Native America Calling

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Cary Morin (Crow/Assiniboine) is back with a new album featuring more of his introspective lyricism, soulful singing and skillful fingerstyle guitar playing. The new album, “Pocket of Time“, captures memories and slices of everyday life on the Crow Reservation in Montana. It is a calm, mellow listen and another refreshing entry in his expansive catalogue that spans folk, blues, reggae, and “Native Americana” genres. “Big Changes” is the forthcoming album from Status/Non-Status, a Canadian indie-rock band led by Anishinaabe musician Adam Sturgeon. It is the third studio record, following up on 2022’s “Surly Travel”, which was named one of Exclaim! Magazine’s top albums of the year. Beautiful vocals stretch overtop fat guitar chords and incidental sound effects like the unmistakable chime of jingle dress cones. Sturgeon says he never set out to represent all Indigenous musicians, but he feels a responsibility to Indigenize his own music.

Honeycreepers only live in Hawai’i and the birds are interwoven into Native Hawaiian culture. Feathers from the strikingly colorful birds are a key part of ceremonial cloaks and other regalia. The birds themselves are prominent in cultural stories, but of the more than 50 original species of honeycreepers, only 17 survive — and those are threatened with extinction. Several factors contribute to the population decline, but a pressing concern is a mosquito-borne avian malaria. We’ll hear from Native Hawaiian conservationists on the efforts to save these unique and important birds. GUESTS Bret Mossman (Native Hawaiian), director of Birds Hawai‘i Past Present Ben Catcho (Native Hawaiian), Indigenous communications and outreach specialist for the American Bird Conservancy and outreach lead for Birds Not Mosquitoes Keoki Kanakaokai (Native Hawaiian and Athabascan), natural resource manager for The Nature Conservancy Maui Terrestrial Program and co-lead of the Nature Conservancy Native Network Hina Kneubuhl (Native Hawaiian), translator, storyteller, and kapa maker

Kasey Jernigan (Choctaw) interviewed and observed Choctaw women over a period of years about food and their relationships to it. She documents what she learned in those observations in her new book, “Commod Bods: Embodied Heritage, Foodways and Indigeneity”. The book uses federal food and nutrition assistance as the jumping off point for an exploration of individual perceptions of food and colonial influences on Native health outcomes. A quaint eatery in Arizona’s Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community is attracting attention over and above the dozens of other frybread stands that dot reservation roadsides across the country. The Stand was just named one of USA Today’s 2026 Restaurants of the Year. It’s built by the same person who makes the frybread dough and serves the soup in a decidedly rustic setting. Author, poet, educator and legal scholar Marique B. Moss (Photo: courtesy M. Moss) Marique B. Moss explores her Black and Indigenous identity in her poetic memoir, “Sweetgrass and Soul Food”. She is among the Native people offering support to Minneapolis residents in the wake of the expanded immigration efforts from her space, Mashkiki Studios. GUESTS Dr. Kasey Jernigan (Choctaw), assistant professor of American studies and anthropology at the University of Virginia and the author of “Commod Bods: Embodied Heritage, Foodways, and Indigeneity” Michael Washington (Pima and Maricopa), co-owner of The Stand Marique Moss (Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara and Dakota), owner of Mishkiki Studios, author, and cultural educator

Choctaw homicide detective Perry Antelope works on a missing persons case alongside the Choctaw Lighthorsemen tribal police in Devon Mihesuah’s (Choctaw) new mystery novel, “Blood Relay“. The story of the disappearance of a young athlete is set against the backdrop of the competitive bareback horse relay racing. The fictional fast-paced thriller also takes on the real-life issue of missing and murdered Indigenous relatives and the evolving jurisdictional complexities between federal, state, and tribal law enforcement in Oklahoma. Mihesuah, a historian and the Cora Lee Beers Price Teaching Professor at the University of Kansas, continues her tradition of creating strong leading women. She’s the author of the detective Monique Blue Hawk series (“Document of Expectations”, “Dance of the Returned“ and “The Hatak Witches“) and the 2024 collection of horror stories, “The Bone Picker“. She authored several non-fiction titles including “Recovering Our Ancestors’ Gardens: Indigenous Recipes and Guide to Diet and Fitness”. We add Mihesuah’s Blood Relay to our Native Bookshelf.

