Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:30 — 51.7MB) | Embed

“Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists,” an art exhibit celebrating the artistic contributions of Native women, is taking a tour across the country with upcoming stops in Washington, D.C. and Tulsa this year. The exhibit includes over 100 pieces from women of different tribes and from different times. We’ll talk with the curators and some of the artists about how women are a driving force in the art world.

Guests:

Teri Greeves (Kiowa) – beadwork artist and co-curator of the “Hearts of Our People” exhibit

Jill Ahlberg Yohe – associate curator of Native American art at the Minneapolis Institute of Art and co-curator of Hearts of Our People

Kelly Church (Anishinaabe, Odawa and Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Potawatomi) – black ash basket maker

 

Break 1 music: Tapwe Oma (song) Fawn Wood (artist) Iskwewak (album)

Break 2 music: Siku (song) Pamyua (album) Caught In The Act (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:30 — 51.7MB) | Embed

Football fans let the team names for Kansas City and San Francisco roll off their tongues with no second thought. But both mascots for the teams playing for the championship cause many Native people to cringe. The Chiefs often face protests by Native people to change their name, mascot and the offensive imagery that arises every game they play. The 49ers refers to more than just a number; it invokes a bloody time in history when thousands of Indigenous people were killed or displaced by settlers hoping to strike it rich in California. We’ll take time to fill in some of the missing details behind this year’s Super Bowl team names.

Guests:

Loren Bommelyn (Tolowa Dee-ni’) – retired educator, culture bearer and former council member

Rhonda LeValdo (Acoma Pueblo) – professor of media communication at Haskell Indian Nations University

 

Break 1 music: Prayer Loop Song (song) Supaman (artist) Illuminatives (album)

Break  2 music: Tanokumbia (feat. El Dusty & Black Bear) (song) A Tribe Called Red (artist) Tanokumbia (feat. El Dusty & Black Bear) (single)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:30 — ) | Embed

With a whirl of colorful circles, shapes and movement, hoop dancers tell vivid stories. The exact origins of hoop dancing are unclear. Traditionally, the hoops were made with willow or some other pliable wood. Today, hoops might be made out of metal or plastic. The practice incorporates colorful regalia and has grown to include energetic competitions. We’ll hear from hoop dancers about what drives their passion.

Guests:

Dennis Bowen (Seneca Nation) – MC for the Heard Museum World Championship Hoop Dance Contest

Dallas Arcand Jr. (Cree) – motivational speaker and hoop dancer

Steve LaRance (Hopi/Assiniboine) – co-chair of the Lightening Boy Foundation

 

Break 1 music: Dance of the Coyote (song) Tony Duncan (artist) Earth Warrior (album)

Break 2 music: Tanokumbia (feat. El Dusty & Black Bear) (song) A Tribe Called Red (artist) Tanokumbia (feat. El Dusty & Black Bear) (single)

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

The very first person to be counted this month for the 2020 U.S. Census was 90-year-old Lizzie Chimiugak, a Yup’ik woman from Toksook Bay Alaska. The Census Bureau started the process in the country’s largest state where it’s historically difficult to get an accurate count. Language, geography and mistrust of revealing personal information to the federal government are among the reasons Alaska Natives and Native Americans are often undercounted. Census numbers are the main way officials determine election boundaries and the allocations of trillions of federal dollars for public services. We’ll talk with census experts about why they think this year’s census is the most important one yet.

Guest:

Donna Bach (Orutsararmiute Native Council) – tribal partnership specialist for the U.S. Census Bureau 

Dr. James Tucker – vice chair of the National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations for the U.S. Census

Jessica Imotichey (Chickasaw Nation) – partnership coordinator for the Los Angeles Regional Office of the U.S. Census Bureau

Nicole Borromeo – Executive Vice-President and general counsel for the Alaska Federation of Natives

 

Break 1 music:  This Land (song) Keith Secola (artist) Native Americana – A Coup Stick (album)

Break 2 music: Tanokumbia (feat. El Dusty & Black Bear) (song) A Tribe Called Red (artist) Tanokumbia (feat. El Dusty & Black Bear) (single)

A small portion of the audio from this recording has been edited out at the request of the U.S. Census Bureau because it violated federal law concerning Census employees’ disclosure of Census respondents’ personal information. In this case, we feel the disclosure is not necessarily a privacy breach and removing it does not at all change the meaning of the show. But keeping it in could have incrementally detracted from the primary thrust of the show for our audience, which is to inform people about the importance of Native American participation in the Census process.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:30 — 51.7MB) | Embed

Dozens of tribal leaders, 26 states, 77 members of Congress and 486 federally recognized tribes have signed on to defend against the latest challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act. After initially striking down a ruling by a Texas judge, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is rehearing the case claiming ICWA is improperly based on race. We’ll hear from tribal leaders and legal experts about what’s at stake in this case and what the future holds for ICWA.

Guests:

Suzette Brewer (Cherokee Nation) – independent journalist

Dan Lewerenz (Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska) –  staff attorney for the Native American Rights Fund

Derrick Beetso (Navajo Nation) – general counsel for the National Congress of American Indians

 

Break 1 music: Manitou (song) The Delbert Anderson Trio (artist) MANITOU (album)

Break 2 music: Suma (feat. Thor Simonsen) (song) Aasiva (artist) Aasiva (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:30 — 51.7MB) | Embed

With a the backing of a recent court ruling, the premier of British Columbia says the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline will be built. But the traditional leadership of the Wet’suwet’en Nation vow to protect their territory and will continue their years-long blockade against construction. The stage is set for another clash over resource development and preservation of traditional Indigenous territory.

Guests:

Gordon Christie (Inueialute) – professor and director of Indigenous Legal Studies at Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver

Stewart Phillip (Okanagan) –  president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs

Terry Teegee (Takla Lake First Nation) – Regional Chief British Columbia Assembly of First Nations

 

 

Break 1 music: Intertribal Happy Feet (feat. Chippewa Travellers) (song) Cris Derksen (artist) Cris Derksen: Orchestral Powwow (album)

Break 2 music: Suma (feat. Thor Simonsen) (song) Aasiva (artist) Aasiva (album)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:30 — 51.7MB) | Embed

Indoor pollutants like smoke, radon and mold can contribute to heart disease and cancer, which are the leading causes of death for Native Americans. They can also exacerbate respiratory illnesses like asthma. The Environmental Protection Agency links poor indoor air quality to disproportionate health issues among Native people. We’ll get reminders on paying attention to air quality inside homes and businesses and hear how some tribes are breathing life into clean air programs.

Guests:

Wilfred J. Nabahe (Western Shoshone, Paiute and Mono) – chairman of the National Tribal Air Association and current director of the Colorado River Indian Tribes environmental protection office

David Rowson – director of the Indoor Environments Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Priyanka Pathak – former indoor air quality lead for the U.S. EPA region 9

 

Break 1 music: Straight (song) Ken Pooyak (artist) Northern Cree & Friends, Vol. 5: Long Winter Nights – Round Dance Live (album)

Break 2 music: Suma (feat. Thor Simonsen) (song) Aasiva (artist) Aasiva (album)