Podcast: Play in new window | Download (38.6MB) | Embed

South Dakota Senator Neal Tapio recently called for abolishing reservations. He told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader “We need to renegotiate the treaties that are holding down a once very proud people.” President Trump said “we tamed a continent” in a recent commencement speech at the Naval Academy. And Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke suggested sending kids in the foster care system on the Fort Peck reservation to a boarding school in Oklahoma. Comments like this from politicians are nothing new, but they often spark concern from people on the receiving end. We’ll break down the context and intent of each of the latest political messages.

Listen to an interview with Senator Neal Tapio (R-Watertown, SD) talking about his desire to renegotiate South Dakota treaties:

Guests:

Dr. David Lewis (Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde) – educator and ethno historian blogs at NDN History Research

Dr. James Riding In (Pawnee) – Interim Director of American Indian Studies at Arizona State University and Associate Professor

Break 1 Music: Spirit Dance (song) Aaron White and Anthony Wakeman (artist) Handprints Of Our People (album)

Break 2 Music: Cree Honor Song (song) Randy Wood (artist) The Gift of Life (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (27.0MB) | Embed

The entire Department of Interior is currently going through a reorganization ordered by the president to create efficiency and cut waste. The proposal would increase the number of Bureau of Indian Affairs regions from 11 to 13 based on watersheds and ecosystems. Chairperson Aaron Payment (Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) calls the reasons justifying the administration’s reorganization like “lipstick on a pig”. Some tribes, like the Navajo Nation, are already voicing opposition to the plan. But others welcome what they see as an opportunity.

Guests:

John Tahsuda (Kiowa) – Acting Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs

Matt Komalty (Kiowa) – Chairman of the Kiowa Tribe

Dr. Aaron Payment (Tribe of Chippewa Indians) – chairperson of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and first vice-president of the National Congress of American Indians

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

Break 1 Music: Wiconi (song) Primeaux & Mike (artist) Road to Peace (album)

Break 2 Music: Cree Honor Song (song) Randy Wood (artist) The Gift of Life (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (27.0MB) | Embed

Prosecutors brought 835 cases related to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests in North Dakota. Almost 40 percent of those were dismissed, according to the Water Protector Legal Collective. Since the end of the demonstrations more than a year ago there have been a handful of acquittals. About a fifth of those charged are still awaiting trial. We’ll get an update on the remaining legal cases and hear about how some of the individual cases turned out.

Mentioned on the show:

Freshet Collective

water protector prisoner page

Guests:

Leoyla Cowboy (Diné) – water protector

HolyElk Lafferty (Sičháŋǧu, Oglála and Mnikȟówožu Lakota) – advocate and water protector

Sam Saylor – attorney for the Freshet Collective

Break 1 Music: Standing Rock (feat. Nick Ørbæk Jacobsen) (song) Uyarakq (artist) Miseraq (album)

Break 2 Music: Cree Honor Song (song) Randy Wood (artist) The Gift of Life (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (27.0MB) | Embed

Those satirical pictures and GIFs known as memes bombard us on social media. Some incorporate well known images like Grumpy Cat, the Most Interesting Man in the World, and Kermit the Frog. Others, like ‘Skoden” are geared specifically at a Native audience. Usually, memes have a brief life on the internet, but allow us to smirk or even belly laugh about current events. Powwows, moccasins, frybread, IHS, the BIA—nothing is off limits with Native memes. We’ll talk about some of the more popular memes and discuss what makes them go viral.

Guests:

Majerle Lister (Diné) – editor in chief of Tlo’chi’iin News

Nicholet Deschine Parkhurst (Standing Rock Sioux and Navajo) – activist and scholar

Tatiana Benally (Diné) – heads the meme page Asdzaa Proletariat on Instagram

Brandon Benallie (Diné and Hopi) – heads Rezzy Red Proletariat Memes

Break 1 Music: Opener (song) DDAT (artist) DDAT (album)

Break 2 Music: Red River Jig (song) Bill Stevens (artist) Fiddlin’ Through The Years (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (27.0MB) | Embed

Videos from cell phones and police body cams are helping heighten awareness of the seemingly racially-tinged motivations of people who call police on people of color. Recent high-profile incidents police calls for African Americans barbecuing in a public park, waiting for friends at Starbucks, golfing too slow, and even entering their own apartments, and Native Americans attending a college campus tour. In February, police escorted Robert Robedeaux (Pawnee, Ponca, Otoe) out of a Hibbett Sports store in Oklahoma after the manager reported “a suspicious person” trying on clothes. The conversations highlight the questions people might ask themselves before calling police.