Congress just approved significant funding increases going forward for a handful of core domestic violence funding and policy initiatives. But at the same time, many services for survivors face a new level of unpredictability. Victim support funds in some states plummeted as much as 70%, leaving states to try and cover some of those costs. The Trump administration instituted requirements that domestic violence survivors prove their immigration status before being allowed into shelters and certain long-time domestic violence services remain a target in upcoming federal budget talks. We’ll get a picture of the current trends for domestic violence prevention. GUESTS Abigail Echo-Hawk (Pawnee), director of the Urban Indian Health Institute and executive vice president of the Seattle Indian Health Board Melissa L. Pope, Chief Judge of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi Rochelle Red Bone Arebalo (Apache and Commanche), chairperson of the MMIW Indian Capital Chapter Stacey Ettawageshik (Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians), executive director of Uniting Three Fires Against Violence

Former Osage Principal Chief Jim Gray is remembered as a leader who laid the foundation for a modern, self-governing tribal structure while also reconnecting the tribe with its cultural roots. Among his many accomplishments as a transformative leader, Jim Gray spearheaded the historic reform of Osage government in 2004. That secured the individual right to vote for each Osage citizen rather than headright ownership and restored the Nation’s sovereign status. During his time as principal chief, the Nation also successfully negotiated a landmark $380 million settlement with the U.S. government — at the time the largest of its kind — addressing decades of tribal trust fund mismanagement. All the while, he remained a determined advocate for cultural and language revitalization. Gray walked on this month. We’ll hear from his family and friends about his legacy. We’ll also remember Black civil rights leader, Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died this week at the age of 84. Jackson championed various Native causes throughout his career including opposition to nuclear waste dumping on tribal lands and support for the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. GUESTS Olivia Gray (Osage), wife to Jim Gray Hepsi Barnett (Osage), former chief of staff and government reform coordinator for the Osage Nation Yancey Red Corn (Osage, Caddo, and Potawatomi), actor, CEO of White Buffalo Alliance and nephew to Jim Gray Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee), president of the Morning Star Institute and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom Break 1 Music: Wahzhazhe (song) Scott George (artist) Killers of the Flower Moon Soundtrack (album) Break 2 Music: Keep Hope Alive (song) The Crystal Method (artist) Vegas (album)

Native Americans have worked hard for decades to counter the stereotypes perpetuated in old movies and television shows about the American West. Now a new generation of Native technology experts worry that artificial intelligence is eroding that work. Scores of AI-generated images and videos are flooding people’s social media For You pages. The creations are within easy reach of anyone typing a prompt into any AI generator that scrapes information from millions of sources. Often posted by anonymous creators, the products of those prompts present vaguely Native visual and audio characteristics with little to no authentic cultural connections. Along the way they generate hundreds of thousands of admirers. We’ll talk about the work to counter the looming onslaught of AI cultural appropriation. GUESTS Dr. Angelo Baca (Diné and Hopi), professor of history, philosophy, and social sciences at the Rhode Island School of Design Trevor Reed (Hopi), professor of law at the University of California, Irvine School of Law and an associate justice for the Hopi Tribe Court of Appeals Dr. Tamika Worrell (Gamilaroi), senior lecturer of critical Indigenous studies at Macquarie University Break 1 Music: Obsidian (song) Red-209 (artist) Break 2 Music: Digital Winter (song) Ya Tseen (artist) Stand On My Shoulders (album)

Keeya Wiki (Yurok and Maori) is not yet old enough to vote, but she is making waves in official discussions about climate policy and environmental sustainability. She was among a group of young people who made a historic kayak journey down the Klamath River from its source in the Cascade Mountains to its confluence with the Pacific Ocean after the largest dam removal project in history. It was both a celebration of her tribe’s accomplishments and a statement about what she sees as the future of successful, tribally-driven environmental policy. Since then she has also served as a delegate to the U.N.’s recent climate summit in Brazil. We’ll hear about her determined and creative intersection of cultural knowledge and modern climate activism. GUESTS Keeya Wiki (Yurok and Māori descent), Indigenous advocate Ruby Williams (Karuk), Native water activist and kayaker Break 1 Music: BALDH3AD! (song) Theia (artist) Break 2 Music: Digital Winter (song) Ya Tseen (artist) Stand On My Shoulders (album)

