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As the flood waters from Hurricane Harvey recede, the death toll in Texas continues to rise and thousands of people remain displaced. Attention is now shifting to the destruction from Hurricane Irma in Florida and other southeast coastal states. The Seminole Tribe of Florida closed their tribal offices and began warning its citizens of potential dangers long before the storm made landfall. It’s a good time to remind ourselves about ways to prepare for disasters ahead of time. We’ll also find out how tribes are responding to natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires.

Guests:

Anna Edwards (Okay owingeh) – resident of Houston, Texas and board member of the Native American Chamber of Commerce

Vincent B. Davis – founder and president of Preparedness Matters Disaster Consulting

Jake Heflin (Osage) – president of iTEMA (inter-Tribal Emergency Management Association)

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

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A group of Lakota elders got together and decided the word for ‘food processor’ in their language is wóyute inákpaŋ. The Chickasaw word for ‘teleconferencing’ is holba’ aaittafamma anompoli’. These are examples of how languages adapt to new things that inevitably present themselves. We’ll discuss some of the more notable new words in certain languages and how some tribal linguists find ways to adjust to reflect their living languages.

Guests:

Michael Sullivan (Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians) – school linguist at the Waadookodaading Ojibwe Language

Joshua Hinson (Chickasaw) – director of the Chickasaw Language Revitalization Program

Neil McKay (Dakota/Turtle Mountain Ojibwe)  – senior Dakota language teaching specialist

Break Music: Birds Dancing (song) Tony Duncan (artist) Native Son (album)

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A fish farm pen broke last month and released about 200,000 Atlantic salmon into the waters around the San Juan Islands in Washington state. National Congress of American Indians President Brian Cladoosby is among the many Native fishermen now trying to catch the invasive salmon. He says the fish threaten the wild Pacific salmon fishery with predation and the threat of disease. “These fish have infected the entire Salish Sea,” he said. The inadvertent release is one of several problems cropping up in the Pacific Northwest and in Canada involving salmon farms.

Full interview with hereditary chief Ernest Alfred (‘Nagmis, Lawit’sis and Mamalilikala First Nations) by Native America Calling associate producer Andi Murphy.

 

Associate producer, Andi Murphy, got a call back from the chief of the Tlowitsis First Nation, John Smith. The Tlowitsis Nation operates three fish farms in British Columbia. 

 

Guests:

Brian Cladoosby (Swinomish) – chairman of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and president of the National Congress of American Indians

Lisa Wilson (Lummi) – endangered species act manager and policy representative for the Lummi Nation

Tim Ballew II (Lummi) – Chairman of the Lummi Nation

Break music: Heart of the People (song) Leela Gilday (artist) Heart of the People (album)

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A new federal court ruling says Cherokee Freedmen are entitled to tribal citizenship. The Cherokee Nation attorney general says the tribe will not appeal the ruling. The Freedmen are decedents of former slaves. In the 78 page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas F. Hogan said a treaty signed in 1866 clearly guarantees them citizenship. He also states “The Cherokee Nation’s sovereign right to determine its membership is no less now, as a result of this decision, than it was after the Nation executed the 1866 Treaty.” We’ll explore what this ruling means for the Cherokee Freedman and tribal sovereignty.

Guests:

Marilyn Vann (Cherokee Nation) – president of the Descendants of Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes association

Todd Hembree (Cherokee Nation) – Attorney General for the Cherokee Nation

Matthew Fletcher (Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians) – law professor at Michigan State University-College of Law and author of the Turtle Talk blog

Break Music: Urban Crow Dance (Of The Bird Kind) (song) Joy Harjo (artist)Red Dreams, A Trail Beyond Tears (album)

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The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development is recognizing 40 Native business and community leaders this week. It’s the official ceremony to honor this year’s list of 40 Under 40—people who are all under the age of 40 who have achieved notable successes in business or have made significant contributions to Native communities. In this program, we’ll talk to some past awardees and learn more about what it takes to be a successful mover and shaker in Native America.

