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One way Indigenous cultures keep kids in line is with frightening traditional stories that have a moral or practical lesson. They include tales of children being dragged underwater for wandering too close to the sea or getting haunted by bad spirits if they don’t respect their parents. We’re gathering around the microphone, turning off the lights, and listening to spooky stories from Cherokee, Muskogee, Inuit, and other storytellers, with special guest host Alyssa Yáx̱ Ádi Yádi London.

GUESTS

Choogie Kingfisher (United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma), storyteller and 2019 Cherokee National Treasure

Chris “Honka” Hill (Muskogee Creek), co-host of the Spirit Talkers Podcast

Break 1 Music: I Saw the Witch Cry (song) Anasazi (artist)

Break 2 Music: My Island Home (song) Warumpi Band (artist)

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Renowned director Martin Scorsese’s vision for the new movie, “Killers of the Flower Moon”, changed early in the production. He said he realized he wanted to be more respectful of the Osage Nation and its people in telling the dark period in their history. He brought on Osage consultants and Native talent throughout all aspects of the production from the script to the wardrobe. We’ll get perspectives on how this painful history was handled on screen.

GUESTS

Margo Gray (Osage), executive director for the United Indian Nations of Oklahoma and a direct descendant of Henry Roan 

Dr. Robert Warrior (Osage), Hall Distinguished professor of American Literature and Culture at the University of Kansas

Tara Damron (Osage), program director at the White Hair Memorial learning center

Plus, pre-recorded conversations with:

Christopher Côté (Osage), Osage language teacher and Killers of the Flower Moon language consultant 

Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear (Osage)

Break 1 Music: Salvation Adagio (song) Robbie Robertson (artist) Killers of the Flower Moon Soundtrack

Break 2 Music: My Island Home (song) Warumpi Band (artist)

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This month marks 220 years since the ratification of the Louisiana Purchase. In one fell swoop, the United States doubled in size, adding much of the land between the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. It was also the moment when colonial powers embraced the momentum of westward expansion that ushered in Manifest Destiny, the Indian Removal Act, and other actions that favored European settlement at the expense of the land’s original inhabitants.

GUESTS

Patty Ferguson Bonhee (Pointe-au-Chien), director of the Indian Legal Clinic and Clinical Professor of Law at Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University

Dr. Laura Kelley, professor of history at Tulane University

Jonathan Rohrer, tribal historic preservation officer for the Caddo Nation

Break 1 Music: Caddo Round Dance Song (song) Stanley Edge (artist) Folk Music of The United States Issued from the Collections of the Archive of American Folk Song (album)

Break 2 Music: My Island Home (song) Warumpi Band (artist)

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Space explorers, hip-hop musicians, artists, and housing activists are among the diverse list of characters who make up season two of the PBS series “Native America”. The four-part season builds on the original series from 2018. Native filmmakers guide viewers on an inspiring and poignant exploration of modern Native life and its connection to traditions and stories from time immemorial. We’ll hear from the producers and others involved in bringing the shows to life.

GUESTS

Pam Belgarde (Turtle Mountain Band of Anishinaabe), producer of “Native America”

Charles ‘Boots’ Kennedye (Kiowa), producer of “Native America”

Gary Glassman, executive producer of “Native America”

Break 1 Music: Tanokumbia (feat. El Dusty & Black Bear) (song) The Halluci-Nation (artist) Tanokumbia (feat. El Dusty & Black Bear) (single)

Break 2 Music: My Island Home (song) Warumpi Band (artist)

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Tribes are getting their applications in for funds from the second round of the Biden Administration’s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program. Altogether the federal government is sinking almost $3 billion into tribal connectivity projects. From Starlink connections in Alaska to community Wi-Fi hubs in Kansas, almost 200 tribes received grants to put them on the cusp of high-speed internet infrastructure, some of them for the first time ever. We’ll hear from some tribes about what the money is paying for and how long before they see dividends toward bridging the digital divide.

GUESTS

President Dennis Robinson (Qawalangin Tribe), Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska

Chairman Timothy Rhodd (Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska), chairman of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska

Geoffrey Blackwell (Omaha/Chickasaw/Choctaw/Muscogee), general counsel and chief of staff for National Congress of American Indians

Jon Walton, GM of Grey Snow Tech Services

Break 1 music: Diyin Creates Sound (song) Randy Boogie (artist) The Blessingway Boogie (album)

Break 2 music: My Island Home (song) Warumpi Band (artist)

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Months of qualifier rounds are wrapping up, culminating in the Indian National Finals Rodeo. Hundreds of Native barrel racers, calf ropers, bull riders, and steer wrestlers converge at the South Point Equestrian Center in Las Vegas, Nev. to compete for the world champion spot. We’ll hear about who to watch and what’s ahead in professional rodeo sports.