The federal panel that oversees commercial and subsistence fishing in Alaska is putting a hard limit on the number of chum salmon that are caught — and wasted — by commercial pollack trawlers. It is a long awaited — and controversial — decision by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council after years of outcry by tribes to address the factors that go into the disappearing runs of salmon that Alaska Native people have always relied on for survival. Although presented as a compromise, the bycatch limit is seen as a severe blow by commercial fishers, who say such restrictions could be catastrophic to the industry. The decision comes as the state also instituted severe regional restrictions on king salmon fishing because of low numbers. They are among the latest measures to address the big and complex ecological threats to what is historically the most productive salmon fishery in the world. Break 1 Music: Canoe Song (song) Chenoa (artist) Spirit of Salishan (album)

With help from Congress, the Trump administration stripped some $1.5 billion in federal funds previously promised to tribes. A lot of that was in the form of contracts for clean energy manufacturing and development — new money doled out three years earlier as part of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. A new analysis by the Brookings Institution identifies three funding and policy changes, including reductions in SNAP and Medicaid, that negatively affect Native Americans. The research firm says the actions continue a pattern of disinvestment and falls short of the federal government’s binding responsibility to Indian Country. GUESTS Robert Maxim (Mashpee Wampanoag), fellow at The Brookings Institution Chéri Smith (Mi’kmaq descendant), president and CEO of the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy Timothy Nuvangyaoma (Hopi), vice president of tribal engagement for the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy and former chairman of the Hopi Tribe Dr. Kyle Whyte (Citizen Potawatomi Nation), professor at the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan

Inuit siblings Ukaleq and Sondre Slettermark are competing for Greenland in the biathlon at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. In addition to making their mark in elite athletic competition, they have used their platform to speak out against the Trump administration’s threats to take over their homeland. The Slettermarks are among the handful of Indigenous athletes at this year’s Winter Games. Other athletes include a Métis luge competitor and a Māori freestyle skier. We’ll get insights from Indigenous journalists and athletes keeping up with the high level competition in Milan. GUESTS Dan Ninham (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin), freelance reporter for ICT News and director of the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame Naomi Lang (Karuk Tribe), former Olympic ice skater and first Native American woman to represent the United States in the Winter Olympics Eric Varderman (Cherokee Nation), founder and president of the Tulsa Curling Club Break 1 Music: Ain’t That Lovin’ You Baby (song) Link Wray (artist) Rumble! The Best of Link Wray (album) Break 2 Music: Taste Of Red Bull [Crow Hop] (song) Cree Confederation (artist) Horse Dance – Mistamim Simoowin (album)

Moses Wiseman (Yup’ik) always knew he wanted to be a leader. Specifically, one with qualities that Wiseman learned from elders and other community members in the Village of Chefornak. At 24 years old, he is pursuing an MBA in strategic leadership at Alaska Pacific University, while also helping to create a Yup’ik glossary for health care providers. He and five other young, emerging Native leaders from all parts of the country have been selected for this year’s Center for Native American Youth’s Champions for Change. The program recognizes young people who exemplify leadership, taking steps to build positive outcomes in their communities. We’ll hear about these young people’s passions and what drives them to serve others. GUESTS Summer Wildbill (Confederated Tribes of Umatilla), 2026 Champion for Change McKaylin Peters (Menominee), 2026 Champion for Change Moses Wiseman (Yup’ik), 2026 Champion for Change Kaylah Toves (Kanaka Maoli and Acoma Pueblo), 2026 Champion for Change Break 1 Music: Generations (song) P. Town Boyz (artist) P. Town Boyz (album) Break 2 Music: Taste Of Red Bull [Crow Hop] (song) Cree Confederation (artist) Horse Dance – Mistamim Simoowin (album)