Guests:

Tamarah Begay (Diné) – CEO and president of Indigenous Design Studio and Architecture, LLC

Ben Mallott (Tlingit and Athabaskan) – vice president of the Alaska Federation of Natives

Rojer Johnson (Muscogee) – recreation manager for the Muscogee Creek Nation

Cory Littlepage (Chickasaw) – CEO of Tribal Diagnostics, LLC

Break Music: Crow Push Dance Song (song) Authentic Native American Music (artist) Authentic Native American Music (album)

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The movie “Wind River” is now showing in many cities across the country. Audiences have had a chance to peer into writer and director Taylor Sheridan’s story set on a Wyoming reservation. It follows the story of a game tracker played by Jeremy Renner and a rookie FBI agent played by Elizabeth Olsen as they uncover the full story of a murder of a Native woman. In this special pre-recorded program, we turn our focus to the film’s Native cast and their hopes on how the film will impact movie goers.

 

Break Music: A Song for Mosom (song) Fawn Wood Featuring Alan DiPerna (artist) Kikāwiynaw (album)

 

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New federal food safety rules are looming across the country. They’re aimed at ensuring consumers aren’t harmed by contaminated produce, but many growers say the rules are stepping on tribal sovereignty. In addition, opponents say the provisions in the law are confusing and onerous. President Barack Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in 2011. Its implementation is being phased in, with some larger tribal businesses having to start compliance next year. We’ll talk about how tribal produce operations will be affected and what some groups are doing to help growers understand and comply with the new law.

Guests:

Janie Simms Hipp (Chickasaw) – director of the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative at the University of Arkansas School of Law

Dineh John (Navajo and Turtle Mountain Chippewa) – ATRL manager (agriculture testing and research lab) at Navajo Agricultural Products Industry

A-dae Romero-Briones (Cochiti and Kiowa) – associate director of research and policy for Native agriculture for the First Nations Development Institute

Break Music: Tha Mash Up (song) Wayne Silas, Jr. (artist) Infinite Passion (album)

 

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Native fashion designers are putting their talent on the runway more and more with designs that include floral pattern bodycons and geometric pattern corset dresses. This year, the Santa Fe Indian Market continued their tradition of holding an haute couture fashion show with 11 Native designers. We’ll talk with designers about their latest collections, what inspires them and the trends they see for Native fashion.

Guests:

Loren Aragon (Acoma Pueblo) – owner and designer of Aconav

Maya Stewart (Chickasaw/Muscogee Creek/Choctaw) – creative director of Maya Stewart

Orlando Dugi (Navajo) – fashion designer student

Himikalas Pamela Baker (Kwakiutl/Squamish/Tlingit/Haida) – owner of Touch of Culture and designer TOC Legends

Break music: Yas (feat. Nukathadiva) (song) Uyarakq (artist) Miseraq (album)

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The debate over the value of blood quantum has challenged both tribes and individuals over the years. The issue has many layers and reactions. For many it is a point of contention and a reminder of the U.S. Government’s attempt to define who truly is and is not Native American. The discussion continues in the new book “The Great Vanishing Act: Blood Quantum and the Future of Native Nations.” A collection of personal stories, essays, satire and poetry by different Native writers, intellectuals and artists bring readers closer to what happens when blood quantum is used as the borders of Native identity. Join us for our August Book of the Month as we talk with the books editors and contributors.

Guests:

Kathleen Ratteree – Editor

Norbert S. Hill Jr. (From the Oneida nation of Wisconsin) – Editor

Dr. Jill Doerfler (White Earth Anishinaabe) – Associate Professor and the department head of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.

Kristen Dorsey (Chickasaw Nation) – Artist/Metalsmith/Jeweler

Break Music:  Stomp (song) The GrayHawk Band (artist) Worth The Wait (album)

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We’re going to howl alongside Tha Yoties out of Arizona and their new album “Midnight Patrol.” We’ll be sharing tunes from the album as we dig into its conscious message about Native nations and the lands that are connected to them. Join us as we visit with the members of Tha Yoties.

Guests:

Ed Kabotie (Tewa Hopi) – artist residence at the Museum of Northern Arizona, guitarist, flute, vocals, songwriter

Break music: Downpressor Man (song) Tha Yoties (artist) Midnight Patrol (album)