Monday, December 16, 2019 – A Sober Christmas Story
The holiday season offers more opportunities to celebrate with family and friends. A poll (by the makers of a hangover recovery product) last year found Americans double their alcohol consumption between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. For people who choose sobriety, this time of year can be a challenge to get through with so many temptations or feelings of alienation from friends who imbibe. In this program, we’ll talk about staying sober through the holidays.

Tuesday, December 17, 2019 – The art of crafts
A powwow or Native community event isn’t complete without the arts and crafts section. Among the jewelers’ and artists’ tables are booths displaying mostly inexpensive art pieces that are hand-sewn, glue-gunned, glittered and painted. These items and the craftspeople who make them don’t always get the spotlight, but their presence is ubiquitous. We’re giving them some well-deserved attention and talking about the art of the craft.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019 – Minnesota’s Native home
An Ojibwe men’s moccasin game, a birch bark box from 1890 and a star quilt made by a Dakota artist are just a few of the items found in Our Home: Native Minnesota, a new permanent exhibit at the Minnesota History Center. In addition to historical artifacts, the exhibit also includes hands-on activities and art from contemporary Ojibwe and Dakota artists. But those who worked on the exhibit will tell you it’s much more than a collection of information about the history and current lives of Native people in Minnesota, it is about resiliency and healing. We’ll talk with the curators about how this exhibit and what inspired it.

Thursday, December 19, 2019 – Gaming standoff in Oklahoma
Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt (Cherokee Nation) believes a compact signed with 31 tribes in the state expires on January 1st and he wants to renegotiate the fees the tribes pay to the state. Tribes say the compact renews automatically, and have walked out of recent negotiations with the state. It’s most likely headed for the courts. At stake are 76,000 jobs and more than $100,000,000 in revenue that benefits Oklahoma public schools. We’ll talk with experts about how common it is for states to battle with tribes over compact fees.

Friday, December 20, 2019 – Native In the Spotlight: Fawn Sharp
The new president of the National Congress of American Indians brings more than a decade of experience as the president of her tribe, the Quinault Indian Nation. Here are some fast facts about Fawn Sharp: she graduated from college at age 19, she was an administrative law judge for the Washington State Department of Revenue, and last year she was instrumental in getting the Washington State Attorney General’s office to obtain free, prior and informed consent before initiating a project that affects tribes. We’ll learn about what drives Fawn Sharp and her hopes for NCAI.

Monday, December 9, 2019 – Trump Administration tackles MMIW
President Donald Trump’s new executive order will develop an “aggressive, government-wide strategy” to address the missing and murdered Indigenous women crisis. Named ‘Operation Lady Justice,’ the plan calls for a task force made up of government agency leaders. At the same time, the Department of Justice announced a separate plan establishing 11 coordinators to work with tribes, and state and local agencies to address reports of missing and murdered Indigenous people. We’ll get a rundown of what these efforts could mean for tribes.

Tuesday, December 10, 2019 – Buy Native this holiday
Before you fill up your Amazon cart with electronics, scented bath salts or chocolates, consider your Native gift options. The holidays are a great time to show your support for Native artists, tribally run businesses and Indigenous products. We’ll get few recommendations for stuffing your stockings with Native pride.

Wednesday, December 11, 2019 – Honoring Ponca Chief Standing Bear
It was a relatively simple act: Ponca Chief Standing Bear left his reservation in 1878 to bury his son on the tribe’s ancestral land in Nebraska. But the action would lead to a major federal court decision establishing Native Americans as people under the law. The U.S. Government argued “an Indian is neither a person nor a citizen.” The state of Nebraska is honoring Standing Bear as a civil rights leader with a statue in the U.S. Capitol. We’ll review Standing Bear’s legacy and his remarkable accomplishment during a troubling time in history.

Thursday, December 12, 2019 – A look at the film, “The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open”
When two Indigenous women meet under frightful circumstances, they build a relationship by facing domestic violence, racism and a long history of colonialism in Vancouver. That’s what “The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open” is about. It’s a new film (released Nov. 29 on Netflix) by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Blackfoot and Sámi) and Kathleen Hepburn featuring actor Violet Nelson (Kwakwaka’wakw First Nation). We’ll speak with some of the creatives on this project about highlighting the issues of violence against Native women in an emotional film that’s already getting rave reviews.