Long before it was fully paved, the road that became Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica, Calif., was designated as one of the nation’s original numbered highways 100 years ago. Crossing vast stretches of Native American land in places like Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona, it eventually delivered a steady stream of mobile customers to enterprising Native merchants selling everything from trinkets to fine jewelry and textiles to frybread. The signature eye-popping billboards and kitschy neon signs that defined the route are mostly gone, but a few hold-out examples of 50s road-trip culture remain. And a number of new businesses are expecting to cash in with renewed interest in an old highway. GUESTS Ron Solimon (Laguna Pueblo), owner of Solimon Business Development and Strategy, a board member for the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, and chair of the Laguna Community Foundation Delene Santillanes (Diné), marketing and projects coordinator for the City of Gallup tourism department and a new board member of the New Mexico Route 66 Association Dr. Troy Lovata, professor of archaeology in the University of New Mexico honors college Break 1 Music: Brown Eyed Handsome Man (song) The Wingate Valley Boys (artist) Navajoland U.S.A. Country Happening (album) Break 2 Music: Taste Of Red Bull [Crow Hop] (song) Cree Confederation (artist) Horse Dance – Mistamim Simoowin (album)

Millions of Americans will get a bigger tax refunds this year thanks to an array of new tax breaks, including a larger standard deduction and a child tax credit for those eligible. There is also the elimination for taxes on tips and a larger deduction for elders. But there are some things to look out for, including the move away from paper checks, which will require some additional work for those without traditional bank accounts, and a sizable reduction in the IRS staff, which could make for a more difficult time getting answers if you need help. GUESTS Chelsi Tsosie (Diné), Chistine A. Brunswick Public Service fellow with the DNA-People’s Legal Services low-income tax payer clinic Leslie McLean, low-income tax payer clinic director for DNA People’s Legal Services Break 1 Music: Coffee (song) James Bilagody (artist) Near Midnight (album) Break 2 Music: Taste Of Red Bull [Crow Hop] (song) Cree Confederation (artist) Horse Dance – Mistamim Simoowin (album)

The past year has seen Leonard Peltier’s release from prison, record revenue from casinos and other economic development, and the addition of a new federally recognized tribe. It is also seen major upheaval in federal funds and staff that directly affect Indian Country. Looking ahead, tribes are navigating the potential loss of lucrative federal contracts and indications that consultation and treaty rights are taking a back seat. We’ll get the annual status update from National Congress of American Indians President Mark Macarro. GUEST Dr. Renae Ditmer (Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians), journalist and independent economic development consultant Break 1 Music: Intertribal (song) Blackfoot Confederacy (artist) Confederacy Style (album) Break 2 Music: Taste Of Red Bull [Crow Hop] (song) Cree Confederation (artist) Horse Dance – Mistamim Simoowin (album)

As the country gears up to commemorate 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, several galleries are exploring the enduring strengths of Native Americans through both traditional and contemporary works. “Paper Trails: Unfolding Indigenous Narratives” at the Museum of Contemporary Native Art in Santa Fe, N.M. aims to stretch the boundaries of the paper medium while also examining Native cultural survival in the face of colonization. “Constellations of Place” at the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College is centered on a visual history of Native people in Colorado. And Seattle’s Tidelands Gallery compiles a narrative inspired by “Lushootseed Creation Stories”. We’ll talk with artists and curators about how art inserts itself into the narratives being told about the origin of America. We’ll also hear about the year-long streaming Native film festival, “Everything is Connected”, developed by Vision Maker Media. GUESTS Alana Stone (Sičhą́ǧu Lakȟóta and Diné), curatorial specialist at Vision Maker Media Matika Wilbur (Swinomish and Tulalip), author, photographer, and CEO of Tidelands Melissa Melero-Moose (Northern Paiute), artist, independent curator, and co-curator of “Paper Trails: Unfolding Indigenous Narratives” Dr. Meranda Roberts (Yerington Paiute Tribe and Chicana), independent curator and guest curator for “Constellations of Place” Break 1 Music: Atomic Drop [feat. Northern Cree] (song) The Halluci Nation (artist) Path of the Heel (album) Break 2 Music: Wahzhazhe (song) Scott George (artist) Killers of the Flower Moon Soundtrack (album)

