Native America Calling

Thursday, January 12, 2023 – P-22: How tribes want to honor the famous mountain lion

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In a city known for celebrities, a mountain lion’s improbable, decade-long occupation of Los Angeles’ Griffith Park earned him a status any movie star would envy. P-22 was euthanized after wildlife officials determined his injuries and illnesses made it impossible for him to continue living in the wild without significant suffering. Now, area tribes say they want a say in what happens to the famous lion’s remains. Today on Native America Calling, we’ll look back on the life of P-22 and get an overview of how some tribes view mountain lions with tribal secretary Kimberly Johnson (Gabrieliño Tongva from the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians), Alan Salazar (Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians), tribal elder on the elder’s council and traditional storyteller; and Dr. Christina Swindall (Gabrieleño), secretary for the Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians–Kizh Nation.

Break 1 music:  Sewa Ania (song) Gabriel Ayala (artist) Shades of Blue (album)

Break 2 music: Intertribal Song (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs Recorded Live at Coeur D’Alene (album)

Statement from Accent on Languages

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Date: Jan 11, 2023

Accent on Languages would like to address the recent news article regarding our translation quality in Iñupiaq and Yup’ik requested by FEMA.

First, we make no excuses for erroneous translations, and we deeply regret any inconvenience this has caused to the local community. As a language service provider that prides itself in top quality translation and client services, and given our goal of providing translations to support FEMA’s emergency communications, hearing that there may have been issues with our work was horrifying. This was a very unfortunate incident that has never happened before in Accent’s 30 years of operation, and we do not intend to ever allow it to occur in the future. Accent on Languages is also doing what it can to correct the situation, including by refunding FEMA’s payment for the translations in question.

Second, the article was factually incorrect regarding payment amounts, among other issues. Although the writer claimed Accent was paid $27,800, this was only a potential cap for future orders and was never actually fully paid out. The order expired before FEMA made full use of the total amount. FEMA actually paid Accent $5,116.41 for translations of multiple documents into several languages. Out of the $5,116.41 invoiced by Accent, a total of $3,385.13 was used for multiple Iñupiaq and Yup’ik translations. However, Accent on Languages is issuing a full refund for the translations of these two languages to FEMA and is working with the Contracting Officer to finalize this process.

Accent heard from FEMA regarding the potentially erroneous translations in late October of 2022, and upon learning of this issue, we immediately conducted an internal investigation. Accent also contacted a new team of translators to produce brand new translations from scratch, at no additional cost to FEMA and at Accent’s initiative. The linguists who produced the new translations signed certifications and affidavits. During this process, Accent on Languages reached out to numerous academic institutions in Alaska, local agencies, as well as members of the local community, social media sites, and other resources in order to resolve the issues as quickly as possible. Subsequently, Accent provided a plan of corrective actions to FEMA, together with the brand new, certified versions of the translations volunteered by Accent at no additional cost.

It is worth noting Accent initiated the process to replace the translations and was willing to absorb the additional cost without waiting for the internal review to corroborate the issues, in order to speed up the process and ensure accurate translations would be available to the public as soon as possible.

Accent entered into this task order with the commitment in the forefront to help the indigenous and native languages of Alaska, not only to just merely help these languages survive, but to help these languages and cultures thrive. As painful as it was to learn about the mistakes, Accent did not waver on this commitment and pressed on, dedicating dozens of hours to correcting the issue to the best of our ability in order to make things right not just to our customer from a business perspective, but for the people of Alaska.

As a small business, we pride ourselves in our ethics and professionalism, and while the costs of this project quickly overcame the fees we were going to get paid even before we issued the full refund, we certainly did not want to charge our customer for a product that did not meet the desired specifications. Accent’s ultimate goal always was to help FEMA send the right message to support the local people of Alaska in response to this natural disaster.

As a small, woman- and minority-owned business, the interests of the community are always close to our heart. The success of our company has always been based on the trust we have built over many decades of serving the community and our customers. The voice of the community matters deeply to us and we sincerely apologize for any issues that occurred with this support of FEMA and its mission to help those in need. We have taken actions to prevent this from happening again. Accent also welcomes any opportunity to speak to local community members directly to share what we’ve learned, and to discuss how we could do better for the community in the future.

