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A dedicated effort to learn more about Native elders living in urban areas reveals they suffer a high rate of chronic illnesses and have limited social interactions. Those conclusions come from the most recent Native Urban Elder Needs Assessment Survey that aims to fill a void of information about the needs of Native American elders — the vast majority of whom live in cities. The survey is among the efforts to better understand and provide effective services for Native elders. The effort is all the more pressing as federal cuts to Medicaid and Medicare approach, costs for medical care rise, and pressure increases to cut support for the Indian Health Service.

GUESTS

Dr. Collette Adamson (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians), director of the National Resource Center on Native American Aging and research assistant professor at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences University of North Dakota

Michael Bird (Kewa Pueblo and Ohkay Owingeh), past president of the American Public Health Association and past national consultant for AARP

Dr. Emily Haozous (Fort Sill Chiricahua-Warm Springs Apache Tribe), research scientist for the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation

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A former DJ who once struggled as a student, Cailean Dakota MacColl built her way to medical school from the ground up. She’s now graduating from the University of Minnesota Medical School.

Jerrick Hope-Lang took on preserving a Tlingit clan house in Sitka, Alaska that was named on the America’s most endangered historic places. Now he’s a Henry Luce Foundation Indigenous knowledge fellow and a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Lawren “Lulu” Goodfox is a budding actor balancing film and stage roles with especially busy extra-curricular activities like tennis, student council, honors society, and preparation for traditional dances. She is now graduating from Stillwater High School in Oklahoma and setting off to study drama at New York University’s Tisch School of Arts.

We’ll talk to each of them about what’s ahead for the class of 2026.

GUESTS

Dr. Cailean Dakota MacColl (Lac La Ronge Indian Band), University of Minnesota Doctor of Medicine graduate

Jerrick Hope-Lang ( Tlingit and Tsimshian), director of Point House Revitalization and a 2026 Luce Knowledge Fellow

Lawren “Lulu” Goodfox (Osage and Pawnee), 2026 graduate of Stillwater High School

Brandin Naabaahi Upshaw (Diné), 2026 graduate of Navajo Preparatory School

 

Break 1 Music: Wahzhazhe (song) Scott George (artist) Killers of the Flower Moon Soundtrack (album)

Break 2 Music: Bad Dude (song) Joe H Henry (artist) Real Things (album)

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The Native fashion show was always among the most popular offerings at the annual Santa Fe Indian Market put on by the Southwest Association for Indian Arts. Now SWAIA’s Native Fashion Week returns for the third year as a standalone celebration of wearable Native creativity. Designers include Jamie Okuma and Lauren Good Day, who are making strides in the mainstream fashion arenas. This year, organizers aim for a scaled-back, intimate event that includes a curated fashion show, Indigenous food, vendors, and public discussions. We’ll get a preview of the upcoming Native Fashion Week in Santa Fe, N.M.

We’ll also talk with Ruth-Ann Thorn (Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians), founder of the brand N8iV Beauty, that was just named one of the TIME100 Most Influential Companies of 2026.

GUESTS

Jamie Schulze (Northern Cheyenne and Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate), executive director of the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA)

Jamie Okuma (Shoshone-Bannock, La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, Wailaki, and Okinawan), artist and fashion designer

Lauren Good Day (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara), traditional arts designer

Ruth-Ann Thorn (Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians), founder of N8iV Beauty

 

Break 1 Music: Hoka Hey (feat. Jayden Paz & Dancin Dave) [Radio Version] (song) DJ krayzkree (artist) Future Generations (album)

Break 2 Music: Bad Dude (song) Joe H Henry (artist) Real Things (album)

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Tribes in Wisconsin are celebrating that state’s new law that gives them exclusive control over sports betting in the state, but a similar attempt to secure tribal control of sports betting fell flat in Oklahoma. Both actions come as prediction market companies like Kalshi and Polymarket are raking in hundreds of millions of dollars offering wagers on nearly everything including sports. One attorney says prediction market companies pose an existential threat to Native American gaming. We’ll speak with tribal leaders and Native academics about the legal and political fight over ground in the multi-billion dollar sports betting market.

Also, President Donald Trump’s move to reclassify marijuana to a less restrictive status is a win for the Omaha Tribe. The tribe is working to open a medical marijuana operation after tribal council voted in 2025 to legalize medical marijuana on tribal lands, but the effort continues to face roadblocks, including the Nebraska governor, who has opposed legalization.

