Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:31 — 38.1MB) | Embed

The U.S. Postal Service just implemented a seemingly minor rule that is worrying Native American voting rights advocates. They and others say it is among a number of changes that add to the barriers Native voters face getting their ballots counted come this November. The new rule changes when mail, including mail-in ballots, are postmarked, shortening the time frame for when the ballots are deemed valid. It applies most directly to voters in states with large Native populations, including California, Arizona, and New Mexico along with nearly a dozen others. We’ll talk with Native voting rights advocates about this rule change and other challenges to the Native voting access in 2026.

GUESTS

Jacqueline de León (Isleta Pueblo), senior staff attorney for the Native American Rights Fund

OJ Semans Sr. (Rosebud Sioux), co-executive director of Four Directions Vote

Jonnette Paddy (Navajo), communications associate for Indigenous Voices of Nevada

Michelle Sparck (Qissunamiut Tribe of Chevak), director of Get Out the Native Vote

 

Break 1 Music:  Get Up Stand Up (song) Bailey Wiley, Che Fu, King Kapisi, Laughton Kora, Maisey Rika & Tiki Taane (artist)

Break 2 Music: Put Your Feathers On (song) Blue Moon Marquee & Northern Cree (artist) Get Your Feathers Ready (Album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:03 — 38.5MB) | Embed

Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Northern Cheyenne) is remembered as an effective congressional leader who passionately advocated for Native American issues. He served in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Among other things, he was instrumental in the political advocacy for establishing the National Museum of the American Indians (NMAI).

Harvey Pratt (Cheyenne and Arapaho) was a national voice in support of Native American arts. A large part of his career was as a police sketch artist. He also headed the Indian Arts and Crafts Board for a decade. A former U.S. Marine, he was an advocate for military veterans. His design for a Native American Veterans Memorial was chosen and built on the NMAI campus in 2022.

GUESTS

Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee), president of the Morning Star Institute and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Rick West (Cheyenne and Arapaho), founding director and director emeritus of NMAI

Shanan Campbell (Northern Cheyenne), founder and CEO of Sorrel Sky Gallery and daughter of Ben Nighthorse Campbell

Gina Pratt (Muscogee and Yuchi), wife of Harvey Pratt

Nathan Pratt (Cheyenne and Arapaho), artist and son of Harvey Pratt

Dee Cordry, former Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and author of “Children of White Thunder”

 

Break 1 Music: I Walk with You (song) Joseph Fire Crow (artist) Face the Music (album)

Break 2 Music: Put Your Feathers On (song) Blue Moon Marquee & Northern Cree (artist) Get Your Feathers Ready (Album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:39 — 38.2MB) | Embed

Anishinaabe call the cluster of seven stars in the winter sky Bugonagiizhig, or “Hole in the Sky”. Navajos say it is Dilyéhé, or “Sparkling.” And Senecas say it is the Seven Dancers. On conventional Western star maps, the cluster is known as the Pleiades, a name that refers to Greek mythology. Prominent during winter months, these stars bookmark the winter season and are important symbols for many tribes’ origin stories. We’ll hear about those stories and the teachings connected to the Pleiades.

GUESTS

Michael Waasegiizhig Price (Wikwemikong First Nation), Anishinaabe culture and language keeper

Cal Nez (Navajo), fine arts artist and graphic designer, Navajo spiritualist

Jamie Jacobs (Tonawanda Seneca), managing curator for the Rock Foundation collections at the Rochester Museum and Science Center

 

Break 1 Music: Starry Night (song) Dallas Arcand (artist) Modern Day Warrior (album)

Break 2 Music: Put Your Feathers On (song) Blue Moon Marquee & Northern Cree (artist) Get Your Feathers Ready (Album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:09 — 38.6MB) | Embed

Whether you view the New Year as a good time for a hard reboot or just a few tweaks here and there, a few words of encouragement can’t hurt. A lot of people see January as the time to launch a new exercise routine or start being a more patient parent. It doesn’t necessarily take an established place of worship or hours in a quiet room to engage with your own internal strengths. We have a panel of experts in mindfulness and using one’s own cultural connections to help stay on a more positive and meaningful path.

GUESTS

D.J. Eagle Bear Vanas (Odawa), motivational storyteller, host of the PBS special, “Discovering your Warrior Spirit”, and author of “Warrior Within” from Penguin Random House

Michael Yellow Bird (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara), professor at the faculty of social work at the University of Manitoba

Eduardo Duran (Apache, Tewa, and Lakota), psychologist and author of “Healing the Soul Wound”

 

Break 1 Music: On the Road Missing Home [Corn Dance] (song) Sheldon Sundown (artist) Hand Drum/Smoke N’ Round Dance (album)

Break 2 Music: Oshki Manitou (song) Chuck Copenace (artist) Oshki Manitou (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:00 — 135.1MB) | Embed

A team of researchers are actively sifting through archival documents, artifacts, even artwork to expand the story of Indigenous slavery. The Native Bound Unbound project includes interactive maps, digitized documents, and recent interviews with descendants whose ancestors endured enslavement. The publicly available digital archive aims to document every instance of Indigenous slavery in the Western Hemisphere to illuminate where and when slavery took place, and the lasting effects for Indigenous communities and their descendants. This is an encore show so we won’t be taking calls from listeners.

