Native America Calling

Watch or listen to this full conversation about the second season of “Rutherford Falls”, now out on Peacock, between Alyssa Yáx̱ Ádi Yádi London and key creators and cast members Sierra Teller Ornelas (Navajo), Michael Greyeyes (Cree), Jana Schmieding (Lakota), Dustin Milligan, Jesse Leigh, and Ed Helms.

It’s an exciting time for Native audiences to see Native stories and talent on screen. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce reviews some new series and new seasons of Native shows that are available to stream with Vincent Schilling (Akwesasne Mohawk), editor of NativeViewPoint.com and a certified Rotten Tomatoes critic, and Jody Potts-Joseph (Han Gwich’in), cast member of “Life Below Zero: First Alaskans” (streaming on National Geographic and Disney+), a series about four Alaska...

The U.S. Supreme Court has officially overturned Roe v. Wade, a decision that protected the right for women to choose to have an abortion. The decision sparked protests and praise on either side of the political divide. When a conservative Supreme Court can revisit and overturn an important decision like Roe v. Wade, how likely is it they’ll revisit cases like McGirt or those which affect Two-Spirit rights or tribal sovereignty? Wednesday on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce talks with...

Commercial piloting is an industry that for decades has been largely dominated by men. But a growing number of Native women are trying to break through the glass ceiling. For many Native communities, bush and commercial piloting is an essential service to remote areas. Tuesday on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce hears from commercial pilots Dolena Fox (Yup’ik) and Shadunjen van Kampen (Champagne and Aishihik) as well as Daniella Pettiti (Cree), flight instructor with First Nations...

The James Beard Foundation gave high honors to Owanmi for best new restaurant. The popular Indigenous restaurant in Minneapolis is a product Shawn Sherman and Dana Thompson. It’s one of a growing number of Native-run restaurant and businesses opening across the country. In the Southwest, chef Raymond Naranjo (Santa Clara Pueblo and Odawa) broke out on his own and started a new mobile food business, Manko. Today on Native America Calling's regular feature The Menu, Andi Murphy talks with...

From the rich colors used in Navajo weaving to all the colors of the rainbow beaded into medallions and regalia, Indigenous hues carry meaning, stories, and emotion. Some colors specific to tribes represent the available animals, plants, and minerals used to make them. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce talks with Native artists about traditional and contemporary meanings, sources, and uses of color: Anong Beam (M’Chigeeng), founder of Beam Paints; Michael Sheyahshe (Caddo),...

When the cost of living goes up, your choices boil down to increasing your own income or cutting costs. Inflation is taking a bite out of our personal budgets. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce explores just how much inflation is costing you, how long it’s expected to stick around, what causes it, and which approaches can help you be less strapped for cash with Sunny Guillory (Sioux), Northwest Indian College financial literacy coordinator; Kerry Shabi (Aaniih/Nakoda), business...

Tax breaks and other incentives are driving wealthy, outside investors to buy up property in Puerto Rico. That’s pushing housing prices up, exacerbating the island’s debt crisis, and threatening the country’s long-held tradition of public access to beaches. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce speaks with Roberto Borrero (Taino), president of United Confederation of Taino People; Gualterio Alomar (Taino), president of the Organization for Culture of Hispanic Origins; and Tai Pelli...

The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska Tribal Council reversed course on recognizing marriage equality after their citizens and others spoke up. Today on Native America Calling, in celebration of Pride month, Shawn Spruce takes a look at the varying actions across Native nations to acknowledge same-sex unions in light of the growing trend among states to do so with Curtis Alexander Jr. (Omaha-He/She/Bitch), president and public relations chair for Winnebago Two-Spirits, and Alray Nelson...

The American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation estimates as many as 25 million Americans are experiencing long COVID. So little is known about the condition that the number could be much higher or significantly lower. But medical experts suggest a large percentage of the population could suffer serious symptoms from the virus for a long time. Those symptoms might be as mild as a loss of smell, or as severe as difficulty breathing. And the significant rate of infections is far...