Guests:

Mateo Romero (Cochiti Pueblo) – artist

Reycita Billie (Navajo) – public safety telecommunications operator for the Navajo Nation Police Department

Robert Robedeaux (Pawnee, Ponca and Otoe)

Hope Alvarado (Navajo, Mescalero Apache and Comanche) – lead organizer with the Red Nation and youth advocate with NMCAN (youth advocacy group)

Break 1 Music: Apsaalooke Double Beat (Sung for Head Lady Dancer Dora Old Elk) (song) Warscout (artist) Scouts (album)

Break 2 Music: Red River Jig (song) Bill Stevens (artist) Fiddlin’ Through The Years (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (27.0MB) | Embed

A past felony conviction played a big part in Renae Gray’s job search. It took 15 months of looking to finally get hired. Her strategy was to be upfront about her criminal past during interviews because she knew employers would find out anyway. Over and over, she watched as the expression and demeanor of her interviewers changed when she came clean. They stopped smiling, stopped taking notes. Applying for a job is already a daunting task. It’s that much harder for people with criminal records or a spotty work history. We’ll take a look at how the hiring process can work for and against those with criminal records and blemishes on their resume.

Guests:

Michele Justice (Navajo) – president of Personnel Security Consultants

Anthony Tillman (Mohawk, Otoe Missouri and Creek) – human resources employee relations specialist for the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and vice president of the National Native American Human Resources Association

Break 1 Music: Keep It Hopping Remix (feat. Cris Derksen) (song) Bryden Gwiss Kiwenzie (artist) Keep It Hopping (Remix) [feat. Cris Derksen] (single)

Break 2 Music: Red River Jig (song) Bill Stevens (artist) Fiddlin’ Through The Years (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (27.0MB) | Embed

Moose are important, spiritual animals to many tribes in the northern United States, Canada and Alaska. They are large and impressive animals that weight around 1,800 pounds and stand more than 6 feet at the shoulders. They are traditionally a main source of food for some Indigenous communities. As strong and powerful as they are, moose are not immune to the effects of environmental changes, overhunting, disease and parasites. Such factors have reduced moose herds to a point where some tribes, like Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and Boise Fort Band of Chippewa in Minnesota, have strict limits on moose hunting. We’re acknowledging the role moose play in some tribal nations and learning more about some strategies for their continued survival.

Guests:

Dan Paul (L’nu) – knowledge keeper

Shane Chartrand (Enoch Cree) – executive chef of SC Restaurant

Mike Schrage – wildlife biologist for the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

Break 1 Music: Animal Song (song) Art Napoleon (artist) Mocikan (album)

Break 2 Music: Red River Jig (song) Bill Stevens (artist) Fiddlin’ Through The Years (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (27.0MB) | Embed

Gaming tribes are cautiously optimistic a new U.S. Supreme Court ruling will provide a new source of revenue. The High Court ruled the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 is unconstitutional. That opens up the possibility of expanded sports betting. But will states forge ahead with new sports betting operations without honoring existing agreements with tribes? Are we headed for more lawsuits over sports betting? We’ll talk through the legal decision and the possible ramifications.

Guests:

Jonodev Osceola Chaudhuri (Muscogee Creek Nation/Bengali) – chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission

Hilary Tompkins (Navajo) – partner at Hogan Lovells and former solicitor of U.S. Department of Interior

Steven Stallings (Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians) – chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association and Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians council member

Valerie Spicer (Mescalero Apache descendent) – founding partner of Trilogy Group and former executive director of the Arizona Indian Gaming Association

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

Break 1 Music: Stomp the Yard (song) Elk Soldier (artist) The Elk Way (album)

Break 2 Music: Red River Jig (song) Bill Stevens (artist) Fiddlin’ Through The Years (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (27.0MB) | Embed

As graduates get ready to look at the next chapter in their lives, we take a moment to recognize the academic excellence of Native students. It’s a time of year to hear from graduating seniors, proud parents, teachers and administrators about what it took to get to this point. Some high school graduates might be thinking about their first steps on a college campus. College grads are working toward starting a career. Join us to celebrate Native graduates.

Guests:

John Henry Cummings (Navajo and Crow) – NACA graduate

Jessica Becenti (Navajo) – Counselor for Native American Community Academy

Casper Lomayesva (Hopi) – Arizona State University graduate engineering degree in urban planning and musician

Yatibaey Evans (Ahtna) – Alaska Native Education (ANE) Director; former President of the National Indian Education Association

Xena Fe Benally (Navajo) – Student

Break 1 Music: Honor the People (song) Casper Loma Da-Wa (artist) Honor the People (album)

Break 2 Music: We Danced Movement I (song) Cris Derksen (artist) The Cusp (album)