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Hurricane Ian caused catastrophic damage, but most tribal members and communities weathered the storm, although they still require federal assistance. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce gets an update on recovery efforts and looks at how other tribes are preparing for impending disasters with Jake Heflin (Osage and Cherokee), president and CEO of Tribal Emergency Management Association (iTEMA); Adam Weintraub, communications director for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency; and Monse Torres, radio producer and activist.

Break 1 music: Cherokee Morning Song (song) Walela (artist) Walela (album)

Break 2 music: Raindrops (song) Clark Tenakhongva (artist) Su’Vu’Yo’Yungw (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:46 — 38.3MB) | Embed

Practitioners in the Native American Church (or as we like to call it, the other NAC) officially won the right to use peyote as a religious right in 1994. Now they are working to secure environmental protections for the plant that is losing habitat to development, land use policies, and climate change. Among other things, NAC representatives call for setting aside land where peyote grows.

Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce looks at the practice and the politics of peyote with Jon Brady (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara), president of the Native American Church of North America; Dr. Martin Terry, board member for the Cactus Conservation Institute and professor emeritus of Sul Ross University; elder Steven Benally (Diné), founding member of the Indigenous Peyote Conservation Initiative (IPCI) and co-organizer of the Annual Spiritual Pilgrimage; and Sandor Iron Rope (Oglala Lakota Oyate from the Pine Ridge agency), founding IPCI board member.

Break 1 music: Wiconi (song) Primeaux & Mike (artist) Road to Peace (album)

Break 2 music: Raindrops (song) Clark Tenakhongva (artist) Su’Vu’Yo’Yungw (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:05 — 38.5MB) | Embed

If you haven’t been summoned back to the office after the pandemic disruption, you likely will soon. The threat from COVID-19 has receded. President Joe Biden declared the pandemic “over”, even though scientists like Dr. Anthony Fauci say the reality is much more nuanced than that. Tribal offices, casinos, and businesses have a wide range of policies to address the ongoing health of their employees and patrons. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce finds out what’s changed and what still needs to when working face-to-face with Tamara Henderson (Laguna Pueblo), chief operating officer for the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA); Montoya Whiteman (Cheyenne and Arapaho), senior director of marketing for the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES); Rick Waters (Kiowa and Cherokee), executive director for the Denver Indian Center; and Lynnette Toya (Jemez Pueblo), senior human resources generalist for Amerind.

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

Break 2 music: Raindrops (song) Clark Tenakhongva (artist) Su’Vu’Yo’Yungw (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:23 — 38.0MB) | Embed

Native athletes helped kick off football’s popularity in the early days and there are a number of talented Native NFL players. The sport attracts a large Native following despite problematic mascots, tomahawk chops, and headdresses. The season is still young, rivalries are heating up, and fans have their sights set for a post-season appearance. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce huddles with Marlin Fryberg (member of the Tulalip Tribes), 7G Foundation northwestern states region board member; Levi Horn (Northern Cheyenne), former Chicago Bear and current drug and alcohol counselor; Eric Brock, athletic director for Santa Fe Indian School; and Joseph Claunch (Puyallup), dean of students and head football coach at Hózhó Academy.

Break 1 music: Intertribal (song) Sweetgrass (artist) Follow the Trial (album)

Break 2 music: The Elders (song) Randy Wood (artist) My Heart & Soul (album)

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

Some tribes are already finding economic opportunities with clean energy. Now the Biden Administration is appealing directly to tribes to add wind, solar, and other clean alternatives to help boost their budgets. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce finds out why more tribes are willing to take a chance on these burgeoning technologies with Daniel Wiggins Jr. (Bad River Band citizen), Air Quality Technician with the Bad River Band Natural Resources Department; Liliana Napoleon (Native Hawaiian and a Cherokee descendant), program director for Ho’ahu Energy Cooperative; Robert Blake (tribal citizen of the Red Lake Nation), owner of Solar Bear, executive director for Native Sun Community Power Development, and chief executive officer for Indigenized Energy Initiative; Tanksi Clairmont (Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota tribal member and Sicangu Lakota). managing director of the Tribal Solar Accelerator Fund; and Dr. Suzanne Singer (Diné), co-founder of Native Renewables.

