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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)

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An auction house in France has gone ahead with the sale this month of cultural items despite pleas from tribes, elected leaders and the Association on American Indian Affairs. It’s one in a string of auctions by the Paris auction house that chooses to ignore admonitions against the harm they’re causing. The Yaqui has been working for almost two decades to repatriate a sacred Maaso Kova that the tribe says was never meant to be out of the tribe’s possession or on public display. We’ll get an update on some repatriation efforts and what’s being done to influence international traders in cultural items.

Guests:

Andrea Carmen (Yaqui Indian Nation) – executive director of the International Indian Treaty Council

Peter Yocupicio (member of the Pascua Yaqui) – vice chairman of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe

Shannon Keller O’Loughlin (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) – executive director of the Association on American Indian Affairs

Break 1 Music: Heart of Gold (song) Midnight Shine (artist) High Road (album)

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

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Molly Mabray is a 10-year old Gwich’in, Koyukon and Dena’ina Athabascan girl who learns about her history and culture while having fun with her dog, Suki, and friends, Tooey and Trini. She is the main character of the new animated PBS series, Molly of Denali, starting in July. In the first episode she sets out to get her grandfather’s long lost drum returned and learns about the history of boarding schools along the way. It is the first nationally distributed children’s series to feature an Alaska Native lead. In this hour we’ll talk with the creator and cultural advisors to this groundbreaking series.

Guests:

Princess Daazhraii Johnson (Gwich’in) – creative producer for Molly of Denali

Dorothea Gillim – executive producer and co-creator of Molly of Denali

Rochelle Adams (Gwich’in) – Alaska Native advisor for Molly of Denali

Dewey Hoffman (Koyukon Athabascan) – education advisor for Molly of Denali

Break 1 Music: Six Eagle Island Blues (song) Young Native Fiddlers (artist)

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

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The landmark Indian Reorganization Act was meant to move tribes away from the governmental policies of forced assimilation towards self-determination. It ended allotment, renewed tribes’ control over their own assets, and encouraged tribes to establish constitutions. John Collier authored the law as Commissioner of the Indian Bureau, which eventually became the Bureau of Indian Affairs. His ideas, like reversing the federal government’s assimilationist policies, were considered radical in 1935. Some historians also believe he romanticized Native American culture, and considered it superior to his own. We’ll discuss Collier’s influence and recognize the Indian Reorganization Act’s ongoing effect as it turns 85.

Guests:

Dr. David Wilkins (Lumbee Nation) – professor of Native Studies at the University of Richmond

Cris Stainbrook (Oglala Lakota) – President of the Indian Land Tenure Foundation

Break 1 Music:  Yo-Ho-Ho-Eo (song) Jim Boyd (artist) Going To The Stick Games (album)

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

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The biennial gathering of amateur senior athletes is setting aside a day to celebrate the many Native American athletes who participate. Participants compete in 20 events from swimming to shuffleboard. The National Senior Games originated as an effort to promote a healthy lifestyle for elders over 50. This year’s games are in Albuquerque New Mexico. We’ll be live at the games with a discussion centered around active and healthy elders.

Guests:

Larry Curley  (Navajo)- executive director for the National Indian Council on Aging.

Marc Riker – Chief Executive Officer for the National Senior Games Association.

Simeon Gipson (Cherokee/Choctaw) – athlete from Tahlequah Oklahoma.

Break 1 Music:  Yo-Ho-Ho-Eo (song) Jim Boyd (artist) Going To The Stick Games (album)

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

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Sivan Alyra Rose (San Carlos Apache) is the first Native woman to play a lead role in a Netflix series. She portrays a young Navajo woman who is experiencing visions after she receives a heart transplant in the supernatural thriller, “Chambers“. The series also stars Uma Thurman and Tony Goldwyn. We’ll hear from Rose about the series and her life as an artist, model and actress. We’ll also speak cast members and the executive story editor.

Guests:

Sivan Alyra Rose (San Carlos Apache) – artist, model and actress

Marcus LaVoi  (Chippewa) – actor, Big Frank Yazzie on Chambers 

Jason Gavin (Blackfeet) – executive story editor for Chambers

Griffin Powell-Arcand (Cree/Métis) – TJ Locklear on Chambers

Break 1 Music: Yo-Ho-Ho-Eo (song) Jim Boyd (artist) Going To The Stick Games (album)

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

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In Arizona, June is the traditional time Saguaro cactus fruits are ripe. It is also the Tohono O’odham New Year. For traditional harvests, the fruit is knocked down with sticks, called kuipad, made from dried Saguaro ribs. The fruit can be eaten fresh or made into juice, syrup, jam or a fermented ceremonial wine among other things. We’ll hear about the traditional importance of Saguaro cactus fruit for Native people in the Sonoran Desert.

Guests:

Tanisha Tucker (Tohono O’odham) – Saguaro Bahidaj harvester

Terrol Dew Johnson (Tohono O’odham) – CEO of TOCA (Tohono O’odham Community Action) and contemporary basket weaver

Yvette Ventura (Tohono O’odham) – youth coordinator the Schuk Toak district

Break 1 Music: Learned from the Late Ralph Kotay (song) Kenneth Cozad & Group (artist) Songs of Our Old People – Old-Time Round Dance Songs of Oklahoma (album)

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

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The U.S. House of Representatives approved a “fix” for the controversial U.S. Supreme Court ruling on placing land into trust. The proposal is now stalled in the Senate. For the past 10 years, elected leaders on both sides of the aisle have called it a bad ruling and have been working on a legislative solution. The Carcieri v. Salazar decision from 2009 means the Interior Department can place land into trust only for tribes recognized by the federal government before 1934. There are some exceptions. In 2011, Assistant Secretary–Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk called it a “Carcieri crisis” and warned that the ruling affects jobs, economic development and public safety. We’ll get an update on the status of a legislative “fix” and hear about the ongoing effects of the decision on tribes.

Guests:

Colette Routel – director of the Indian Law Program at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law

Lorén Spears (Narragansett Indian Tribe) – executive director of the Tomaquag Museum

Lance Gumbs (Shinnecock Indian Nation) – vice-chairman of the Shinnecock Indian Nation

Steve Emery (Cheyenne River Sioux) – proprietor of the Emery Law Firm and a member of the South Dakota Bar

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