Friday, December 13, 2019 – Indigenizing feasts
Egg nog, ham and sugar cookies are some of the delicious, go-to highlights of the holiday season. But they do not come from Indigenous traditions. So many food choices during holidays were introduced to Native America by European settlers. The good news is there are choices that are just as delicious and bring authenticity to Native celebrations. We’ll get ideas from Native chefs about how to make that happen in our own kitchens.

Monday, December 2, 2019 – Fighting HIV/AIDs in Native America
HIV infection rates among Native Americans continue to rise. The most recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a 46 percent increase for all Native Americans from 2010 to 2016. The agency points to factors like lack of awareness, stigma, poverty and illicit drug use as the key challenges health advocates are up against in trying to lower new infection rates. The Indian Health Service recently awarded more than $2 million to nine of its Tribal Epidemiology Centers to help reduce new HIV infections as part of a national plan to “end the HIV epidemic.” To acknowledge World AIDs Day, we’ll discuss on the challenges of lowering HIV infection rates in Native America and what work is being done.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019 – Examining the Red Pedagogy Indigenous curriculum
A group of educators in North Carolina are appealing a ruling that rejected their application for an Indigenous-focused charter school. Members of the Charter Schools Advisory Board took issue with the term “red pedagogy” coined by academic Dr. Sandy Grande (Quechua). Red pedagogy is an educational theory that focuses on Native thought. One board member expressed concerns it would be “divisive instead of bringing unity.” We’ll learn more about ‘red pedagogy’ and talk with the educators working to start the charter school.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019 – Perspective on the Osage reign of terror
With a best-selling book and upcoming movie, the tragedy of the multiple murders of Osage people in the 1920s is getting a lot of attention. Descendants of the victims and Osage tribal members are expressing excitement and apprehension about the pending movie adaptation of the book, Killers of the Flower Moon. Director Martin Scorsese met with Osage Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear to discuss filming in Oklahoma. Big name stars like Robert Di Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio are part of the project. We’ll get perspectives from descendants about this and other accounts of the tragic chapter in Osage history.

Thursday, December 5, 2019 – Reclaiming traditional birth
Doreen Day (Bois Forte Band) is an oondaadiziikekwe, which is the Ojibwe word for midwife. She is passionate about teaching traditional birth and encouraging Native women to reclaim the birth process. We’ll talk with Day and other midwives about the growing practice of home births and observing traditional practices at the beginning of life.

Friday, December 06, 2019 – Music Maker: “The Unsustainable Sessions” by Klee Benally
Diné recording artist Klee Benally just unleashed his new album and we are putting a spotlight on it. “The Unsustainable Sessions” is his second acoustic album and—much like his first album—uses biting lyrics to create what he calls Indigenous acoustic agitation for liberation against despair. “So long as we’re fighting for justice, art should help move people into action,” Benally says. Tune in to hear more from December Music Maker Klee Benally.

Monday, November 25, 2019 – A setback for Bolivia’s Indigenous population
The first Indigenous president of Bolivia, Evo Morales (Aymara), is in exile in Mexico. He resigned under pressure by the military shortly after he declared himself the victor in a contentious election to his fourth term in office. His supporters are calling it a coup but there are vastly divergent narratives about the situation and what led up to it. The self-appointed interim president is linked to anti-Indigenous comments and has already cracked down on protests calling for Morales’ return. We’ll talk with experts about the Morales’ legacy and the future of Bolivia.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019 – Music Maker: The Hu
The Mongolian metal group The Hu is currently making its way across the country, playing to a growing Native American fan base. Each time the group steps on stage they create a blend of riveting metal and throat singing. The band calls their unique and energetic sound Hunnu Rock, referencing the Hunnu Mongolian empire. Many of the lyrics on their album, “The Gereg,” are a call to warriors.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019 – A victory for repatriating cultural patrimony
After years of effort, the Pueblo of Acoma took possession of a sacred item from an overseas auction house. It’s one of very few successful repatriation attempts by tribes to get sacred items returned from foreign sellers intent on profiting from Native cultural patrimony. The Acoma shield was missing for decades before it showed up in 2015 at the EVE Auction House in Paris, an establishment notorious for selling off hundreds of Native items, some of which are sacred. Since then, the pueblo, along with the U.S. Department of Justice and political leaders worked to get it back. We’ll talk with Acoma leaders about what it took to see their sacred item returned and some ideas for other tribes fighting to return items.

