Native America Calling

Federal food assistance is set to stop November 1 if lawmakers are unable to solve the government shutdown. That means the supply of food through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to low-income Native Americans will begin running out without help from alternative sources. Some tribes are putting funds and other efforts toward filling the sudden gap. At least one tribe is culling their own buffalo herds to provide meat for hungry citizens. We’ll get an overview of the situation for Native residents who rely on SNAP. We’ll also hear about the lengths to which Alaska Native organizations are working to provide traditional foods to the people displaced by major storms on the state’s west coast. GUESTS Carly Griffith-Hotvedt (Cherokee), executive director of the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative Lyle Rutherford (Blackfeet), Blackfeet Tribal Councilman Kelsey Ciugun Wallace (Yup’ik and Irish), president and CEO of the Alaska Native Heritage Center

A struggle over who is running the Northern Cheyenne tribal government has resulted in arrests of government officials, frozen bank accounts, and an emergency action by traditional tribal leaders to ban women from voting. The divide started after newly elected President Gene Small authorized a forensic financial audit. Another long-standing divide is coming to a head on the Navajo Nation, prompting President Buu Nygren to state he will not resign his position. We’ll talk with reporters covering these two internal government disputes and take a look at some other notable issues and events. GUESTS Krista Allen (Diné), editor of the Navajo Times Thomas Tortez (Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians), former chairman of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians Brad Lopes (Aquinnah Wampanoag), Native American Teacher Retention Initiative program manager and former classroom teacher Nora Mabie, Indigenous affairs reporter with Montana Free Press

A historic legal decision secures tribal land rights over a little more than four square miles within the boundaries of the city of Richmond, British Columbia. The ruling by the provincial Supreme Court sent shockwaves through an enclave of non-Indigenous property owners fearful their land and its monetary value would be handed over to the Cowichan Tribes. If the decision stands, it would have far-reaching implications for tribal land rights across Canada. We’ll hear about the legal and historical significance of the decision. We'll also get perspectives on the controversial King Cove Road in Alaska. The Trump administration recently signed off on the proposed 11-mile road which will connect the small Aleutian town through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge to an airport. Supporters say it will provide reliable access to emergency medical care, but detractors say it will cause harm to millions of migratory birds who use the refuge as a stopover. GUESTS Terry Teegee (Takla Nation), Regional Chief of the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations Darwin Hanna (Nlaka’pamux Nation), attorney and founding partner of Callison & Hanna Edgar Tall Sr. (Yup'ik), Chief of the Native Village of Hooper Bay Warren Wilson, mayor of King Cove

Henry is an aspiring ghost hunter on the cusp of social media fame in the novel, "The Whistler", by Nick Medina (Tunica-Biloxi). As the title suggests, he tempts fate by intentionally whistling into the night, provoking an evil entity that turns his life upside down and forces him to confront his past wrongdoing. Daniel H. Wilson (Cherokee) imagines a frightening alien invasion where first contact happens in the middle of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma in "Hole in the Sky". And Stephen Graham Jones (Blackfeet) slices open the real horrors of the late 1800s Indian Wars in "The Buffalo Hunter Hunter" with a tortured monster that wreaks vengeance on soldiers responsible for the Marias Massacre and the extermination of the buffalo. These are a few new horror novels written by Indigenous authors that we are putting on the Native Bookshelf for this year's spooky season.

Among the thousands of staff cuts and billions of dollars eliminated from federal programs is support to prevent and respond to domestic violence. Organizations that facilitate women’s shelters, preventative outreach, case managers, and legal help are mostly going it alone without the once-powerful assistance of the federal government. Many are in survival mode after the sudden and unexpected elimination of funding that had been promised. The U.S. Department of Justice has also removed its access to research and recommendations about violence against Indigenous women. We’ll find out how some shelters are working despite the setbacks. We’ll also remember long-time women’s advocate Charon Asetoyer. Among other things, she founded the Native American Community Board that works to strengthen women’s health, safety, and justice. Asetoyer walked on September 26. GUESTS Desiree Tody (Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa), Ashland and Bayfield County outreach program coordinator for the Center Against Sexual & Domestic Abuse Caroline LaPorte (Little River Band of Ottawa Indians descendant), staff attorney with the Indian Law Resource Center and association judge for the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Michelle Sanchez-Higginbotham (Yaqui and Niitsitapi), project specialist for the Rising Together program at the California Consortium for Urban Indian Health Ronni Fischer (Yankton Sioux), director of the Women’s Lodge, a violence prevention program of the Native American Community Board

