaccinations among Native Americans is spotty.

Guests:

Dr. Eve Espey – OBGYN

Laura Roberts(Red Lake band of Ojibwe and Santee Sioux Nation) – health programs specialist at the American Indian Cancer Foundation

Tina Gray (Navajo) – project manager at capacity building Inc.’s Navajo Youth Builders

Break music:  Great Grandpah’s Banjo (song) Pura Fe (artist) Full Moon Rising (album)

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Activists in North Dakota are camping out and going to jail to resist the Dakota Access Pipeline plan. Meanwhile lawyers for tribes and environmental groups chip away at the legal boundaries of the project in the courts. Protests, petitions, direct action, social media campaigns, and legal challenges are all methods people employ to bring about change. Whether you want to stop a pipeline, restore traditional hunting and fishing rights, or ridding your community of drug abuse, what strategies actually produce results?

Guests:

Kandi Mossett (Mandan/Hidatsa/Arikara) – extreme energy and Just transition campaign organizer for Indigenous Environmental Network

Willie Wolf (Cheyenne River Sioux) –  president of Red Road leadership

Frank Bibeau (White Earth Nation) – executive director of the 1855 Treaty Authority

Break Music:   Cissy (Fish/Smoke Dance) (song) Sheldon Sundown (artist) Hand Drum/Smoke N’ Round Dance (album)

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This month we feature Ilarion Merculieff’s new book “Wisdom Keeper: One Man’s Journey to Honor the Untold History of the Unangan People.” It’s part memoir and part history book. The author offers his insight to help tribal nations and readers face the changing world—including the transformation of the planet through climate change. The work is also a tribute to the many Native knowledge-holders that have shared their stories and culture with the author. We invite you to turn through the pages with us as we visit with Unangan author Ilarion Merculieff.

Guest:

Ilarion “Larry” Merculieff (Unangan) – Author, president of the global center for indigenous leadership and lifeways

Break music:  Hindsight 20/20 (song) Cris Derksen (artist) The Cusp (album)

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From “bakery science” to “Egyptology,” colleges and universities offer an increasing variety of areas to focus study. But does your college major really matter? Some degrees certainly offer a leg up in the working world. What goes into picking a college major? Are you afraid of choosing the wrong one? We get guidance from the experts.

Annabell Bowen (Navajo/Seneca) – director of American Indian Initiatives in the Office of the President at Arizona State University

Steven Abbott – associate director of admissions and coordinator of Native outreach Dartmouth College

Sara LaBarge (Menominee Nation) – academic advisor for the American Indian Graduate Center

Break music:  Stick Game Song #9 (song) Judy Trejo (artist) Stick Game Songs of the Paiute (album)

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This year’s Community Spirit honorees are recognized for their basket art, music, weaving, helping their community cope with loss and honoring those who died. We’ll hear from some of the award winners about why their Native culture is important to them. Are you inspired by someone in your Native community?

Guests:

Anna Huntington – development director of First Peoples Fund

David Boxley (Tsimshian) –  Tsimshian traditional wood carver

Jack Gladstone (enrolled citizen of the Blackfeet Nation of Montana) –  Montana’s troubadour

Lynette Two Bulls (Oglala Lakota) –  director of Yellow Bird and coordinator of the Fort Robinson Outbreak Spiritual Run

Break music:  Chicken Dance (song) Blackfoot Confederacy (artist) Confederacy Style (album)

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The Washington NFL team lost the latest round in their claim for federal trademark protection for their team name. The U.S. Supreme Court turned down the appeal challenging the law against copyrighting disparaging names. The team’s lawyers say the law violates their First Amendment rights. Is this the beginning of the end for the controversial mascot?

Guests:

Dr. Gavin Clarkson (enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) – professor of finance and business law at New Mexico State University

Aaron Henderson (Navajo and Oneida) – co-founder of a 505 Washington football team fan club in New Mexico

Jeffrey Charley (Navajo) – co-founder of a 505 Washington football team fan club in New Mexico

Break music:  Four Two-Step Songs (song) Pyawasits, Silas & Webster (artist) Wild Rice: Songs From The Menominee (album)

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Phoenix, Yakima, Wash., and San Diego are among the latest U.S. cities to declare the second Monday in October Indigenous Peoples Day. The local efforts aim to recognize Native people over top of the day set aside by the federal government to honor Christopher Columbus. But some cities, like Cleveland, Ohio and Philadelphia, Penn., rejected Indigenous Peoples Day proposals this month. Is there enough momentum to change the national holiday named for the man who Native Americans credit with ushering in occupation by Europeans?

Guests:

Johnnie Jae Morris (Otoe Missouria/Choctaw) – co-founding board member of Live Indigenous OK

Antonio Diaz (Pamaque) – founder and director Texas Indigenous Council

Raquel Halsey (Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation) – interim executive director at the North American Indian Center of Boston

Councilman Paul López – Councilman for District 3 in Denver Colorado

Break Music:  Turtle Island Reggae (song) Cempoalli 20 & Quese Imc (artist) Osahwuh (album)