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Twenty-five year old Diné multimedia artist Kassie John is the newest cultural ambassador to wear the Miss Indian World crown. She is the first Navajo Miss Indian World in a decade. John hopes to inspire young people to tap into their own artistic talent to bring Indigenous stories to others. She’s a business owner and comes from a family with many strong ties to the powwow community. We’ll hear from her and some previous Miss Indian World winners about the power of Native royalty.

GUESTS

Kassie John (Diné), current Miss Indian World 2023-2024

Cheyenne Kippenberger (Seminole Tribe of Florida), former Miss Indian World 2019-2021 and owner of C.K. Consulting

Tori McConnell (Yurok), former Miss Indian World 2023-2024

Break 1 Music: Kinship Honor (K’é Biyiin) (song) Radmilla Cody (artist) K’é Hasin (album)

Break 2 Music: Nd Waza Bat (song) Keith Secola (artist) Circle (album)

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Tribes can enact laws and take actions that relate to tribal land. But the ability for tribes to dictate what happens in the skies over that land is less clear. The Federal Aviation Administration is the main authority controlling the use of airspace. But the growing proliferation of drones and small personal aircraft is prompting researchers and some tribes to explore how to assert jurisdiction to what happens overhead. We’ll discuss some of the current limits and possibilities for exerting sovereign influence over tribal airspace.

GUESTS

Jacob Taylor (Curve Lake First Nation), CEO of Indigenous Aerospace

Jonathan Cordova, geography student at the University of Montana

Robert Gifford (citizen of the Cherokee Nation), Native American law attorney and tribal court judge

Shelly Knight, cyberinfrastructure facilitator at American Indian Higher Education Consortium

Break 1 Music: Intertribal (song) High Noon (artist) Generations (album)

Break 2 Music: Nd Waza Bat (song) Keith Secola (artist) Circle (album)

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Gaming revenue hit a record $40.9 billion in the most recent report by the National Indian Gaming Commission. Gaming’s economic reliability over the years along with other tribal enterprises give some tribes multi-billion dollar annual incomes. The U.S. Census Bureau reports Native-owned businesses employ more than 243,000. We’ll hear about the unique opportunities and challenges that come with tribal wealth.

GUESTS

Lance Morgan (Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska), founder and CEO of Ho-Chunk, Inc.  

Leilani Wilson Walkush (Tlingit), chief compliance officer for Breakwater Investment Group, LLC

Jason Giles (Muscogee Creek), executive director of the National Indian Gaming Association

Misty Napeahi, vice chairwoman of the Tulalip Tribes

Break 1 Music: Rainbow Gratitude (song) Joy Harjo (artist) Red Dreams, A Trail Beyond Tears (album)

Break 2 Music: Nd Waza Bat (song) Keith Secola (artist) Circle (album)

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The number of arrests in connection to protests against the Israel-Hamas war has now gone over 2,000. A number of Native students are among those supporting the protests generally calling for universities to cut any ties to Israel’s military efforts in Gaza. Inspired by students at Columbia University, additional protests have spread to more than two dozen campuses. The protests include occupying university buildings and setting up encampments. In addition to arrests, protesting students risk suspensions and other academic consequences. We’ll hear from Native students in support of the largest college campus protests since the Vietnam War.

GUESTS

Kianna (Diné), Columbia University student

Derek (Mixteco), Columbia University student

Siihasin Hope (Diné), University of New Mexico alumnus, community organizer

Lani Mekeel (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara), model and Indigenous advocate

Break 1 Music: Walking in Beauty (song) Jay Begaye (artist) The Beauty Way (album)

Break 2 Music: Flyer (song) The Zoniez (artist)

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A substantial number of Native Americans are affected by Arizona’s efforts to solidify a strict ban on abortions. Even after Arizona elected leaders repealed the law affirmed by the state Supreme Court that criminalizes nearly all abortions, the state faces a new landscape with it comes to access to the procedure. Abortion access advocates are taking cues from other states with abortion restrictions on the books — a reality that affects at least 75 federally recognized tribes. We’ll get rundown from multiple perspectives on the current trends and realities for abortion access for Native women.

GUESTS

Charon Asetoyer (Comanche), executive director of the Native American Community board, which is a parent organization to the Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center

Rachael Lorenzo (Mescalero Apache and Laguna Pueblo), executive director of Indigenous Women Rising

Wes Nofire (citizen of the Cherokee Nation), Native American Liaison for the State of Oklahoma

Ann Tweedy, professor at the University of South Dakota School of Law

Break 1 Music: Hope (Featuring Werner Erb) (song) Sihasin (artist) Never Surrender (album)

Break 2 Music: Flyer (song) The Zoniez (artist)

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The short video social media platform TikTok is mostly a source of entertainment and information for most Native users. A ban on the app in the United States would cut that off for TikTok fans, but also close off a source of income for several talented Native producers. A new law requires TikTok’s China-based company to sell its interest in the app or lose its U.S. audience, which has a massive, mostly young base. We’ll hear from Native TikTok producers and cybersecurity experts about what’s behind the ban and what it means for users.

GUESTS

charlie amáyá scott (Diné), influencer, TikTok creator, and PhD candidate  

Patuk Glenn (Iñupiaq), executive director of the Arctic Slope Community Foundation and content creator 

Brandon Benallie (Diné and Hopi), cybersecurity expert

Dr. Karaitiana Taiuru (Kai Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu, & Ngāti Toa), Māori A.I., Data, and Emerging Tech Ethicist and Governance, IP, and Critical Indigenous Researcher

Break 1 Music: Hoka Hey (feat. Jayden Paz & Dancin Dave) [Radio Version] (song) DJ krayzkree (artist) Future Generations (album)

Break 2 Music: Flyer (song) The Zoniez (artist)

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The year-round creative drive, Native Guitars Tour, heads up a two-day music and fashion presentation at the annual Gathering of Nations Powwow in Albuquerque. It’s a chance for us to hear from some of the musicians including Jir Anderson, Scotti Clifford, and Geneviève Gros-Louis – an hour of live music by Native talent.

GUESTS

Jir Anderson (Cochiti Pueblo), lead singer for the Jir Project and the founder of Native Guitars Tour

Geneviève Gros-Louis (Huron-Wendat), composer, violinist, and producer

Scotti Clifford (Oglala Lakota), singer-songwriter

Sage Nizhoni (Diné), singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer

Break 1 Music: Rumble (Remastered) (song) Link Wray (artist) Rumble (Remastered) (single)

Break 2 Music: Intertribal Song (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs Recorded Live at Coeur D’Alene (album)