Leonard Peltier calls on Native Americans to come together in the ongoing fight for many of the same issues he championed in the early days of the American Indian Movement. After President Joe Biden commuted his life sentence in the deaths of two FBI agents, Peltier emerged from nearly a half century in federal prison to a hero’s welcome by his supporters and dismay by federal law enforcement officials and other detractors. In many respects, he picks up where he left off, speaking up for equitable treatment for Native people and defiance against a system he says is stacked against them. We'll hear from Peltier about his life now beyond a prison cell and also discuss the coordinated effort that finally secured his release. (This show is pre-recorded so we won't be able to take calls live on the air) GUESTS Leonard Peltier (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, Lakota, and Dakota) Holly Cook Macarro (Red Lake Nation), political strategist

Tribal officials are among those pushing back against President Donald Trump’s plan to cut off some $500 million dollars in federal funds used for tribal housing, business development and infrastructure projects. The National Congress of American Indians calls the action by Trump related to the federal government shutdown “a critical threat to our communities' economic future.” Trump’s intended elimination of the Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund is the latest blow from the government shutdown that could have series consequences for Native Nations. GUESTS Larry Wright Jr. (Ponca), executive director of the National Congress of American Indians and former chairman of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska Sherry Rupert (Paiute and Washoe), CEO of the American Indigenous Tourism Association Kim Pate (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Mississippi Band of Choctaw), NDN Fund Managing Director Dave Tovey (Cayuse/Joseph Band Nez Perce), Executive Director of Nixyáawii Community Financial Services (NCFS)

Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-AK) predicts many of the more than 2,000 people uprooted by historically damaging storms may not be able to return to their villages for more than a year and a half. In at least one village, officials say 90% of the residences are destroyed – and, as their lives are suddenly and drastically changed, the mostly Alaska Native inhabitants of the hardest-hit areas face the possibility of increasingly severe weather as the climate changes. We’ll get updates on the current efforts to provide relief and assess the long-term options for the people who have always lived there. We'll also hear about how a new influx of $15 million in federal money over the next five years will help the StrongHearts Native Helpline, which provides culturally specific outreach for Native domestic violence survivors. The money comes at a time when the federal government is cutting back and eliminating staff for many other social programs. GUESTS Walter Nelson (Yup’ik), managed retreat coordinator for Village of Napakiak Lori Jump (Sault Ste. Marie Band of Chippewa Indians), CEO of StrongHearts Native Helpline Taylar Sausen, director of communications for American Red Cross of Alaska Rick Thoman, Alaska climate specialist with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Eric Stone, state government reporter for Alaska Public Media

A new book is just one of multidisciplinary artist Cannupa Hanska Luger’s (Mandan, Hidatsa, & Arikara and Lakota) many current creative projects. He’s the 2025 artist-in-residence for Verbier 3-D Foundation, a contemporary art non-profit in Switzerland. He has new work that is part of an augmented reality exhibition with other Indigenous artists at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s American Wing. He has a public sculpture installation at the University of Massachusetts Boston. And he designed a terrifying sports mascot costume for the Jordan Peele horror film, “Him.” His new hybrid art book and graphic novel, “Surviva: A Future Ancestral Field Guide,” is a creative take on the Indigenous knowledge necessary for survival in a post-colonial future. We’ll hear from Luger about his creative drive and the message thread throughout all his acclaimed work.

