At least one tribal library in New Mexico will have to close after the Trump Administration abruptly canceled federal grants administered through the Institute for Museum and Library Services. Many more libraries and museums in the state and around the country are forced to cut hours, eliminate staff, cancel traditional programs, and curb purchases for new books and other materials. They are among the latest in the on-going efforts by the Trump Administration to drastically change federal services. Those cuts also include supplements to low-income Navajo Nation citizens and hundreds more Native Americans nationwide who rely on the funds to help them heat their homes in the winter. We’ll get the latest rundown of staff and funding reductions by the federal government.
Friday, April 11, 2025 — Contemporary Pueblo architects reclaim ancestral knowledge
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Early Pueblo residents are known for their complex, multi-level dwellings that date back centuries, but continue to influence architectural design today. A new exhibit at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center examines the enduring elements of ancestral architecture and how contemporary Pueblo architects are reclaiming them. Modern designs fell victim to non-Native interpretations and modern building codes. The exhibit, “Restorying Our HeartPlaces: Contemporary Pueblo Architecture”, tells the story of how Pueblos are asserting their sovereignty over their enduring architectural knowledge.
GUESTS
Dr. Ted Jojola (Isleta Pueblo), co-curator of the exhibit and founder and director of the Indigenous Design + Planning Institute at the University of New Mexico
Brian Vallo (Acoma Pueblo), former governor of Acoma Pueblo, independent consultant, and board member for the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
Charelle Brown (Santa Domingo Pueblo), advisory board member for exhibit, intern architect with Woven Architecture, and grad student in the masters of architecture program at the University of New Mexico
Dr. Lynn Paxson, co-curator of the exhibit, university professor emeritus in architecture in the College of Design at Iowa State University and an affiliate of the Indigenous Design + Planning Institute at the University of New Mexico
Break 1 Music: Chant (song) Robert Mirabal + Ethel (artist) The River (album)
Break 2 Music: Vipismal – The Hummingbird Song (song) Earl Ray (artist) Traditional Songs Of The Salt River Pima (album)
Thursday, April 10, 2025 – Flexing tribal strength during turbulent times
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Tens of thousands of federal job cuts, on-again, off-again tariffs on everyday goods, and policies affecting the operations of schools, businesses, and tribal governments are generating widespread uncertainty. Tribal leaders are working proactively to both influence decisions at the federal level and to prepare for inevitable changes. We’ll talk with tribal leaders about how they are adapting to the unpredictable and dramatic changes headed their way.
GUESTS
Chairwoman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais (Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Aquinnah)
U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI)
Break 1 Music: Eagle Dance REMIX (single) Jason Brown/Decontie & Brown (artist)
Break 2 Music: Vipismal – The Hummingbird Song (song) Earl Ray (artist) Traditional Songs Of The Salt River Pima (album)
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 — Medicaid, Medicare, health care, and food safety on the line
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U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. is overseeing an unprecedented cut of nearly a quarter of the department’s staff, drawing widespread concerns about possible adverse affects for thousands of Native Americans who depend on those services. Everything from bill processing to testing and research to prevent lead contamination in children could be constricted. At the same time, Sec. Kennedy successfully reversed Elon Musk’s termination of 900 Indian Health Service employees by the Department of Government Efficiency. Kennedy is also reaching out to tribes and maintaining contact through the department’s Tribal Self Governance Advisory Committee. We’ll look at the latest word on what some of the potential effects of the federal actions are on Native health and health care.
GUESTS
A.C. Locklear (Lumbee), CEO of the National Indian Health Board
Kristen Bitsuie (Navajo), tribal health care outreach and education policy manager for the National Indian Health Board
Kim Russell (Navajo), policy advisor for Sage Memorial Hospital
Break 1 Music: Take Your Troubles to the River (song) Vincent Craig (artist) Self-titled Release (album)
Break 2 Music: Vipismal – The Hummingbird Song (song) Earl Ray (artist) Traditional Songs Of The Salt River Pima (album)
Tuesday, April 8, 2025 – Philanthropy fills in the gaps
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Philanthropy matches a donor’s passion with an organization’s drive to make a difference. It is an arrangement that helps build equity in areas that are not served by profit-driven interests. Philanthropy becomes even more important during times of financial uncertainty and government austerity. We’ll get a view of the current directions for philanthropic giving and what the new pressures to fill the gaps.
GUESTS
Erik Stegman (Carry the Kettle First Nation), CEO of Native Americans in Philanthropy
Gina Jackson (Western Shoshone and Oglala Lakota), co-founder and CEO of the Return to the Heart Foundation
MENTIONED:
Break 1 Music: We Are the Stars (song) Mike Bern (artist)
Break 2 Music: Vipismal – The Hummingbird Song (song) Earl Ray (artist) Traditional Songs Of The Salt River Pima (album)
Monday, April 7, 2025 – The next 50 years of self-governance
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Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. calls the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEA) “one of the singular accomplishments of this country”. The legislation championed by President Richard Nixon opened the doors to tribal control over their own health care, law enforcement, natural resources management and economic development. We’ll look at the progress since ISDEA, and what tribes intend to strengthen self-governance in the future.
