Monday, July 8, 2019 – Help for opioid addiction
All Indian Health Service facilities are drafting action plans for patients to seek medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction. That’s significant because it could mean more IHS patients would have access to methadone, Subutex and other drugs that are showing some promise in combination with behavioral therapy. IHS Principal Deputy Director Michael D. Weahkee set a December deadline for the plans. We’ll talk with doctors as well as people in addiction recovery about treating opioid addiction with medication.

Tuesday, July 9, 2019 – Public safety emergency in Alaska
Rural villages in Alaska are in a public safety crisis. One in three communities in Alaska have no local law enforcement, according to an investigation by the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica. In some areas, crime victims—often Alaska Natives—must wait hours or even days for officers to respond. In some cases, residents are forced to apprehend people who pose a threat to the public. U.S. Attorney General William Barr declared an emergency, making $10 million of federal money available to boost rural law enforcement. The same day, Governor Mike Dunleavy vetoed $3 million in spending for Village Public Safety Officer positions. In this hour we’ll look into law enforcement in Alaska and what solutions might help.

Wednesday, July 10, 2019 – Wounded Knee dishonor
There’s a push on to rescind the official honors bestowed on members of the 7th Calvary Regiment for their roles in the Wounded Knee Massacre. Ironically, it was a tweet by President Donald Trump that prompted the latest effort to take back the 20 Medals of Honor given after the infamous 1890 attack that killed hundreds of Lakota men, women and children. We’ll hear from Wounded Knee descendants and other stakeholders about how an accurate portrayal of history informs what the federal government considers an ‘honor’.

Thursday, July 11, 2019 – Powwow basics
Dancers and emcees on the circuit are putting hundreds of miles on their cars traveling from one summer powwow to the next. There are fancy dancers, traditional dancers, jingle dress dancers, fancy shawl dancers, grass dancers and chicken dancers. Each of the dances has its own meaning, steps and regalia. We’ll spend an hour breaking down the powwow scene and find out how competition mixes with tradition in the dance arena.

Friday, July 12, 2019 – Native-owned grocery stores: economic development and community asset
Native entrepreneurs and even some tribes see grocery stores as a double win: they help the local economy and provide healthier food options in places where they aren’t often available. The USDA finds many rural areas of Native America are food deserts—areas without grocery stores or farmers’ markets with fresh produce. We’ll hear from Native grocery store owners about what it takes to make to be profitable on their reservations.

List of a bunch of Native-owned grocery stores:

Monday, July 1, 2019 – Migrant children caught in the middle
Fort Sill, a military post in Oklahoma used to imprison Apaches in the 1860s, is slated to house hundreds of undocumented children. Fort Sill is notably the place where Chiricahua Apache leader Geronimo died as a prisoner of war. It was also an internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II. Native American and advocacy groups condemn the treatment of migrant children, some of whom are already being housed away from their families in substandard conditions. They also note the troubling ties between the historical blunders and current detentions. We’ll learn what’s known about migrants and asylum seekers in U.S. custody and the policies and conditions that led us here.

Tuesday, July 2, 2019 – Canada’s modern genocide
It took three years and $92 million. Almost 1,500 family members and survivors testified. Canada’s National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls concluded the disproportionate violence against Native women, girls and the LGBTQ2 population amounts to genocide. The commission that prepared the report offered 231 suggestions to remedy the disparities, including creating a national action plan and task force to address unsolved cases. Members of the commission presented the report to Canada’s prime minister during a solemn ceremony this month. We will look into the final report and determine what lessons other nations might learn from it.

Wednesday, July 3, 2019 – Commercialized smudging
Plants such as sage, sweetgrass, and cedar are important for ceremonies and prayer. They’re also readily available online and even at chain stores, marketed as methods to reduce negative energy or for some vague DIY cleansing ritual. Non-Native people are buying them with little information about what they actually do or how they’re used. Some Native people say some natural medicines are getting harder to find. There’s at least one instance of illegal sage harvesting in California. We’ll discuss the traditional roles and uses of Native medicines and find out if there’s a way to get the message across to those who think such ceremonies are open for anyone.

Thursday, July 4, 2019 – Journey to language revitalization
From a sense of urgency to a desire to connect with your culture, there are many reasons to start learning your tribal language. In this encore show (no live calls) we’ll talk with a few different individuals who are learning or teaching their Native languages. We’ll hear why they chose to make the effort and the challenges they face along the way.

Friday, July 5, 2019 – In step with Native marching bands
Marching bands have a place beyond football halftime shows. Native bands like the Navajo Nation Band and A:Shiwi A:Wan Band are community traditions that appeal to crowds at parades and summer community events. Some Native marching bands also offer a musical outlet for adult musicians, some of whom have participated in their community band for decades. We recognize Native marching bands and their years of providing community entertainment.

