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All the world’s a stage—and some stages are used to showcase Native American stories and talent. Whether it’s drama or comedy, classic or avant garde, Native-centered theater is reaching more and more audiences. What makes theater “Native”? What kinds of plays are being written by Native playwrights? What are the audiences saying? Is it difficult to find Native actors?

Guests:

Muriel Miguel (Kuna and Rappahannock) – director of Spiderwoman Theater

Kim Delfina Gleason (Diné) – executive director of Two Worlds

Rhiana Yazzie (Navajo) – playwright and founder and artistic director of New Native Theater

Break Music: Sunrise (song) James Bilagody & The Cremains (artist) Sacred Stage (album)

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Christianity in Native America has a complicated history. Early Christian missionaries discouraged traditional religious and spiritual practices within the tribes. But today many Native Americans adhere to a variety of Christian denominations including Catholic, Mormon, and Southern Baptist. They sometimes merge traditional spiritual practices with longstanding Christian beliefs. Can you practice both? Is there room for the crucifix in the sweat lodge?

Guests:

Dr. Casey Church (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi) – Director of Wiconi International

Joe Herrera (Cochiti Pueblo and Laguna Pueblo) – former Native American Ministry Director for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe

Break Music: Sac and Fox (song) Brian Stoner (artist) with Love and Faith We Pray Volume II (album)

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Can you buy forgiveness for environmental damage? Carbon credits offer opportunities for companies and even individuals to balance out their greenhouse gas emissions by paying another entity that promises to lower emissions. Some tribes think selling carbon credits might be an economic opportunity as well as a way to protect resources. Whether or not you align with the conventional scientific thinking on global warming, carbon credits could be an economic boon for tribes. Are carbon credits something Indigenous people should be banking on?

Guests:

Dallas Goldtooth (Diné and Mdewakanton Dakota) – Keep It in the Ground Campaign Organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network

Erick Giles (Muscogee Creek Nation) – program director National Indian Carbon Coalition

Jonny BearCub (Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes) – director of business development for Native Energy

Break Music: 7 Fires (song) Red Slam Collective (artist)

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“Hear Indigenous Voices: Uniting the Bold Voices of American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians.” That’s this year’s theme for National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (on March 20).  We’ll talk with advocates to hear how they are using their voices to prevent Native Americans from getting HIV. We’ll also hear about the latest ideas for supporting those who already it. Is it difficult to discuss HIV and AIDS in your Native community? Do we need to work on creating a space for open discussions?

Guests:

Lisa Neel (Cherokee) – program manager for the HIV/AIDS program at the Indian Health Service

Alexander White Tail Feather (Kashia Band of Pomo Indians) – executive director of the National Native American AIDS Prevention Center

Shana Christensen (Kiowa) – public speaker, grandmother and advocate

Mentioned on the show today:

Native VOICES video series

IHS HIV/AIDS info

National Native American AIDS Prevention Center phone number 720-382-2244

National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

 

Break Music: Pimatisiwin (Life) (song) Young Spirit (artist) Save Me A Lead (album)

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Two non-Native authors are enjoying reasonable success with Native American-themed works. Jason Aaron’s comic series ‘Scalped’ is set on a fictional South Dakota reservation where tribal mobsters punish their enemies with violence the author depicts in graphic detail. TV network WGN picked it up for a possible TV series. And renowned Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling is under fire for appropriating Native American culture in her “History of Magic in North America” online story series. Are you fans of any of these works? Are you disappointed when respected writers try to portray Native American culture?

Guests:

Lee Francis IV (Laguna Pueblo) – national director of Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers

Jonnie Taté Walker (Mniconjou Lakota) editor of Native Peoples Magazine and media critic

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

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Forming glass from sand has ancient roots. But using glass in art is a relatively new medium for Native American artists. Those who work with glass turn traditional images, shapes, and ideas into sculpture that is as beautiful as it is fragile. The works take after traditional baskets, jars, totems and masks. A handful of Native American artists have mastered the process that involves forming molten glass into intricate patterns. We will talk to the artists about the joys and frustrations of working with glass to satisfy their inspiration.

Guests:

Ira Lujan (Taos Pueblo) – award winning glass artist
Ed Archie NoiseCat (Shuswap/Stl’atl’imx) – international award winning artist
Angela Babby (Lakota) – enameled stained glass mosaic artist

Break Music: Honour (feat. Skratch Won) (song) Rosary Spence (artist) Maskawisiwin (album)

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What you think of first when you consider Native Americans and alcohol is probably wrong. A new study counters the stereotype of Native Americans abusing alcohol. In fact, the study by the University of Arizona found a far higher percentage of Native Americans abstained from alcohol over a period of time than the majority population. Does the study finally put to rest the popular portrayal of the drunken Indian? Do the findings line up with what you’re seeing in your community?

Guests:

Dr. Teshia Solomon (Choctaw Nation) – Director of Native American Research and Training Center and Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Arizona

Dr. James Cunningham – Social Epidemiologist with the Department of Family and Community Medicine and the Native American Research and Training Center

Marcella Ronyak (Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation) – director of the Office of Indian Alcohol and Substance Abuse for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Break Music: Don’t Make Trouble In Your Heart (song) Cheevers Toppah (artist) Renewed Spirit – Harmonized Church Hymns Of The Kiowa (album)

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Artists tend to use the medium most available to them. As buffalo hides became scarce in the late 19^th Century, Plains tribes resorted to drawing on the next-most abundant material: paper from accounting books. Artists drew pictographs of important events sometimes overtop lined paper and hand-written debits and credits of a local business. The style became known as ledger art. Now, a new generation of ledger artists are reviving the art form. Notable examples of ledger art are part of a new exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

Mentioned on today’s show:

Unbound: Narrative Art of the Plains

Guests:

Chris Pappan (Kaw, Osage and Cheyenne River Sioux) – artist

Emil Her Many Horses (Oglala Lakota) – curator at the National Museum of the American Indian

Wakeah Jhane (Comanche/ Blackfeet) – ledger artist

Lauren Good Day Giago (Arikara, Hidatsa, Blackfeet and Plains Cree) – artist

Break Music: Five Kiowa “49” Dance Songs (songs) Bill Koomsa, Sr. & Kiowa Dance Group Singers (artist) Kiowa – Traditional Kiowa Songs (album)