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s experience is a cautionary tale for tribes working with outsiders to help preserve their language. Tribal members worked with the Lakota Language Consortium for years, recording elders, developing workshops, and translating books. When the tribe wanted to utilize the materials they’d worked on, they discovered they were copyrighted and controlled by a non-Native entrepreneur and tribal members would have to purchase the books and other materials. The tribe has...

An all-Native send-up of the Tony Award-winning musical-turned-hit-movie “Grease” is connecting with audiences in Canada and playing in selected theaters in the U.S. “Bear Grease” is the brainchild of Crystle Lightning (Cree) and MC RedCloud (Huichol), a husband and wife hip-hop duo who go by the name Lightning Cloud. It’s a follow-up to their “hip-hopera” “Dr. Sioux’s The Neech Who Stole Christmas.” With songs like “Boarding School Dropout”, this is not the nearly all-white musical...

Wilma Mankiller’s image on the U.S. quarter coin is the latest recognition for the pioneering Cherokee leader. Among her other honors was the Presidential Medal of Freedom. During the event celebrating her likeness on the quarter, Principle Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. said, years after her death, Mankiller "keeps changing the world for the better". Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce looks back at Mankiller’s legacy as an advocate for Cherokee people and the tribe’s first female...

Diné composer Raven Chacon originally bristled at the invitation to create a work for the annual Thanksgiving concert at a Milwaukee Catholic Church. But he was drawn to the opportunity to write music features the magnificent organ at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. That work, Voiceless Mass, led to Chacon being the first Native composer to win a Pulitzer Prize in Music. Chacon returns to the Native America Calling studio for a discussion about his art and his inspiring journey.

The Metropolitan State University of Denver will provide Native students waivers for both tuition and fees. The move follows action by the Colorado Legislature last fall to offer in-state tuition to any student enrolled in a federally recognized tribe with historical ties to Colorado. The state of Oregon and the University of California system also have tuition waivers for Native students. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce looks at the trend and who it helps with Phenocia Bauerle...

AMC’s new television series "Dark Winds" is a thriller set in the 1970s on the Navajo Nation and the production is filled with Native talent. Showrunner Graham Roland (Chickasaw) and veteran director Chris Eyre (Cheyenne and Arapaho) are getting big name production credentials from Robert Redford and George R.R. Martin. They’re also navigating some touchy source material from non-Native author Tony Hillerman’s Leaphorn and Chee murder mystery novels. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn...

This month marks the 60th anniversary of Samoa’s independence from colonial rule. Self rule came to the Pacific island nation in 1962, after decades of frustration with occupation by New Zealand, and Germany before that. During those times, Samoans had little say in the administration of their own people, and their culture and language were systematically diminished. Now, Samoa thrives and works to revitalize the core elements of their identity.

Chances are you won’t be limited to a single career your whole life. But there are ways to build skills and knowledge that will help you throughout your lifetime regardless where your vocation takes you. Once you leave school or enter a trade, there are some things to know about what to expect and what’s expected of you no matter what you do. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce learns what to know as you start the journey of your working life with Rafael Tapia (Pascua Yaqui), vice...

More than six decades after it errantly took land away from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, the federal government is returning nearly 12,000 acres. The transaction resolves a dispute over the Minnesota tribe’s land that began when federal officials improperly interpreted a U.S. Department of Interior order and started selling off what was clearly Leech Lake land. Reversing the process was no easy feat and required a unique collaboration with county officials. Today on Native America Calling,...

In response to meat shortages spurred by the pandemic and a consolidated meat industry, the Biden-Harris Administration is dedicating $1 billion to smaller, independent meat processing endeavors. That’s a promising boost for a handful of local, tribally operated meat processing facilities that service tribal ranchers and consumers. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce talks with agriculture advocates about efforts to leverage the federal money to diversify the meat processing...