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Description
Native America Calling is a daily, interactive program connecting listeners with soul-stirring and thought-provoking conversations about Native and Indigenous communities. Each program features leaders, influencers, and folx on the front lines working to improve the quality of life for Native, Indigenous, and First Peoples around the globe. Native America Calling is heard on nearly 70 public, community, and tribal radio stations in the United States and Canada - and live streamed on our Native Voice One network. Our program is a production of Koahnic Broadcast Corporation, a Native-run non-profit based in Anchorage, Alaska.
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A play in Burbank, Calif. exposes the frustrations Native Americans often express about the ongoing tragedy of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP). The largely Native production, Four Women In Red, portrays a group of women who learn they’re largely alone in finding out information about missing loved ones. The play comes at a time of job cuts for Department of Interior officials and federal law enforcement officers. At the same time, the Trump Administration announced new efforts to identify remains of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People and reunite them with their families. Some states, including New Mexico, are making moves to reinforce their efforts to solve MMIP crimes.
GUESTS
Sen. Angel Charley (Acoma Pueblo and Navajo) (D-Acoma, NM)
Laura Shamas (Chickasaw) playwright
LaRenda Morgan (Cheyenne and Arapaho) MMIP chapter chair and government affairs officer for the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes
William J. Horton (Choctaw) Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit regional agent in charge
Darlene Gomez, attorney and activist for MMIP
Iowa is testing new legal limits as the first state to remove gender identity as a protected class in the state’s civil rights code. The Trump administration is also removing transgender service personnel from the military. And the State Department is using existing law against fraud to bar foreign transgender athletes from entering the country, something critics worry could be used to ban any trans traveler. After years of progress, Native American trans residents are facing a major rollback of favorable laws and policies. We’ll hear about the current public climate and what might be in store for the future.
Among the shows and films touching on Native American themes is the start of season three of the suspenseful Dark Winds crime saga on AMC. The well-received show has new mysteries with Lt. Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon), Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten), and Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) among many other Native characters. The show just got confirmed for a fourth season. The Netflix limited series American Primeval is a violent retelling of the American West with several significant Native storylines and characters. And fresh off its Academy Award nomination, Sugarcane is a hard-hitting documentary about the Canadian residential school system.
President Donald Trump has promised to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. Education advocates worry about what that means for the $119 billion the federal government sends to public K-12 schools and what becomes of the programs supporting Native American students. We’ll get a sense of what the future for Native primary and secondary education along with concerns from Native educators and policy advocates.
Federal staff layoffs, spending freezes and other executive orders by the Donald Trump administration jeopardize food pathways for tribes and federal grants and loans for Native farmers.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is helping conservation of an endangered fish called the Sicklefin Redhorse. It has a long and traditional relationship with the tribe in the southeast.
The first children’s book by Squamish ethnobotanist Leigh Joseph teaches young about Indigenous plant knowledge and harvesting. This Land Knows Me: A Nature Walk Exploring Indigenous Wisdom is an engaging lesson on the plants around us and the cultural stories that go along with them.
That’s all on The Menu, our regular special feature on Indigenous food hosted and produced by Andi Murphy.
Compensation for college athletics is changing fast. University sports programs are having to adapt to the evolving market for athletes through what is known as name, image and likeness. The issue is being debated in state legislatures and Congress. A settlement between the NCAA and current and former athletes could open the door to schools directly compensating athletes and revenue sharing among institutions. We’ll find out how some Native athletes are navigating the new N.I.L. reality and what some of the potential benefits and pitfalls could be.
The good news is overdose deaths dropped significantly in the most recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bad news is Native Americans and other people of color are not enjoying the same statistical headway against the persistent scourge of fentanyl, heroin, and other dangerous drugs. We’ll look at the efforts that are showing promise in saving people’s lives and explore ways to eliminate disparities for populations that are losing ground.
Haskell Indian Nations University lost nearly a quarter of its staff in the Trump administration’s mass terminations. It’s one of two higher education institutions that rely on federal funds through the U.S. Bureau of Indian Education that are scrambling after the sudden and unprecedented job cuts. The reduction of more than a thousand National Park Service employees prompted worries over certain sacred and important Native treasures protected by federal workers. We’ll check on how the fast-paced federal job restructurings are affecting issues Native people are following.
Repatriation advocates have had some recent progress in both policy and practice when it comes to getting important items returned to tribes. But the ongoing effort to educate the elected officials, institutional leaders and the public requires time and resources. We’ll get an update on the eve of the biggest annual conference for people working in the repatriation field. We’ll also get an update on a Florida repatriation dispute.
