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The governor of Wyoming recently signed the Indian Education For All bill, which requires educators to create Native curricula for public schools statewide. The bill mandates organizers work with Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes to come up with the lesson plans. Wyoming is one of a handful of states putting an emphasis on teaching Native viewpoints. What’s behind states mandating the Native perspective of history, culture, the arts and other classroom subjects? What benefits are they hoping to see?

Guests:

Jason Baldes (member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe) – executive director of the Wind River Native Advocacy Center

Patricia Whitefoot (member of the Yakama Nation) – Indian education director for the Toppenish School District, and the director of Yakama Wellness Coalition

 Mike Jetty (member of the Spirit Lake Dakota Nation) – Indian education specialist with the Montana Office of Public Instruction

Break music: Agent 49 (song) Arigon Starr (artist) Wind-Up (album)

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The average funeral costs more than $7,000, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. That’s a hefty sum, especially when a family doesn’t plan ahead. Families face additional confusion when there’s no will for valuables, homes or land left behind. Death is a taboo subject in some parts of Native America so people avoid talking about the costs and legal issues ahead of time. We will go over some basic, appropriate ways to prepare for the inevitable.

Guests:

Michael Selzler – funeral director at Sioux Funeral Home

Diane Burkhardt – from the University of Denver Strum College of Law and volunteer supervising attorney for the Tribal Wills Project

Julie Redhouse (Diné) – accounting technician with the office of the special trust for American Indians and an organizer for the Tribal Wills Project

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

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A report for the FCC in 2015 found nearly two million people living on tribal land lack access to the internet. Even more than that can’t sign onto broadband. That digital divide makes it harder for Alaska Natives and Native Americans living in rural areas to complete tasks online that the rest of us take for granted: paying bills, looking for a job, and communicating with each other. President Trump has promised a $1 trillion infrastructure bill. There’s no indication it will include any fixes for the problem. Some tribes are taking the solution into their own hands.

Guests:

Brian Howard (Gila River Indian Community) – researcher and policy analyst with the American Indian Policy Institute at Arizona State University

Brian Gilbert – telecommunications consultant with Young Turks Consulting

Loris Taylor (Hopi Nation) – CEO and president of Native Public Media

Break music: New Women Song (feat. Jennifer Kreisberg) (song) Cris Derksen (artist) Cris Derksen: Orchestral Powwow (album)

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Congressman Raul Ruiz interview about the Tribal Digital Access Act of 2017

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The lingering American perception of Pocahontas is some form of the Disney film version: a tribal chief’s daughter bravely steps in to save Jamestown settler John Smith from a grisly execution by his Indigenous captors. There is little to no evidence any of that happened. Pocahontas is currently making headlines because England is devoting a considerable amount of attention to the 400th anniversary of her death. She spent her final years in the European country after marrying an English man. In addition, President Donald Trump uses her name as an insult against a political foe. The American East Coast tribes that claim her, meanwhile, have no special recognition of Pocahontas. Will the general public ever really learn the truth about Pocahontas? Historians and tribal members help us update our portrait of Pocahontas’ life.

Guests:

Robert Gray (Pamunkey) – Chief of the Pamunkey Tribe

Dr. Camilla Townsend – professor of history at Rutgers University

Break music: Prayer Loop (song) Supaman (artist)

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Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch has a long history of hearing cases involving Indian Country. We’ll explore what his nomination could mean for the Supreme Court. The FBI raided the Eastern Band of Cherokee Housing Authority as part of a fraud investigation. The tribal chief is enduring calls for his impeachment. And we’ll get the latest on the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline, on our news round-up.

Guests:

Holly Kays – reporter with the Smoky Mountain News

Dr. Renae Ditmer (Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) – freelance writer

Suzette Brewer (Cherokee Nation) – journalist

Break music: Chickasha Alhiha’ (song) Injunuity (artist) Fight For Survival (album)

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The Native American Youth Empowerment Symposium aims to get young Native people thinking about finances and business. At this year’s gathering in New Mexico, Native youth get the chance to network, apply for scholarships and learn from seasoned entrepreneurs. The goal is to provide tools to young people to be leaders in their Native communities. We’ll hear more about the symposium and some reasons for starting early to build business success.

Guests:

Russell Pedro (Laguna Pueblo) – business development specialist at the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of New Mexico

Sheila Herrera – executive director of Tiwa Lending

Jake Foreman (Absentee Shawnee, Filipino, Scotch and Irish) – creator of the Karuna Colactiva, preventionist at the Native American Community Academy and co-director of Vision 2020 at UNM Health science

Break music:  Hold On (song) Kimberley Dawn (artist) ‘Til the Cowboys Come Home (album)

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One school on the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota puts a focus on culturally based education and it might be getting results. From sugar bushing to round dance competitions, cultural practices are part of the educational process. Overall, only 56 percent of American Indian students graduated on time in Minnesota in 2015, according to the Minnesota Department of Education. The average is 84 percent. In this continuation of our collaboration with the American Graduate initiative, we’ll talk with educators from the White Earth Reservation about their approach and what they’re seeing.

Guests:

Ricky White (White Earth Nation) – superintendent of the Circle of Life Academy

Joe Carrier (Ojibway, Cree, Dakota) – director of the Native American Education Department at Detroit Lakes Public Schools

Break music: Calling Out (song) Audiopharmacy (artist) State of the Heart (album)

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The Donald Trump administration’s budget blueprint suggests serious cuts to education, programs for the poor and health care while increasing funding for the Department of Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs. The proposed budget, called America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again, is a limited snapshot of what the president aims to cut and bolster. But it does give us a glimpse into the administration’s priorities. We’ll talk with some experts about how Native America might be affected if Congress passes the president’s wish list.

Guests:

Kevin Washburn (Chickasaw Nation) – professor of law at the University of New Mexico and former Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs for the US Department of Interior

Mark Trahant (Shoshone-Bannock) – journalist

Break music: Duck and Dive (song) Red Bull (artist) Live in Minnesota (album)

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A Montana radio host suggested Native American basketball players should host their own tournament because the players are “unruly.” Also in Montana, Native basketball fans say they couldn’t claim their seats at a game until the white people were seated first. The problem isn’t limited to the U.S. At a forum organized by the CBC, one Cree woman said concert security assumed she was the source of other fans’ complaints about an intoxicated person being belligerent. The problem turned out to be a white man sitting nearby. She was sober. Are anecdotes about racism increasing, or are they just par for the course?

Guests:

Elsworth GoesAhead (Apsaalooké)

Rosanna Deerchild (Cree) – host of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio show “Unreserved”

KC Adams (Cree from Fisher River) – professional artist

Break music: Don’t Fear to Tread (song) Scatter Their Own (artist) Taste the Time (album)