Native America Calling

Reindeer weren’t always in Alaska, but now there’s a strong connection for Alaska Native herders. It all started in 1891, when the U.S. Government signed onto a plan by a Presbyterian missionary to recruit Indigenous European Sami people in order to spark economic development and relieve food insecurity in Alaska. The program took off, but was greatly hampered by subsequent policy decisions. Somewhere along the way, the Arctic reindeer herding lifestyle meshed well with the state’s Iñupiaq and Yup’ik residents. GUESTS Dr. Sean Asikłuk Topkok (Iñupiaq and Sámi), director of Center for Cross-Cultural Studies at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Bonnie Scheele (Iñupiaq), reindeer herder and program manager for High Latitude Range Management at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Northwest Campus Marlene Wisuri (Sámi descendant), chair of the Sámi Cultural Center of North America Varpu Lotvonen, University of Alaska Fairbanks Anthropology PhD dissertation Ballad of the Laavlaaqs: The Relational Worlds of Sámi Reindeer Herders in Alaska Martha Jane Sara Jack (Yup’ik and Sámi), daughter of a Sámi reindeer herder in Alaska

There’s something for everybody on the summer reading lists by our expert panel of Native super-readers. From supernatural slashers to memoirs to poetry, there is an abundance of Native literature available right now to put in your backpack or beach bag. From the usual big names and a few hidden treasures, we’ll have ideas for you to stock up on the printed word.

Edgar Blatchford (Iñupiaq and Yup'ik), former journalist and professor, has served as Alaska’s economic development commissioner for the Frank Murkowski Administration. He was also the mayor of Seward, Alaska. He’s a college educator and oversaw a news publishing network. He’s an outspoken advocate for reforming Alaska Native corporations. We’ll hear from Blatchford about his ideas for improving the world around him.

This time every year for the past 30 years the Sac and Fox Nation takes a day to celebrate a momentous U. S. Supreme Court decision affirming the tribe’s right to issue vehicle license plates to its citizens. The tribal tags are an important expression of sovereignty and it generates revenue for education and other programs. Dozens of tribes in and outside of Oklahoma now extend their authority to motor vehicle tags. But Oklahoma tribes say that authority is under fire like never before. Tribal citizens are having to defend what tribal officials say is an increase in targeted stops and fines by non-tribal law enforcement. We’ll talk about celebrating a victory for sovereignty and the constant effort required to keep it.

The graduating class of 2024 is taking one of the biggest steps in their academic careers. What’s next? We know that almost three quarters of Native students graduate high school. And college graduates reached an achievement only 1 in 5 Native people attain by age 25. We devote this show to the Native academic stars reaching a major educational milestone.

There are many more people on parole and probation — almost double — compared to those incarcerated behind bars. And just as Native Americans are overrepresented in jails and prisons, they make up a disproportionate number of those on supervised release. Criminal justice advocates point to policies and practices that set up hurdles that trip up Native Americans on probation and parole more than other populations. We’ll explore the problems and find out how some correction systems are responding to minimize discrepancies.

Following August’s U.S. Supreme Court decision ending affirmative action, several states are rushing to rid their higher education institutions of recruitment and inclusion programs that benefit Native students. On top of that, the botched update to the FAFSA process has many families confused about their ability to pay for college in the coming academic year. Native Americans already have among the lowest college enrollment rates. Higher education advocates worry the confluence of factors might erase any recent educational attainment gains.

A tribe once targeted for termination has established the first reservation in the state of Illinois. The U.S. Department of Interior transferred 130 acres of Northern Illinois land to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. The action comes 175 years after the federal government illegally sold the tribe’s Illinois land — ten times the current trust land size — when the chief was out of the state visiting family. We’ll hear about the new land transaction and other recent notable land achievements.

A big band made up of Native musicians is headlining a jazz festival at the Kennedy Center in the nation’s capital this weekend. The Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band is billed as the only all-Native jazz band in the world. It’s made up of 16 of the music disciplined genre’s most notable and talented Native musicians, including co-director Delbert Anderson (Diné), Mali Obomsawin (Odanak Abenaki), and Ed Littlefield (Tlingit).

Twenty-five year old Diné multimedia artist Kassie John is the newest cultural ambassador to wear the Miss Indian World crown. She is the first Navajo Miss Indian World in a decade. John hopes to inspire young people to tap into their own artistic talent to bring Indigenous stories to others. She’s a business owner and comes from a family with many strong ties to the powwow community. We’ll hear from her and some previous Miss Indian World winners about the power of Native royalty.

Tribes can enact laws and take actions that relate to tribal land. But the ability for tribes to dictate what happens in the skies over that land is less clear. The Federal Aviation Administration is the main authority controlling the use of airspace. But the growing proliferation of drones and small personal aircraft is prompting researchers and some tribes to explore how to assert jurisdiction to what happens overhead. We’ll discuss some of the current limits and possibilities for exerting sovereign influence over tribal airspace.

Gaming revenue hit a record $40.9 billion in the most recent report by the National Indian Gaming Commission. Gaming’s economic reliability over the years along with other tribal enterprises give some tribes multi-billion dollar annual incomes. The U.S. Census Bureau reports Native-owned businesses employ more than 243,000. We’ll hear about the unique opportunities and challenges that come with tribal wealth.

Ten years since a world-changing blackout, an Anishinaabe community must embark on a mission of discovery if they’re going to survive. First Nations author Waubgeshig Rice revisits the survivors from his first novel, Moon of the Crusted Snow, as they search south for sustainable future in his next novel, Moon of the Turning Leaves. We’ll hear from him how he works to bring hope into a post-apocalyptic story. Plus, we'll be joined by one of Jim Thorpe's granddaughters about his posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom.

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.

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.

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.