Monday, June 24, 2019 – The continuing failure of U.S. funding promises
Criminal justice, health care, education, housing and economic development are all underfunded by the U.S. government, according to a report released by the United States Human Rights Commission. The main findings in the report, Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans, won’t come as a surprise for most people in Indian Country. In fact, the report’s authors note it is an update to a previous effort in 2003, and they say little has changed in terms of the federal government’s inability to uphold its funding promises for Indian Country. We’ll get analysis of the report and hear from a U.S. Human Rights Commissioner about where to go from here.

Tuesday, June 25, 2019 – The U.S. Supreme Court and Oklahoma reservation land
The Supreme Court is set to decide the fundamentals of a murder case that has implications for jurisdiction in Oklahoma. The basic question revolves around which court should decide the case of a Muscogee man accused of murdering another Muscogee man on traditional Muscogee reservation land. But the decision means a definitive federal legal ruling on the contention the Muscogee Nation and other Oklahoma tribes have held all along: Oklahoma reservation boundaries were never disestablished as the state maintains. We’ll break down the legal case and discuss what changes—and what doesn’t—because of the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Wednesday, June 26, 2019 – Native in the Spotlight: Joy Harjo
The Library of Congress just named Mvskoke poet, author, and musician Joy Harjo the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States. She is the first Native poet to hold the position. “I share this honor with ancestors and teachers who inspired in me a love of poetry, who taught that words are powerful and can make change when understanding appears impossible, and how time and timelessness can live together within a poem.” We’ll spend the hour with Joy Harjo, our June Native in the Spotlight.

Thursday, June 27, 2019 –Music Maker: Murray Porter
Murray Porter is a Juno Award winning artist and we’ll visit with him about his newest album “STAND UP.” It’s charged with what the Mohawk musician calls a “velvet growl.” But it also has exhilarating blues beats sprinkled with fruitful piano rhythms. The songs take on heavy issues like Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, suicide and the right to clean water. He’s packed some love stingers into the mix too.

Friday, June 28, 2019 – June in the news
A high school class in Yellow Springs, Ohio cancelled a planned debate on whether Native mascots are offensive after a Native parent spoke out. We’ll hear from the parent who told the school the debate is over and the argument is only about how much harm such a discussion causes. We’ll also catch up with the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Robert Wilkie, about new rules designed to improve access and streamline services for Native veterans. Those stories and more are on our news roundup.

Monday, June 17, 2019 – Live at the National Senior Games
The annual gathering of amateur senior athletes is setting aside a day to celebrate the many Native American athletes who participate. Participants compete in 20 events from swimming to shuffleboard. The National Senior Games originated as an effort to promote a healthy lifestyle for elders over 50. This year’s games are in Albuquerque New Mexico. We’ll be live at the games with a discussion centered around active and healthy elders.

Tuesday, June 18, 2019 – 85 years of the Indian Reorganization Act
The landmark Indian Reorganization Act was meant to move tribes away from the governmental policies of forced assimilation towards self-determination. It ended allotment, renewed tribes’ control over their own assets, and encouraged tribes to establish constitutions. John Collier authored the law as commissioner of the Indian Bureau, which eventually became the Bureau of Indian Affairs. His ideas, like reversing the federal government’s assimilationist policies, were considered radical in 1935. Some historians also believe he romanticized Native American culture, and considered it superior to his own. We’ll discuss Collier’s influence and recognize the Indian Reorganization Act’s ongoing effect as it turns 85.

Wednesday, June 19, 2019 – Molly of Denali: a show for everyone
Molly Mabray is a 10-year old Gwich’in, Koyukon and Dena’ina Athabascan girl who learns about her history and culture while having fun with her dog, Suki, and friends, Tooey and Trini. She is the main character of the new animated PBS series, Molly of Denali, starting in July. In the first episode she sets out to get her grandfather’s long, lost drum returned and learns about the history of boarding schools along the way. It is the first nationally distributed children’s series to feature an Alaska Native lead. In this hour we’ll talk with the creator and cultural advisors to this groundbreaking series.

Thursday, June 20, 2019 – The long path of international repatriation
An auction house in France has gone ahead with the sale this month of cultural items despite pleas from tribes, elected leaders and the Association on American Indian Affairs. It’s one in a string of auctions by the Paris auction house that chooses to ignore admonitions against the harm they’re causing. The Yaqui has been working for decades to repatriate a sacred Maaso Kova that the tribe says was never meant to be out of the tribe’s possession or on public display. We’ll get an update on some repatriation efforts and what’s being done to influence international traders in cultural items.

Friday, June 21, 2019 – Native LGBTQ2 artistic expression
Native artists frequently reference tribal traditions in their work. Native LGBTQ2 artists also turn to the joys and challenges of their sexual orientation for inspiration. They use paint, music, dance or theater to tell personal stories and to raise awareness of contemporary issues. For LGBTQ2 Pride Month, we’ll talk with some Native LGBTQ and Two-Spirit artists about the stories they tell through their art.