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The COVID-19 pandemic and a contentious presidential election dominated the news is 2020. But there were many other news stories that exemplified Native issues and people. We’ll look back on some of the top stories of the year and get a glimpse of some of the stories you may have missed. We’ll also check up on recent news dominating the headlines.

Guests:

Aliyah Chavez (Kewa Pueblo) – reporter at Indian Country Today

Kalen Goodluck (Diné, Mandan, Hidatsa, and Tsimshian) – contributing editor at High Country News and freelance journalist

Allison Herrera (Xolon Salinan) – Indigenous Affairs reporter at KOSU

Break 1 music: Sewa Ania (song) Gabriel Ayala (artist) Shades of Blue (album)

Break 2 music: Wim Ah I Wem, Tiwa (single) Gregg Analla (artist)

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The COVID-19 is a major contributor to making 2020 the deadliest year in U.S. history. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report deaths from COVID-19 putting the nation on track to registering 3 million deaths for the first time. The threat of the disease also devastated the economy and costs millions of people their jobs. Time Magazine officially dubbed 2020 as “The Worst Year Ever.” But if you’re one to look at the glass half full, this year was also filled with a lot of small, positive things for many of us. Quarantines afforded an opportunity to learn new skills, reassess goals, volunteer for a cause or get closer with friends and family. As the “worst year” comes to a close, we’ll take time to focus on some of the hidden blessings.

Guests:

D.J. Vanas (Odawa Nation) – motivational storyteller, bestselling author and owner of Native Discovery Inc.

Jir Anderson (Cochiti Pueblo) – founder of Native Guitars Tours

Nico Albert (citizen of the Cherokee Nation) – founder and executive chef of Burning Cedar Indigenous Foods

Break 1 music: Diamond Ring (song) The Jir Project Band (artist) The Pueblo (album)

Break 2 music: Wim Ah I Wem, Tiwa (single) Gregg Analla (artist)

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Best Beginnings Alaska published four baby board books to help fill a gap in Alaska children’s literature. They call the project “Seasons of Alaska” and it lines up with their mission of ensuring children have the tools they need to succeed in school and to include books that have an accurate representation of Native life in Alaska. Each book covers one season and highlights the beauty of rural Alaska. They feature the creativity of four Alaska Native authors who teamed up with photographers to celebrate the different seasons. We’ll visit with those who helped bring the pages to life.

Guests:

Angela Łot’oydaatlno Gonzalez (Koyukon Athabascan) – author & creator of the Athabascan Woman Blog

Carla Snow (tribal member of the Native Village of Kalskag) – author

Abbe Hensley – Executive Director/Best Beginnings

Break 1 music: Siku (song) Pamyua (artist) Caught in the Act (album)

Break 2 music: Wim Ah I Wem, Tiwa (single) Gregg Analla (artist)

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Eddie Benton-Banai (Anishinaabe Ojibwe) was one of the founders of the American Indian Movement. He met his fellow co-founder Clyde Bellecourt (White Earth Ojibwe) in jail in the late 1960s and they and others fought for sovereign land rights and against police brutality. Benton-Banai walked on in November at the age of 89. Maxine Racehorse Edmo (Shoshone-Bannock), a longtime Native education and language revitalization advocate, was appointed to the National Advisory Council on Indian Education by President Jimmy Carter. She walked on in September at the age of 91.  Those are two of the many Native Americans who died this year that we will take time to honor.

Guests:

Dorene Waubanewquay Day (Anishinaabe Ojibwe) – midwife, activist and friend of Eddie Benton-Banai

Lorraine Edmo (Shoshone-Bannock) – daughter of Maxine Racehorse Edmo

Steve LaRance (Hopi/Assiniboine) – father of Nakotah LaRance

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

Break 2 music: Wim Ah I Wem, Tiwa (single) Gregg Analla (artist)

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We take a look back at some of the highlights in 2020 movies, TV and comics with Native themes, characters and entertainers. We’ll also get a glimpse of some highlights coming up, including the Peacock streaming TV show Rutherford Falls, created by Sierra Teller Ornelas (Navajo). Indian Country Today’s Vincent Schilling give us his top movie and TV picks for the year and what is on his radar for 2021.

Guests:

Vincent Schilling (Akwesasne Mohawk) – associate editor for Indian Country Today

Pierre Barrera (Klamath/Lakota) – actor and director

Tiffany Midge (Hunkpapa Lakota) – poet and humorist and author of Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese’s

Links mentioned on today’s show:

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Rep. Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo, D-NM) is set to make history as the first Native American to hold a presidential cabinet position. The Washington Post reported President-elect Joe Biden is naming Haaland to the post that oversees public lands and all the Native reservation trust land. Haaland’s nomination would need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is within DOI. We’ll examine what this historic appointment means for tribes and the public lands under Interior’s purvue. We’ll also explore what some of the department’s priorities might be during the Biden Administration.

Guests:

Dr. Aaron Payment (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) – chairperson of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and first vice-president of the National Congress of American Indians

Cris Stainbrook (Lakota) – president of Indian Land Tenure Foundation

Diana Cournoyer (Oglala Sioux Tribe) – executive director of the National Indian Education Association

Judith LeBlanc “La Blank” (member of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma) – director of the Native Organizers Alliance

Break 1 music: Little Earthlings (song) The Jir Project Band (artist) Sun Child (album)

Break 2 music: My Winter Song (song) Andrea Menard (artist) Sparkle Holiday (album)

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Veterinarians and vet techs stitch wounds, reset bones, vaccinate and generally ease the pain for animals that can’t tell us what ails them. We’ll visit with veterinarians about the unique perspectives Native people bring to the profession and the need for more Native vets to keep animals in our lives health.

Guests:

Dr. Germaine Daye (Navajo) – director of the veterinary teaching hospital and the land grant program at the Navajo Technical University

Dr. Tolani Francisco (from the Pueblo of Laguna and Catawba) – owner of Native Healing, LLC, wild horse and burro coordinator U.S. Forest Service

Break 1 music: Classical Moment (song) Jay Begaye (artist) Horses Are Our Journey (album)

Break 2 music: My Winter Song (song) Andrea Menard (artist) Sparkle Holiday (album)

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Podcasts featuring Native producers and perspectives are gaining increased recognition. Rebecca Nagle (Cherokee Nation) won the 2020 American Mosaic Journalism Prize for her podcast ‘This Land’. Native America Calling producer Andi Murphy’s Native foodways podcast ‘Toasted Sister’ was among Saveur Magazine’s top 100 favorite things of 2020 and won the Native American Journalists Association first place award for general excellence. We will sample some of the stand-outs in the rapidly growing number of Native-produced audio and video you might want to add to your podcast subscriptions list.

Guests:

Dr. Natalie Welch (Eastern Cherokee) – Assistant professor at Linfield University, host of Creative Native.

John Kane (Mohawk) – host of Let’s Talk Native with John Kane

Rebecca Nagle (Cherokee Nation) – host of the podcast This Land

Falen Johnson (Mohawk/Tuscarora) – co-host of The Secret Life of Canada and guest host of Unreserved on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Nick Estes (Lower Brule Sioux) – co-host of the Red Nation Podcast

Andi Murphy (Navajo) – host and producer of the Toasted Sister Podcast

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

Break 2 music: Standing Rock (feat. Nick Ørbæk Jacobsen) (song) Uyarakq (artist) Miseraq (album)