GUESTS

Philip J. Deloria (Yankton Dakota), professor of history at Harvard University

Theresa Pasqual (Acoma Pueblo), executive vice president of Indigenous Affairs at the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center and the former tribal historic preservation officer for the Pueblo of Acoma

Estevan Rael-Galvez, executive director of Native Bound Unbound: Archive of Indigenous Slavery

 

Break 1 Music: Crossroad Blues (song) Lakota John (artist) Lakota John and Kin (album)

Break 2 Music: Oshki Manitou (song) Chuck Copenace (artist) Oshki Manitou (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:12 — 38.6MB) | Embed

The scariest clown to ever appear on screen drives a storyline involving a fictional tribe in Maine. “IT: Welcome to Derry” uses horror writer Stephen King’s 1986 novel as a jumping off point. The hit HBO Max miniseries provides a new Native American theme to the plot with some veteran Native talent in front of and behind the camara. It is one of the notable projects from 2025, a list that also includes Sterlin Harjo’s “The Lowdown”, the TIFF Best Canadian Feature winner, “Uiksaringitara,” and SXSW Documentary Feature Special Jury Award winner, “Remaining Native.” We’ll recall some of the best film and TV projects from the year and see what’s in store for 2026.

GUESTS

Johnnie Jae (Otoe-Missouria and Choctaw), founder of Red Pop! News

 Jason Asenap (Comanche and Muscogee), writer, critic, and filmmaker

Sunrise Tippeconnie (Commanche, Navajo and Cherokee), director of programming at deadCenter Film and co-host of the Reel Indigenous Podcast

Kimberly Guerrero (Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and Salish and Kootenai), actress, screenwriter, and professor at the University of California, Riverside

 

Break 1 Music: Put Your Feathers On (song) Blue Moon Marquee & Northern Cree (artist) Get Your Feathers Ready (Album)

Break 2 Music: Oshki Manitou (song) Chuck Copenace (artist) Oshki Manitou (album)

Favorite films and television shows of the year

Sunrise Tippeconnie:

1. Tiger – (documentary short), director Loren Waters
2. Drowned Land – (documentary), director Colleen Thurston
3. Legend of Fry-Roti: Rise of the Dough – (short film), director Sabrina Saleha
4. Free Leonard Peltier – (documentary), directors Jesse Short Bull and David France
5. Siren of the Wood – (short film), director Christopher Corsy

Jason Asenap:

1. Tiger – (short doc), director Lauren Waters
2. Endless Cookie – (animated film), directors Seth Scriver and Peter Scriver
3. Remaining Native – (documentary), director Paige Bethmann
4. The Lowdown – (television show), creator Sterlin Harjo

Johnnie Jae:

1. Guardian of the Land – (documentary), director LaRonn Katchia
2. Inkwo for When the Starving Return – (animated short), director Amanda Strong
3. Pow! – (animated short), director Joey Clift
4. Courage – (documentary short), director Eric Michael Hernandez
5. Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband) – (feature film), director Zacharias Kunuk

Here’s an extended interview with “IT: Welcome to Derry” star Kimberly Guerrero speaking on her role of Rose in the television series. She starts off describing her early career in Hollywood.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:25 — 38.7MB) | Embed

As South Dakota tribes mark the 135th anniversary of the Wounded Knee Massacre, they face a headwind of history revision by the Trump administration. After years of admonishment by tribal leaders to rescind the Medals of Honor awarded to the soldiers who participated in the massacre, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth instead praised the soldiers for their bravery and declared that the medals will stand. Since then, President Donald Trump signed legislation preserving land at the site in honor of the tragedy. We’ll get perspective on how Wounded Knee is remembered.

GUESTS

Jeff Means (Oglala Lakota), associate professor of history and department chair at the University of Wyoming

Courtney Yellow Fat (Hunkpapa Lakota), historian and chief cultural consultant and co-producer with the Densmore/Lakota Songs Repatriation Project

Willard Malebear Jr. (Hunkpapa Lakota), current organizer of the Dakota 38+2 Memorial Run

 

Break 1 Music: Calvin Jumping Bull’s Memorial Song (song) Porcupine Singers (artist) Alowanpi – Songs Of Honoring – Lakota Classics: Past & Present, Vol. 1 (album)

Break 2 Music: Oshki Manitou (song) Chuck Copenace (artist) Oshki Manitou (album)