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The son of a single mother on Isleta Pueblo, Miguel Trujillo became an important figure in civil rights history. After serving as a Marine in World War II, Trujillo came home to find he could not vote in his home state of New Mexico. The state constitution barred Native Americans under the pretense that they paid no property taxes. Trujillo filed suit after he was turned away at his polling place. He won his suit, opening the door for voting rights for all New Mexico tribal members. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce honors Trujillo’s legacy with Pat Abeita (Isleta Pueblo), Miguel Trujillo’s granddaughter; Alec Bright, museum professional and Miguel Trujillo researcher; and Janice Lucero (Isleta Pueblo), voting rights advocate and community organizer.

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

Break 2 music: Hunting Chant (song) Art Napoleon (artist) Miyoskamin (Early Springtime) (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:34 — 25.4MB) | Embed

The Sealaska Corporation just dropped their blood quantum requirement for shareholder enrollment. Members of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe voted to end their requirements in an advisory referendum. Advocates for eliminating the blood quantum hurdle say it’s necessary to ensure future generations of thriving tribal culture. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce hears from Joe Nelson (Tlingit), board chair of Sealaska, and Dr. Jill Doerfler (Anishinaabe), professor and department head of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Plus, Levi Rickert (Potawatomi), publisher and editor of “Native News Online” and “Tribal Business News”, remembers the life and work of Tim Giago, who passed away Sunday at age 88.

Break Music:

Hope Chant (Baked) (song) Wayquay (artist) Tribal Grind (album)

Running (song) Scatter Their Own (artist) Taste the Time (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:36 — 25.5MB) | Embed

The International Olympic Committee recently restored the gold medals Sac and Fox athlete Jim Thorpe won at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. The decision comes after decades of work by advocates who considered stripping the medals an injustice. Thorpe was the first Native American to win gold medals for the United States. He was an athletic pioneer, playing professional baseball, football, and even basketball. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce celebrates Thorpe’s legacy and discusses his influence in American sports with Nedra Darling (Cherokee and Potawatomi), co-founder of Bright Path Strong and producer for the film Bright Path; Teresa Thorpe (Sac and Fox, Potawatomi, and Kickapoo), Jim Thorpe’s granddaughter; and Bob Wheeler, honorary board member of Bright Path Strong, Jim Thorpe biographer, and founder of the Jim Thorpe Foundation.

 

Break Music:

Hope Chant (Baked) (song) Wayquay (artist) Tribal Grind (album)

Hunting Chant (song) Art Napoleon (artist) Miyoskamin (Early Springtime) (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:53 — 25.6MB) | Embed

A number of Native artists are among those perfecting the growing trend of public murals. They’re putting Native inspiration on a large scale. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce hears from Native muralists Michael Toya (Jemez Pueblo), Moira Villiard (Ojibwe), and Andrew Morrison (Haida, San Carlos Apache) about what it takes to work in the public sphere facing challenges of both size and materials.

 

Break 1 Music: Where’s the Native? (song) DDAT (artist) DDAT (album)

Break 2 music: Let’s Hop to It (song) Bryden Gwiss Kiwenzie (artist) Round Dance & Beats (Powwow) (album)

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:51 — 25.6MB) | Embed

Cherokee pitcher Ryan Helsley is headed to his first MLB All-Star game. The St. Louis Cardinals’ flame-throwing reliever from Tahlequah, OK is having a career year with a divine 0.69 ERA and fastballs topping out at 103mph. Helsley, along with Adrian Houser (Cherokee) on the Milwaukee Brewers, are the two Native players in the show right now and are part of a long line of Major Leaguers providing inspiration for players on reservation diamonds all over the country.

Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce takes us out to the ballgame with Ryan’s dad Jason Helsley (Cherokee), who is in Los Angeles for All-Star game; Brandon Bailey (Chicksaw), a pitcher in the Cincinnati Reds organization; Kailyn Bearpaw (Euchee and Creek), right fielder for the University of Tulsa softball team and member of the American Athletic Conference All-Rookie Team; and Curt Brown, history columnist for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and champion for the oft-forgotten career of Native Hall of Famer Charles Bender.

Break 1 music: Buc Wild Intertribal (song) Buc Wild (artist) Oneida Powwow: 40th Anniversary (album)

Break 2 music: Let’s Hop to It (song) Bryden Gwiss Kiwenzie (artist) Round Dance & Beats (Powwow) (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:13 — 25.7MB) | Embed

Chances are, at some point in your life, you will get a per-capita payment, an insurance payout, or an inheritance. Even a tax refund can be a large amount of cash for most people. A larger-than-usual payout offers a chance to buy a car, a boat or some other material item. It can also provide a chance to invest, start a business, or reduce your debt. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce looks at how to prepare for when you have more money with which you know what to do with Leilani Wilson Walkush (Tlingit), chief compliance officer for Breakwater Investment Group; Miranda Lente (Isleta Pueblo), loan officer for Tiwa Lending Services; and Yolanda Pushetonequa (Meskwaki).

 

Break 1 music: Show Stopper (song) BlackStone (artist) On the Oregon Trail (album)

Break 2 music: Let’s Hop to It (song) Bryden Gwiss Kiwenzie (artist) Round Dance & Beats (Powwow) (album)