Native America Calling

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is expediting permits for the Line 5 oil pipeline project. It’s the first project to be put on a fast track under President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring a national energy emergency. The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is among a number of tribes in at least three states that oppose the project by Canadian energy company Enbridge, saying it posing significant risk to the environment, most notably the Great Lakes. The existing pipeline runs across Bad River land, but the company’s new route bypasses the reservation. We’ll get a perspective on the new status of the project and the near-term possibilities.

Elise Paschen’s (Osage) new book of poetry, “Blood Wolf Moon”, weaves Osage stories from the Reign of Terror with her experience as the daughter of famous major prima ballerina, Maria Tallchief. m.s. RedCherries’ (Northern Cheyenne) first poetry book, “mother”, was a 2024 National Book Award for Poetry finalist. It follows the Cheyenne protagonist who is exploring Indian identity as a former boarding school student reconnecting to her roots and larger Native community through the backdrop of the American Indian Movement. “Indigenous Poetics” is a collection of essays illustrating how Native poets use their craft as a critical tool to help readers understand, question, and realize deeper layers of Indigenous life and community. Aligning with National Poetry Month, we’ll dive into these new and recent publications by Indigenous poets.

The state of Alaska is actively working to shut down a gaming hall just opened by the Native Village of Eklutna. The Chin’an Gaming Hall is doing a brisk business with pull-tabs and 85 bingo machines in an unassuming building just outside of Anchorage. But state officials maintain the operation is illegal because the tribe does not control the land it is on. Elsewhere, in Maine, tribes are also working against state resistance to expand gaming. They face a regulatory reality that is different from tribes in other states because of legislation in 1980 limiting Maine’s tribes’ gaming enterprise ability.

The Trump administration scrapped a civil rights agreement 14 years in the making with the Rapid City, S.D. school system. The agreement was aimed at correcting inequities for Native American students. Data show Native students in the district are given harsher punishments than their white counterparts. The students also are less likely to be in higher level classes. The decision comes as President Donald Trump has terminated nearly half of the federal Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights staff.

We’ll also look at a Virginia tribe’s suit against the commonwealth for what the tribe says is withholding Medicaid reimbursements for tribal citizens’ health care.

The recent winter proved deadly for honey bee colonies. The Washington State University’s Honey Bees and Pollinators Program reports mass die-offs for commercial beekeepers. Honey bees, butterflies, and even small vertebrates like bats and birds are important to agriculture and are indicators of a healthy ecosystem. Their populations fluctuate and are affected by pesticide use, habitat loss, and climate change. Tribes and Native groups like the Euchee Butterfly Farm are among those devoting resources to pollinator restoration work. We’ll talk with Native pollinator protectors about efforts to help turn the threat to pollinators around.

At least one tribal library in New Mexico will have to close after the Trump Administration abruptly canceled federal grants administered through the Institute for Museum and Library Services. Many more libraries and museums in the state and around the country are forced to cut hours, eliminate staff, cancel traditional programs, and curb purchases for new books and other materials. They are among the latest in the on-going efforts by the Trump Administration to drastically change federal services. Those cuts also include supplements to low-income Navajo Nation citizens and hundreds more Native Americans nationwide who rely on the funds to help them heat their homes in the winter. We’ll get the latest rundown of staff and funding reductions by the federal government.

Early Pueblo residents are known for their complex, multi-level dwellings that date back centuries, but continue to influence architectural design today. A new exhibit at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center examines the enduring elements of ancestral architecture and how contemporary Pueblo architects are reclaiming them. Modern designs fell victim to non-Native interpretations and modern building codes. The exhibit, “Restorying Our HeartPlaces: Contemporary Pueblo Architecture”, tells the story of how Pueblos are asserting their sovereignty over their enduring architectural knowledge.

Tens of thousands of federal job cuts, on-again, off-again tariffs on everyday goods, and policies affecting the operations of schools, businesses, and tribal governments are generating widespread uncertainty. Tribal leaders are working proactively to both influence decisions at the federal level and to prepare for inevitable changes. We’ll talk with tribal leaders about how they are adapting to the unpredictable and dramatic changes headed their way.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. is overseeing an unprecedented cut of nearly a quarter of the department’s staff, drawing widespread concerns about possible adverse affects for thousands of Native Americans who depend on those services. Everything from bill processing to testing and research to prevent lead contamination in children could be constricted. At the same time, Sec. Kennedy successfully reversed Elon Musk’s termination of 900 Indian Health Service employees by the Department of Government Efficiency. Kennedy is also reaching out to tribes and maintaining contact through the department’s Tribal Self Governance Advisory Committee. We’ll look at the latest word on what some of the potential effects of the federal actions are on Native health and health care.