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As dangerously bitter winter weather takes hold of the country, some efforts to help unsheltered Native Americans face closure. City officials forced an emergency shelter set up in Rapid City, S.D., to shut down. Successful shelters in Seattle and Minneapolis that cater to unsheltered Native residents face pressure by outside forces that intend to develop the sites for other uses. And Anchorage continues a troubling ongoing trend of homeless fatalities. We’ll look into some of the ongoing struggles to help unhoused relatives.

GUESTS

Sunny Red Bear (Cheyenne River Sioux Miniconjou, Hunkpapa, and Oglala), associate director of organizing with the NDN Collective 

Nicole Mason (enrolled Red Lake Ojibwe), organizer for Nenookaasi Healing Camp

Derrick Belgarde (Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians/Chippewa Cree), executive director of the Chief Seattle Club

Samuel Johns (Ahtna and Gwich’in Athabascan), founder of Forget Me Not and hip hop artist

Hermus Bettelyoun (Oglala Lakota), local organizer with the NDN Collective

Break 1 Music: Solstice Echo (song) PIQSIQ (artist)

Break 2 Music: Ancestor Song (song) Various Artists (artist) Chumash Story and Song Collection (album)

 

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Diabetes drugs known as GLP-1 agonists, like Ozempic, are riding a wave of popularity right now. But the high cost and short supply because of their popularity as a weight loss remedy are putting the drugs out of reach for those who need them. Native Americans struggle with diabetes disproportionately. Now, is there a disparity when it comes to viable treatments?

GUESTS

Dr. Matthew Clark, chief medical officer for the Alaska Area Native Health Service and chair of the IHS National Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee 

Tarah Nelson, post-doctoral researcher at the University of Florida

Jason Hale (Prairie Band Potawatomi), senior research scientist and director for Indigenous community engagement with the Institute for Indigenous Studies at Lehigh University

Break 1 Music: Dancin’ on the Run (song) Inez Jasper (artist) Burn Me Down

Break 2 Music: Laugh Out Loud (song) Hataałii (artist) Singing into Darkness (album)

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The Upper Mattaponi Tribe has reached a major milestone toward solidifying its federally recognized status. Doors opened this month to Virginia’s first tribal court system, handling civil cases including child custody proceedings and misdemeanor criminal cases. We’ll hear about the milestone and put it in context of the legal system in Virginia. Plus, we’ll remember the life and career of longtime journalist Gary Fife (Muscogee), who died this week.

GUESTS

Chief Frank Adams (Upper Mattaponi)

Chief Keith Anderson (Nansemond)

Vice Chairman Jacob Tsotigh (Kiowa)

Melissa Holds the Enemy (Apsáalooké and Absentee Shawnee), chief justice for the Upper Mattaponi and associate justice of the supreme court for the Kiowa Tribe

Angel Ellis (citizen of the Muscogee Nation), director of Mvskoke Media, treasurer for the Indigenous Journalists Association, and Oklahoma Media Center board member

Sterling Cosper (citizen of the Muscogee Nation), Mvskoke Media editorial board president and Indigenous Journalists Association membership manager

Break 1 Music: Stomp Dance (song) Various Artists (artist) Stomp Dance Songs Of The Muscogee Nation, Volume 1 (album)

Break 2 Music: Laugh Out Loud (song) Hataałii (artist) Singing into Darkness (album)

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Every January, runners commemorate the tragic day in 1879 when soldiers hunted down and killed Northern Cheyenne men, women, and children who attempted to escape unbearable conditions at Fort Robinson, Neb. The captive Cheyenne were fleeing imprisonment without food, water, or heat on top of pending demands by the U.S. Army they return to confinement in Oklahoma. We’ll explore the history of the event 145 years ago and the work in recent years to promote healing.

GUESTS

Lynette Two Bulls (Northern Cheyenne), co-founder & executive director of the Yellow Bird Life Ways Center and coordinator of the Fort Robinson Spiritual Run

Denise Low-Weso (Delaware heritage), educator and author of Northern Cheyenne Ledger Art by Fort Robinson Breakout Survivors

Gerry Robinson (Northern Cheyenne), author and historian

Break 1 Music: War Dance Song 1 (song) Burton Fisher, George Fisher, Charles Little Oldman, & Clifford Bighead (artist) 12 Northern Cheyenne Songs (album)

Break 2 Music: Laugh Out Loud (song) Hataałii (artist) Singing into Darkness (album)

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An aide to President Richard Nixon once paid Hank Adams a backhanded compliment, saying he could speak both Indian and “American”. As misguided as that praise is, it highlighted one of Adams’ gifts that helped him steer the armed standoff at Wounded Knee to a peaceful conclusion. Adams is probably best known for his dedicated fight for Native fishing rights in the Pacific Northwest that culminated in the Boldt Decision. We’ll remember the civil rights champion with some of the people who knew him best.

