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Native Americans have the highest prevalence of cigarette smoking in the country, according to reports by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. As a result, they also have a higher risk of developing tobacco-related illnesses, like heart disease and lung cancer. The CDC acknowledges the potential electronic cigarettes have as an alternative to smoking, but now recommends against them following a string of deaths and lung injuries from vaping. The Oglala Sioux Tribe banned the use of electronic cigarettes. For the Great American Smokeout day we’ll talk about the importance—and difficulty—of smoking cessation.

Guests:

Dr. Patricia Nez-Henderson (Diné) – vice president of the Black Hills Center for American Indian Health

Jovian Henio (Mescalero Apache and Diné) – outreach coordinator for Keres Consulting

Jennifer Folkenroth – national senior director of tobacco for the American Lung Association

Tammi Meissner – Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium tobacco program

 

Break 2 music: Little Earthlings (song) The Jir Project Band (artist) Sun Child (album)

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Navajo Nation president Jonathan Nez pulled backing for the Navajo Transitional Energy Company, after the company announced it’s purchase of coal mines in Wyoming and Montana. In a press release President Nez said he’s worried about “the viability of expanding our interests in a coal market that appears to be dwindling.” The Trump Administration vows to revive the coal industry. At the same time the U.S. Environmental Information Administration reports a steady decline in the number of coal companies. What’s next for tribes, like the Navajo Nation, that are transitioning away from coal?

Guests:

Jarvis Williams (Navajo) – tribal liaison for the Navajo Transitional Energy Company

Chris Deschene (member of the Navajo Nation) – general counsel for Navajo Power PBS (public benefit corporation)

 

Break 1 Music:  Unconquered (song) Injunuity (artist) Unconquered (album)

Break 2 music: Little Earthlings (song) The Jir Project Band (artist) Sun Child (album)

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As the United States announces its official exit from the Paris Climate Agreement, we’ll take time to revisit some of the tribes fighting the effects of climate change. The Trump Administration officially notified the United Nations of the intention to pull the U.S. out of the accord next November. Meanwhile, scientists continue to sound the alarm over the current and looming problems associated with climate change, and project Native people all over the world will suffer the affects disproportionately. Tribes are among those already facing urgent crises linked to the warming planet. We’ll get updates from tribes and organizations about the work they are doing to handle the effects of climate change.

Guests:

August Creppel (United Houma Nation) – Chief of the United Houma Nation 

Melanie Bahnke (Native Village of Savoonga) –  president and CEO of Kawerak Inc.

Ann Marie Chischilly (Diné) –  environmental lawyer and executive director of the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals at Northern Arizona University 

Don Sampson (Umatilla Tribe) – climate change project coordinator for the  Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians

 

Break 1 music: We Are the People (song) Coca Creppel And Cannes Brulees (artist) Raising Cane (album)

Break 2 music: Little Earthlings (song) The Jir Project Band (artist) Sun Child (album)

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It started as a way to show Native pride. Now in its 9th year, the Rock Your Mocs celebration has grown well beyond its social media hashtag origins. Every year the Rock Your Mocs day adds events and inspiration around the country. We’ll hear from one of the original founders, Jessica “Jaylyn” Atsye (Laguna Pueblo), about what’s new and ways the message is resonating with Native nations.

Guests:

Jessica ‘Jaylyn’ Atsye (Laguna Pueblo) – founder of Rock Your Mocs

Melissa Sanchez (Acoma Pueblo and Laguna Pueblo) – producer at Emergence Productions

Matthew Anderson (Cherokee Nation) – cultural specialist for the Cherokee Arts Center

Break 1 music: Taste Of Red Bull (Crow Hop) (song) Cree Confederation (artist) Horse Dance – Mistamim Simoowin (album)

Break 2 music: Rumble (Remastered) (song) Link Wray (artist) Rumble (Remastered) (single)

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A cross-cultural program connects Maori master’s students with Native Americans to provide international context for leadership training. A delegation of two dozen students and faculty from New Zealand’s University of Canterbury’s School of Maori and Indigenous Studies explore the similarities and differences in Native governance, social structure, language, arts and economic opportunities. Members of the group will share what they’re learning and how they see the program benefits their work to connect with and improve their own cultures.

