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Tests on remains found in Alaska have some people rethinking what we knew about ancient Native ancestors. The process leading up to the genetic testing took years of discussions and consultation. We’ll talk with the lead researcher and tribal representatives from the Tanana Chiefs Conference and the Healy Lake Village Council about what they know about the findings and the work to uncover them.

Guests:

Dr. Ben Potter – archeology professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks

Will Mayo (Native Village of Tanana) – executive director of tribal government and client services Tanana Chiefs Conference

Dr. Kristen Barnett (Unangan) – lecturer in Archeology at Bates College

Break Music: Geese (song) Tumivut (song) Tumivut (album)

They Will Know (song) Audio Pharmacy (artist) State of the Heart (album)

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Beaded medallions are come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Designs include traditional tribal symbols and clan emblems. They’ve branched out to include school colors, sports mascots and even cartoon characters. In this program we celebrate Native America’s favorite beaded ware and try to track down the origins of the craft.

Guests:

Lis Jackson (Navajo, Kiowa, Comanche, Mexican and Irish) – beader

Tahnee Ahtone Harjo Growing Thunder – (Kiowa and Muskogee Creek) – curator of American Indian and textiles collections at the Oklahoma History Center

Nina Sanders (Apsàalooke) – curator for the Ralph T. Coe Center in Santa Fe and writer for Heard Museum

Chase Manhattan (enrolled in the Muskogee Creek tribe, Oglala Lakota, Leech Lake Anishinaabe) – Minnesota’s chief of hip-hop

Break Music: They Will Know (song) Audio Pharmacy (artist) State of the Heart (album)

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions is cracking down on efforts to legalize marijuana use. A new Department of Justice memo rescinds the Obama-era policy that loosened marijuana prosecutions in states. What will this new direction mean for tribes getting into the cannabis business? We’ll talk with experts.

Guests:

Tina Braithwaite (Benton Paiute Tribe) – tribal chairwoman for the Benton Paiute Tribe

Dave Vialpando – executive director of the California Native American Cannabis Association

Garrett L. Davey – attorney for McAllister Garfield P.C.

Break Music: G-Love (song) Dallas Arcand (artist) Modern Day Warrior (album)

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Indian Motorcycles. Apache helicopters. Wigwam Motor Oil. Imagery of and inspired by Native Americans is pervasive in pop culture, advertising, artwork, fashion and film. In many cases throughout history Native images have been used as a mark of identity for the United States. Cigarettes, baking powder, motorcycles, TV character sidekicks, American currency and, of course, sports teams are among the places where the public encounters Native images or words. The National Museum of the American Indian’s new exhibition “Americans” focuses on Native American-themed products and references throughout history in context of how actual Native Americans are treated individually and collectively. We’ll talk with the curators about what the exhibition aims to address.

Guests:

Paul Chaat Smith (Comanche) – associate curator at the Smithsonian Institute National Museum of the American Indian and co-curator of the “Americans” exhibition

Cécile Ganteaume – associate curator at the Smithsonian Institute National Museum of the American Indian and co-curator of the “Americans” exhibition

Gregg Deal (Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe) – independent working artist and activist

Break Music: Remembering The Warrior (song) Porcupine Singers (artist) Alowanpi – Songs Of Honoring – Lakota Classics: Past & Present, Vol. 1 (album)

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A story about a U.S. Army captain escorting a dying Cheyenne chief to his homeland opens in movie theaters nationwide this week. The movie “Hostiles”, stars Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike, and Wes Studi (Cherokee). The National Congress of American Indians praised the film for a “culturally accurate portrayal of Native peoples.” We’ll talk with Native consultants Chris Eyre (Cheyenne/Arapaho) and Dr. Joely Proudfit (Luiseño) who worked to make sure the film wasn’t another stereotype-filled disappointment.

Guests:

Dr. Joely Proudfit (Luiseño) – co-president and co-founder of the Native Networkers

Chris Eyre (Cheyenne/Arapaho) – award winning director and producer of film and television and co-founder and co-president of the Native Networkers

Alaina Buffalo Spirit (Northern Cheyenne) – Cheyenne language translator for Hostiles film

Break Music: Sneak Up (song) Blackfoot Confederacy (artist) Confederacy Style (album)

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Students at Ayaprun Elitnaurvik, a Yup’ik immersion language school, are sharing a Yup’ik word of the week through animated YouTube videos. It’s one of the ways the school hopes to generate interest in their language as they face the loss of more and more first language speakers. Can social media expand the use of Native languages?

Guests:

John Active (Yup’ik) – radio host at KYUK in Yup’ik and English

Katie Basile – multimedia director and producer at KYUK

Tammy DeCoteau (Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe) – director of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Dakotah Language Institute

Amber Hayward (Puyallup/ Confederated Salish and Kootenai) – language program director for Puyallup Tribe of Indians

Break Music: Ayikis – The Frog Song (song) Asani (artist) Listen (album)

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The family of Ashley Loring HeavyRunner (Blackfeet) are desperate for information about the 21-year-old. She was last seen in June in Browning Montana. Also, family members of Olivia Lone Bear are offering a reward for information after the 33-year-old mother of five went missing from the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara Nation in October. The two recent cases are a reminder of what advocates say is a serious issue. Canada has made strides in confronting the problem of missing and murdered Indigenous women. But there remain gaps in information and solutions about Native American women.

If you have any information on the disappearance of Ashley Loring HeavyRunner please call:

Blackfeet  Tribal police: 406-338-4000, Homeland Security: 406-450-1922, or Glacier Co. Sheriff’s office: 406-873-2711

If you have any information about the disappearance of Olivia Lone Bear please call MHA police at 701-627-6141 or leave an anonymous tip on 701-595-3114

Guests:

Caroline LaPorte (immediate descendant of Little River Band of Ottawa Indians) –  senior Native affairs policy advisor for the Strong Hearts Native Help Line and the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center

Annita Lucchesi (Southern Cheyenne descendant) PhD student at University of Lethbridge 

Break Music: Iskwesis (song) Randall Paskemin (artist) Goodnight, Sweet Dreams, I Love You

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics finds about half of all new businesses fail within the first five years. But failure isn’t always the end of the line. In business, those who learn from failure can come back with new successes. In this program, we’ll talk with Native entrepreneurs about when it’s time to fold and what lessons they learned from business failures.

Guests:

Derrick Watchman (Navajo Nation) – board chairman of the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development

Kristina Stanley (Lake Superior Chippewa) – entrepreneur, chef and activist

Lucinda Hughes-Juan (Tohono O’Odham and Choctaw) – business owner, business consultant and business writer

Sonja Tanner (enrolled in the white earth band of Ojibwe) – president and owner of OPOS Tours and Travel

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

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Lupus is sometimes called “the great pretender” because the symptoms for the autoimmune disease can look like other illnesses. Rash, fatigue, fever and joint pain are just a few of the outward signs of lupus. One study in 2014 found that American Indians and Alaska Natives have the highest prevalence and incidence of lupus compared to other groups. We’ll talk with an expert and someone living with lupus about the challenges of this sometimes baffling and painful disease.

Guests:

Dr. Noel Rolle – rheumatology fellow University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center

Lauren Metelski – National nurse health educator for the Lupus Foundation of America and Registered Nurse

Susan Ahdokobo (Otoe Missouria and Choctaw) – has lupus

Break Music: Enaemaekisaeh (song) Wayne Silas Jr (artist) Infinite Passion (album)