It’s been almost a full century since Ojibwe hockey player Taffy Abel first set foot on the ice as a New York Rangers defenseman. It was a historic moment that was not acknowledged at the time in the professional hockey world or even by Abel himself. At the time, he kept his Native American identity a secret — at first to escape the forced attendance at Indian Boarding Schools, then later to avoid the discrimination that could hinder his career. Now, his descendants want him recognized, after the fact, as the man who broke the pro hockey color barrier. Abel carried the American flag in the first Winter Olympics in 1924. He went on to help both the Rangers and the Chicago Blackhawks win Stanley Cup championships. GUESTS Aaron Payment (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians), tribal councilman and former chairperson for the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Billy Mills (Oglala Lakota), 1964 Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Charles Fox, regular contributor to Indian Country Today and former staff photographer for 38 years at The Philadelphia Inquirer George Jones, retired economist and Indigenous hockey historian

The Trump administration just gave the final approval for a new 211-mile road that punches across the Brooks Mountain Range and the expansive wilderness that surrounds it. Ambler Road promises to clear the way for several mining operations, providing minerals like copper, cobalt and gold that President Trump says is needed to “win the AI arms race against China.” But at least 40 Alaska Native tribes have officially lined up against the controversial project citing subsistence hunting habitat among other concerns. We’ll hear about that – and get an update on struggles over tribal control over hunting permits in Oklahoma. GUESTS April Monroe (Evansville Village). lands manager for Tanana Chiefs Conference Miles Cleveland Sr. (Iñupiaq), Northwest Arctic Borough Assembly Member Robert Gifford (Cherokee Nation), Native American Law attorney and tribal court judge Gary Batton (Choctaw Nation), Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Emily Schwing, investigative reporter in Alaska

The stories and written documentation on boarding schools, Indian Agents, and even the fictional character, Paul Bunyan, all have an influence on how we view history. The Western History Association Conference in Albuquerque, N.M., this week assembles a number of discussions led by Native American historians on those and other topics, gauging how well Native perspectives are taken into account. We’ll hear from some of those historians about the changing influence of Native historical scholarship. GUESTS Vivien Tejada (Cherokee), assistant professor of history at University of California, Los Angeles Dr. Farina King (Diné), professor of Native American studies and Horizon Chair of NA ecology and culture at the University of Oklahoma Michael Holloman (Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation), professor in the Department of Art at Washington State University

After an intensive two-year adult immersion program, the number of fluent Spokane Salish language speakers nearly doubled. Some of those program graduates will be hired on as full-time language teaching staff as the tribe expands its language revitalization efforts. And the Yuchi Tribe in Oklahoma has established a unique partnership with an Australian Aboriginal nation to exchange ideas for revitalizing both of their endangered languages. We’ll hear about these two recent success stories. We'll also hear about a five-part talk show, "Rematriated Voices", centered on Haudenosaunee culture and principles. The first episode airs on Indigenous Peoples Day on New York PBS affiliate WCNY. GUESTS Sulustu Barry Moses (Spokane Tribe of Indians), program manager for adult fluency training and executive director of the Spokane Language House Richard Grounds (Yuchi and Seminole), executive director of the Yuchi Language Project Michelle Schenandoah (Oneida), founder and executive lead of Rematriation

In the Tara Moses play, “Haunted,” two Native ghosts are caught in a seemingly endless cycle of haunting the prospective owners of a house, while also being haunted in return by racist stereotypes. The Millennial siblings have a penchant for the soundtrack of their youth that leans heavily on Britney Spears. Along the way they find themselves on a journey to a higher calling. We’ll hear from Moses about her work that comes to the stage in Los Angeles. We’ll also hear from artists recognized with a $100,000 prize for the 2025 SHIFT – Transformative Change + Indigenous Arts Awards by the Native Arts + Culture Foundation for works that address social change through a Native lens. GUESTS Tara Moses (Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and Muscogee), playwright and director Merna Wharton (Yup’ik), artist Demian DinéYazhi’ (Diné), transdisciplinary artist, poet, and curator Brooke Pepion Swaney (Blackfeet Nation and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes), filmmaker

An Indigenous anthropologist is embarking on a years-long process to document how Alaska Native hunters are changing their hunting patterns in the face of climate change. To complicate things, the war in Ukraine is preventing Native researchers from sharing information with their counterparts in Russia, which plays a role in the overall health of walrus herds. In addition to food and other uses, walrus ivory is a significant part of a traditional Native artform. We’ll talk with Indigenous people who have a stake in Pacific walruses and are working to protect them. GUESTS Vera Metcalf (Yu’pik), director of the Eskimo Walrus Commission Eduard Kergytagyn Zdor (Chukchi), cultural anthropologist and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alaska’s Arctic Leadership Initiative Leon Misak Kinneeveauk (Iñupiaq), artist and director of the Alaska Art Alliance