Guests:

Che Wilson (Ngati Rangi/ Whanganui) – president of the Maori Party and program leader for the Masters in Maori and Indigenous Leadership program at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand

William Grant (Ngai Tahu/Ngati Porou) – director of the Masters in Maori and Indigenous Leadership program at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand

Break 1 music: Tānerore (song) NRG Rising (artist) Say Yes to Life (album)

Break 2 music: Rumble (Remastered) (song) Link Wray (artist) Rumble (Remastered) (single)

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Oklahoma released more than 400 non-violent inmates from prison earlier this month. Most of them had a little over a year left on their sentences. It’s the result of reform efforts to reduce overcrowding, cut costs and promote self-sufficiency for low-level prisoners. It calls attention to other reform ideas to try and end the cycle of incarceration for Native Americans and other populations that are over-represented in the prison system.

Guests:

David LittleSun (citizen of the Pawnee Nation) – director of the American Indian Criminal Justice Navigation Council

Bradley Harrington (member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) – commissioner of natural resources for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, cultural and language revitalization advocate, and chemical dependency advocate for the tribe

Keith Green (Muscogee Creek) – operations coordinator for the Muscogee Creek Nation Reintegration Program

Break 1 music: Red Ochre Cheek Clan (Tl’ááshchí’í) (song) Radmilla Cody (artist) K’é Hasin (album)

Break 2 music: Rumble (Remastered) (song) Link Wray (artist) Rumble (Remastered) (single)

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The president of the University of Arizona got an education of his own after insisting he had Native ancestry because of his “high cheek bones.” Robert C. Robbins was speaking to a class of Native students when he mentioned his online DNA test must be wrong because it did not show any Native heritage. He prefaced the remark by saying he didn’t want to “pull an Elizabeth Warren.” He’s since apologized, but many on campus are left wondering how those in the highest ranks of academia can still be so tone deaf. Native students are using the opportunity to elevate the conversation about making college campuses more welcoming.

Guests:

Dr. Robert Robbins – president of the University of Arizona

Dr. Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert (Hopi) –  professor and head of the department of American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona

Amanda Cheromiah (Laguna Pueblo) –  volunteer director for Native SOAR and a 3rd year Ph.D. student in higher education at the University of Arizona

Joshua Sandoval (Navajo Nation) –  currently a freshman at the University of Arizona majoring in public health

Joshua Billy (Navajo Nation) – currently a sophomore at the University of Arizona majoring in pre-nursing

Full interview with Dr. Amanda Tachine assistant professor of higher education in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University and one of the founders of the Native SOAR program at the University of Arizona

Break 1 music: Maskwa’s Journey (song) Asani (artist) Rattle And Drum (album)

Break 2 music: Rumble (Remastered) (song) Link Wray (artist) Rumble (Remastered) (single)

 

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Despite pervasive mistrust of the U.S. government, Native Americans are well represented in the military. A new documentary premiering on PBS, Warrior Tradition, examines the history of Native American military service and explores the reasons Native men and women enlist at higher rates than other populations. We’ll hear directly from veterans and also talk with those involved with the film.

Guests:

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

Dr.  Jeffrey Means (Oglala Lakota) – associate professor in the department of history and American studies at the University of Wyoming

Elizabeth Perez ( North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians) – former Deputy Secretary at the California Veterans Affairs of the Minority and Underrepresented Veterans Division and founder and CEO of GC Green Inc. 

Larry Hott –  producer and director of The Warrior Tradition

Debra Mooney (Choctaw/Mississippi Choctaw) –  retired sergeant 1st class with the Oklahoma Army National Guard

Break 1 music: This Little Light of Mine (song) Twice As Good (artist) That’s All I Need (album)

Break 2 music: Rumble (Remastered) (song) Link Wray (artist) Rumble (Remastered) (single)

 

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Picking your own apples, tracing your dinner from farm to table and even touring gardens and vineyards are all elements of agritourism that some Native business owners are cashing in on. Tribes and individual farmers, agritourism is a way to build interest in the culture surrounding food while also satisfying the hunger people have for learning about food and connecting to it.

Guests:

Michelle Danforth-Anderson (Oneida) — marketing and tourism director for the Oneida Nation

Toni Stanger-McLaughlin (Colville) — regional director of the Native American Agriculture Fund

Gail Chehak (Klamath) — outreach and membership coordinator for the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association

Valorie Walters (Chickasaw Nation) — undersecretary of the department of culture and humanities for Chickasaw Nation

 

Mentioned:

AIANTA Agritourism resource page: https://www.aianta.org/agritourism-resource-page/

Break 1 music: Gunalchéesh (song) Khu.éex’ (artist) They Forgot They Survived (album)

Break 2 music: Dance of the Coyote (song) Tony Duncan (artist) Earth Warrior (album)