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Not all tribes have a weaving tradition. Navajo and Chilkat weavings are among those that come to mind first when we think of Native American textiles. They are iconic pieces of art that exemplify their cultures. We’ll explore stories behind these and other weaving styles and find out how the practice became a high-end art form.

Guests:

Lily Hope (Tlingit) – weaver and teaching artist

Marcella Hale (Diné) – treasurer of the Navajo Weavers Association

Barbara Teller Ornelas (Navajo)

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

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From fights over oil extraction in Ecuador and Peru, to a water fight in Colombia, Indigenous people of Latin America are struggling to maintain traditional lands and culture against outside encroachment. The International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs estimates there are 40 million Indigenous people in Latin America. We’ll look at some of the key issues they’re facing.

Guests:

Cristina Coc (Q’eqchi Maya) – spoke person for the Maya Leaders Alliance and the Toledo Alcaldes Association

Leonardo Crippa (Kolla) – senior attorney at the Indian Law Resource Center

Rick Kearns (Taíno) – freelance journalist work has been included in Indian Country Today

Break music: Mundo Enganador (song) Quetzal Guerrero (artist) Coiza Boa (album)

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Adults usually have two or three colds a year, according to the CDC. Children have even more. It’s the season for cold and flu. You start seeing coworkers and friends disappear as they wrestle with coughs, plugged sinuses, and fevers. We’re going to take the hour to talk about prevention, treatment, and flu shots, as well as traditional remedies to soothe the symptoms we suffer through.

Guests:

Dr. Kalamaoka’aina Niheu (Kanaka Maoli) – physician and on the Standing Rock Medic and Healers Council

Anne White Hat (Sichongu Lakota) – herbalist and owner of White Hat Herbs and Native botanicals

Capt. Thomas Weiser – medical epidemiologist at the Portland area Indian health Service

Break music: I See Si (song) RiverFlowz (artist) RiverFlowz Rural Recordings Malruk (album)

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President Obama was one of the few sitting presidents to visit a reservation. His administration also restored more than half a million acres to tribal nations. Tribes and environmental groups applauded his moves to protect Bears Ears, Badger Two-Medicine and block the Keystone XL Pipeline. But others criticize his administration for failing to take decisive action to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline. How does President Obama’s legacy stack up? Will he go down in the history books as one of the best presidents for Native Americans and Alaska Natives?

Guests:

Jacqueline Pata (Tlingit) – Executive Director for the National Congress of American Indians

Raina Thiele (Dena’ina Athabascan and Yup’ik) – president of Thiele Strategies

Debra Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) – Chairwoman of the New Mexico Democratic Party

Yatibaey Evans (Ahtna Athabascan) – Alaska Native education director for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District and president of the National Indian Education Association

Brayden “Sonny” White (Mohawk) – northeastern regional representative for UNITY

Break music: My Winter Song (song) Andrea Menard (artist) Sparkle (album)

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Have you ever wanted to blast off into space? It’s a dream for many young children. That dream became real for one man from the Chickasaw Nation. John B. Herrington is the first Native American to travel to space. He flew on the space shuttle Endeavour in 2002. We get to relive this journey in his new children’s book, “Mission to Space.” He traces the dedication, training and skill it takes to turn a dream into a high-flying reality.

Guests:

Commander John B. Herrington (Chickasaw Nation) – Astronaut

Break music: Rez Rocket (song) Red Earth (artist) Zia Soul (album)

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There are a lot of people who turned a small idea into a successful business. We’ll highlight a few entrepreneurial Native Americans and find out what they did to make it from the bottom to the top. Are you starting a business? Do you operate your own business? Tell us about what it takes to make your business a successful one.

Guests:

Sean McCabe (Navajo) – managing shareholder of Mcabe CPA

Love Chance (Cherokee) – owner and founder of the Indigenous south

Chris James – president and CEO of the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development

Derrick Watchman (Navajo) –  board chairman of the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development

Break Music:  Nitohta (song) Asani (artist) Listen (album)

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As we settle into the new year, many of us are also settling into new workout routines. Exercise improves our mood and sleep patterns, according to the Mayo Clinic. It also reduces our risk for heart disease, diabetes and many other maladies. If exercise is so good for us, why is it so hard? Why do we make exercise resolutions every January and then give up by April? And how many of us think we need the right piece of equipment or the right gym environment before we even start?

Guests:

Chelsey Luger (Turtle Mountain Chippewa and Standing Rock Lakota) – founder of Well for Culture

Thosh Collins (Akimel O’odham, Osage, Seneca and Cayuga) – founder of Well for Culture

Lee Zahir (Hefquiaht from Vancouver Island) – digital communication specialist for the Qheft Life Program with the medical center

Acosia Red Elk (enrolled member of the confederated tribes of the Umatilla, Cayuse, and Walla Walla) – yoga teacher, motivational leader and jingle dress dancer

Break music: Smoke Dance One (feat. Frazer Sundown) (song) DJ Shub (artist) PowWowStep – EP (album)

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The Dakota Access Pipeline, sacred places, and cultural appropriation. Those are three of the important topics we explored this past year on Native America Calling. But we also talked about traditional weddings, fishing, the Academy Awards, a notable high school lacrosse team, and a particularly outspoken comedian. We take our traditional look back at some of our favorite shows of the past year.

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An expose in the Arizona Republic paints a damning picture of the Navajo Housing Authority. It’s a detailed account that attempts to add up the legacy—and lack thereof—of $1.6 billion in housing funds. We’ll talk to the reporters about their series and what’s being done now. We’ll also revisit some stories from 2016 including the Nooksack disenrollment fight and others.

Guests:

Jacqueline Keeler (Dakota and Navajo) – writer and co-founder of Eradicating Offensive Native Mascotry

Dennis Wagner – reporter for the Arizona Republic

Nina Shapiro – reporter for the Seattle Times

Break Music:  Sneak Up (song) Red Bull (artist) Greatest Hits (album)