Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:03 — 38.5MB) | Embed

Shawn Spruce didn’t start out to be the host of the nation’s premier Native American radio talk show. It just turned out that way. He started hosting in 2021 and officially took over as permanent host this past summer. Tuesday on Native America Calling, senior producer Andi Murphy took us behind the scenes and introduced Shawn to our audience.

Break 1 music: Wim Ah I Wem, Tiwa (single) Gregg Analla (artist)

Break 2 music: Rattle Dance (song) Asani (artist) Rattle and Drum (album)

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:09 — 38.6MB) | Embed

Please note: This is an encore presentation so we won’t be taking calls

Cedar is an important part of many tribal cultures. The tall evergreens in the Pacific Northwest are carved into totem poles and canoes. The spiny and fragrant leaves can be used to flavor food. It’s also incorporated into ceremony and has some medicinal use. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce talks about the significance of cedar in Native America with Harold Joe (Cowichan First Nation) and Leslie Bland, the directors, producers, and writers of “A Cedar is Life”; Dave Smoke-McCluskey (Mohawk), chef and owner of the Corn Mafia; and Ruben Littlehead (Northern Cheyenne), announcer for the Gathering of Nations Powwow.

Break 1 music: Grandmother’s Song (song) Fawn Wood (artist) Iskwewak (album)

Break 2 music: Destiny (song) Mary Youngblood (artist) Feed the Fire (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:02 — 38.5MB) | Embed

2022 witnessed a rebirth for Native art. More galleries, museums, and art spaces reopened following pandemic restrictions – and organizers brought back public shows featuring Native fashion designers. The Santa Fe Indian Market and the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial, both a nexus for regional and national Native artists, marked their 100th year.

Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce recaps the year in Indigenous art and fashion with Joe Williams (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate), director of Native American programs at the Plains Art Museum, and Miranda Belarde-Lewis (Zuni and Tlingit), independent curator and assistant professor in the Information School at the University of Washington.

Break 1 music: Santa I’m Broke (song) Andrea Menard (artist) Sparkle (album)

Break 2 music: Night of the Northern Lights (song) Jay Begaye (artist) Night of the Northern Lights (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:00 — 38.5MB) | Embed

Métis Nation of Alberta citizens came out for a historic vote to ratify their constitution. The decision is now in the hands of the Canadian federal government. Nation officials say this is an important first step toward proper representation and self-governance. At the same time, a number of other Métis groups that say their people are being left out of the process. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce looks at the evolving definition of what it means to be Métis with Jean Teillet (Red River Métis), writer and Indigenous Rights lawyer; Garrett Tomlinson (citizen of the Métis Nation), senior director of Self Government Implementation for the Métis Nation of Alberta; Dr. Adam Browning (Métis), president of the Métis Nation of Alberta local for Lethbridge; and Bruce McIvor (Red River Métis), lawyer and partner at First Peoples Law.

Break 1 music: Trade Song (song) Métis Fiddler Quartet (artist) Northwest Voyage Nord Ouest (album)

Break 2 music: Night of the Northern Lights (song) Jay Begaye (artist) Night of the Northern Lights (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:01 — 38.5MB) | Embed

Data helps guide governments, organizations, and people interested in everything from business growth to health outcomes. But accurate data specific to Native Americans is hard to come by. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce looks at how tribes and agencies like the Federal Reserve Bank are working on ways to collect and distribute meaningful information that helps Native communities achieve their goals with Casey Lozar (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes), vice president of the Center for Indian Country Development (CICD) at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis; Alisha Murphy (Diné), Navajo Nation Division of Economic Development economist; and Matthew Roskruge (Te Atiawa, Ngāti Tama), Rutherford Discovery Fellow, Director of Te Au Rangahau, and Associate Dean Māori and Professor in the School of Economics and Finance at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa.

Tribe:  

Break 1 music: Someone Drew a Line (song) Vincent Craig (artist) Vol. 1 (album)

Break 2 music: Night of the Northern Lights (song) Jay Begaye (artist) Night of the Northern Lights (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:02 — 38.5MB) | Embed

2022 was a strong year for features films, documentaries, shorts, and TV shows produced by Native filmmakers, relied on Native talent, or focused on Native issues. ABC’s “Alaska Daily” takes on the serious real life inequities that lead to high rates of unsolved sexual assaults, disappearances, and deaths for Alaska Native women. And unsung gems like the documentary “Daughter of a Lost Bird” paints a poignant portrait of adoption and identity. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce looks back at some of the films and TV shows you may have seen and some you might have missed from the past year with Vincent Schilling (Akwesasne Mohawk), editor of NativeViewPoint.com and certified Rotten Tomatoes critic; Johnnie Jae (Otoe-Missouria and Choctaw), founder of A Tribe Called Geek and co-founding member of the Fan Organizer Coalition; and Jason Asenap (Comanche and Muscogee), writer, critic, and filmmaker.

Break 1 music: NDN Kars (Remix) (song) A Tribe Called Red & Keith Secola (artist) NDN Kars (Remix) (single)

Break 2 music: Fancy Dance (Song) Yellow Hammer (artist) Yellow Hammer (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:00 — 38.5MB) | Embed

The village of Newtok, AK is losing its battle with climate change. The thawing permafrost is giving up as much as 70 feet of land every year that the Newtok residents called home. The effort to move residents is ongoing, but slow. The village is one of nearly a dozen Native communities that will receive federal climate change relocation money. The total allocation is $135 million. Today on Native America Calling, Andi Murphy talks with Bernice John (Yup’ik), president of the Newtok Native Corporation; Sam Fortier, general counsel for the Newtok Native Corporation; Jackie Schaeffer (Inupiaq), director of climate initiatives for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium; Phillip Carl (Yup’ik), Newtok tribal administrator; and Joseph John (Yup’ik), Newtok council member.

Break 1 music: Qalurru (Dip Netting) (song) Pamyua (artist) Drums of The North: Traditional Yup’ik Songs (album)

Break 2 music: Fancy Dance (Song) Yellow Hammer (artist) Yellow Hammer (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:19 — 38.0MB) | Embed

The 45th annual Lakota Nation Invitational (LNI) in Rapid City, SD is underway and hundreds of Native athletes are not letting a little winter storm get in their way. What started as a basketball tournament in 1977 is now a not-to-be-missed five-day event that includes multiple sports including wresting, volleyball, and cheerleading and cultural competitions for hand games, language, and archery. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce talks with Chuck Wilson (Rosebud Sioux), president of the board for LNI; Bryan Brewer (Oglala Lakota from Pine Ridge), founder and director of LNI; Kellee Brewer (Oglala Lakota), coordinator of the Cheerleading championship at LNI; and Corey YellowBoy (Oglala Lakota), coordinator of the Lakota Language Bowl at LNI, about the evolution and importance of this event.

Break 1 music: Remembering the Warrior (song) Porcupine Singers (artist) Alowanpi – Songs Of Honoring – Lakota Classics: Past & Present, Vol. 1 (album)

Break 2 music: Fancy Dance (Song) Yellow Hammer (artist) Yellow Hammer (album)