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Plants such as sage, sweetgrass, and cedar are important for ceremonies and prayer. They’re also readily available online and even at chain stores, marketed as methods to reduce negative energy or for some vague DIY cleansing ritual. Non-Native people are buying them with little information about what they actually do or how they’re used. Some Native people say some natural medicines are getting harder to find. There’s at least one instance of illegal sage harvesting in California. We’ll discuss the traditional roles and uses of Native medicines and find out if there’s a way to get the message across to those who think such ceremonies are open for anyone.

Guests:

Mary Annette Pember (Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa) – Independent journalist and writer

Neelou Malekpour – Owner of Smudged

Tipiziwin Tolman (Dakota and Lakota) – Owner of Haipažaža Pȟežuta

Kat High (Hoopa descendant) – Traditional Basket weaver and storyteller

Break 1 Music: Chicken Dance (song) Sweetgrass (artist) Follow The Trial (album)

Break 2 Music: Little Earthings (song) The Jir Project Band (artist) Sun Child (album)

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It took three years and $92 million. Almost 1,500 family members and survivors testified. Canada’s National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls concluded the disproportionate violence against Native women, girls and the LGBTQ2 population amounts to genocide. The commission that prepared the report offered 231 suggestions to remedy the disparities, including creating a national action plan and task force to address unsolved cases. Members of the commission presented the report to Canada’s prime minister during a solemn ceremony this month. We will look into the final report and determine what lessons other nations might learn from it.

Guests:

Nahanni Fontaine (Sagkeeng First Nation) – MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) for St. Johns in Manitoba

Bernadette Smith (Anishinaabe/Métis) – Member of the Legislative Assembly for Point Douglas in Manitoba

Sheila North (Bunibonibee Cree Nation) – former grand chief Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak and a MMIWG advocate

Break 1 Music: Tapwe Oma (song) Fawn Wood (artist) Iskwewak (album)

Break 2 Music: Little Earthings (song) The Jir Project Band (artist) Sun Child (album)

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Fort Sill, a military post in Oklahoma used to imprison Apaches in the 1860s, is slated to house hundreds of undocumented children. Fort Sill is notably the place where Chiricahua Apache leader Geronimo died as a prisoner of war. It was also an internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II. Native American and advocacy groups condemn the treatment of migrant children, some of whom are already being housed away from their families in substandard conditions. They also note the troubling ties between the historical blunders and current detentions. We’ll learn what’s known about migrants and asylum seekers in U.S. custody and the policies and conditions that led us here.

Guests:

Allegra Love – executive director of Santa Fe Dreamers Project and licensed attorney

Lavetta Yeahquo (Kiowa) – elder advisor for the American Indian Movement Indian Territory

Edson Alvarado Fierro (Tarahumara tribe) – anti-racism community educator, and cyber-security adviser for Dream Action Oklahoma

Odilia Romero (Zapotec) – general binational coordinator for the Binational Front of Indigenous Organizations FIOB

Break 1 Music: Cissy (Fish/Smoke Dance) (song) Sheldon Sundown (artist) Hand Drum/Smoke N’ Round Dance (album)

Break 2 Music: Little Earthings (song) The Jir Project Band (artist) Sun Child (album)

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Marching bands have a place beyond football halftime shows. Native bands like the Navajo Nation Band and A:Shiwi A:Wan Band are community traditions that appeal to crowds at parades and summer community events. Some Native marching bands also offer a musical outlet for adult musicians, some of whom have participated in their community band for decades. We recognize Native marching bands and their years of providing community entertainment.

Guests:

Valerie Harrison (Navajo) – Navajo Nation band administration coordinator

Steve Lopez (member of the Ft. Mojave Indian Tribe) – tribal spokesman for the Fort Mojave Tribal Band

Delbert Anderson (Diné) – music instructor, director of jazz at San Juan College

Break 1 Music: Totah (song) The Delbert Anderson Trio (artist) MANITOU (album)

Break 2 Music: Little Earthings (song) The Jir Project Band (artist) Sun Child (album)

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The Supreme Court is set to decide the fundamentals of a murder case that has implications for jurisdiction in Oklahoma. The basic question revolves around which court should decide the case of a Muscogee man accused of murdering another Muscogee man on traditional Muscogee reservation land. But the decision means a definitive federal legal ruling on the contention the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and other Oklahoma tribes have held all along: Oklahoma reservation boundaries were never disestablished as the state maintains. We’ll break down the legal case and discuss what changes—and what doesn’t—because of the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Guests:

Sarah Deer (Muscogee (Creek) Nation) – professor in women, gender, and sexuality studies in the
School of Public Affairs and Administration at the University of Kansas

Jonodev Chaudhuri (Muscogee (Creek) Nation) – Ambassador for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation

Kevin Dellinger (Muscogee (Creek) Nation) – attorney general for the Muscogee Creek Nation

Break 1 Music: Stomp Dance (song) Various Artists (artist) Stomp Dance Songs Of The Muscogee Nation, Volume 1 (album)

Break 2 Music: Electric Pow Wow Drum (song) A Tribe Called Red (artist) A Tribe Called Red (album)

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Criminal justice, health care, education, housing and economic development are all underfunded by the U.S. government, according to a report released by the United States Human Rights Commission. The main findings in the report, Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans, won’t come as a surprise for most people in Indian Country. In fact, the report’s authors note it is an update to a previous effort in 2003, and they say little has changed in terms of the federal government’s inability to uphold its funding promises for Indian Country. We’ll get analysis of the report and hear from a U.S. Human Rights Commissioner about where to go from here.

Guests:

Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) – U.S. Representative for the first district of New Mexico

Karen Narasaki – commissioner on the United States Commission on Civil Rights

Liz Malerba (Mohegan Tribe) – director of policy and legislative affairs at the United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund

Tony Walters (Cherokee Nation) – executive director National American Indian Housing Council

Break 1 Music: The Four Essential Elements (Diigo Bee’iináanii) (song) Radmilla Cody (artist) K’é Hasin (album)

Break 2 Music: Electric Pow Wow Drum (song) A Tribe Called Red (artist) A Tribe Called Red (album)

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A high school class in Yellow Springs, Ohio cancelled a planned debate on whether Native mascots are offensive after a Native parent spoke out. We’ll hear from the parent who told the school the debate is over and the argument is only about how much harm such a discussion causes. We’ll also catch up with the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Robert Wilkie, about new rules designed to improve access and streamline services for Native veterans. Those stories and more are on our news roundup.

Mentioned on the show:

It’s time for a Native Marvel movie: 10 existing Native Marvel heroes and 10 Native actors to play them

Indian Country reels as Netflix cancels show with first Native female lead: ‘Chambers’

Michael Greyeyes discusses his role in the Vampire Apocalypse Netflix series: ‘V-Wars’

California governor apologizes to California Indians

Native American mascot controversy — Schools learn limits of debate

Email Vincent Schilling with Native actor and actresses for database vschilling AT indiancountrytoday DOT com

Full interview with Veteran Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie

Guests:

Forrest Tahdooahnippah (Comanche Nation of Oklahoma) – partner Dorsey and Whitney LLP

Jennifer Knickerbocker (White Earth Nation) – director of foundation relations at Antioch College

Debra Utacia Krol (Xolon Salinan Tribe) – independent journalist

Vincent Shilling (Akwesasne Mohawk) – associate editor of Indian Country Today

Break 1 Music: Rolling Stone (song) Burning Sky (artist) A Simple Man (album)

Break 2 Music: Electric Pow Wow Drum (song) A Tribe Called Red (artist) A Tribe Called Red (album)

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Native artists frequently reference tribal traditions in their work. Native LGBTQ2 artists also turn to the joys and challenges of their sexual orientation for inspiration. They use paint, music, dance or theater to tell personal stories and to raise awareness of contemporary issues. For LGBTQ2 Pride Month, we’ll talk with some Native LGBTQ and Two-Spirit artists about the stories they tell through their art.

Guests:

Crisosto Apache (Mescalero Apache and Navajo) – assistant professor of English at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, poet and writer

Neebinnaukzhik Southall (member of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation) – graphic designer, artist, writer and photographer

Vincent Vigil-Toyebo “vigil (Tohono O’odham and Kiowa) – artist

Albert McLeod (Nischawaysihk Cree Nation) – co-director of Two-Spirited People of Manitoba Inc.

Break 1 Music: Indians Never Die (song) Black Belt Eagle Scout (artist) Mother Of My Children (album)

Break 2 Music: High Above The Eagle Soars (song) Blackstone (artist) On The Oregon Trail (album)