President Donald Trump and his administration abruptly ended billions of dollars in aid to foreign countries, calling it wasteful and inappropriately supporting a liberal agenda. In addition to food and medicine that went directly to Indigenous people who need it, the money and goods also promoted agriculture programs and other incentives toward preventing people with few other options from resorting to the illegal drug trade and other criminal activity that has significant bearing on American interest abroad. We’ll hear about the direct effects of ending U.S. support of foreign countries as well as the long-term implications. GUESTS Sandra Lazarte (Quechua), former Indigenous Peoples and Climate advisor for U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Leonardo Crippa (Kolla), senior attorney at the Indian Law Resource Center Brian Keane, co-founder of Land is Life, former UN Permanent Forum rapporteur, and the first advisor on Indigenous Peoples' Issues for U.S. Foreign Assistance Andrew Miller, advocacy director for Amazon Watch

Sacred sites sometimes get lost in urban settings as cities prioritize the needs of non-Native residents and commercial interests over the historical and spiritual value for Native Americans, but tribes and Native organizations are having some success connecting with city officials to see that sacred spaces are protected and accessible. After years of restoration work, what were known as the Indian Mounds in St. Paul, Minn., have a whole new look, a new Dakota name — Wicaḣapi — and an educational cultural center. St. Louis, Mo. just solidified a transfer of property that signifies the city’s first-ever recognition of tribal sovereignty. We’ll talk about the difficult work to recognize and preserve sacred places in population centers. GUESTS Maggie Lorenz (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and Spirit Lake Dakota Nation), executive director of Waḳaŋ Típi Awaŋyaŋkapi Ke'eaumoku Kapu (Native Hawaiian), executive director of Nā ‘Aikāne o Maui and cultural specialist for Lahaina Town

Someone looking to move to any of the Native American reservations in Montana will have a hard time finding a home. A three-part series by the Montana Free Press finds there is a chronic shortage of housing on Native land caused by confusing land ownership frameworks, hurdles for conventional financing, and a lack of infrastructure. The government shutdown, funding cuts, and other changes at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development could only exacerbate the struggle Native people have for finding homes. Native people typically have the worst housing needs in the country. We’ll hear about the problems facing Native homeowners and some of the innovative ways tribes are working to solve them. GUESTS Rudy Soto (Shoshone-Bannock), executive director for National American Indian Housing Council Jody Perez (Salish and Kootenai), executive director of the Salish and Kootenai Housing Authority Nora Mabie, Indigenous affairs reporter with Montana Free Press Christine De Los Santos, executive director of the Northern Circle Indian Housing Authority

Two Native American women from Oklahoma are carving distinct and inviting musical paths through the music world. Samantha Crain’s seventh album, "Gumshoe", offers the latest installment in the veteran Choctaw singer-songwriter’s musical evolution. The cover artwork—a photo of her own beadwork—is a clue to the roots she draws on for strength and inspiration. And Ken Pomeroy’s debut album, "Cruel Joke", invokes a simmering depth of feeling that transcends her young age. She is a natural storyteller from the Cherokee Nation with a lot to say. Both of these creative artist are added to our Native Playlist.

Payments to tribes for federal contracts, BIA law enforcement, food distribution to schools, and health care access could all be affected by the federal government shutdown. It also has a significant effect on the 30,000 Native American federal employees and members of the military who may not be furloughed, but will not receive paychecks until the shutdown is over. This is the second government shutdown in the past decade; the previous one was the longest on record. We’ll get the Native perspective on what’s potentially in store as the shutdown progresses. GUESTS Aaron Payment (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians), tribal councilman and former chairperson for the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians A.C. Locklear (Lumbee), CEO of the National Indian Health Board Mike Stopp (Cherokee and Muscogee), president and CEO of SevenStar Holdings, LLC Sue Parton (Kiowa), President of the Federation of Indian Service Employees