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The superintendent of schools for Rapid City, S.D. just issued an apology after a federal investigation found “persistent and statistically significant disparities” when it comes to Native American students. The report specifically cited the superintendent saying tribes don’t value education and complaining about Native students running on “Indian time”.  The report comes after a series of incidents drawing the ire of tribes, including a requirement by the Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) Administration that state employees remove their tribal affiliations from email signatures. Is South Dakota peculiar or are they driving a trend?

GUESTS

Dr. Valeriah Big Eagle (Ihanktonwan Dakota), former co-chair of Rapid City Area Schools Indigenous Task Force

Sunny Red Bear (Miniconjou, Hunkpapa and Oglala Lakota), associate director of organizing for NDN Collective

Sarah White (Oglala Lakota), founder and executive director of South Dakota Education Equity Coalition (SDEEC) and former Title VI Indian Education Manager for Rapid Area Schools

Catherine E. Lhamon, assistant secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education

Break 1 Music: Sioux Honor Song (song) Red Hawk Medicine Drum (artist) New Beginnings (album)

Break 2 Music: Over and Over (song) Celeigh Cardinal (artist)

Rapid City Area Schools Superintendent Nicole Swigart could not appear live on the show, but she sent this written statement about the U.S. Department of Education report:

As a member of the Rapid City community for more than 50 years and as someone who has devoted more than 33 years of my life to serving the Rapid City School District, I have always been committed to treating everyone with the highest level of respect. I adamantly disagree with those comments attributed to me in the Office of Civil Rights report. The transcript of my interview is both misleading and inaccurate as to comments I allegedly made regarding my views of the Native community. I do not hold those beliefs to be true and I have never uttered such hurtful words. Our Native American Tribes solidly value education and graduation. Additionally, the tribes partner well with our district for which I am so grateful, proud, and celebrate.

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As digital technology increasingly becomes the main infrastructure for information and commerce, tribes will need to create an informed strategy to make sure their voices are included. That is one of the driving factors behind the new Center for Tribal Digital Sovereignty that just launched by Arizona State University and the National Congress of American Indians. The project will research and help tribes navigate important trends and issues including broadband connectivity, AI, and data privacy protection.

GUESTS

Dr. Traci Morris (Chickasaw), executive director and research professor at the American Indian Policy Institute at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University

Geoffrey Blackwell (Chickasaw, Choctaw, Omaha, and Muscogee Creek), general counsel and chief of staff for the National Congress of American Indians

Matthew Rantanen (Cree), director of technology for Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association, board member of the American Indian Policy Institute at Arizona State University, and co-chair of Tech and Telecom at the National Congress of American Indians

Break 1 Music: Beautiful Flower (song) Cree Confederation (artist) Kihtawasoh Wapakwani (album)

Break 2 Music: Over and Over (song) Celeigh Cardinal (artist)

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More than 30 pieces of century-old Hopi pottery, baskets, and other items are making a return visit to the Hopi community, making them available to the descendants of the artists for the first time. The project is called Tuma Angwu Owya. The pieces were originally acquired by a wealthy Massachusetts family who visited the Hopi reservation during cross-country trip in the late 1920s. They forged a lasting relationship with some Hopi community members. Their collection is now housed at Wesleyan University, which is helping facilitate this unique return to their place of origin for a weekend. We’ll talk with the event organizers about bringing these works back to the Hopi reservation.

GUESTS

Patty Talahongva (Hopi), journalist and community curator

Donna Humetewa Kaye (Hopi), facilitator for Hopitutuqaiki

Lea McChesney, curator of ethnology at Maxwell Museum of Anthropology

 

Break 1 Music: We’re Going Home (song) Clark Tenakhongva (artist) Hear My Song, Hear My Prayer – Songs from the Hopi Mesas (album)

Break 2 Music: Over and Over (song) Celeigh Cardinal (artist)

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Indigenous scientists often have a foot in two worlds: modern science and the wisdom that comes from sacred and traditional knowledge. Each has their strengths and their own bearing on ways to achieve ecological sustainability. First Nations ecologist Dr. Jennifer Grenz, author of Medicine Wheel for the Planet, says Western institutions have the right idea with inclusion — but their methods can still be detrimental to Indigenous scholars and communities.

GUESTS

Dr. Jennifer Grenz (Nlaka’pamux mixed ancestry), Indigenous scholar and assistant professor and faculty of Forestry and Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia – Vancouver

Dr. Samantha Chisholm Hatfield (Cherokee and enrolled in the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians), assistant professor, senior research at Oregon State University in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences

Break 1 Music: Elders Land Ballad (song) Paula Nelson (artist) C.H.A.N.T. Cherokee Hope and New Traditions (album)

Break 2 Music: Over and Over (song) Celeigh Cardinal (artist)

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A Massachusetts museum is assembling works to explore how Indigenous people interacted with whales and the marine environment throughout history. The New Bedford Whaling Museum combines a one-woman show by Shinnecock multi-media artist Courtney M. Leonard with a collection of scrimshaw work by Indigenous artists around the country, putting contemporary and historical expressions side by side.

