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Bear Butte, South Dakota, or Mató Pahá, is a well-known sacred place to the Lakota.  The mountain has spiritual significance to many tribes, and is the setting for ceremony and prayers. That’s in contrast to the new Full Throttle Saloon. The owners bill it as the “World’s Largest Biker Bar” with 15,000 patrons a night during the Sturgis Bike Rally. In August, a group of Native American activists plans to protest the bar because of its proximity to Mató Pahá. We’ll check in with those who know the location the best and learn about how the famous motorcycle rally is encroaching on other important sites.

Guests:

Cody Hall (Cheyenne River Sioux) – activist and co-founder of Native Lives Matter

James Swan (Cheyenne River Sioux) – founder of the United Urban Warriors Society

Break Music: In the Time of Chiefs (song) Estun-Bah (artist) From Where the Sun Rises (album)

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For a fee, you can fill out an application, swab your cheek and find out if you have Native ancestry. Dozens of online services perform this service for hundreds of curious people. But does the result mean you can finally declare your Cherokee heritage? What do online DNA kits really tell us about Native ancestry? If you actually find out you have Native heritage, what do you do with that information?

Guests:

Dr. Kim Tallbear (Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate) – associate professor in the faculty of Native studies at the University of Alberta

Shannon Shaw Duty (Osage) – editor of the Osage News

Break Music: Redman (song) Elk Soldier (artist) A Soldier’s Dream: Powwow Songs Recorded Live at Ft.Randall (album)

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Various tribes have tried different strategies to try and recover important and sacred items. Some use the courts. Some negotiate with well-meaning museum curators. Others resort to bidding for them against wealthy collectors at auctions or on eBay. One approach proposed in Congress works to make it harder for unscrupulous sellers with new laws and harsher penalties. What does it take to have these significant items returned? We will hear about some success stories and some heartbreaking near misses.

Guests:

Jordan Dresser (Northern Arapaho/Eastern Shoshone) – public relations officer at the Wind River Hotel and Casino

Yufna Soliderwolf (Northern Arapaho) – Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, NAGPRA coordinator and director for Northern Arapaho tribe.

D. Bambi Kraus (Tlingit) – president of the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers

Break Music: Narbona (song) The Delbert Anderson Trio (artist) MANITOU (album)

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Some Native American men are part of the cross-dressing tradition known as drag performance. They don heels, bright dresses and sparkly make-up. The gender-bending art form has less of a direct correlation to traditional Native culture, but there are some parallels. We talk to drag queens about their form of expression and the support—or lack of support—in their communities.

Guests:

Miko Thomas (Chickasaw) – AKA “Landa Lakes”, founder Brush Arbor Girls Native drag troupe

Lady Shug (Navajo) – current reigning Miss New Mexico Pride

George Neptune (Passamaquody) – AKA  “Lyzz Bien: Indigenous Diva”,  museum educator at the Abbe Museum and master basket maker

Break Music: Idawadadi (Let Us Speak Our Voice) (song) Dawn Avery (artist) Our Fire Native American Contemporary Songs (album)

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We’ve come a long way from government-controlled boarding schools. Many tribes are now assuming control of their own education systems. But the transition from the federal to tribal control remains complicated and controversial. For example, teachers at Bureau of Indian Education schools on the Navajo Nation worry they might lose money, benefits, or even their jobs. School officials say the plan is not a done deal, but the goal of educational self-determination is paramount.

Guests:

Sue Parton (Kiowa) – president of the Federation of Indian Service Employees Union

Dr. Tommy Lewis (Diné) – superintendent of schools for Navajo Nation Department of Diné Education 

Anne Marie Bledsoe Downes (Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska) – Acting Director of the Bureau of Indian Education and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs

Willeen Benally (Diné) – First grade teacher at Sanostee Day School

Break Music: Happy Sundance (song) Dallas Arcand (artist) Modern Day Warrior (album)

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When Native guitars start to sing the people begin to move. That’s something The Jir Project Band’s lead man Jir Anderson (Cochiti Pueblo) has witnessed over and over on his tours across Native America. This month we welcome him as he presents his third musical release. This time he is calling on the place he calls home to set the scene for his heavy rock and blues sound. “The Pueblo” features his ability to glide over the strings of his guitar to electrify listeners. He’ll be live in studio to tell us more about his band and their compositions. Join us for this trip into Native sound with our July Music Maker Jir Anderson.

Break Music: Lonely Night (song) The Jir Project (artist) The Pueblo (album)

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Dirt roads, rural life, horses, and heartbreak. Those are words that might conjure one aspect of Native American living. They also describe some of the driving themes of country music. The simple lyrics and twangy guitar riffs definitely have their place in the hearts of Native American listeners. We bring together Native musicians rooted in these tunes to find out what it is about trucks, boots, jeans and hard living that makes people want to sing along. How do you connect to country music?

Guests:

Nate Chester (Navajo) -music director for KTNN radio and a member of the Country Music Association

Tracy Bone (Ojibwe) – multi-award winning country recording artist

Wayne Garner  (Cherokee) – singer songwriter

Kimberley Dawn  (Metis Cree) – singer

Break Music: Tender Side (song) Crystal Shawanda (artist) Dawn Of A New Day (album)

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Her voice was a frequent back-up to stars like Eric Clapton, Leon Russel and Stephen Stills. Grammy Award-winning Cherokee singer and songwriter Rita Coolidge also had solo hits like “(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher” and “We’re All Alone.” Now Coolidge is out with a memoir, Delta Lady, that recalls her days with the icons of music. As our July Native in the Spotlight, Coolidge relives her memories as a sought-after singer and muse in the L.A. music scene.

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Fermented fish eggs and sheep’s head are considered delicacies to some tribes. But since burgers and pizza made their way to Native communities, our palates changed and we don’t eat them as often. The more traditional Native food can be hard to find and even hard to stomach for some of us. But they reflect the diversity of our tribal cultures and still occasionally make it to our plates. In this program, we celebrate unique delicacies and the efforts by some people to keep them vital. What’s considered a delicacy in your Native community?

Guests:

Nephi Craig (White Mountain Apache and Navajo) – executive chef at the Sunrise Park Resort Hotel and founder of the Native American Culinary Association

Terrol Johnson (Tohono O’odham) –  artist and food activist, CEO of Tohono O’odham Community Action

 

Also mentioned on this program: Native Foodways Magazine

The Menu Song (song) Arigon Starr (artist) The Red Road – Original Cast Recording (album)

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A “devastating epidemic” is the phrase used by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell to describe opioid abuse. Treatment for addicts continues to evolve. One approach, Medication-assisted Treatment (MAT), uses drugs like methadone or buprenorphine. Another relies on an abstinence-based treatment program. Which approach is the best treatment for opioid addiction? Is it the same for everyone?

Guests:

Dr. Dan Duhigg – addiction psychiatrist and associate professor at the University of New Mexico in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences.

Don Coyhis (Mohican) – founder of White Bison Inc.

Joe Jenkins (Cherokee) – program sponsor and executive director to the Keetowah Cherokee Treatment Services

 

Break Music: Stadium Pow Wow (feat. Black Bear) (song) A Tribe Called Red (artist) Stadium Pow Wow (feat. Black Bear) (single)