GUESTS

Tehassi Hill (Oneida), chairman of the Oneida Nation and vice chairman of the Indian Gaming Association

Jeff Crawford (Forest County Potawatomi), attorney general for Forest County Potawatomi Community

Patrice Kunesh (Standing Rock Sioux descent), professor of law at the University of New Mexico and fellow at The Brookings Institution

Gary Pitchlynn (Choctaw), professor of law at the University of Oklahoma

Amanda Hallowell (Omaha), cannabis commission chairwoman for the Omaha Tribe

John Cartier, attorney general for the Omaha Tribe

 

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

Break 2 Music: Bad Dude (song) Joe H Henry (artist) Real Things (album)

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MMIP advocates fault police in Anchorage for not acting fast enough when young Alaska Native woman went missing in January. Kelly Hunt’s body was discovered in April. Her death is now under investigation. It’s the latest case revealing the persistent lack of trust Native communities have when it comes to MMIP cases. Hunt’s case comes as the Trump administration is touting a surge in federal agents in selected locations to address the backlog in unsolved serious crimes, but tribal leaders and advocates say there’s no real progress on the lingering disconnect between Native people and law enforcement officials on all levels. And despite some recent progress, there are serious hurdles when it comes to jurisdictional confusion and information sharing across agencies.

GUESTS

Regina Antone (Gila River Indian Community), lieutenant governor of the Gila River Indian Community

Stephen Roe Lewis, governor of the Gila River Indian Community

Alexis Savage (Iñupiaq), MMIP advocate

LaRenda Morgan (Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma), Cheyenne and Arapaho MMIP chapter chairwoman and the governmental affairs officer for the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma

 

Break 1 Music: Nakoda Healing Song (song) YB Nakota (artist)

Break 2 Music: Bad Dude (song) Joe H Henry (artist) Real Things (album)

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First Nations, Inuit, and Métis leaders across Canada are calling for an investigation into the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). That’s following a report by CBC Indigenous that uncovered evidence of a secret surveillance program targeting Indigenous organizations and individuals using wiretaps, informants, and counter subversion tactics from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. The report confirms what many Indigenous communities long suspected.

We’ll also reflect on 150 years of the Indian Act, the Canadian federal statute that defines First Nations membership or “Indian Status”. A new bill in Canada’s parliament could significantly expand status eligibility for thousands of individuals and their descendants.

GUESTS

Russ Diabo (Kahnawake Mohawk), First Nations policy analyst

Daniel Sims (Tsay Keh Dene First Nation), associate professor of First Nations Studies at the University of Northern British Columbia

 

Break 1 Music: Stomp Dance (song) George Hunter (artist) Haven (album)

Break 2 Music: Bad Dude (song) Joe H Henry (artist) Real Things (album)

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Following the Trump administration’s lead, state elected leaders and private advocacy groups are taking on programs, scholarships, and admissions practices aimed at improving Native student achievement. An advocacy organization filed a lawsuit challenging a scholarship program that has helped support hundreds of Native Hawaiian medical students for more than three decades. The suit claims the program is unconstitutional. Another group is going after admissions policies at the K-12 Kamehameha Schools that aim to boost Native Hawaiian enrollment. Both challenges have far-reaching implications.

We’ll also hear about a report that finds Minnesota schools are falling far short of the goals enshrined in state law to teach Native languages and culture.

GUESTS

Healani Sonoda-Pale (Kanaka Maoli), educator and community organizer

Gimiwan Dustin Burnette (Ojibwe), executive director of the Midwest Indigenous Immersion Network

Jon Osorio (Kanaka Maoli), dean of the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge

Regis Pecos (Cochiti Pueblo), co-director of the Leadership Institute at the Santa Fe Indian School, chair of the Tribal Education Alliance, and former governor of Cochiti Pueblo

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Right now, crude oil flows unimpeded through the Dakota Access Pipeline under the dammed Missouri River in North Dakota. Construction of the pipeline that traverses Lake Oahe near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation was a defeat for protestors who became known as “water protectors”. But the resistance against that pipeline that started ten years ago was a galvanizing moment for sovereignty and public awareness for Native Americans. It grew into a movement that eventually included thousands of Indigenous activists, tribal leaders, celebrities, and supporters from around the world. ICT News is among the outlets marking the 10-year anniversary of the #NoDAPL movement with a series of articles reflecting on the stand-off and assessing the lasting implications. We’ll hear about that and check in with people who were there.

GUESTS

Amelia Schafer (Brothertown Indian Nation descendant), north central bureau correspondent for ICT

Jon Eagle Sr. (Hunkpapa Lakota and Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate), former tribal historic preservation officer for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe

 

Break 1 Music: Standing Rock [feat. Nick Ørbæk Jacobsen] (song) Uyarakq (artist) Miseraq (album)

Break 2 Music: Heartbreaker (song) Sage Lacapa (artist) Heartbreaker (single)