GUESTS

Courtney M. Leonard (Shinnecock)

Cora-Allan Lafaiki Twiss (Māori: Ngā Puhi, Tainui from the Island of Niue), artist

Dr. Nadia Jackinsky-Sethi (Ninilchik tribal member), historian and consultant for the CIRI Foundation

Naomi Slipp, Douglas and Cynthia Crocker endowed chair for the chief curator and director of museum learning at the New Bedford Whaling Museum

Ymelda Laxton, assistant curator of contemporary art and community projects at the New Bedford Whaling Museum

Break 1 Music: Ocean Prayer [Version A] (song) Pamyua (artist) Side A/Side B (album)

Break 2 Music: Leave It All Behind (song) Razed In Black (artist) Damaged (album)

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A half dozen Indigenous leaders are getting a boost for incorporating traditional connections with making people and their communities better. The recipients of this year’s Bush Foundation Fellowship include the head of a clinic innovating culturally appropriate care, a Native-led birthing initiative, and a system for helping families affected by the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women issue. Each receives a $100,000 grant to develop their work further. We’ll hear from the fellows about their passions and their plans for the future.

GUESTS

Autumn Cavender (Upper Sioux Community), midwife, doula, and birth worker

Dr. Antony Stately (Ojibwe and Oneida), executive officer and president of the Native American Community Clinic

Arlene Krulish (Spirit Lake Nation), tribal health care planner and future psychiatric nurse practitioner

Break 1 Music: Healing Song (song) Red Hawk Medicine Drum (artist) New Beginnings (album)

Break 2 Music: Leave It All Behind (song) Razed In Black (artist) Damaged (album)

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An early summer heat wave just scorched the Southwest, breaking high temperature records, and another potentially record-breaking weather system is on it’s way. 2023 was the worst year on record for heat-related deaths in Phoenix, Ariz. A 14-year study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds Indigenous populations in the U.S. suffer a higher percentage of heat-related deaths than any other population. NASA is just one of the agencies documenting the increasing frequency of high heat and drought, both of which put fire management officials on alert for the potential of another destructive wildfire season. We’ll find out how Native American emergency management and public health officials are gearing up to prepare for potentially deadly weather conditions.

GUESTS

Bodie Shaw (member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs), deputy regional director for the northwest region of the Bureau of Indian Affairs

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

Trevor Boucher, meteorologist at the National Weather Service

Break 1 Music: Horseback Ridingsong (song) The Tewa Indian Women’s Choir (artist) The Tewa Indian Women’s Social Choir: Fun and Social Songs From San Juan Pueblo (album)

Break 2 Music: Leave It All Behind (song) Razed In Black (artist) Damaged (album)

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When it’s most relevant, Indigenous art can force people to confront important and tough issues. It’s also a creative window to view the artist’s individuality and identity. We’ll mark that creativity on this Pride Month episode, talking with Indigenous LGBTQ+ and Two-Spirit artists about the intersection of two driving issues of identity that are both a celebration and a source of contention.

GUESTS

Melody McKiver (Obishikokaang First Nation), assistant professor of Indigenous Music with the Desautels Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba and a member of the Mizi’iwe Aana Kwat (LGBTQ2S+ Council) with the Grand Council Treaty #3

Cray Bauxmont-Flynn (Delaware Tribes of Indians and Cherokee), founder and executive director of Indigenous Arts Alliance and founder and chief creative officer of Amatoya

Evan Benally Atwood (Diné), queer filmmaker photographer

Neebinnaukzhik Southall (Chippewas of Rama First Nation), owner of Neebin Studios

Break 1 Music: ‘Cause I Like A Girl (song) Ailani (artist) Heartbroken Bones (album)

Break 2 Music: Leave It All Behind (song) Razed In Black (artist) Damaged (album)

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At one point in history, the various tribes in the Plains region developed a shared universal language. But it didn’t rely on the spoken word. Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL), or Hand Talk, was a complex means of communication that spread over a large swatch of North America. It was a way for deaf people to communicate before the invention of American Sign Language (ASL). Colonial intrusion and assimilation policies caused the number of PISL practitioners to drop off drastically. Now, a handful of PISL speakers are trying to revitalize this unique language.

GUESTS

Dr. Lanny Real Bird (Apsáalooke), educator, consultant, and Native language advocate

Floyd Favel (Plains Cree from Poundmaker Cree Nation), theater artist, educator, knowledge keeper, and writer

Marvin Weatherwax Sr. (Blackfeet), language and history educator at Blackfeet Community College

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

Break 2 Music: Leave It All Behind (song) Razed In Black (artist) Damaged (album)

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Mental health conditions tops the list of causes for pregnancy-related deaths over a three-year period in a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Calling the problem an “urgent public health crisis”, the Biden Administration is forming a task force to report to Congress about ways to turn the statistics around. We’ll get reports from those who know about mental health treatments for pregnant Native Americans.

GUESTS

Dr. Jennifer Crawford, clinical psychologist and assistant professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine with a secondary appointment in obstetrics and gynecology

Dr. Tina Pattara-Lau, maternal child health consultant at Indian Health Service headquarters

Dr. Jennifer Richards (Diné, Oglala Lakota and Taos Pueblo), assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Center of Indigenous Health

Break 1 Music: Strongheart (song) Sissy Goodhouse (artist) The Third Circle (album)

Break 2 Music: Bigfoot (song) Bobby Bullet (Artist) Bigfoot (album)