If you are a local community member and would like to reach out to Accent regarding this matter or to ask any questions about our language services, please do not hesitate to email us at info@accentonlanguages.com.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,

Caroline Lee
CEO of Accent on Languages

Wednesday, January 11, 2023 – When language translations go wrong

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The federal government issued translations on official documents to help Alaska Natives following destructive storms there. The trouble is, the text is indecipherable for those it was intended to help. An investigative report found the Iñupiaq and Yup’ik translations from FEMA are essentially unreadable for those familiar with the languages. One appears to be at least partly taken from a World War Two-era publication in the Soviet Union.  Today on Native America Calling, we’ll check in with Tara Sweeney (Inupiaq), Principal and CEO of Tack 71 Strategies and former Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of Interior; Julia Jimmie (Yup’ik), translator and Yup’ik language programming producer; Sam Berlin (Yup’ik), translator and KYUK talk show host; linguist Gary Houlton; and Emily Schwing, freelance reporter based in Alaska.

Since this show, FEMA language contractor, Accent on Languages, released a statement about the erroneous translation. You can read it here.

Break 1 music:  Diamond Ring (song) The Jir Project Band (artist) The Pueblo (album)

Break 2 music: Intertribal Song (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs Recorded Live at Coeur D’Alene (album)

Tuesday, January 10, 2023 – A fair value for Native artists

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Federal law already protects artwork legitimately made by Native Americans. But once artwork is sold, the artists typically don’t benefit from any residual appreciation of the work’s value. Some Native-owned galleries and organizations are working to ensure artists get full value for their work. And an effort in Canada aims to pay artists and their heirs resale rights. Today on Native America Calling, we’ll hear from Theresie Tungilik (Inuk), arts and traditional economy advisor for Nunavut government; Mathew Nuqingaq (Inuk), jewelry artist and sculptor; Dawn Iehstoseranón:nha Setford Whiteman Francis (Akwesasne Mohawk), president and founder of Indigenous Arts Collective of Canada; and Colleen Echohawk (Pawnee and Athabascan), CEO of Eight Generation.

Break 1 music:  Siku (song) Pamyua (artist) Caught in the Act (album)

Break 2 music: Intertribal Song (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs Recorded Live at Coeur D’Alene (album)

Antonia Gonzales visited Eighth Generation on her way to AFN in 2021 and sent us this video:

 

Monday, January 9, 2023 – The benefits (and drawbacks) of college fraternities and sororities

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Social connections and career networking are two of the top reasons college students seek out fraternities and sororities. Greek life supporters also say they offer mentorship, academic support, and life-long friendships. Native fraternities and sororities began in the mid 1990s and also offer a chance for Native students to connect with each other and draw support from shared cultural values. Today on Native America Calling, we’ll speak with Mardella Richardson (member of the Lumbee Tribe of NC), national president of Alpha Pi Omega, and Destiny Hutson (Cheyenne and Arapaho), vice president and historian of the Theta Chapter (Northeastern State University) of Alpha Pi Omega, as well as Dr. Corey Still (citizen of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians), member on the national governance board for Iota Gamma.

 

Guests:

Mardella Richardson (member of the Lumbee Tribe of NC) – national president of Alpha Pi Omega 

Dr. Corey Still (citizen of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indian) – member on the national governance board for Iota Gamma

Destinne Hutson Desteny (Cheyenne and Arapaho) – vice president and historian of the Theta Chapter (Northeastern State University) of Alpha Pi Omega

Break 1 music: Blood Land (song) Ethnic De Generation (artist) Blood Land (album)

Break 2 music: Intertribal Song (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs Recorded Live at Coeur D’Alene (album)

Friday, January 6, 2023 – Inside the ring: Native pro wrestling

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Professional wrestling draws fans in with a mix of theatrics, colorful characters, and campy violence. Indigenous wrestlers comprise only a small faction of the wrestling world, but they are making names for themselves. In the process of entertaining their fans, they risk broken bones, concussions, cuts, and bruises in the ring. Today on Native America Calling, we’ll hear from Native wrestlers Kyle Hawk (Hopi Laguna and Lakota), professional wrestler and actor; Eric Bearspaw aka Chief Little Foot (Stony Nakoda), traditional dancer, musician, and professional wrestler; and Victoria Otis aka Princess Victoria (Samish Nation), wrestling booking agent and former professional wrestler.

