Native America Calling

The number of arrests in connection to protests against the Israel-Hamas war has now gone over 2,000. A number of Native students are among those supporting the protests generally calling for universities to cut any ties to Israel’s military efforts in Gaza. Inspired by students at Columbia University, additional protests have spread to more than two dozen campuses. The protests include occupying university buildings and setting up encampments. In addition to arrests, protesting students risk suspensions and other academic consequences. We’ll hear from Native students in support of the largest college campus protests since the Vietnam War. GUESTS Kianna (Diné), Columbia University student Derek (Mixteco), Columbia University student Siihasin Hope (Diné), University of New Mexico alumnus, community organizer Lani Mekeel (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara), model and Indigenous advocate

A substantial number of Native Americans are affected by Arizona’s efforts to solidify a strict ban on abortions. Even after Arizona elected leaders repealed the law affirmed by the state Supreme Court that criminalizes nearly all abortions, the state faces a new landscape with it comes to access to the procedure. Abortion access advocates are taking cues from other states with abortion restrictions on the books — a reality that affects at least 75 federally recognized tribes. We’ll get rundown from multiple perspectives on the current trends and realities for abortion access for Native women. GUESTS Charon Asetoyer (Comanche), executive director of the Native American Community board, which is a parent organization to the Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center Rachael Lorenzo (Mescalero Apache and Laguna Pueblo), executive director of Indigenous Women Rising Wes Nofire (citizen of the Cherokee Nation), Native America liaison for the State of Oklahoma

The short video social media platform TikTok is mostly a source of entertainment and information for most Native users. A ban on the app in the United States would cut that off for TikTok fans, but also close off a source of income for several talented Native producers. A new law requires TikTok's China-based company to sell its interest in the app or lose its U.S. audience, which has a massive, mostly young base. We'll hear from Native TikTok producers and cybersecurity experts about what's behind the ban and what it means for users.

In his book Rabbit Decolonizes the Forest, Euchee judge Gregory Bigler uses a mix of legal analysis, first-hand accounts, and traditional animal stories. He also includes lots of references to food and how Euchee people carried culinary tradition with them from Georgia to Oklahoma. Filmmakers in the new PBS documentary One With The Whale follow a Yupik family who endured a barrage of hate messages after a traditional whale hunt. It shows the disconnection between traditional subsistence hunting in Alaska and outsiders who don’t have to rely on nature for their existence. And some Native school gardens are no longer just a class project, but an established part of the curriculum. That’s on this episode of The Menu on Native America Calling, our regular feature on food sovereignty hosted by Andi Murphy.

Jon Proudstar (Pascua Yaqui, Jewish, and Mexican) is coming off a successful run on the TV series, Reservation Dogs, and a starring role in an all-Native movie set on the Osage Nation. On top of that, his ground-breaking 1996 comic, Tribal Force, is enjoying a triumphant return. We’ll catch up with the Pascua Yaqui actor and learn about the wisdom he’s picked up from his more than 40 films and TV shows.

The year-round creative drive, Native Guitars Tour, heads up a two-day music and fashion presentation at the annual Gathering of Nations Powwow in Albuquerque. It's a chance for us to hear from some of the musicians including Jir Anderson, Scotti Clifford, and Geneviève Gros-Louis – an hour of live music by Native talent.

We are in the midst of a new surge of Native writing talent. And their skill for engaging readers with compelling stories is propelling a new, complex and more sophisticated narrative about who Native Americans are. Gone are the Louis L’Amour stereotypes. The new Native characters are miscreants, bored office workers, dysfunctional family members, and reluctant heroes. And they all have a story to tell, with a voice that readers wouldn’t hear otherwise. We’ll explore the arc of Native literature from two writers who are part of the torrent of creative representation.

The early bond between Native Americans and horses was both technical and spiritual. For centuries, horses amplified the range and power for tribes, especially in the west. New discoveries are potentially rewriting what we know about the use of horses by the earliest inhabitants of North America. Those ancient bonds translate into a lasting spiritual and vocational connection that continues for those who work with horses. We’ll hear from some of them about how Native knowledge and horses go together.

Some language advocates are excited about potential for AI to help revitalize and promote Native languages. The emerging technology could create more accessible tools for second-language learners. At the same time, AI has implications for both tribes and individuals when it comes to using information they hold dear. AI is advancing fast, and Native experts are expressing the need for policy and legal safeguards to make sure it doesn’t trample Native values.

Native Americans face a six-fold increased risk of flash floods because of climate change in the next two years. That is one of the predictions in a new study led by the University of Oklahoma. One of the study’s authors says “Indigenous communities are grappling with an imminent climate crisis.” And Native groups are both praising and lambasting the Biden Administration’s direction on oil leases on federal lands. Depending on where you stand, new policies are either protecting diminishing land, or denying Native people the jobs necessary to feed their families.

