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The methods and equipment have changed over the years, but trapping remains a practice with a long history for Native Americans. Experienced trappers see it as a viable option for sustenance and animal population management. The sport is highly-regulated to protect endangered animals and to ensure humane standards. We’ll hear about modern trapping and its connection to longstanding cultural practices.

Guests:

PJ Simon (Allakakat Tribe and registered to Koyukon Athabaskan) – advocate for Native people, big game hunting guide, active trapper and plumber

Temple Dillard (Yupik Eskimo from Twin Hills, Alaska) – trapper, skin sewer and Swamp Runner dealer

Dr. Jonathan Gilbert – director of the biological services division of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission

Break 1 music: Enaemaekisaeh (song) Wayne Silas Jr (artist) Infinite Passion (album)

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

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Century-old recordings combined with state-of-the-art technology are giving some tribes new perspectives on their languages and songs. Wax cylinder recordings of songs and stories from the late 1800s took a roundabout journey and are now providing new insights for the Passamaquoddy tribe, which has few fluent speakers left. Many other tribes are also hearing the voices of their ancestors documented during the birth of analog recording but revived using technology perfected only recently.

Guests:

Dwayne Tomah (Passamaquoddy) – language and cultural preservation specialist

Donald Soctomah (Passamaquoddy) – tribal historic preservation officer for the Passamaquoddy tribe

Susan Gehr (Karuk) – Karuk linguist and librarian

Break 1 music: Ayikis – The Frog Song (song) Asani (artist) Listen (album)

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

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Technical rock climbing is a sport for adrenaline junkies. It’s also a way to keep fit and enjoy the outdoors. But it also often comes up against concerns and sometimes outright prohibitions by tribes wanting to protect cultural resources. The Navajo Nation has a ban on rock climbing within its boundaries. We’ll hear from Native climbers about the benefits of climbing and the best practices for reaching new heights.

Guests:

Dr. Len Necefer (Navajo) – assistant professor of American Indian Studies at University of Arizona, and owner of Natives Outdoors

Aaron Mike (Navajo) – rock climbing athlete and guide for Natives Outdoors and Native lands regional coordinator for the Access Fund

Break 1 music: Niizh Straight (song) Niizhoo Sullivan (artist) Rez Kid Rhythm (album)

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

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Tribes have an upcoming opportunity to secure wireless channels to dramatically increase the speed and coverage of broadband access. The federal government is giving tribes priority to bid on access within what’s known as the 2.5 GHz band spectrum. But the timeframe to submit applications is brief and some tribes are having trouble completing the complex process in time.

Guests:

Geoffrey Blackwell (Omaha/Chickasaw/Choctaw/Muscogee Creek) – chief strategy officer and general counsel for Amerind Risk former Federal Communications Commission official

Matthew Rantanen (Cree) – director of technology for the Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association and director of the Tribal Digital Village Network

Edyael Casaperalta – legal counsel and policy strategist with Mural Net

Mariel Triggs – chief executive officer at MuralNet

Break 1 music: Intertribal (song) Sweetgrass (artist) Follow The Trial (album)

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

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What organizers call the world’s largest celebration of Indigenous film, media and arts is wrapping up its 20th year in Toronto. This year’s line-up included nearly 130 films and video works, dozens of workshops and panel discussions and a week of Indigenous creativity. We’ll get highlights from the 2019 imagineNATIVE Festival and feature some of the up-and-coming artists.

Guests:

Niki Little (Kistiganwacheeng in Garden Hill First Nation) – artistic director for imagineNATIVE

Maize Longboat (Mohawk from Six Nations of the Grand River) – creative director and producer for Terra Nova

MorningStar Angeline (Navajo, Chippewa, Blackfoot) – director of the film Yá’át’ééh Abiní

Alexandra Lazarowich (Cree) – director and writer of Lake

Break 1 music: Cultural Survival (song) Art Napoleon (Travelling Sun) (artist) Miyoskamin (Early Springtime) (album)

Break 2 music: Bonus FOOTPRINTS (song) Randy Boogie (artist) THE BLESSINGWAY BOOGIE (Deluxe Edition) (album)

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What scares you? Some Native artists tap into the darker sides of creativity, focusing on graphics, films and fantasy fiction that explores ghouls, monsters and the paranormal. This Halloween, we’re celebrating the frightening side of Native art and imagination and talking to some Native artists about bringing horror to light.

Guests:

Richard Van Camp (Tlicho Dene First Nation) – Tlicho Dene author of 24 books

Kayla Shaggy (Dine and Anishinaabe) – comic book artist

Mike J. Marin (Navajo, Laguna Pueblo and Washo) – writer and director

Break 1 music: Dark Desire (song) BLACKFIRE (artist) Blackfire (album)

Break 2 music: Bonus FOOTPRINTS (song) Randy Boogie (artist) THE BLESSINGWAY BOOGIE (Deluxe Edition) (album)

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Some members of tribes along the Mendocino County coastline of California are risking jail time and fines to gather abalone and other traditional food and materials for ceremony. Efforts to curb poaching are also preventing tribes in the area from traditional practices. We’ll talk with reporter Deb Utacia Krol about her piece in High Country News on the subject. Also, the National Congress of American Indians Convention is a wrap. We’ll check in with Indian Country Today’s Jourdan Bennett-Begaye to get the highlights for our regular news round up.

Guests:

Dallas Goldtooth (Diné and Dakota) – Keep it in the Ground campaign organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network

Debra Utacia Krol (Xolon Salinan Tribe) – independent journalist

Jourdan Bennett-Begaye (Diné) – Washington editor for Indian Country Today

Tito Ybarra (Red Lake Nation) – comedian

Break 1 music: Wild Herb (song) Southern Scratch (artist) How Sweet The Sound (album)

Break 2 music: Bonus FOOTPRINTS (song) Randy Boogie (artist) THE BLESSINGWAY BOOGIE (Deluxe Edition) (album)

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Tribal leaders from the Yakama and Lummi nations called for the removal of several dams along the Columbia River in Washington State. The tribes are concerned about dwindling salmon populations and the concurrent decline of orcas. Other tribes, like the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla in Oregon and the Yurok and Pit River Tribe in California, have also fought to remove dams. We’ll check in on the efforts to get rid of dams and hear about how they affect tribes and tribal land.

Guests:

Morning Star Gali (Ajumawi Band of Pit River) – tribal water organizer for Save California Salmon

Regina Chichizola – co-director of Save California Salmon

Robert Elofson (tribal member of the Lower Elwha Klallum Tribe) – harvest manager for the Lower Elwha Klallum Tribe

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

Break 2 music: Bonus FOOTPRINTS (song) Randy Boogie (artist) THE BLESSINGWAY BOOGIE (Deluxe Edition) (album)

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Dr. Ann Bullock (Minnesota Chippewa Tribe/Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa) is one of the nation’s leading voices on diabetes research. While the statistics on diabetes and Native Americans is troubling, Bullock will be the first to highlight some of the positive developments in fighting the disease. Bullock is the director of the Division of Diabetes Treatment and Prevention at the Indian Health Service. She is passionate about improving the health of Native people. We’ll talk with her about her life and what drives her work at IHS.

Break 1 Music:  Sneak Up (song) Blackfoot Confederacy (artist) Confederacy Style (album)

Break 2 music: Keep it Hoppin’ (song) Bryden Gwiss Kiwenzie (artist) Round Dance & Beats (Powwow)