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The Barbie brand has experienced a banner year with the record-breaking success of the Greta Gerwig film. However, the Barbie Inspiring Women collectible dolls, which includes the former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Wilma Mankiller, is getting both praise and criticism – and spurring conversations about how non-Native companies accurately honor Native individuals and tribes. We’ll dive into the controversy.

GUESTS

Kristina Kiehl, long-term friend of Wilma Mankiller 

Travis Owens (Cherokee Nation), vice president of cultural tourism for Cherokee Nation

Break 1 Music: Sisters (song) The Halluci-Nation (artist) Nation II Nation (album)

Break 2 Music: Pisuppunga (song) Twin Flames (artist) Omen (album)

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For fans and Native communities, volleyball matches and tournaments are sometimes as popular as football and basketball games. It’s fast-paced and rivalries are fierce. Especially popular for girls at the high school level, volleyball instills a long list of valuable lessons including the importance of fitness and exercises. Shawn Spruce talks with Native volleyball players and coaches about the 2023 season and how the sport is a dear part of Native community.

GUESTS

Dani Walking Eagle (Rosebud Sioux Tribe), Lakota Nation Invitational volleyball director  

Pam Tso (Diné), assistant coach for the Haskell Indian Nations University volleyball team

Joseph Garcia (Pueblo of San Felipe), head coach for the Santa Fe Indian School

Break 1 Music:  Stick Game Jam (song) Inez F. BIG Phil (Beat by Magic Touch, Mixed by EV Of A-Slam.Com) (artist) Singsoulgirl (album)

Break 2 Music: Pisuppunga (song) Twin Flames (artist) Omen (album)

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Mainstream audiences are starting to get a taste of Native humor on television shows like Rutherford Falls and Reservation Dogs. Native stand-up comics are also receiving more recognition like Brian Bahe (Tohono O’odham, Hopi, and Navajo), who was named by the news site Vulture as a new comedian to watch out for in 2023. We’ll hear from some Native comedians about breaking into the industry and making people laugh.

GUESTS

Brian Bahe (Tohono O’odham, Hopi, and Navajo), comedian and writer 

Janelle Niles (Mi’kmaq), stand-up comedian and a creator and producer of Got Land? 

Joey Clift (enrolled Cowlitz Indian Tribal member), comedian and Emmy-nominated producer and television writer

Break 1 Music: Reservation Sensation (song) MC RedCloud feat. Cook Book (artist) JR Redwater Presents: Chiefs of Comedy (album)

Break 2 Music: Pisuppunga (song) Twin Flames (artist) Omen (album)

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It’s that time of year when we gather around the table to share a holiday dinner with family and friends for harvest feasts and winter community meals. To keep everyone safe from foodborne illnesses like Salmonella and E. Coli, home cooks must remember some simple, but important, food safety rules. Viruses and bacteria spread by contaminated food not only cause unpleasant gastrointestinal issues, foodborne illnesses can be life-threatening for elders and those with weak immune systems. We’ll talk with food safety and medical experts about safe food handling.

GUESTS

Meagen Baldy (Hupa), food safety specialist with the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative  

Stephen Piontkowski, senior environmental health officer in the Division of Environmental Health Services at the Office of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Indian Health Service  

Patricia Sullivan, advanced practice nurse consultant in the Division of Nursing Services at the Indian Health Service  

Break 1 Music: Ch’iya’a’n Biyiin/Native Food Song (song) Radmilla & Herman Cody (artist) Shi Kéyah (album)

Break 2 Music: Pisuppunga (song) Twin Flames (artist) Omen (album)

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The American Revolution is mostly portrayed as an epic struggle between the colonies and the British. But Native tribes and individuals played a significant role in the historic War of Independence. It was a difficult choice for tribes, who were neither British subjects nor supporters of the encroaching colonies. We’ll get the Native perspective on America’s first war.

GUESTS

Chairman Tehassi Hill (Oneida), chairman of the Oneida Nation

Peter Jemison (Seneca [Heron Clan]), artist and Historic Site Manager (retired) at Ganondagan State Historic Site

JoAnn Schedler (Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians), retired Army Major and author of the Official National Park Service Handbook American Indians and the Civil War

Curtis Zunigha (Delaware Tribe of Indians), co-director of the Lenape Center

Break 1 Music: Until We Break (song) Klee Benally (artist) Appropriation (album)

Break 2 Music: Pisuppunga (song) Twin Flames (artist) Omen (album)

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Tribal museums are on the forefront of representing Native culture and information accurately and effectively. They also advocate for best practices when it comes to repatriation and proper display of artifacts. As Tribal Museums Day approaches, we’ll get a rundown of some museums that are making a difference in their communities.

GUESTS

Elizabeth Woody (enrolled in the confederated tribes of Warm Springs, Navajo, and Yakama Nation), executive director of The Museum at Warm Springs

Shannon Martin (Gun Lake Potawatomi), Tribal Museums Day consultant for the Association on American Indian Affairs

Andy Vig (Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community), director of Hoċokata Ṫi

Angie Demma, senior curator at the Alaska Native Heritage Center

Break 1 Music: Hymn (song) Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate (artist)

Break 2 Music: Together We’ll Fade Away (song) Dirt Rhodes (artist) Dirt Rhodes Sings Indian Country (album)

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This year’s class of MacArthur Fellows includes three creative leaders from Native America. Dyani White Hawk (Sičáŋǧu Lakota) draws community and family together through contemporary and abstract multidisciplinary art. The Haskell Indian Nations University alumni has showed her work at myriad galleries including The Whitney Biennial in New York City. Patrick Makuakāne (Kanaka Maoli) is the founder and director of Nā Lei Hulu i ka Wēkiu, a hula company and cultural organization. Makuakāne is a kumu hula, a master teacher of hula, who’s work connects and promotes contemporary Hawaiian hula, music, and culture while challenging stereotypes and taking back Hawaiian narratives. And Raven Chacon (Diné), Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, who, as an artist, explores the relationships between people, space, and sound by examining the history and theft of land. We’ll visit with a couple of this year’s MacArthur Fellows and learn more about their work.

Break 1 Music: Voiceless Mass (song) Raven Chacon (artist)

Break 2 Music: Together We’ll Fade Away (song) Dirt Rhodes (artist) Dirt Rhodes Sings Indian Country (album)

Listen to our conversation with Raven Chacon earlier this year:

Tuesday, June 14, 2022 – Native in the Spotlight: Raven Chacon

 

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In the cold expanse of the Arctic, igloos, those dome-shaped structures made of blocks of snow, offer a cozy shelter in the wintertime. It’s one of many types of traditional winter homes tribes from the north down to the Southwest rely on. We’ll talk with traditional builders who carry on igloo and winter house building.

GUESTS

Solomon Awa (Inuk), Mayor of Iqaluit and elder

Jesse Jackson (Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians), Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians education programs officer

Brenner Billy (Choctaw), public programs manager at the Choctaw Cultural Center

Break 1 Music: Storm (song) PIQSIQ (artist) Live from Christ Church Cathedral (album)

Break 2 Music: Together We’ll Fade Away (song) Dirt Rhodes (artist) Dirt Rhodes Sings Indian Country (album)