GUESTS

Dr. Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne & Hodulgee Muscogee), president of the Morning Star Institute and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Dr. David Wilkins (Lumbee), E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor in Leadership Studies at University of Richmond

Mark Trahant (Shoshone-Bannock), editor-at-large for ICT

Natalie Charley (Quinault and Assiniboine Sioux), Hank Adams’s niece

Break 1 Music: Sioux Honor Song (song) Red Hawk Medicine Drum (artist) New Beginnings (album)

Break 2 Music: Laugh Out Loud (song) Hataałii (artist) Singing into Darkness (album)

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Marvel-villain-turned-superhero Echo is now streaming on Disney+, giving audiences their first series featuring a Native American comic character, who also happens be deaf with a partially prosthetic leg. Echo is a choice lead opportunity for Menominee and Mohican actress Alaqua Cox. It’s directed by Sydney Freeland (Navajo) and boasts a large Native supporting cast including Chaske Spencer, Devery Jacobs, Graham Greene, and Tantoo Cardinal. We’ll talk with the cast, crew, cultural consultants, and comic book fans about bringing this comic book story to life while also striving for accurate Indigenous representation.

GUESTS

Teresa Billy (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), assistant director of the Chahta Anumpa Aiikhvna (School of Choctaw Language) and consultant on Echo

Dr. Scott Ketchum (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), Chickasaw Nation Endowed Chair in Native American Studies for East Central University 

Dr. Lee Francis IV aka Dr. IndigiNerd (Laguna Pueblo), CEO of A Tribe Called Geek  

Plus, pre-recorded conversations with:

Alaqua Cox (Menominee Nation), plays Maya Lopez, character first debuted in Hawkeye series 

Sydney Freeland (Navajo), Echo executive producer and director

Devery Jacobs (Mohawk), plays Bonnie in Echo  

Chaske Spencer (Lakota, Nez Perce, Cherokee, Muscogee), plays Henry in Echo 

Richie Palmer, Echo executive producer

Break 1 Music: Different Heroes [feat. Northern Voice] (song) The Halluci Nation (artist) Nation II Nation (album)

Break 2 Music: Victory (song) Red Hawk Medicine Drum (artist) New Beginnings (album)

 

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The year 2023 saw substantially more ancestral remains returned to tribal nations than any time since the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) — and more repatriations are in the works. That’s the stunning assessment by the news outlet ProPublica. The progress in complying with federal law after years of resistance follows ProPublica’s own investigation into institutions’ failure to hand over remains and steady pressure by tribes and organizations like the Association on American Indian Affairs. We’ll find out about what it took to overcome decades of resistance by museums, universities, and other institutions and what else needs to be done.

GUESTS

Mary Hudetz (Apsáalooke, Crow), investigative reporter for ProPublica

Shannon O’Loughlin (citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), chief executive and lawyer with the Association on American Indian Affairs

Break 1 Music: All My Relations (song) Spirit Nation (artist) Winter Moons (album)

Break 2 Music: Victory (song) Red Hawk Medicine Drum (artist) New Beginnings (album)

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For a lot of people, a car is the second biggest purchase they’ll make. A lot more goes into picking a car than just color and style. We’ll talk with Native car sellers, mechanics, and financers about how to assess what you need in a vehicle and get tips on making decisions based on practical considerations rather than emotional ones. And we’ll get a checklist to help decide when to fix the ride you have and when to ditch it for something newer.

GUESTS

Dean Brewer (Oglala Lakota), automotive instructor for Oglala Lakota College

Kendall Eagle Child (Blood Tribe), owner of Eagle Autowerks Inc.

Nate Berry, University of Alaska Anchorage assistant professor of Diesel Power Technology

Chantel Green (Nez Perce), president of Sidney Resource Corp., chief executive officer of Xexus Greene Energy LLC, and former vice chair of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee

Riannon Singer (Navajo), auto sales consultant

Break 1 Music: Indian Cars Go Far (song) Russell Means (artist) Electric Warrior (album)

Break 2 Music: Victory (song) Red Hawk Medicine Drum (artist) New Beginnings (album)