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Local southern California tribes will share management of a new 4,500-square-mile marine sanctuary. The designation from the Biden Administration cites the need to protect at-risk plants and animals, including whales, dolphins, and sea turtles. Establishing the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary is the first such designation initiated by Native Americans. The idea started more than a decade ago by a member of the Northern Chumash Tribe. We’ll find out about how the sanctuary designation came about and what its managers hope it accomplishes. We’ll also check in on the Gravel to Gravel Keystone Initiative in Alaska, another co-stewardship project tribes are involved in.

GUESTS

Violet Sage Walker (Chumash), chairwoman of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council

Michael Murray, deputy superintendent for programs at the NOAA Channel Islands

Kenneth Kahn, chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians

Eugene Paul (Holy Cross Tribe), former tribal chief of the Holy Cross Tribe, chair of the Bering Sea-Interior Tribal Commission and a member of the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission

Break 1 Music: Ocean Waves Song (song) Various Artists (artist) Chumash Story and Song Collection (album)

Break 2 Music: Another Night to Cry (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)

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Tensions are high in New Caledonia as the remote Pacific island nation’s Indigenous people are pushing for independence more than 170 years after the island was colonized by France. At least 13 people have died in protests triggered in May when the French government attempted to institute voting changes that would bolster the political power of New Caledonia’s white settler communities at the expense of the Indigenous Kanak people. There’s been little progress in the four decades after the Kanak tried to force better recognition from New Caledonia’s political leaders aligned with Paris. It’s a fight that has parallels to current and past struggles by Indigenous people in North America and elsewhere.

GUESTS

Joseph Xulue (Kanak and Samoan), executive member and former president of the New Zealand Pacific Lawyers’ Association

Viro Xulue (Kanak), human rights and Indigenous law officer for the Drehu Customary Council of New Caledonia

Dr. Christiane Leurquin (Kanak and French), senior lecturer in Global Studies and Social Anthropology at the University of Otago

Dr. Tate LeFevre, cultural anthropologist and Kanaky/New Caledonia specialist

Break 1 Music: Atay (song) YATA (artist)

Break 2 Music: Another Night to Cry (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)

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Native Americans have a long and rich tradition of producing artwork from behind bars. In the past, it was both a means of artistic expression and a way to document and communicate important events. Modern inmate artwork is also a vehicle for creative expression. It is also a valuable tool for personal growth and rehabilitation. We’ll hear about artwork’s healing and redemptive significance for incarcerated Native Americans.

GUESTS

Gabe Galanda (member of the Round Valley Indian Tribe), managing lawyer at Galanda Broadman

Genaro Rivas (Shoshone and Paiute), artist and tattoo artist at Feast or Famine Tattoo

Jesus Ancheta (Cowichan First Nation), artist

Dawn Lawson, Leonard Peltier’s personal assistant and a member of the official Leonard Peltier ad hoc committee

Break 1 Music: Red Dust Rising (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)

Break 2 Music: Midnite Blues (song) Crystal Shawanda (artist) Midnight Blues (album)

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Good pay and a strong job demand are among the factors that make the information technology industry an promising career choice. But a study by the Kapor Center shows Native Americans are significantly underrepresented in the IT workforce. The divide is even wider for Native women. Starting early — offering computer science instruction in high schools — is one way IT advocates say will move the statistics in the right direction. We’ll talk about that and why Native IT experts are needed.

GUESTS

Renita DiStefano (Seneca Nation), president and CEO of Second Derivative, LLC

Gary Burnette (Cheroenhaka Nottoway), current board chair for AISES and vice president of advisory consulting at Kyndryl

Richard Chance (Cherokee Nation), CEO and founder of First Americans Marketplace Exchange (FAME)

Rebecca Fisher (Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians), account executive at Bulletproof (a GLI company)

Break 1 Music: Standing Rock [feat. Nick Ørbæk Jacobsen] (song) Uyarakq (artist) Miseraq (album)

Break 2 Music: Midnite Blues (song) Crystal Shawanda (artist) Midnight Blues (album)

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Before their relocation along the Trail of Tears, southeast tribes found a need to curb cattle rustling and other violations of tribal laws. The Five Tribes organized tribal law enforcement units that came to be known as Lighthorse. They would respond to crimes such as stagecoach robberies, bootlegging and murder. For several years, the Lighthorse acted as judge, jury, even executioner. The Cherokee Lighthorsemen have their origins in Georgia, but were official formed in November 1844. The tribes continue to use the term “Lighthorse” to refer to their community policing units. We’ll hear about the history of “Lighthorse” and how they paved the way for tribal law enforcement.

GUESTS

Scott Ketchum (Choctaw Nation), Chickasaw Nation Endowed Chair in Native American Studies for East Central University

Julie Reed (Cherokee Nation), associate professor in history at Penn State University

Michelle Cooke (Chickasaw Nation), senior staff writer for the Chickasaw Press and author of Protecting Our People: Chickasaw Law Enforcement in Indian Territory

Break 1 Music: Two-Sidedness (song) Samantha Crain (artist) You (Understood) (album)

Break 2 Music: Ksm Xaayda (song) Saltwater Hank (artist) Siip’nsk (album)