An Iñupiaq village on Alaska’s North Slope is suing after the Trump administration removed protections for an area important to subsistence hunting. The suit by Nuiqsut Trilateral Inc. says the action is in response to a move to expand oil drilling beyond what is in a Biden-era agreement for the Willow project. Another fight pitting caribou and oil drilling is resurfacing over increased momentum to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where Gwich’in people express concern over the declines of the Porcupine caribou herd — the state’s largest — which is down to a quarter of what it was two decades ago. We’ll look at the factors that affect Alaska’s caribou and what Alaska Native people who depend on them are doing about them. We’ll also hear about Indigenous climate activist Daria Egereva (Selkup) who is facing terrorism charges in Russia after testifying at the United Nation’s COP30 summit in favor of including Indigenous women in climate negotiations. GUESTS Rosemary Ahtuangaruak (Iñupiaq), former Mayor of Nuiqsut Aivana Enmynkau (Chukchi), climate activist Luda Kinok (Yupik), Indigenous rights activist Break 1 Music: Reindeer (song) Pamyua (artist) Caught in The Act (album) Break 2 Music: Wahzhazhe (song) Scott George (artist) Killers of the Flower Moon Soundtrack (album)

College Native American Studies courses are engines for Native-led research in addition to serving as a welcoming academic home for Native students. As it is, Native students are already the most under-represented group on college campuses. Their numbers declined in the decade before the Covid pandemic. There are indications that the 2023 Supreme Court decision upending Affirmative Action and the Trump administration’s focus on unraveling Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are doing further damage to all minority enrollment. As the American Indian Studies Association convention gets underway, we’ll assess the power and challenges of college programs focusing specifically on Native issues. GUESTS Dr. Souksavanh Keovorabouth (Diné), assistant professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Northern Arizona University and president of the American Indian Studies Association Mario Atencio (Diné), Native American Studies Ph.D candidate at the University of New Mexico Allison Shaddox (Cherokee), Native American Studies Ph.D. student at the University of New Mexico Kelly Nalani Beym (Diné), Ph.D. candidate in geography at the University of Kansas Break 1 Music: Manitou (song) The Delbert Anderson Trio (artist) MANITOU (album) Break 2 Music: Wahzhazhe (song) Scott George (artist) Killers of the Flower Moon Soundtrack (album)

The Timbisha Shoshone Tribe just held an event to commemorate 25 years since the landmark legislation outlining a historic co-stewardship agreement between the tribe and the National Park Service in Death Valley. The tribe’s name is on the entrance sign to the park. At the same time, the Trump administration is calling for the removal of informational plaques in the visitor center that tells the tribe’s story. The sign’s removal is one of almost 20 at National Park sites around the country, including Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument, the site of the allied tribes’ decisive victory over George Armstrong Custer and U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry Regiment. We’ll talk to tribal representatives about how the information in National Parks was developed and what message removing it sends. GUESTS Dorothy FireCloud (Rosebud Sioux Tribe), retired assistant director of Native American affairs for the National Park Service Otis Halfmoon (Nez Perce), retired National Park Service employee Mandi Campbell (Timbisha Shoshone), tribal historic preservation officer for the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe John Murray (Blackfeet), tribal historic preservation officer for the Blackfeet Tribe Break 1 Music: This Land (song) Keith Secola (artist) Native Americana – A Coup Stick (album) Break 2 Music: Wahzhazhe (song) Scott George (artist) Killers of the Flower Moon Soundtrack (album)

The Oglala Lakota tribal president banned U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Red Lake Band of Ojibwe officials say ICE can’t operate on their Minnesota reservation without prior consultation. A number of tribes are waiving tribal ID fees and reaching out to secure their members’ citizenship documents. Dozens of tribes are offering guidance for Native Americans who encounter ICE agents. The actions are part of the response by tribes and prominent Native organizations as more stories surface of Native residents tangling — and even being detained — in the ICE crackdown in Minneapolis and elsewhere. GUESTS Lenny Fineday (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe), general counsel for the National Congress of American Indians Beth Margaret Wright (Laguna Pueblo), senior staff attorney with the Native American Rights Fund Frank Star Comes Out (Oglala Lakota), president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe