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Preterm birth rates for Native mothers are consistently higher than the national average. More than one in ten Native pregnancies fail to reach full term. Any birth before 37 weeks has statistical risks, but depending on how premature they are, preterm newborns face a myriad of health dangers including serious brain, heart, and gastrointestinal problems. There are a number of prenatal risk factors, some of which mothers have control over to help their babies go to full term. We’ll talk about premature births and what parents of premature babies should expect.

Guests:

Shawn Spruce (Laguna Pueblo) – economic development consultant and father

Captain Suzanne England – maternal child health consultant for Great Plains regions of the Indian Health Service

Coco Santos (Omaha and Ojibwe) – mother of four

Dr. Rahul Gupta – senior vice president and chief medical and health officer at the March of Dimes

 

Break 1 music: Eagle Has Blessed Us (song) Tony Duncan (artist) Native Son (album)

Break 2 music: Sunrise Song (song) Khu.éex’ (artist) They Forgot They Survived (album)

The U.S. Department of Interior could put oil and gas leases up for auction in the Arctic Wildlife National Refuge by the end of next year according to Secretary David Bernhardt. The Trump administration recently cleared another hurdle for resource extraction in in the pristine wilderness. Some tribes in the area oppose drilling, saying that it will harm the caribou populations that are critical to their cultural survival. Others support drilling because of the added jobs and other economic benefits.

Guests:

Brook Brisson – senior staff attorney for the Trustees for Alaska

Tonya Garnett (Neets’aii Gwich’in) –  special projects for the Native Village Venetie Tribal Government

 

Break 1 music: Itchick (Tim Yellowtail’s Song) (song) Supaman (artist) Illuminatives (album)

Break 2 music: Sunrise Song (song) Khu.éex’ (artist) They Forgot They Survived (album)

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This year’s Vision Maker Media Film Festival is premiering online. That means audiences will have free access to more than a dozen Indigenous-made films including “Powwow Highway: The Lego Movie” by Jonathan Thunder, “Sweetheart Dancers” a short film about a two-spirit couple by Ben-Alex Dupris, and “Wildfire” a short drama about a runaway teen by Bretten Hannam. We’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at a sampling of films from some of the filmmakers.

Guests:

Alana Stone (Sicangu Lakota) – project coordinator for Vision Maker Media

Drew Nicholas – director and producer

Chenae Bullock (Shinnecock) – Indigenous business owner

Katsitsionni Fox (Kanienkehaka) – director and producer of “Rematriation”

Willow O’Feral – director and producer of “Sisters Rising”

 

Break 1 music: Headstone – Teen Girl’s Southern Traditional (song) Gathering Of Nations Powwow (artist) A Spirit’s Dance (album)

Break 2 music: Sunrise Song (song) Khu.éex’ (artist) They Forgot They Survived (album)

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Edmonton’s (Canada) professional football team dropped the word “Eskimo” as their team name. The makers of Eskimo Pie ice cream are also retiring the brand. Inuit people and organizations have campaigned for years to get rid of the Eskimo name. They have new momentum during a wave of reassessments by sports teams, corporations and elected leaders of names, logos and monuments that don’t hold up under modern scrutiny. The word ‘Eskimo’ comes from a non-Indigenous interpretation of one or more Indigenous words. Some Inuit and Yupik people identify themselves as Eskimo while others see it as a slur.

Guests:

Alice Qannik Glenn (Inupiaq from Utqiagvik, Alaska) – host and produce of the “Coffee & Quaq” podcast

Bob Petersen (Yupik Eskimo) – network manager for NV1

Chelsey Zibell (Inupiaq from the Noorvik Native Community) – instructor of Inupiaq language at that University of Alaska Fairbanks

Dr. Norma Dunning – (Inuit) – Inuit writer, scholar and professor and grandmother

 

Break 1 music: I Am Yup’ik (song) I Sing, You Dance (artist) I Am Yup’ik (album)

Break 2 music: Creation Story (song) John-Carlos Perea (artist) Creation Story (album)

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The Navajo Nation is asking President Trump to halt the execution of Lezmond Mitchell, scheduled for Aug. 26. He is the only enrolled citizen on federal death row. The federal government resumed executions in July after an almost two-decade suspension. Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez issued a statement, saying the request is based on “religious and traditional beliefs, the Navajo Nation’s long-standing position on the death penalty for Native Americans, and our respect for the decision of the victim’s family.” Ignoring the Navajo Nation’s request could set a precedent that undermines the long-standing ability for tribes to weigh in on crimes that warrant the death penalty committed by tribal citizens on tribal land.

Guests:

Brent Leonhard – attorney with the office of legal counsel for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation

Carl Slater (Diné) – council delegate and vice chair of the health, education and human services committee

Kevin Washburn (citizen of the Chickasaw Nation) – dean at the University of Iowa College of Law

 

Break 1 music: Encouragement Song (SONG) Sissy Goodhouse (artist) The Third Circle (album)

Break 2 music: Creation Story (song) John-Carlos Perea (artist) Creation Story (album)