GUESTS

Randy Taylor (Cherokee), professional rodeo announcer and host of our sister Native Voice One program Word With A Champ

Karlee Tsosie (Navajo), owner and operator of Rockin KT Rodeo Co. 

Steven DeWolfe (Oglala Lakota), reigning 2022 INFR world champion bareback rider

Tatum Ward (Cheyenne River Sioux), 25-year-old Native, qualifying in ladies barrel racing event   

Break 1 Music: Rodeo Song [Skip Dance Song] (song) Sweethearts of Navajoland (artist) From the Heart of Diné Nation Traditional Songs of the Navajo (album)

Break 2 Music: Dm Yootu Stukwliin (song) Saltwater Hank (artist) G̱al’üünx Wil Lu Holtga Liimi (album)

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Teachers, librarians, authors, and literary advocates are struggling to keep books about Native issues into public classrooms and libraries. That’s because of the increasing momentum by groups intent on removing any references, however vague, that they deem to promote racial diversity. Michigan’s Brandywine School District banned Laurel Goodluck’s children’s book Forever Cousins, an innocuous story about two Native relatives coping with living apart. We’ll get an updated list of banned Native books and what’s being done to get them in the hands of readers.

GUESTS

Debbie Reese (Nambe Pueblo), founder of American Indians in Children’s Literature blog

Laurel Goodluck (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Tsimshian), author

Allison Waukau (Menominee and Navajo), president of the American Indian Library Association

Donald Keeble (Forest County Potawatomi), director of the Forest County Potawatomi Cultural Center

Break 1 Music: ABC 123 Song (song) Talibah (artist) Navajo Songs for Children (album)

Break 2 Music: Dm Yootu Stukwliin (song) Saltwater Hank (artist) G̱al’üünx Wil Lu Holtga Liimi (album)

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Director Ken Burns recruited Native filmmakers, producers, and actors to help tell the story of the iconic Plains animal, the buffalo. The new PBS documentary The American Buffalo chronicles the history of the buffalo – from its sacred connection to tribes to its almost complete demise – and the contemporary work by tribes to restore herds descended from the survivors of the federal government’s efforts to eradicate them. We’ll hear from the show’s creators and tribal experts dedicated to reviving the important and once plentiful species.

GUESTS

Ken Burns, documentary filmmaker and director of The American Buffalo

 Julianna Brannum (citizen of the Comanche Nation), consulting producer on The American Buffalo, director of public media programs for Vision Maker Media, and documentary filmmaker

Dr. Rosalyn LaPier (enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe of Montana and Métis), professor of history at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Break 1 Music: Buffalo (song) Algin Scabby Robe (artist) Along the Way: Round Dance Songs (album)

Break 2 Music: Dm Yootu Stukwliin (song) Saltwater Hank (artist) G̱al’üünx Wil Lu Holtga Liimi (album)

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More teachers and administrators are turning to trauma-informed practices in the classroom. Among other things it prioritizes communication over discipline in certain circumstances, like when students experienced violence, a major accident, or some other significant event that might cause them to act out. It could be among the tools educators use to address the disproportionate percentage of Native America students who are suspended or expelled, which could affect their overall success at school.

GUESTS

Tesia Zientek (Citizen Potawatomi Nation), National Indian Education Association board president 

Jillene Joseph (A’aninin), executive director of the Native Wellness Institute

Shalene Joseph (A’aniiih and Koyukon Athabascan), project coordinator and facilitator at the Native Wellness Institute  

Star Weatherall (enrolled in the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and Klamath), education coordinator for the Grand Ronde Head Start Preschool

Break 1 Music: In the Presence of Young Drums (song) RiverFlowz (artist)

Break 2 Music: Dm Yootu Stukwliin (song) Saltwater Hank (artist) G̱al’üünx Wil Lu Holtga Liimi (album)

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Most residents of North America will be able to witness at least a partial solar eclipse this weekend. The rare celestial event evokes a variety of reactions depending on tribal beliefs. Many Cherokees go outside and make noise to scare away the giant frog trying to eat the sun. The eclipse is an auspicious time of ceremony for Hopis. The Navajo Nation plans to close some tribal operations during the eclipse. We’ll shine a light on some of the tribal traditions for the upcoming eclipse.

GUESTS

Barry Wesley (Stoney Îyârhe), traditional knowledge holder and consultation officer for Stoney Nakoda First Nation 

Kari Holloway (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), library aide at Snowbird Community Library 

Jeneda Benally (Diné), one half of Sihasin, executive producer of “Indigenous YOUth Nation”  

Jones Benally (Diné), Jeneda’s father and a medicine man

Jeneda and Jones talk about Navajo eclipse traditions on Facebook Live, Friday 10/13 at 5 p.m. MT

Break 1 Music: Red Red Sun (song) Sunburnt Stone (artist) El Navaho (album)

Break 2 Music: She’s an Elder (song) Joanne Shenandoah (artist) LifeGivers (album)