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A number of Native candidates running for state and federal offices. We’ll get an update on elections in  our news roundup. Also it’s Earth Day. We’ll examine the major environmental stories hitting Native America: Peabody Coal filed for bankruptcy, the Keystone pipeline sprung a leak, and the proposed PolyMet copper and nickel mine in Minnesota passes another hurdle.

Guests:

Mark Trahant (Shoshone Bannock) –  journalist with TrahantReports.com and Charles R. Johnson Endowed Professor of Journalism at the University of North Dakota

Stephanie Joyce- Energy and Natural Resources Reporter for Wyoming Public Radio

 

Break Music: The Beautiful Ones (song) Prince (artist) Purple Rain Soundtrack (album)

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Seeds. Soil. A patch of land or a container. Gardening should be that easy, right? Not for some wannabe gardeners. It can be difficult to grow flowers, vegetables or even grass for any number of reasons. Sometimes the problem is chemistry, the moisture, soil or pests. But that doesn’t stop a lot of people from getting out the shovels and seed packets in the spring time. We talk what it takes to start a garden and we’re opening the phone lines for your gardening questions.

Guests:

Chad Borseth- retail manager of NATIVE Seeds Search Store

Linda Black Elk (Catawba) – ethnobotanist at Sitting Bull College

Break Music: Lolo Said (song) John-Carlos Perea (artist) Creation Story (album)

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What if a recreational activity like skateboarding could save a person’s life? In some communities it is. On this show, we look at how tribal leaders are seeing the value of skateboarding for their young people. It’s giving them hope. Shredding at the skate park is making connections that nothing else seems to for some kids. We’ll learn how formalizing an activity some youth turn to anyway is bringing about positive change.

Greg Mize (Quapaw and Osage) – owner of Native Skateparks

MaryHelen Juanico (Pueblo of Acoma) –  project coordinator of the Santa Clara Pueblo Housing Authority

Walt Pourier (Oglala Lakota) – executive director of the Stronghold Society

Jim Murphy (Lenni Lenape and Irish) – co-founder of Wounded Knee Skateboards, skate parks director for the Stronghold Society

Break Music: Great Grandpah’s Banjo (song) Pura Fe (artist) Full Moon Rising (album)

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service  proposes taking  grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem off the list of Endangered Species. They say that the bears are a conservation success. Critics say the bears are still endangered and delisting will open up the possibility of trophy hunting outside of Yellowstone National Park. Some tribes, including the Shoshone Bannock Tribes, who retain a seat on the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, oppose the delisting. How much influence will tribes have in the process of delisting the grizzly bear?

Guests:

Dr. Dave Mattson – lecturer and senior visiting scientist at Yale University and a grizzly bear expert

Ben Nuvamsa (Hopi) – president of the Kiva Institute and member of the GOAL Tribal Coalition

Donovin Sprague (Mnikȟówožu Lakota) – university instructor and author and archivist for Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe

Link to submit a public comment on grizzly bear delisting

Link to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tribal grizzly bear page

Break Music: Four Two-Step Songs (song) Pyawasits, Silas & Webster (artist) Wild Rice: Songs From The Menominee Nation (album)

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The deadline for filing taxes is upon us. Since it’s on our minds we thought now is a good time for some expert tips and tricks. People living in Indian Country have unique tax requirements. What deductions make the most sense? How about artists and other self-employed workers? And we’ll confront the prevailing myth that Natives don’t pay taxes. We have an hour and will get to as many of your questions as we can.

Guests:

Deb Guttormsen – finance manager for Northwest Native Development Fund, owner of Deborah’s Bookkeeping Service

Eric Henson (Chickasaw) – a Senior Vice President at Compass Lexecon and a Research Affiliate for the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development

Jan Watson – Prospective Volunteer Specialist for AARP Foundation Tax-Aide

Break Music: Ke Aloha I Ka Pu’uwai / He ‘Ili ‘Ula Au a He Hawai’I (song) Mark Keali’i Ho’omalu (artist) Call It What You Like (album)

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There are pills, injections and implants. But what is the real access to birth control in Native America? Do Native women face more barriers, such as social pressure, when it comes to birth control? In this episode, we’ll also talk about court cases and legislation that affects access to birth control.

Guests:

Miss Nikke (Diné) – sex blogger and law student

Charon Asetoyer (Comanche) –  executive director and CEO of the Native American Community Board, parent organization to the Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center

Break Music: Old School Hop (song) (artist) Pakosiyimitan (album)

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An old bit by comedian Ralphie May surfaced just before his scheduled appearance in Bemidji Minnesota on the cusp of the Red Lake Reservation. It was an R-rated rant using the worst Native American stereotypes. The venue in Bemidji cancelled May’s appearance . He has since cancelled three subsequent appearances in Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota. He insists it was all a joke taken out of context. The person who first exposed May’s rant, Adrianne Chalepah, at first wondered herself whether she just didn’t get the joke. But the backlash against May confirmed her concerns. “”It’s like we’re in an abusive relationship and we keep getting verbally abused and we keep taking it and taking it. And we’re not taking it anymore, ” Chalepah said. Can you picture a situation where May’s comments would be funny?

Here’s Ralphie May’s videotaped apology:

[Read more…]

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This week in Honduras, friends are supporters are taking time to celebrate the life of slain Indigenous activist Berta Cáceres. More than a month after her shooting death, the government has offered few details about their death. Human rights groups around the world condemn the attack and urge the Honduran government to act to protect other activists. We’ll talk about Caceres’ life and death and the plight of those speaking up for Indigenous people in Latin America.

Guests:

Silvio Carrillo – freelance journalist and nephew of Berta Cáceres

Dr. Dana Frank- professor of history at the University of California Santa Cruz

Jenni Monet (Laguna Pueblo) -Independent Journalist

Break Bed: Dat One (song) The Delbert Anderson Trio (artist) MANITOU (album)

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The fatal police shooting of a Navajo woman in Winslow, Arizona is raising questions again about interactions with police. Officials say she threatened the officer with scissors when stopped during a shoplifting investigation. Loreal Tsingine’s family and friends are left wondering what kind of threat the 27 year old woman posed that warranted her death. Tribal leaders and others want an official inquiry to hold the police accountable for what many members of the public see as an overreaction. How are police trained to react in such situations?

Guests:

Charly Edsitty (Navajo) -NBC 12 News Multi-media Journalist covering Phoenix & northern Arizona

Eileen Luna-Firebaugh (Choctaw and Cherokee) -Associate Professor of American Indian Law and Policy at the University of Arizona

Break Music:  Spring To Come (song) DiggingRoots (artist) We Are (album)