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

Republican congressional leaders are in the process of keeping their promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. They propose the American Healthcare Act as an alternative. The new law does not address the Indian Healthcare Improvement Act, which is part of the Affordable Care Act. It also casts doubt on the future of Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion that, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, greatly helps American Indians and Alaska Natives. What does this proposed law mean for Native America?

Guests:

Stacy Bohlen (Sault Ste. Marie Chippewa) – executive director of the National Indian Health Board

Caitrin McCarron Shuy – director of congressional relations for the National Indian Health Board

Denise Desiderio – policy director for the National Congress of American Indians

Break music: Aroha – Love (song) Mika (artist) Mika Versus Fashion (album)

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

Has the current political climate caused you to press the pause button on plans to make changes in your life? For some people, life changes are a challenge, whether it’s getting a new job, starting an exercise routine or remodeling a house. It takes resilience and patience. It’s even harder if you feel uncertain about things you can’t control. How can we rely on our communities and traditions to get moving again? We will talk with experts about what they’re seeing when it comes to anxiety over the future and hear some strategies for taking on lasting and effective change.

Guests:

D.J. “Eagle Bear” Vanas (Odawa Nation) – motivational storyteller and owner of Native Discovery Inc.

Nazbah Tom (Diné) – somatic practitioner and trained therapist

Break music: Change (song) Mihana (artist) One Little Dream (album)

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

Many people will descend on Washington DC to express solidarity and support for the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline on Friday. We’ll talk with a variety of unique voices about the lessons learned from the pipeline fight, and what happens next. What can we take away from the experience at Standing Rock? Where does this momentum go? Send your thoughts to comments@nativeamericacalling.com.

Guests:

Dr. Renae Ditmer (Sault Sainte Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) – freelance writer

Lauren Howland (San Carlos Apache/Jicarilla Apache /Navajo/Laguna Pueblo) – co-founder of the International Indigenous Youth Council

Eryn Wise (Jicarilla Apache/Laguna Pueblo) – organizer for Honor the Earth and media coordinator for the International Indigenous Youth Council

Deenaalee Hodgdon (Athabascan /Alutiiq) – second year student at Brown University

Break music: Tipi To A Tesla – Annie Humphrey (song) Annie Humphrey (artist) Uncombed Hair (album)

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

Every year the Yurok tribe holds a salmon festival to celebrate the gifts from the Klamath River in northern California. Last year the historic low number of returning fish meant there was no actual salmon at the festival. Whether it’s coho, sockeye or pink, salmon are important to a number of tribes in the Pacific Northwest and in Alaska. We’ll talk with folks from different tribes about the cultural significance salmon offers and the potential threats to the natural resource.

Guests:

Amy Cordalis (Yurok) – general counsel for the Yurok Tribe and a fisherwoman

Marjorie Tahbone (Inupiaq) – graduate student and world record holder for traditional fish cutting in the World Eskimo Indian-Olympics

Emily Washines (Yamaka Nation) – public relations specialist Yamaka Nation Fisheries

Break Music:  Canoe Song (song) Chenoa (artist) Spirit of Salishan (album)

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

Last month, President Donald Trump threw out federal guidelines set by President Barack Obama on Title IX, which deals with gender discrimination in schools. Political leaders are debating whether to leave decisions about which bathrooms transgender students should use to states. At least one tribal community has a rule requiring students to use the bathroom associated with the gender they are born with. We’ll talk with Native transgender and Two Spirit people and others about the implications of a policy about bathrooms.

Guests:

Mattee Jim (Diné) – HIV prevention and support coordinator for First Nations Community Healthsource and a board member of the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico

Sage Runsabove (enrolled in the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, Ponca, Otoe and Sioux) – Miss International Two Spirit

Break music: We Are Sinixt (song) Jim Boyd (artist) Voices from the Lakes (album)

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

Educators know that getting kids ready for kindergarten is one of the best ways to improve a child’s long-term academic performance down the road. In Anchorage, Alaska three separate organizations joined forces to identify common goals for helping Alaska Native students achieve better success at school. One of the goals involves working with parents to get more kids ready to start school. They hope that will boost Alaska Native graduation rates that lag behind the national average.

Guests:

Priscilla Hensley Holthouse (Inupiaq from Kotzabue) – communications consultant with ARISE

Jonathan N. Larson (Curyung) – community engagement manager with ARISE

Erika Kelly (Inupiaq Eskimo and a Doyon Shareholder) – parent of two students in the Anchorage School District

Links mentioned on the show.

Break music: Bird Singers

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

In addition to a certain amount of stigma and inconvenience that comes once a month for most women, imagine having to endure an inflated cost for feminine hygiene products. That’s the reality for some Aboriginal girls and women in Canada. One group is trying to help by getting donations to cut costs. We’ll also have a frank discussion about menstruation and some of the challenges Native American women face.

Guests:

Nicole White (Métis) – community organizer, a student at First Nation University of Canada and founder of Moon Time Sisters

Nicole Martin (Diné) – recent Fort Lewis graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Indigenous studies and a minor in gender and women’s studies

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

Break music: Narbona (song) The Delbert Anderson Trio (artist) MANITOU (album)

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

Energy Transfer Partners is nearing completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Protesters are clearing some of the camps in North Dakota, but others are resolved to continue the fight. What happens next for the struggle against the pipeline? Activists are planning a march in Washington D.C., but will they be heard in the cacophony of other voices protesting the Trump administration?

Guests:

LaDonna Brave Bull Allard (Standing Rock Sioux) – landowner of the Sacred Stone Camp

Kandi Mossett (Mandan/Hidatsa/Arikara) – extreme energy and just transition campaign organizer for Indigenous Environmental Network

Tara Houska (Couchinhing First Nation) – national campaigns director for Honor the Earth

Also mentioned on the show:

DeFund DAPL

Freshet Collective

Water Protectors Legal Collective

Indigenous Rising

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

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

The priorities of environmental groups and tribes often align. The prevailing perception is Native Americans are good stewards of their land. But the two groups are sometimes at odds. The issues of protected species, hunting, land conservation and others can occasionally lead to friction. What steps can tribes and environmental organizations take to clear the air?

Guests:

Dr. Nick Reo (Sault Sainte Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) – associate professor of Native American and environmental studies at Dartmouth College

Dallas Goldtooth (Diné and Dakota) – Keep it in the Ground campaign organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network

Jessica Hernandez (Ch’orti’, Zapotec, and Yucateco) – graduate student in the College of the Environment at the University of Washington

Break music: Round Dance (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs (album)

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

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe argues the federal government failed to conduct meaningful consultation over the Dakota Access Pipeline project. Much of Standing Rock’s legal opposition relied on consultation. The concept comes up regularly for many tribes. When and how does consultation happen? It’s not always easy to get an answer. We discuss what consultation means and how governments should go about it to help avoid bigger problems down the road.

Guests:

Kevin Washburn (Chickasaw Nation) – professor of law at the University of New Mexico and former Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs for the US Department of Interior

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

Dianne Desrosiers (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate) – Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate

Break music: Ho Ho Watanay (song) Dawn Avery (artist) Our Fire Native American Contemporary Songs (album)