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It would be hard to find a legal victory any more important than the ruling named after federal judge George Hugo Boldt in 1974. It was the turning point for the fight led by Nisqually activist Billy Frank, Jr., initially affirming the treaty fishing rights for 20 tribes in western Washington State. But it provided the basis for a far-reaching transformation of Indian Law and natural resource management.

GUESTS

State Rep. Debra Lekanoff (Lingít/D-WA40)

Ed Johnstone (Quinault), chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

Nancy Shippentower (Puyallup), activist and chair of the Salmon Defense Fund

Rob Purser (Suquamish), tribal fisherman and Suquamish Tribe fisheries director

Break 1 Music: Cissy (Fish/Smoke Dance) (song) Sheldon Sundown (artist) Hand Drum/Smoke N’ Round Dance (album)

Break 2 Music: Whatcha Gonna Do [When the Rain…] (song) Thea Hopkins (artist)

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The National Congress of American Indians’ newly elected president Mark Macarro delivers his first address, highlighting the accomplishments and challenges of Native nations. His account comes at the start of a presidential election year. It’s also a time when tribes are seeing momentum for returned land as well as challenges to sovereignty from state and federal powers. We’ll hear an excerpt from the annual address and get some real-world perspective on the State of Indian Nations.

GUEST

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

Break 1 Music: Intertribal (song) Blackfoot Confederacy (artist) Confederacy Style (album)

Break 2 Music: Whatcha Gonna Do [When the Rain…] (song) Thea Hopkins (artist)

Watch the full address live

 

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It takes more than just the right tools to carve a totem. Unless they are made by members of one of the traditional totem-carving coastal Pacific tribes, they may appropriating the often sacred symbols and methods those tribes reserve. Totems on public display by cities, schools, museums, and sports teams are coming under new scrutiny.

GUESTS

Sgwaayaans T.J.  Young (Haida), carver

Carey Newman (Kwakwaka’wakw and Stó:lō), master carver, artist, and Impact Chair for Indigenous Art Practices at the University of Victoria

Greg Colfax KlaWayHee (Makah), carver and artist

Chairman Mike Evans (Snohomish Tribe of Indians)

Jewell James (Lummi Nation), master carver

Break 1 Music: Healing Song (song) Red Hawk Medicine Drum (artist) New Beginnings (album)

Break 2 Music: Existir (Song) Adrián Brenguer (artist) Existir (album)

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A coalition of Alaska Native tribes and organizations are urging federal officials to continue protections for 28 million acres of land in Alaska. Their action comes as the federal Bureau of Land Management is considering whether to remove protections against mining and other development that have been in place since the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) more than half a century ago. The lands are referred to as D-1 lands, referencing the section number in the ANCSA text. BLM is conducting an Environmental Impact Statement. The public comment period for that process ends soon.

GUESTS

Malinda Chase (tribal member of Anvik, Alaska), advisor for the Bering Sea-Interior Tribal Commission and tribal liaison for the Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center

Chief Eugene Paul (Holy Cross Tribe)

Michael “Mickey” Stickman (Yukon Koyukon), former first chief of the Nulato Tribal Council and executive board member of the Bering Sea-Interior Tribal Commission

Lisa Ellanna (member of King Island Native Community), advisory group member for the Bering Sea-Interior Tribal Commission and staff member of Kawerak Inc.

Break 1 Music: Healing Song (song) Red Hawk Medicine Drum (artist) New Beginnings (album)

Break 2 Music: Strongheart (song) Sissy Goodhouse (artist) The Third Circle (album)

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Four Native designers took a major stride when their work was included in the Louis Vuitton Men’s Fall-Winter Fashion Show in Paris in January. They contributed designs to Pharrell Williams’ new collection for the fashion powerhouse that displayed a strong western feel. Dee Jay Two Bears (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe/Lakota) has worked with Williams for years and coordinated the show. We’ll visit with some of the Native designers who brought Native artistry to a new level of fashion representation.

GUESTS

Dee Jay Two Bears (Dakota Hidatsa, enrolled at Standing Rock Tribe), creative director

Lauren Good Day (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikira), traditional arts designer

Kendra Redhouse (Diné), artist

Break 1 Music: Healing Song (song) Red Hawk Medicine Drum (artist) New Beginnings (album)

Break 2 Music: Amik [Beaver] (song) Anne Dunn (artist) Whispering Tree: Anishinaabe Stories & Songs (album)

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The Center for American Progress says about one in three U.S. adults have an incarceration, conviction, or arrest record. And research in 2023 by the MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge finds Native Americans are incarcerated at a rate 38% higher than the national average. What should you do if you do if police pull you over? Are there steps you can take now to prepare or to prevent a bad situation from getting worse? We’ll speak with legal experts about educating yourself about the criminal justice system.

GUESTS

Chico Gallegos (Jicarilla Apache), attorney, counselor, and warrior at law 

Robert Gifford (citizen of the Cherokee Nation), Native American law attorney and tribal court judge

Brandi Morin (Cree, Iroquois, and French), freelance journalist

Break 1 Music: Healing Song (song) Red Hawk Medicine Drum (artist) New Beginnings (album)

Break 2 Music: North of Superior (song) Nadjiwan (artist) The Great Sea (album)

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New language in the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) is prompting museums to pull some Native items from public display. The rule went into effect in January that requires museums to consult with tribes more comprehensively when it comes to Native artifacts. That’s because, even though they may not be the human remains or sacred items that NAGPRA historically referenced, many items held by museums, universities, and other institutions could have been looted from Native sites or otherwise taken under suspicious circumstances.

GUESTS

Shannon O’Loughlin,  (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), chief executive and attorney with the Association on American Indian Affairs

William Hughes, president of the Authentic Tribal Art Dealers Association (ATADA)

Dr. Meranda Roberts (Citizen of the Yerington Paiute Tribe and Chicana), guest curator and visiting art history professor at the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College

Kate Compton-Gore, NAGPRA specialist for the Museum of Northern Arizona 

Break 1 Music: Healing Song (song) Red Hawk Medicine Drum (artist) New Beginnings (album)

Break 2 Music: North of Superior (song) Nadjiwan (artist) The Great Sea (album)

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Navarre Scott Momaday (Kiowa) introduced the world to Ben Benally and Abel in his first novel “House Made of Dawn”. He also established himself as a literary force with a distinctly Native American voice, winning the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. He published some 20 other works of fiction, poetry, and essays, earning many more awards and accolades and will always be known as the artist who cleared a path for a new generation of Native writers. We’ll remember Momaday with some of those who he knew and inspired.

GUESTS

Jill Momaday (Kiowa), writer, actor, and filmmaker

Jacob Tsotigh (Kiowa), vice chairman of the Kiowa Tribe

Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa), Author 

Heid E. Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa), Poet

Jeffrey Palmer (Kiowa), associate professor of performing and media arts at Cornell University and director and producer of the PBS American Masters profile “Words From A Bear”

Break 1 Music: Kiowa Flag Song (song) Boll Koomsa, Sr (artist) Kiowa – Traditional Kiowa Songs (album)

Break 2 music: The Lake (song) Sunburnt Stone (artist) El Navaho (album)