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Storytelling is a powerful tradition in Native communities. Now, that tradition has become a strategic tool for Native businesses and nations to navigate politics and protect their interests. Shaping your own narrative is a matter of strategy, consistency, preparation, and partnerships. We hear why this is important during our live broadcast from the Reservation Economic Summit (RES) in Las Vegas.

 

GUESTS

Tessa Trumble, business development manager for Foxtrot Marketing

Amanda June, CEO of Smokefire Media

Sherry Rupert, CEO of the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association

Break music: Intertribal (song) Tha Tribe (artist) Woodland Groove (album)

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The K’é Community Trails are now officially open after years of work and planning by community organizers in Crownpoint, NM. The network of ancient and current trails criss-cross the hills and mesas of this chapter of the Navajo Nation. The project brought together a network of local and outside resources to gather local names, create maps, measure trail distances, and construct geographic markers. We talk with KCT project organizers about how the land’s checkerboard status complicated things along the way.

GUESTS

Daniel Vandever (Navajo), volunteer with the K’é Community Project

Leonard Perry (Navajo), Crownpoint Chapter vice president and community land use planning committee president

Attila Bality, outdoor recreational planner for the National Park Service

 

BREAK MUSIC

My Cheii’s Wisdom (song) Talibah (artist) Navajo Songs For Children (album)

Naawakinta (Thanks You My Fathers) (song) Clark Tenakhongva (artist) Öngtupqa (album)

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Reputable, community minded financial services and tools are a prerequisite for a healthy local economy. They also play a vital role in empowering Native people with skills and resources to manage money while making informed financial decisions. But not every Native community has a bank where people can open a savings account, an ATM to make a deposit or withdraw cash, or a financial institution that offers home loans, credit cards, and other types of consumer credit. We talk about the importance of financial services and technology that meet the needs of tribal citizens and what some tribes and Native-led organizations are doing to bridge the gap.

GUESTS

Gary Garvin (Ho-Chunk), financial representative

Sharon Small (Northern Cheyenne), executive director of the People’s Partner for Community Development

Christy Finsel (enrolled member of the Osage Nation), executive director of Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition, Inc.

Break Music:

Hiy Hiy (Grandfather) (song) Randy Wood (artist) Family (album)

Naawakinta (Thanks You My Fathers) (song) Clark Tenakhongva (artist) Öngtupqa (album)

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Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is often thought of as a disorder affecting children. But adults live with this condition too. It’s notoriously difficult to diagnose, but adult ADHD symptoms include impulsiveness, poor time management skills and trouble coping with stress. That all has implications for maintaining regular work schedules and social interactions.

 

GUESTS

Dr. Jackie Vorpahl (Choctaw), psychologist

Larry Chavis (Lumbee), economist at the University of North Carolina

Dr. Alan Ostby, behavioral health consultant for the Billings area office of the Indian Health Service

Break music: Encouragement Song (SONG) Sissy Goodhouse (artist) The Third Circle (album)

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It’s the time of year to throw our mortar boards in the air and mark new educational milestones. It’s also a time to fight back against school officials trying to keep Native students from wearing eagle feathers at graduation ceremonies. For many high schools and colleges this year is the first in-person graduation celebration in three years. We’ll take a snapshot of what the class of 2022 has in store.

 

GUESTS

Rep. Dr. Ponka-We Victors-Cozad (Ponca and Tohono O’odham), Kansas state representative

Louisa Kakaianaaq Riley (Inupiaq), Inupiaq language teacher and mentor for Nunamiut Schools

Break music: Celebrate (song) Devin Whirlwind Soldier (artist)

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The U.S. Department of Interior released its much-anticipated report chronicling a century and a half of widespread abuses at federally sanctioned boarding schools. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland now promises a year-long tour of the country, establishing an oral record, from a Native viewpoint, of a devastating period in history. As important and historic as the DOI report is, how much confidence should we put into the federal government’s role in mitigating the trauma?

 

GUESTS

endawnis Spears (Dine, Ojibwe, Choctaw, and Chickasaw), Tribal Community Member in Residence for the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative at Brown University, co-director of the Upstander Academy, and co-founder of the Akomawt Educational Initiative

Barbara Landis, retired Carlisle Indian School research specialist for the Cumberland County Historical Society 

Dr. Samuel Torres (Mexica and Nahua), deputy chief executive officer for the Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition

 

Break music: Calvin Jumping Bull’s Memorial Song (song) Porcupine Singers (artist) Alowanpi – Songs Of Honoring – Lakota Classics: Past & Present, Vol. 1 (album)

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A congressional report lists a number of persistent barriers for Native students when it comes to higher education. Because of that, Native people have statistically lower educational attainment and lower incomes over their lifetimes. We assess those barriers and what’s being done to help students achieve their highest educational potential.

 

GUESTS

Carrie Billy (Diné), president and CEO of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium

Cheryl Crazy Bull (Sičháŋǧu Lakota), president and CEO of the American Indian College Fund

Casey Lozar (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes), Vice President and Director of Center for Indian Country Development for the Minneapolis Federal Reserve

 

Break music: Wiconi (song) Primeaux & Mike (artist) Road to Peace (album)

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The story of Mohawk ironworkers building the skyline of New York is legendary. Mohawk tradesmen battled prejudice, immigration officials and perilous working conditions to continue a century-old steel construction tradition. It’s physically demanding and dangerous work, and many Mohawks made it their niche. We remember the contributions of Native steelworkers and find the modern examples of their work.

 

GUESTS

Mike Swamp (St. Regis Mohawk), former Local 440 director and business owner

Jasmine Smith (Piikani), journeyman ironworker

Eugene Tarbell (St. Regis Mohawk), retired ironworker 

Robert Cole (St. Regis Mohawk), financial secretary Local 440

 

Break Music: Laffin’ Lucy (song) Murray Porter (artist) STAND UP! (album)

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If you know the names Brian Trottier, Reggie Leach, and Theo Fleury, you are a hockey fan. If you don’t know those names, you can look forward to hearing about a sport where Indigenous players excel. Many NHL standouts are Native. And the sport has long been an outlet for Indigenous youth from the reservations in the U.S. and the reserves of Canada.

 

GUESTS

Harlan Kingfisher (Plains Cree from Sturgeon Lake First Nation), founder of Smudge The Blades hockey apparel

Trevor Iserhoff (Cree from Moose Cree First Nation), host of the Rez Hockey podcast

Leighton Burns Marion (Cree from Treaty 6 from the James Smith Cree Nation), number 48, right wing for the Concordia Wisconsin Falcons

 

Break Music: Thank You, Singers (song) Northern Cree (artist) When It’s Cold – Cree Roundance Songs (album)

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Fire season is well under way in parts of the country. Tribal forestry officials are watching the landscape, and Native firefighters are already on the scene at several hot spots, trying to contain forest fires. We get updates on where the problem areas are and what the experts are doing to try and head off disaster.

 

GUESTS

Bodie Shaw (Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs), deputy regional director for the northwest region of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the National Interagency Fire Center

Darron Williams (Hopi), northwest regional fire management officer for the Department of Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs

Ron Swaney (Salish Kootenai), fire management officer for the Salish Kootenai Tribe

Robert Jackson (Pima), fire captain for the Gila River Fire Department

 

Break music: Burn Away (song) Sage Bond (artist) Prisoner (album)