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The coronavirus pandemic is putting barriers between family members and their grief over loved ones who have walked on. Families often can’t be with their relatives in the last hours of their lives because of the increased coronavirus threat. In addition, bans on public gatherings hinder funerals and traditional tribal practices to send off relatives. We’ll hear from those helping others cope with loss. And we’ll talk with friends and family members confronting the inability to express their grief in the way they’ve come to expect.

Guests:

Madelena Kee (Navajo) –  Navajo Family Assistance Services Supervisor for the Navajo Nation

Shayai Lucero (Acoma/Laguna) –  owner Earth and Sky Floral design and gallery

Mike Watkins – vice president of operations for Daniel’s Family Funeral Service

Dr. Art Martinez (Chumash) – clinical psychologist at the Shingle Springs Tribal Health Program

 

 

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: D.R.E.A.M. (single) Neon Nativez (artist)

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Home gardening is enjoying renewed growth. It may have started with fears of food shortages and limited access to grocery stores. But it’s also a satisfying outlet for people stuck at home running out of Netflix options. Whether it’s a monster waffle garden with corn, beans and zucchini, or nursing one small tomato plant through the season, there is a garden for just about everybody. We’ll talk with seasoned gardeners about how to put together a garden to fit your lifestyle.

Guests:

Cynthia Naha (Hopi) – director of natural resources for Santo Domingo Pueblo

Jake Foreman (Absentee Shawnee) – program manager for New Mexico Community Capital and back yard gardener

James Edwards (Pawnee) – Powwow MC and organic gardening student

Lynette Two Bulls (Oglala Lakota and Cheyenne) – executive director of Yellow Bird Lifeways

 

Break 1 music: Plant the Seeds (song) Digging Roots (artist) Plant the Seeds (album)

Break 2 music: D.R.E.A.M. (single) Neon Nativez (artist)

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South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and leaders of the Cheyenne River Sioux and Oglala Sioux tribes remain in a verbal and legal standoff. The governor demands tribal leaders remove coronavirus checkpoints on roads into tribal land. Cheyenne River Chairman Harold Frazier insists the checkpoints are legal and necessary to protect citizens on the reservation. Elsewhere, tribal leaders and health officials also continue to try and find the right balance between public safety and economic survival.

Guests:

Joan Delabreau (Menominee) – Chairwoman of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin

Dave Flute (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate) – Secretary of Tribal Affairs for the State of South Dakota

Walter Murillo (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) – CEO of Native Health

Harold Frazier (Cheyenne River Sioux) – Chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux 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: D.R.E.A.M. (single) Neon Nativez (artist)

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Graduation time this year comes with a moratorium on public gatherings because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But high school and college seniors are not letting social distancing keep them from celebrating their educational accomplishments. Social media and family gatherings are among the ways the Native senior class of 2020 is marking the occasion.

Guests:

Dr. Casey Smith (Diné) – University of Minnesota graduate and incoming UCSF (University of California San Francisco) resident

Dr. Corey Still (citizen of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians) – director of scholarship operation at the American Indian Graduate Center

Josh Lucio (Zuni Pueblo) – scholarship operations manager for the American Indian Graduate Center

Kaitlyn Carrywater (Assiniboine) – Hays Lodgepole High School senior

 

Break 1 music: Celebrate (song) Devin Whirlwind Soldier (artist)

Break 2 music: Nose Flute Dub (song) Paula Fuga (artist) Lilikoi (album)

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Almost 5,000 inmates in prisons and jails across the country have tested positive for the coronavirus. Nearly 100 of them have died according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Andrea Circle Bear (Cheyenne River Sioux) was the first female inmate in the country to die of COVID-19. Her family says she should’ve been treated much sooner than she was. In New Mexico, the state Supreme Court denied a petition to release certain inmates to prevent the spread of the virus there. We’ll check on the dilemma of those who have no way to isolate themselves from the pandemic.

Guests:

Gabe Galanda (belongs to the Round Valley Indian Tribes) – managing lawyer at Galanda Broadman and founder of Huy

Preston Sanchez (Dine and Jemez and Laguna Pueblo) – ACLU Indigenous justice attorney

Ruth Buffalo (citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation) – North Dakota State House Representative for district 27

Amanda Lopez (Diné) – sister of incarcerated man

 

Break 1 music: Creation Story (song) John-Carlos Perea (artist) Creation Story (album)

Break 2 music: Nose Flute Dub (song) Paula Fuga (artist) Lilikoi (album)

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As the commercial fishing season in Alaska nears, residents and medical professionals are worried about the potential coronavirus threat posed by the thousands of seasonal workers who arrive from all over the world. The only hospital in Dillingham has two ventilators, which officials say would not be adequate if there’s a major COVID-19 outbreak. The tribally-owned Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation urges the state to postpone the fishing season, citing the health risk to the 28 Alaska Native villages it serves. A group of mayors from the area sent a letter to Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy to consider closing the fishing season. So far, there is no plan to do so.

Guests:

Robert Clark (Yupik) – President and CEO Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation

Thomas Tilden (Curyung Tribal Council) –  Chief of the Curyung Tribal Council

Ralph Andersen (Yupik) – President & CEO Bristol Bay Native Association

 

Break 1 music: Intertribal (song) Cree Confederation (artist) Pakosiyimitan (album)

Break 2 music: Nose Flute Dub (song) Paula Fuga (artist) Lilikoi (album)

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Along with some states, tribes are opening up their businesses despite the continued threat from the coronavirus. Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene Tribe opened its casino with added precautions May 1. In Washington, the Kalispel tribe opened its facilities May 5. At least four other tribes in the state are planning on casino openings in the coming days despite state-mandated stay-at-home orders. The debate over opening businesses to the public weighs economic survival against the health and safety of citizens. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports cases of COVID-19 are declining nationally, but some tribes continue to struggle with increasing infection rates despite the national trend. Experts also warn about a possible spike of new infections if public interactions increase too soon.

Guests:

Bryan Newland (Ojibwe) – tribal chairperson of Bay Mills Indian Community

Frankie Myers (Yurok) – Vice-Chairman of the Yurok Tribe

 

Break 1 music: Round Dance (song) High Noon (artist) Generations (album)

Break 2 music: Nose Flute Dub (song) Paula Fuga (artist) Lilikoi (album)

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The global COVID-19 pandemic generates fear and confusion for a lot of people. As always, scam artists are ready with new and creative ways to exploit people’s fears and steal their money. The Federal Trade Commission is coming down on marketers who falsely claim to have COVID-19 cures. The agency is also warning about phone calls from criminals pretending to be sick family members needing money. We’ll get reminders on how to protect yourself from the latest frauds and scams.

Guests:

Shawn Spruce (Laguna Pueblo) – programs consultant for First Nations Development Institute and co-host of the podcast Natives on a Budget

Chuck Harwood – regional director of Federal Trade Commission for the Northwest region

Dr. Lukejohn Day (Oglala Lakota) – associate professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and the Chief Medical Officer at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital

 

Break 1 music: Through The Woodlands: Buckskin Flats/ Rod’s Reel/ Les Disputeuses (song) Métis Fiddler Quartet (artist) North West Voyage Nord Ouest (album)

Break 2 music: Manitou (song) The Delbert Anderson Trio (artist) MANITOU (album)