Drums, rattles, and other percussion instruments are well-known sources of musical accompaniment connected to Native American music. Flutes were one of the first melodic instruments developed by North American Indigenous peoples. In addition, there are a variety of other traditional instruments, including fiddles and harps, that certain tribes perfected over generations. We’ll hear about some of the ways Native Americans have been making music over the years, and some of the ways they’re being incorporated in contemporary compositions.
Public and tribal radio and television stations are fortifying their defenses ahead of what could be the biggest funding threat they’ve ever faced. President Donald Trump and his allies have repeatedly called for an end to federal funding for public broadcasters. Bills proposed in Congress would go as far as eliminating the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the nearly 60-year-old entity created by Congress to facilitate federal support for non-commercial media. We’ll hear from broadcasters about what changes might be in store.
The current flu season is the worst in 15 years in terms of doctor’s visits. Tuberculosis cases are rising. On the horizon is a possible bird flu outbreak that is already affecting millions of livestock birds and it’s starting to make the jump to humans. This is all happening with the backdrop of lapsed information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, confirmation of a federal health secretary who openly expressed skepticism about vaccines, and unprecedented cuts in the works for the Indian Health Service. We’ll get a gauge of the current threats to the health of Native Americans.
As the notable 80-year-old American Indian Movement leader Leonard Peltier walks free from Florida’s Coleman Penitentiary, Native American activists are reflecting on the nearly five-decade push to get to this point. Seven presidents passed up the opportunity to free Peltier, until President Joe Biden commuted his sentence to house arrest in the final moments of his term. We’ll explore Native direct action from its militant beginnings to its current role in changing both legal outcomes and public opinion. What does Peltier’s release mean to you?
Greenland hasn’t had this much attention from America since the William Taft Administration. Rhetoric, and even a few congressional proposals, are flying over the prospect of the United States purchasing — or perhaps invading — the autonomous territory of Denmark. Strategic positioning and untapped mineral resources are the main drivers of the argument. The likelihood of such an action appears remote. The Inuit people, who make up the vast majority of the population, are more seriously focused on independence from the colonial power of Denmark and cooperative efforts to reduce the effects of climate change. We’ll hear from elected leaders and other Greenland residents about the current political pressures.
There’s more Valentine’s Day than flowers and chocolates in heart-shaped boxes. Yupik storyteller Yaari Walker is thinking about the unique account of her own wedding and how it turned into a cultural lesson. She also thinks back about her grandmother’s arranged marriage, and the message that relationship continues to convey. We’ll hear those and other selections of traditional and contemporary stories about love by experienced Native storytellers.
A traditional violin maker, a regalia maker, and basket weavers are the six artists chosen for this year’s Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Award winners by the First Peoples Fund. The art they create tells only a part of their stories, as each helps revive and propel cultural knowledge that is sometimes endangered. We’ll hear from the artists and organizers about their passions for preserving culture and passing it on to future generations.
1The National Congress of American Indians annual winter conference comes as the federal government is actively dismantling the diversity initiatives that help establish Native representation in the workplace and in the public sphere. The nation’s oldest and largest Native advocacy group is shaping its strategy for carrying a unified voice to a fractured government and public on issues that matter most: sovereignty, consultation, environmental sustainability, the Trust Responsibility, and economic development. We’ll hear NCAI President Mark Macarro’s 2025 State of Indian Nations address and get perspectives on the organization’s coming year.
Tatanka Means (Lakota/Diné) maintains a busy schedule as a stand-up comedian, all while portraying serious on-screen roles in Killers of the Flower Moon, Echo, and Reservation Dogs. He carries the name of his notable Lakota father, has close ties to his Navajo roots in Chinle, Ariz., and is fully embracing his role as a basketball dad. We’ll hear about his life and creative drive as our February Native in the Spotlight.
One possible change to Medicaid being floated in Congress right now includes a $2.3 trillion cut over the next 10 years. Other potential changes include adding certain work requirements and shifting costs and distribution of Medicaid funds to states, which have no trust obligations to tribes. As it is, Medicaid provides direct support to at least one million Native Americans. It’s also one of the secondary sources that help provide health care through the Indian Health Service. Advocates are bracing for changes as they continue to make the case for the program’s life-and-death importance in Indian Country.
Even before the recent wildfires in California, soaring home insurance rates were pushing homeowners to go without. Now State Farm, the country’s largest home insurer, is asking for a 22% rate hike in California. That’s on top of a 30% increase request last summer. Increasing natural disasters, rising home values, and the high cost of rebuilding are putting insurance out of reach for more homeowners nationwide. Native Americans already have the highest uninsured rate for homeowners. We’ll discuss alternatives to a future without coverage for people’s biggest financial asset.
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Can we hear from more leftist natives? I'm sure there are plenty, but it would be nice to hear from progressives, too. (though I get the DNC is going on now and that's why you're focused on Dems)