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The state of Alaska just approved a key permit to begin work on a controversial copper, gold and silver mine. Native American groups have opposeed the Pebble Mine project since it was first proposed. Environmental organizations, commercial fishermen and others are also fighting it. The mine is planned for an area within the watershed for Bristol Bay, which is vital salmon habitat.

Guests:

Alannah Hurley (Yupik) – executive director of the United Tribes of Bristol Bay

Mike Heatwole – vice president of public affairs for The Pebble Partnership

Abe Williams (Alutiiq Eskimo, Bristol Bay Native Corporation shareholder and past president of the Paug-Vik Village Corporation) – commercial fisherman and business owner

Break music: Qalurru (Dip Netting) (song) Pamyua (artist) Drums Of The North: Traditional Yup’ik Songs (album)

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For reasons many environmental experts don’t exactly know, bee populations are shrinking. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently added a species of bumble bee to the Endangered Species List. Seven species of bees in Hawaii are also endangered. Some Native American beekeepers are doing what they can to lend bees a helping hand.

Guests:

Marla BullBear (Sičháŋǧu Lakota) – executive director of Native American Advocacy Program

David Manuel (Anishinaabe) – foods coordinator for the Red Lake Food Initiative and beekeeper

Pam Kingfisher (Cherokee) – Cherokee beekeeper and health advocate

Break music: Honey Be (song) Red Earth (artist) When Worlds Collide (album)

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In honor of Earth Day, we’re starting off a week of shows devoted to environmental issues with a discussion about totem poles. For the communities that create them, they hold significant cultural value and are much more than art. There are many tribes in Canada and the U.S.—including the Tlingit, Haida and the Tsimshian, to name a few—that carve poles. They typically use old growth trees, which are harder and harder to come by. We’ll talk with carvers about the history and tradition of totem poles.

Guests:

David R. Boxley (Tsimshian) – traditional Tsimshian artist and totem pole carver

James Hart (Haida) – hereditary chief of the Saanggalh Stastas clan

T. J. Young (member of the Haida Nation) – traditional Haida carver

Break music: Hummingbird Song (song) Fred Louis and Ella Thompson (artist) Haida: Indian Music of the Pacific

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The songs, players and methods might be different across Turtle Island, but the fun is the same. Hand games are played between families and within tribal communities. We celebrate hand games and talk with the pros about what makes them so fun. We also dig into the roots of hand games and why it’s important to keep them going.

Guests:

Mary Bearshield-Beaver (Cheyenne Arapaho) – hand game coordinator for the majority of the powwows in the area

Rusty Farmer (Colville Nez Perce) – owner and creator of Battle of Nations Stick Game Tournament

Lawrence Nayally (Pehdzeh Ki First Nations) – Host for CBC’s “Trail’s End” and an organizer

Break Music:  Treaty Six and Coastal Hand Game Song (song) Fawn Wood & Dallas Waskahat (album) Blessings (album)

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Pervasive alcoholism is among the main reasons tribal leaders ban the sale of alcohol on reservations. But that can be big business for liquor stores just outside of the border. Tribal leaders from the Pine Ridge Reservation are working to shut down four stores in nearby Whiteclay, Neb. They say the vast majority of their sales goes to worsen alcohol-related problems within Pine Ridge. Critics of the strategy say people wanting a drink will get alcohol somewhere else and might even increase the hazard by drinking and driving. Does banning alcohol on the reservation help the people or not?

Guests:

Abram Neumann – community outreach coordinator for Lakota Hope Ministries

Frank LaMere (Winnebago) – associate chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, contractor for the Four Direction Community Center in Sioux City, Iowa

Senator Tom Brewer (a member Oglala Sioux Tribe) – Nebraska State senator for district 43

Break music: Kayas (song) Bear Creek (artist) Through Thick and Thin (album)

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We make way for some killer Native blues this month. Our April Music Makers, Bluedog, are out of the Minneapolis, Minnesota area. For years they have given blues lovers what they love: great tunes flavored with a lot of Native soul and get-down boogie rhythms. We’ll visit with them about their new album “Red, White & Blues.” We’re inviting you to into the discussion as we pay tribute to the blues.

Guests:

Alexandra Buffalohead (Sissten Whapeton) – keyboard & vocals

Joni Buffalohead (Sissten Whapeton) – lead vocalist and co-founder, songwriter

Eric Buffalohead (Southern Ponca) – guitarist and cofounder, songwriter

Break music: Working for the Man (song) Bluedog (artist) Red, White & Blue (album)

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Of all the previous presidents to choose from, Donald Trump likes to align himself most with Andrew Jackson. He visited Jackson’s Hermitage in Tennessee and laid a wreath on his grave. For Native Americans, Jackson is forever associated with the Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears. His presidency also ended with a crippling economic depression. Since he’s back in the spotlight, we’ll take time to talk with historians about the full legacy of Andrew Jackson.

Guests:

Catherine Foreman Gray (citizen of Cherokee Nation) – history and preservation officer for Cherokee Nation

Erin Adams – director of education and interpretation at Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage

Break music: Going Back (song) Paula Nelson (artist) C.H.A.N.T. Cherokee Hope And New Traditions (album)

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A tribal police officer in California is fighting charges of assault and false imprisonment. It all stems from his attempt to make an arrest during a domestic dispute on reservation land. This is one example of jurisdictional clashes that result from the 1953 measure called Public Law 280. There are instances when tribal law enforcement officers can’t take action even if they see a crime because PL 280 complicates an already complex jurisdictional landscape. The Tribal Court Clearinghouse says “it has often been misunderstood and misapplied.” We hear about PL 280 and ways tribes are trying to get out from under it.

Guests:

Dorothy Alther (Oglala Sioux Tribe) – executive director of Californian Indian Legal Services

Ryan Rusche (Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux) – tribal attorney for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes

Break music: Anasazi Sun (song) Injunuity (artist) Fight For Survival (album)

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When a federal judge in Hawaii put a halt to President Trump’s travel restrictions, supporters of the policy vowed to boycott the state. The boycott appears to have fizzled, but not before Native Hawaiians actually expressed support of it–some tongue-in-cheek and some seriously. They were expressing their frustration over losing more and more control of their culture and island homeland. The news comes on the heels of a legal tussle involving an island purchased by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. We’ll get an update from Native Hawaiians.

Guests:

Ka’iulani Mahuka (Kanaka Maoli) – show host of Songs of Sovereignty for Kaua’i Community Radio and Hawaiian activist

 Dr. Kalamaoka’aina Niheu (Kanaka Maoli) – organizer with Ohana Koa-Nuclear Free and Independence Pacific

Break music: E ʻOni a Paʻa (song) Hawane (artist) E ʻOni a Paʻa – Single (album)

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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)