Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:58 — 25.6MB) | Embed

Host: Shawn Spruce

New Mexico is the latest state to allow recreational cannabis sales to the public, setting up a potential new revenue stream for that state’s tribes. The trouble is, New Mexico tribes are in a precarious limbo between the new state law, and the federal government, which considers cannabis an illegal Schedule 1 controlled substance. We check in with tribes on the possibility of new economic development and hear from others that are veterans of the business.

GUESTS

Shaun Griswold (Laguna/Zuni/Jemez), senior reporter for Source New Mexico

James Bucaro (Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel), general manager for Santa Ysabel Botanical Facility

Jeremy Wilson (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), government affairs liaison for Principal Chief Richard Sneed and chairman of Qualla Enterprises

Break Music: Ideal Dub (song) Casper Loma Da-Wa (artist) Honor the People (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:31 — 25.9MB) | Embed

Host: Shawn Spruce

Modern medicine relies heavily on pharmaceutical remedies for many mental health disorders like depression and anxiety. But there is some evidence that traditional ceremony and cultural connections can also provide a measure of healing. There is hope that adherence to traditional methods might be part of a regimen to improve the outsized representation of Native people for outcomes such as suicide and substance abuse. They may even be linked to improving some physical health maladies.

GUESTS

Dr. Joseph Gone (A’aniiih Gros Ventre), professor of anthropology and global health & social medicine at Harvard University, clinical community psychologist, and president of the Society of Indian Psychologists

Dr. Melissa Lewis (Cherokee), assistant professor at University of Missouri

Jonathan Tsosie (Navajo), first year UNM medical student

Break music: Intertribal (song) Tha Tribe (artist) Woodland Groove (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:28 — 25.9MB) | Embed

Host: Shawn Spruce

Spring often fuels the impulse to plant seeds in the ground and create a garden. Veteran Native gardeners have taken steps throughout the winter to prepare for the start of the growing season. There’s room at the vegetable patch for gardeners of all levels. And traditional knowledge has guidance on the right methods for your region.

GUESTS

Addie Lucero, seed keeper, traditional farmer, and small business owner

Sterling Johnson, farm manager and a mentor at the Ajo Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Break music: Blackbird Song (song) Emma Francisco, Frances Manuel, Joaquin Garcia & Lorenzo Pablo (artist) Tohono O’odham

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:28 — 25.9MB) | Embed

Host: Shawn Spruce

Building effective systems where people live and work takes planning. And the Colonial-based planning methods that grew from a viewpoint of dispossessing Native people might not be the best starting point for sustainable and evolving Native places. We take a look at Indigenous community planning ideas and discuss the importance of including Indigenous voices and knowledge when it comes to making places that welcome Native people.

GUESTS

Dr. Lyana Patrick (Stellat’en), assistant professor and faculty member in Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University

Chelsey Begay (Navajo), the program coordinator for the Indigenous Design and Planning Institute at the University of New Mexico and a grad student in the community and regional planning program

Moises Gonzales (Genízero), associate dean at the University of New Mexico’s School of Architecture and Planning

Vidal Gonzales (Santa Clara Pueblo and Isleta Pueblo), graduate student in the Community & Regional Planning Program at the University of New Mexico with a concentration in Indigenous planning

Break music: Dance for the People (song) Warscout (artist) Scouts (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:29 — 25.9MB) | Embed

Host: Shawn Spruce

A new program offers low-income people help paying their water bills. The federal Low Income Water Assistance Program has more than a billion dollars available to help keep people’s water utility from getting shut off. The money also could go toward helping individuals fix critical household water problems. We learn more about the program and get ideas about how some tribes are finding ways to help citizens.

GUESTS

Lori Walking Eagle, director of the LIHEAP and LIHWAP programs for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe

Patricia Watchman, office supervisor for the Kayenta district of the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA)

Break music: Bring the Water (song) Digging Roots (artist) We Are (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:18 — 25.8MB) | Embed

Host: Shawn Spruce

Leonard Peltier (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa) has been in federal prison for 45 years for his role in the 1975 shooting deaths of two FBI agents in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. There is mounting momentum by the ailing 77-year-old Peltier’s supporters, calling for President Joe Biden to grant him clemency. Peltier has reportedly said he wants a new trial. Peltier, a prominent American Indian Movement activist, has become a symbol of Indigenous resistance and activism. We take a fresh look at the renewed efforts to secure his freedom. 

GUESTS

Jean Roach (Mnicoujou Lakota), Co-director of the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee

Lenny Foster (Diné), Spiritual advisor for Leonard Peltier and retired program supervisor for the Navajo Nation Corrections project

Carolyn Mathews, Attorney and board member for the Mid-Missouri Civil Liberties Association

Break music: American Indian Movement Song (song) Blackfire (artist) [Silence] is a Weapon [Double disc] (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:09 — 25.7MB) | Embed

Host: Shawn Spruce

Edith Kanaka’ole (Kanaka Maoli) was an acclaimed composer, chanter, hula dancer and educator. Her work in Hawaiian cultural and language revitalization helped strengthen Indigenous Hawaiian culture, science, identity and sovereignty. Her image will be featured on U.S. quarter coins in 2023. We take this hour to learn more about the legacy of “Aunty” Edith Kanaka’ole.

GUESTS

Nalani Garmon (Kanaka Maoli); grandchild and vice president of the Edith Kanaka’ole Foundation

Kaui Kanaka’ole (Kanaka Maoli); granddaughter and executive director of ala Kukui

Hunani Joaquin, granddaughter and secretary of the Edith Kanaka’ole Foundation

Break 1: Aia lā ‘o Pele (Mele Honoring Pele) (song) ‘Iolani Luahine (artist) Ancient Hula Hawaiian Style: Vol. 1 Hula Kuahu (album)

Break 2: In the Balance (song) Sharon Burch (artist) Touch the Sweet Earth (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:20 — 25.3MB) | Embed

Host: Shawn Spruce

Break 1: Prisoner (song) Cary Morin (artist) Dockside Saints (album)

Break 2: Smoke Dance One (feat. Frazer Sundown) (song) DJ Shub (artist) PowWowStep EP (album)