Break 1 music: Blood Land (song) Ethnic De Generation (artist) Blood Land (album)

Break 2 music: Four Two-Step Songs (song) Pyawasits, Silas & Webster (artist) Wild Rice: Songs from The Menominee Nation (album)

Thursday, January 5, 2023 – Unequal discipline for Native students

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An investigative report in New Mexico finds Native students are expelled at a far greater rate than their white counterparts. The report focuses on the public school district on the edge of the Navajo Nation with the highest percentage of Native students in the country. Today on Native America Calling, we’ll hear from Bryant Furlow, a New Mexico In-Depth reporter and member of ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network who pursued the story, as well as Native education experts Dr. Wendy Greyeyes (Diné), assistant professor of Native American Studies at the University of New Mexico, and Regis Pecos (Cochiti Pueblo), co-director of the Leadership Institute at the Santa Fe Indian School and former governor of Cochiti Pueblo.

Break 1 music: Narbona (song) The Delbert Anderson Trio (artist) MANITOU (album)

Break 2 music: Four Two-Step Songs (song) Pyawasits, Silas & Webster (artist) Wild Rice: Songs from The Menominee Nation (album)

If you have information that could help Bryant Furlow’s reporting, reach out via bryant.furlow@gmail.com or Twitter @bryantfurlow.

Wednesday, January 4, 2023 – Indigenous languages and the migrant border crisis

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Thousands of migrants, many of whom are seeking asylum as they escape violence, extreme poverty, and oppression, are stopped at the U.S. border. The lack of resources available to them is a serious life-and-death concern. Adding to the many other hurdles is a language disconnect for Indigenous migrants. Today on Native America Calling, we get an update on the crisis at the US-Mexican border and how it affects Indigenous people from Mexico and Central and South America with Odilia Romero (Zapotec), co-founder and executive director of Comunidades Indigenas en Liderazgo (CIELO); Javier Garcia (San Martín Peras from Juxtlahuaca in Oaxaca), interpreters program coordinator for the Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project; and attorney Allegra Love.

Break 1 music: Quiero Que Me Salves (feat. Sexteto Tabala) (song) Lido Pimienta (artist) Miss Colombia (album)

Break 2 music: Four Two-Step Songs (song) Pyawasits, Silas & Webster (artist) Wild Rice: Songs from The Menominee Nation (album)

 

 

Tuesday, January 3, 2023 – Keeping your cool in 2023

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A new year offers a sense of promise. But that promise this year comes with the backdrop of lingering division that infects our personal and professional relationships. Heated political discourse is at the top of the list and permeates everything from how we protect our own health to how we approach international security. Today on Native America Calling, we’ll speak with Theda New Breast (Blackfeet), master trainer and facilitator for the Native Wellness Institute and board member of the Sovereign Bodies Institute; James Anderson (Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe), motivational speaker and success trainer; and D.J. Eagle Bear Vanas (Odawa Nation), motivational storyteller, bestselling author, and owner of Native Discovery Inc., about bridging divisions and avoiding the traps that drive wedges between us.

Break 1 music: Change of Life (song) Young Bird (artist) Change of Life (album)

Break 2 music: Four Two-Step Songs (song) Pyawasits, Silas & Webster (artist) Wild Rice: Songs from The Menominee Nation (album)

Monday, January 2, 2023 – Stickball: culture and athleticism

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Host: Shawn Spruce

This is an encore presentation, so we won’t be taking calls

Stickball is the older, rougher cousin of lacrosse, developed many centuries ago as both a game and a training exercise. The U.S. government once deemed stickball one of the cultural connections they needed to eliminate in the effort to assimilate Native children through missionary-run boarding schools. The game survived that assault and keeps gaining momentum, played by local clubs and in competitive national tournaments. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce learns about the origins and growing future for the nation’s oldest team sport with Mike Slee (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), stickball player for the Walelu Cherokee Indian Ball team and the director of operations for the Museum of the Cherokee Indian; Miranda Long Stamper (Creek and a citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee), teacher, coach and stickball player; announcer and player Jeremy Bell (Mississippi Band of Choctaw member); Dr. Scott Ketchum (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), Chickasaw Nation endowed chair in Native American Studies for East Central University; and Casey Bigpond (Mississippi Band of Choctaw member), cultural revitalization specialist for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

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: Sahkaweyohk Ota (Give A War Cry Here) (song) Young Spirit (artist) Akameyimoh Baby Boy (album)

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