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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

 

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The story of the Dust Bowl often focuses on the plight of European settlers whose agricultural promise descended into absolute ruin during decades of drought, but the nation’s most infamous climate disaster also precipitated the needless forced slaughter of masses of Native-owned livestock and subsequent land and water use policies to the detriment of many tribes. Today on Native America Calling, Andi Murphy reflects on the Dust Bowl’s legacy for Native Americans with Dr. David Chang (Native Hawaiian), professor of history and American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota; Dr. David Wilkins (Lumbee), professor at the University of Richmond; Larry O’Dell, director of communications at the Oklahoma Historical Society; and Greg Scott, Oklahoma Conservation Commission soil scientist and geomorphologist.

Plus, a recorded interview with Hannah Holleman, professor of sociology and environmental studies at Amherst College.

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

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

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Today on Native America Calling, as summer wanes, Andi Murphy welcomes the beginning of autumn with a look at some brand-new music from established Indigenous musicians and newer acts that get us excited like rapper Nataanii Means (Oglala Lakota, Diné and Omaha) with his new album “GROWTH”; singer-songwriter Wayne Garner (Cherokee) with his new album “School for Savages”; and vocalist Nico Williams (Cherokee) and guitarist Kyle Williams (Ponca, Otoe, and Ioway) from Medicine Horse, who have dropped a few songs from their upcoming debut album.

Break 1 music: Letiche (song) Medicine Horse (artist)

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:25 — 38.7MB) | Embed

Just as courts are working through jurisdictional boundaries for the other tribes in Oklahoma, a district court judge determined the Osage Nation reservation does not exist. The judge asserts Congress disestablished the Osage reservation. Lawyers for the tribe and the criminal defendant in question promise to take the issue to a federal appeals court. It’s part of the ongoing legal push-and-pull in Oklahoma over criminal jurisdiction that has far-reaching implications. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce speaks with Billy Keene (Osage), Osage Nation Congress member; Elizabeth Homer (Osage), attorney and associate justice on the Osage Nation Supreme Court; and Matthew Fletcher (Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians), law professor at the University of Michigan Law School and author of the “Turtle Talk” blog.

Plus, KYUK news reporter Nina Kravinsky, gave updates on the storm that hit the western coast of Alaska over the weekend.

Break 1 music: Osage Sovereignty Pow wow song (song) unknown artist (artist)

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

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

Anime, a style of Japanese animation, is wildly popular everywhere. It’s no wonder some contemporary Native artists draw from anime styles and vibes for their own works.

Today on Native America Calling, Andi Murphy talks with Indigenous graphic artist and designer Ovila Mailhot (Stó:lō and Nlaka’pamux Nations), comic book artist Kayla Shaggy (Diné/Anishinaabe) from Triple Jeopardy Publications, and Dimi Macheras (Ahtna-Athabascan), artist, illustrator, and graphic novelist with 80% Studios, about their love for anime and manga and how they implement the style in their own storytelling.

Break 1 music: Big Crow (feat. Black Lodge Singers) (song) DJ Shub (artist) PowWowStep – EP (album)

Break 2 music: Beat Goes On (song) Donna Kay (artist) The Journey (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:30 — 38.1MB) | Embed

Indigenous leaders are among those reflecting on the legacy of Queen Elizabeth II. Her supporters mourn her recent death. Many others take the opportunity to question her role in important issues such as reconciliation for Indigenous peoples in Canada. The Queen and the rest of the Royal Family are largely figureheads for the United Kingdom, but have a significant platform for advancing important causes. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce examines the late Queen’s 70-year reign and the prospect of a new British monarch from an Indigenous perspective with Canadian MLA Adam Olsen (member of the Tsartlip First Nation), representing Saanich North and the Islands; Dr. Natasha Lightfoot, professor of history at Columbia University; Delia Opekokew (Cree from Canoe Lake First Nation), lawyer, writer and the first First Nations woman called to the bar in Ontario and Saskatechewan; Niigaan Sinclair (Anishinaabe), columnist for the Winnipeg Free Press and professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Manitoba; and Nancy Kelsey (Anishinaabe of Little River Band of Ottawa Indians and Indigenous Salvadoran), columnist for Cleveland.com.

Break 1 music: 500 Years O’ Blues (song) Digging Roots (artist) Seeds (album)

Break 2 music: Beat Goes On (song) Donna Kay (artist) The Journey (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:52 — 38.4MB) | Embed

A new survey finds Native American renters faced evictions at a far higher rate than other ethnic groups over the past year. The report comes as the U.S. Census Bureau estimates there could be as many as 3.8 million evictions by October. At the same time, there is some glimmer of hope for renters. Realtor.com shows average rent prices were mostly flat compared to a year ago and employment data shows the labor market is rebounding following the pandemic. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce talks about the status of the rental market and evictions with Earl Tulley (Navajo), Emergency Rent Assistance Program manager for the Navajo Nation; Tony Walters (citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma), executive director of the Native American Indian Housing Council; Coya Delfina Crespin (Acjachemen Nation), senior metro community organizer for the Community Alliance of Tenants; and Elizabeth Elliott, executive director for the Northern Circle Indian Housing Authority.

Break 1 music: Going Back (song) Paula Nelson (artist) C.H.A.N.T. Cherokee Hope and New Traditions (album)

Break 2 music: Beat Goes On (song) Donna Kay (artist) The Journey (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:20 — 38.0MB) | Embed

Native borrowers have a number of choices beyond the bank loan to finance big items like homes and starting a business. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce looks at who’s eligible for various alternative financing options and whether they’re appropriate for your next major endeavor with Jaime Gloshay (Navajo, White Mountain Apache, and Kiowa), co-founder of Native Women Lead; Jodi Fisher (Wyandotte), senior projects manager at First Nations Community Financial; and Russ Seagle, executive director of the Sequoyah Fund.

Break 1 music: Five Kiowa “49” Dance Songs (song) Bill Koomsa, Sr. & Kiowa Dance Group Singers (artist) Kiowa – Traditional Kiowa Songs (album)

Break 2 music: Beat Goes On (song) Donna Kay (artist) The Journey (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:16 — 38.0MB) | Embed

Nicole Aunapu Mann is scheduled to become the first Indigenous woman in space later this month with the launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew Dragon. The Wailacki Nation astronaut is headed to the International Space Station as the mission commander. The space flight also comes as NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope is providing awe-inspiring images and scientific revelations that promise new insights into the origins of the universe. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce hears from Dr. Aaron Yazzie (Diné), mechanical engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory; George Gorospe (Laguna Pueblo), senior research engineer at NASA Ames Research Center; and Edward Gonzales (Apache and Mexican), Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Lead for NASA about how Native people are playing bigger roles in major space exploration advances.

 

Break 1 music: Mud & Stardust (song) Fly My Pretties (artist) String Theory (The Complete Show) (album)

Break 2 music: Beat Goes On (song) Donna Kay (artist) The Journey (album)

Watch Antonia Gonzales’ interview with Commander Mann