The torture and gruesome murders of three Navajo men by white high school students touched off a series of racially-fueled conflicts in Farmington, N.M. on the border with the Navajo Nation. The murders in April 1974 became known as the Chokecherry Massacre. One protest organizer at the time called Farmington “the Selma, Alabama of the Southwest,” referring to the simmering racial tensions. Demands by Navajos and other Native activists since then have improved relations in the border town and surrounding areas somewhat. But many residents and observers say the sources of the problems remain just below the surface. We’ll recount this little-known period of Four Corners history and discuss what community relationships are like 50 years later.

Native Americans are among the populations with the lowest rate of vaccinations, whether it’s for flu, measles, COVID-19, or hepatitis B. Health professionals urge parents to immunize their infants against more than a dozen serious diseases including polio, pertussis, diphtheria, and mumps. But poverty, lack of health insurance, and distance to health providers are among the barriers that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says keep rates for Native Americans low. On top of that, misinformation and confusion about vaccines creates additional hesitation for parents. We’ll talk with doctors about the factors that might improve immunization rates as a way to improve overall health.

Drones are for more than just appealing aerial videos. Native drone pilots are building careers using drones for scoping out landscapes for construction, searching for lost hikers, and even assessing potentially sacred areas. One First Nations enthusiast sees the novelty factor of drones, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, as a means to attract young Native people into STEM fields. We’ll talk to Native drone pilots about how they’re using their skills for enterprise and to help make their communities better.

Two Native sisters venture out of their Native community to chase their dreams, only to run head on into the threats of urban life in the new film, The Heart Stays. The Native-made drama is produced by a Native multi-arts organization and features a Native cast including Nathalie Standingcloud, Jon Proudstar, and Irene Bedard. Another film by Spirit Lake Dakota artist Marlena Myles is her own account of creating an augmented reality installation in St. Paul, Minn. And Bad River documents a Wisconsin tribe’s struggle with efforts to build an oil pipeline through their reservation.

Citing a troubling disparity for Native youth suicides, two tribes are suing the country’s most prominent social media companies. The lawsuit by the Spirit Lake Dakota Tribe and the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin alleges the addictive pull of the platforms is driving a mental health crisis for young people – and Native youth are particularly vulnerable. They join a long list of states and other entities taking on social media corporations saying they are degrading the country’s mental health. We’ll discuss how to recognize when social media is becoming a problem and some ideas for a healthier approach.

Ojibwe writer Marcie Rendon takes a break from her popular Cash Murder Mystery series for a new collection of poems, Anishinaabe Songs For A New Millennium. She invokes the plants, animals, wind, and people of her White Earth home. She challenges readers to listen along to the songs of their ancestors. Rendon is among the poets helping us mark National Poetry Month.

It’s the time of year when Native nerds, cosplayers, comic geeks, and gamers assemble for the first and biggest convention devoted to them. IndigiPopX is back at the First Americans Museum (FAM) in Oklahoma City for the second year, featuring panel discussions, vendors, musicians, a glowstick ball match, and a whole day devoted to the TV series Reservation Dogs. Amid the festival fun is the message that Native Americans enjoy Mandalorians just like everybody else. We’ll hear what’s new from the IPX organizers.

With no supporting information, Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) claimed tribal leaders in her state are “personally benefiting” from the presence of drug cartels. While campaigning for re-election, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK) warned about tribes setting up “abortion-on-demand” clinics to subvert the states new abortion laws. No Oklahoma tribe expressed any intention of setting up clinics. We’ll examine the fallout from such unfounded claims by high-ranking officials and what recourse tribal officials have to counter them.

Numerous studies over the years point out the overrepresentation of Native American women in U.S. prisons. The Sentencing Project found a 525% increase over more than 20 years in the incarceration of women and girls. Juvenile Native American girls had the highest rate, at more than four times that of their white counterparts. We’ll talk about the factors driving a growing trend and what advocates are doing to turn the numbers around.

The Lummi Nation is among the tribes that continue to face serious threats from the ongoing opioid epidemic, despite their best efforts. Lawmakers in Washington State are poised to allocate millions of dollars in opioid litigation settlement money to Lummi and other tribes in an effort to stem troubling statistics that show Native Americans are overwhelmingly affected by opioid abuse. All across the country, tribes are working to find the most promising opioid treatments funded by dozens of settlements with pharmaceutical giants. We’ll check in with the ongoing problem of Native opioid addiction and the best prospects for the $1.5 billion earmarked to help solve it.