Thursday, November 28, 2019 – Bringing bison back
Tribes, both in the U.S. and Canada, are on the forefront of restoring healthy, sustainable bison herds. In October, several tribes joined the growing number of those signing onto what’s known as the Buffalo Treaty. The agreement—first drafted in 2014—aims to ultimately restore the iconic animal’s range to more than 6 million acres and recognize its historical and cultural significance. Officials with the Badlands National Park in South Dakota just released four bison to a newly expanded bison range for the first time in more than 150 years.

Friday, November 29, 2019 – November in the news
The Native American Journalist Association is taking on the New York Times after the news organization’s problematic coverage in a story about Canadian Inuit people. We’ll talk with NAJA director Francine Compton (Sandy Bay Ojibwe First Nation) about the organization’s complaints. Also we’ll check in with New Republic reporter Nick Martin (Sappony) about his analysis of the South Dakota meth marketing campaign fail. Those issues and more on our regular news roundup.

Monday, November 18, 2019 – Native in the spotlight: Dr. LaNada War Jack
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the occupation of Alcatraz. It was a 19 month long protest on the island in the San Francisco Bay by Native activists claiming the land in the name of broken treaties. We’ll spend the hour with Dr. LaNada War Jack (Shoshone Bannock) was one of the founding protesters occupying the island. We’ll chat with her about her time on the island, and the years afterward fighting for tribal sovereignty and rights.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019 – Tribes and climate change
As the United States announces its official exit from the Paris Climate Agreement, we’ll take time to revisit some of the tribes fighting the effects of climate change. The Trump Administration officially notified the United Nations of the intention to pull the U.S. out of the accord next November. Meanwhile, scientists continue to sound the alarm over the current and looming problems associated with climate change, and project Native people all over the world will suffer the affects disproportionately. Tribes are among those already facing urgent crises linked to the warming planet. We’ll get updates from tribes and organizations about the work they are doing to handle the effects of climate change.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019 – The future of coal in tribal economic development
Navajo Nation president Jonathan Nez pulled backing for the Navajo Transitional Energy Company, after the company announced it’s purchase of coal mines in Wyoming and Montana. In a press release President Nez said he’s worried about “the viability of expanding our interests in a coal market that appears to be dwindling.” The Trump Administration vows to revive the coal industry. At the same time the U.S. Environmental Information Administration reports a steady decline in the number of coal companies. What’s next for tribes, like the Navajo Nation, that are transitioning away from coal?

Thursday, November 21, 2019 – Commercial tobacco: smoking your last cigarette
Native Americans have the highest prevalence of cigarette smoking in the country, according to reports by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. As a result, they also have a higher risk of developing tobacco-related illnesses, like heart disease and lung cancer. The CDC acknowledges the potential electronic cigarettes have as an alternative to smoking, but now recommends against them following a string of deaths and lung injuries from vaping. The Oglala Sioux Tribe banned the use of electronic cigarettes. For the Great American Smokeout day we’ll talk about the importance—and difficulty—of smoking cessation.

Friday, November 22, 2019 – Book of the Month: “Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the United States”
“Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the United States: Restoring Cultural Knowledge, Protecting Environments, and Regaining Health” is a collection of writings from different Indigenous cultural advocates. Some of those offering their perspectives on why it’s time to revitalize Indigenous food systems are those who prepare the food. There are also works from those who have a close eye on the land and social structures that affect the way the natural environment produces the foods Native nations need for sustainability. We hear from editors and contributors of this wealth of food sovereignty knowledge.