GUESTS
W. Ron Allen (Jamestown S’klallam), tribal chairman for the Jamestown S’klallam Tribe
Jay Spaan (Cherokee), executive director of the Self-Governance Communication and Education Tribal Consortium
Laura Harris (Comanche), executive director for Americans for Indian Opportunity
Break 1 Music: Traveling Song (song) Judy Trejo (artist) Circle Dance Songs of the Paiute and Shoshone (album)
Break 2 Music: Vipismal – The Hummingbird Song (song) Earl Ray (artist) Traditional Songs Of The Salt River Pima (album)
Friday, April 4, 2025 – Fresh Native creativity: ‘Fake It Until You Make It’ and ‘Navajo Highways’
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In Larissa FastHorse’s (Sičháŋǧu Lakota) new play, a nonprofit works to accommodate “race shifters”, people who are compelled to change the ethnicity they’re born with. “Fake it Until You Make It” is a satirical look at the serious topic of Native identity, helped out by a talented cast and Indigenous-grounded writing.
The new children’s TV puppet series, Navajo Highways, is making the rounds on screens across the Southwest. Written and directed by Pete Sands (Diné), the show follows young Sadie from her urban home to her introduction to Navajo land, culture, language and food. With a nod to the popular PBS show, Sesame Street, it’s filled with characters Native audiences will find familiar. It’s slated for public distribution on FNX.
GUESTS
Larissa FastHorse (Sičháŋǧu Lakota), playwright
Pete Sands (Diné), writer and director of “Navajo Highways”
Kimberly Kee (Diné), tribal early childhood specialist and she plays Ms. Pete
Break 1 Music: New Orleans Rag (song) Lakota John (artist) The Winds of Time: Ragtime,Piedmont Blues, Folk and Native Americana (album)
Break 2 Music: Scream, Holler, and Howl (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)
Thursday, April 3, 2025 – The unpredictable new trade landscape
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Indigenous business leaders in the U.S. and all over the world will now have to adjust to the uncertain effects of President Donald Trump’s aggressive new series of tariffs. Economic experts predict some measure of chaos in the short term. It’s impossible to predict how the tariffs will play out in the long run, but it will certainly affect everything from the beads used in regalia to groceries to auto sales. Trump insists the new tariffs will put American businesses on a more level playing field and boost the federal government’s coffers. We’ll hear how Native business experts are responding to the new economic reality.
GUESTS
Tabatha Bull (Nipissing First Nation), president and CEO of Canadian Council for Indigenous Business
John Desjarlais (Cree-Métis), executive director of the Indigenous Resource Network
Dante Biss-Grayson (Osage), founder of Sky-Eagle Collection
Tally Monteau (Hunkpati Dakota and Chippewa-Cree), program manager for the Native American Development Corporation (NADC) Triia program and beadwork artist
Benjamin Haile (Shinnecock), owner of Thunder Island Coffee Roasters
Break 1 Music: Mr. Businessman’s Blues (song) DM Lafortune (artist) Beauty and Hard Times (album)
Break 2 Music: Scream, Holler, and Howl (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)
Wednesday, April 2, 2025 – An imbalance of deadly force by police in Canada
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Indigenous people in Canada suffered a noticeably disproportionate number of fatal interactions with law enforcement in 2024. In one three-month period, 15 Indigenous people died either in custody or from direct interactions with police. It prompted the Assembly of First Nations and other Indigenous leaders to call for a national inquiry. It also inspired the news program, APTN Investigates, to pry into the factors that contribute to such an imbalance in the justice system. Their new three-part series looks into the strained relationship between Indigenous people and law enforcement. We’ll talk with APTN Investigates team members about their findings.
We’ll also hear from Marvin Roberts, the Athabascan man who just settled a wrongful conviction lawsuit against the city of Fairbanks, Alaska for $11.5 million. Roberts is one of the men – all Native – deemed the “Fairbanks Four”. They were all convicted and imprisoned for the 1997 murder of a teenager. They were released in 2015 after another man confessed to the crime.
GUESTS
Cullen Crozier (Gwich’in, Dene, and Métis), producer with APTN Investigates
Tamara Pimental (Métis), video journalist with APTN Investigates
Tom Fennario, video journalist with APTN Investigates
Marvin Roberts (Athabascan), one of the “Fairbanks Four”
Reilly Cosgrove, partner at Kramer and Cosgrove law firm
Break 1 Music: Unity (song) Native Roots (artist) Most High (album)
Break 2 Music: Scream, Holler, and Howl (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)
Tuesday, April 1, 2025 – The righteous rebellion of Indigenous punk rock
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Punk rock’s rebellious anger aimed at the forces of economic and political oppression and its low-fi, DIY aesthetic are among the reasons the genre took hold with some Indigenous musicians. It’s a connection that continues to resonate with both players and audiences. Kristen Martinez (Yaqui and Mexican) is both a punk performer and a graduate student researching the history of the Indigenous contributions to the legacy of punk, one short, loud, and angry song at a time. She is building an archive of Indigenous punk musicians, posters, and performances on social media. We’ll hear from Martinez about her growing archive of Indigenous punk history and what the art form has to offer to today’s listeners.
GUESTS
Kristen Martinez (Yaqui and Mexican), archivist for the Indigenous Punk Archive and graduate student in musicology at UCLA
Gregg Deal (Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe), visual artist and lead vocalist of the Dead Pioneers
Toni Heartless (Diné, Choctaw, Filipino), artist and front man for Heart Museum
Break 1 Music: Prisoners of Existence (song) Iconoclast (artist) Domination or Destruction (album)
Break 2 Music: Scream, Holler, and Howl (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)
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