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U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland at the Chaco Culture National Historical Park. (Courtesy Department of the Interior)

Pueblo officials support the Biden Administration’s 20-year ban on new oil and gas leases on land surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico. The Pueblos see the land as sacred and have long pushed to limit outside intrusion from developers. They are at odds with the official position from the Navajo Nation, whose citizens stand to gain financially from new development leases. In addition the action has spurred an investigation into potential conflicts of interest by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, herself a citizen of Laguna Pueblo.

GUESTS

Mario Atencio (Diné Nation), vice president of the Torreon Chapter

Miya King-Flaherty, organizing representative for the Sierra Club Rio Grande chapter

Bill McCabe (Navajo), principal of McCabe and Associates, a consulting business for tribal energy resource development and management

President Buu Nygren, Navajo Nation president

Break 1 music: Honoring The Homeland (song) Radmilla & Herman Cody (artist) Shi Kéyah (album)

Break 2 music: Bui yo oh wanina (song) Judy Trejo (artist) Circle Dance Songs of the Paiute and Shoshone (album)

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Matika Wilbur (Swinomish and Tulalip) set out on an ambitious project more than a decade ago to photograph citizens of all the federally recognized tribes. Now, her complete work is collected in the book Project 562 and it’s as much about her own journey as it is about the vivid portraits of her subjects.

TikTok creator Victoria Cheyenne (Courtesy Victoria Cheyenne)

Plus, in our NAC Sidebar, Montana is the first state to ban the popular TikTok app over fears it allows the Chinese government to collect information on Americans. The ban is a blow to some Native content creators who express themselves and even draw revenue from TikTok. Filmmaker and TikTok creator Victoria Cheyenne (Northern Cheyenne and Aymara) is among those who testified against the TikTok ban in front of the Montana Legislature.

Break 1 music: Eagle Blessing (song) Swinomish Canoe Family (artist)

Break 2 music: Our Stories (Song) Qacung (Artist) Miu (Album)

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Tribal restoration programs are making a big difference in restoring native species of trout that were once abundant in states like Montana, Arizona, and Oregon. Species introduced by humans — in some cases a century or more ago — pushed the original trout to near extinction in many places. Tribal fisheries experts will explain what it takes to revive populations both for sport and environmental rehabilitation.

GUESTS

Bradley Clarkson (White Mountain Apache), fish biologist

Mervin Wright Jr. (Pyramid Lake Paiute), executive director of Pyramid Lake Fisheries and former Pyramid Lake Paiute chairman

Shannon Hill (Mi’kmaq), natural resource director for Mi’kmaq Farms & Fish Hatchery

Mike Smith, farm business manager for Mi’kmaq Farms & Fish Hatchery

Cherilynn Tsosie (Diné and White Mountain Apache), flyfishing angler

Break 1 music: Edge of The Rez, Part 2 (song) The Blue Stone Project (artist) Blue Stone (album)

Break 2 music: Our Stories (Song) Qacung (Artist) Miu (Album)

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Data from Wells Fargo just last year finds women outperform men when it comes to investment performance. That backs up a number of studies that say women are less apt to take big risks that can backfire. At the same time, a new survey by Glassdoor finds almost two-thirds of women in finance believe they’re getting paid less than their male counterparts. Some programs are working to encourage more Native women to enter the finance industry for their own good and the good of their communities.

GUESTS

Leilani Wilson Walkush (Tlingit), chief compliance officer for Breakwater Investment Group, LLC

Elke Chenevey (enrolled member Omaha Tribe of Nebraska), partner and financial advisor for FS Advisors

Brandy Niclai (descendent of the Calista region and Doyon shareholder), chief investment officer of Multi-Asset Strategies at Alaska Permanent Capital Management

Break 1 music: Woman’s Song (song) Joanne Shenandoah (artist) Sounds of Indian Summer: Contemporary Native Music from the National Museum of The American Indian (album)

Break 2 music: Our Stories (Song) Qacung (Artist) Miu (Album)

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Native activists and entertainers are among those being caught up in a recent push in several states to curb events connected to 2SLGBTQIA+ issues. A library in Montana canceled a lecture by a Native Two-Spirit writer and activist because organizers were worried it would violate the state’s new ban on drag performances in public spaces. For the start of Pride Month, we look at the new hurdles Native 2SLGBTQIA+ people are facing.

GUESTS

Sage Chanell (Shawnee, Ponca, Otoe and Lakota Sioux), drag performer and former Miss International Two-Spirit

Lady Shug (Diné), drag artist and community activist

Tomahawk Martini (Cheyenne River Sioux and Navajo), current Mother of the Year at the Albuquerque Social Club and former Miss New Mexico Pride 2022

Adria Jawort (Northern Cheyenne), journalist, fiction writer, and director of the non-profit startup Indigenous Transilience

Break 1 music: Yas (feat. Nukathadiva) (song) Uyarakq (artist) Miseraq (album)

Break 2 music: Our Stories (Song) Qacung (Artist) Miu (Album)

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Arizona officials are still sorting out the details of what they say is among the biggest and costliest fraud scandals in state history. The scheme targeted Native people and involved billing for sham treatment services. Some residents were literally taken off the street and held against their will at fake treatment centers. Officials say the operators of the fraud bilked Arizona’s Medicaid system of some $100 million over several years. Tribal officials in the state say hundreds of their citizens were harmed and some remain missing.

GUESTS

Ethel Branch (Diné), attorney general of the Navajo Nation

Darren Thompson (Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe), reporter for Native News Online

Elizabeth Bryant (citizen of the Cherokee Nation), psychiatric nurse practitioner

Reva Stewart (Diné), grassroots advocate with the #StolenPeopleStolenBenefits campaign

Coleen Chatter (Diné), grassroots advocate with the #StolenPeopleStolenBenefits campaign

Break 1 music: Mean Things Happenin’ in This World (song) Blackfire (artist) Woody Guthrie Singles (album)

Break 2 music: Blackbird Song (song) Emma Francisco, Frances Manuel, Joaquin Garcia & Lorenzo Pablo (artist)

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An ambitious project in Denver aims to build affordable units for the city’s Native population. It includes plans for a Native health clinic and is intended to address the disparities of homelessness for Native people. It’s one of a handful of housing projects built with collaborative health and program space around the country designed to prioritize the needs of Native people.

GUESTS

Carla Respects Nothing (Oglala Sioux from Pine Ridge), Native American housing advocate for the Native American Housing Circle

Paul Lumley (citizen of the Yakama Nation), CEO of the Native American Youth and Family Center

Lindsay Goes Behind (Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas), chief program officer for the Chief Seattle Club

Break 1 music: Intertribal 2 (song) Tha Tribe (artist) Woodland Groove (album)

Break 2 music: Blackbird Song (song) Emma Francisco, Frances Manuel, Joaquin Garcia & Lorenzo Pablo (artist)