Break 1 music:  The Four Essential Elements (Diigo Bee’iináanii) (song) Radmilla Cody (artist) K’é Hasin (album)

Break 2 music: The Elders (song) Randy Wood (artist) My Heart & Soul (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:05 — 38.5MB) | Embed

Post-pandemic burn out, persistently low pay, and a disparaging political climate are helping fuel a high number of teacher vacancies. Some school districts have an easier time recruiting teachers from other countries than finding candidates from within their own borders. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce looks at how rising class sizes, decreased attention on cultural connections, and the shifting political pressures mean Native students are at an increasing disadvantage with Jerad Koepp (Wukchumni), a Native Student Program Specialist and 2022 Washington state Teacher of the Year; Joe Carrier (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa), American Indian education program coordinator for Detroit Lakes Public Schools; and Dr. Casie Wise, senior program director for the National Indian Education Association.

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

Break 2 music: The Elders (song) Randy Wood (artist) My Heart & Soul (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:10 — 38.6MB) | Embed

The Biden Administration says it wants to work with tribes to co-manage federal land that is also sacred or culturally important. Tribal leaders are talking with officials in the Interior and Agriculture departments about what that might look like. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce speaks with Dr. Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee), advisor for the “Sacred Places Project” from the Native American Rights Fund, founding trustee of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, president of the Morningstar Institute, and the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom; Oglala Lakota Tribe President Kevin Killer (Oglala Lakota); and head councilman Joe Garcia (Ohkay Owingeh), advisor for the Sacred Places Project from the Native American Rights Fund. 

Break 1 music: This Land (song) Keith Secola (artist) Native Americana – A Coup Stick (album)

Break 2 music: The Elders (song) Randy Wood (artist) My Heart & Soul (album)

 

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Tlingit clan houses are both physical structures and important traditional entities encompassing family, ceremony, and connectedness. In Sitka, clan houses are slowly disappearing, caught between Tlingit custom and conventional legal constraints. But now there’s new hope on the horizon with the repatriation of one of the properties in Sitka. It’s reviving awareness and the possibility of finding solutions to preserve these important cultural touchstones. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce speaks with Jerrick Hope-Lange (Tlingit); Louise Brady (Tlingit); Chuck Miller (Tlingit), caretaker of the Platform House; and James Poulson, architecture historian and photo editor for the Daily Sitka Sentinel.

Break 1 music: The Phaser Is Broken (song) Khu.éex’ (artist) Heen (album)

Break 2 music: Okisikowak (song) Asani (artist) Listen (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:47 — 38.3MB) | Embed

Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-AK) is seeking federal disaster funds after a major storm battered a thousand-mile stretch of the state’s western coastline. The storm caused flooding and wind damage that destroyed homes, roads, power lines, and other infrastructure – and displaced hundreds of residents. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce hears about the immediate effects of the storm and measures to help residents with Jan Olson (Yup’ik), tribal administrator for the Native Village of Hooper Bay; Peter Tuluk (Kashunamiut), general manager for KCUK Radio; Emily Schwing, freelance reporter and Rick Thoman, climate specialist for the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy. Plus, Gualterio Alomar (Taino), president of the Organization for Culture of Hispanic Origins, provides an update on the Hurricane Fiona disaster in Puerto Rico.

Break 1 music: Ocean Prayer (song) Pamyua (artist) Side A Side B (Side A) (album)

Break 2 music: Okisikowak (song) Asani (artist) Listen (album)

Some organizations taking donations to help out with the Alaska storms: The Western Alaska Disaster Recovery Fund, The American Red Cross, Alaska Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services; Individuals seeking disaster grants can apply through the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

Some organizations providing relief in Puerto Rico: The Organization for Culture of Hispanic Origins; Global Giving’s Hurricane Fiona Relief Fund, PRxPR Relief and Rebuild Fund, Techos Pa’ Mi Gente, Comedores Sociales de Puerto Rico