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Native American Radio Network

Indigenous in Music with Larry K – Julian Taylor in our Spotlight Interview (Folk Rock)

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Welcome to Indigenous in Music with Larry K!  Today it is our pleasure to welcome back our guest from Toronto Ontario, Mr. Julian Taylor. Singer, Songwriter and performer, he currently holds the title for “Solo Artist of the Year,” at this years Canadian Folk Music Awards. His new album is out “The Ridge.” Find out all about Julian on his homepage at www.juliantaylormusic.ca.

Also music from Julian Taylor, The Deeds, Patti Lamoureux, The Mavericks, Ana Carolina, Aterciopelados, Joy Harjo, Khu.eex, B-Side Players, Bufi, Shauit, Tracy Bone, Burnstick, Manu Chao, Frank Waln, Samsoche Sampson, Leonard Summer, Santana, Eadse, Stolen Identity, Bomba Estereo, Nortec Collective, Gato Barbieri, Rose Moore, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Una Mas Trio, Bitman & Roban, Spirit Cry, Mike Paul, Mike Bern, Julian Taylor and much much more.

Visit us on our homepage at www.indigenousinmusic.com, were there 24/7/365.

Boarding Schools

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Are the United States and Canada ready to reconcile their national myth with a brutal truth of history? 
This is Trahant Reports.

That brutal truth surfaced in Canada with the discovery of new graves at residential schools. Indigenous children were murdered and tortured. 

 

In the last several weeks hundreds of unmarked graves have been found.

 

Yet this is not a new story. As Leena Menifie told me on Indian Country Today the survivors have been telling this story for a long time.

 

Leena Minifie: 

 

“Well, I have to say that everybody has been absolutely, um, impacted and our lives have kind of been, um, uh, brutally changed forever with the findings of Kamloops and the 215 children there. But then now there’s been Brandon Manitoba. And now that there’s, um, finally people paying attention to the Regina Industrial, uh, Indian School with their grave findings as well. Uh, everybody is been completely impacted by this, especially talking to residential school survivors who now have to, um, that brings up all of this, these issues again. 

 

So, um, I, I don’t think it’s going to, as I said, we’re not having, uh, Indigenous day celebrations in the same way right now. I think a lot of people are doing ceremony and sort of acknowledging and taking time to deal with this kind of work, which is, um, emotional, spiritual, um, work. 

 

Minifie said Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation report estimated that some 4,000 children were killed or missing from schools. 

 

Last week Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, said the United States must face up to its own history.

 

She wrote in the Washington Post the stories from Canada made her sick to her stomach. 

 

“But the deaths of Indigenous children at the hands of the government were not limited to that side of the border,” she said. “Many Americans may be alarmed to learn that the United States also has a history of taking Native children from their families in an effort to eradicate our culture and erase us as a people. It is a history that we must learn from if our country is to heal from this tragic era. I am a product of these horrific assimilation policies. My maternal grandparents were stolen from their families when they were only 8 years old and were forced to live away from their parents, culture and communities until they were 13. Many children like them never made it back home.”

 

Around the world a number of countries have been forced to reckon with these histories. New Zealand, South African, and yet the United States has yet to account for its own history, let alone offer an apology or help bring about community healing.

 

Perhaps this is a first step. 

 

I am Mark Trahant.

Indigenous in Music with Larry K – Eadse in our Spotlight Interview (Pop) ENCORE

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Encore:  Welcome to Indigenous in Music with Larry K, this week Larry welcomes into our spotlight from Montreal, Quebec, Eadse. Singer, songwriter and performer. She has just released her new album out “My Good Friend,” Eadse in featured in our latest issue of the Say Magazine, read all about Eadse at http://indigenousinmusic.com/eadse-interview.
 
Enjoy music from Eadse, Stolen Identity, Julian Taylor Band, Locos Por Juana, XAXO, Jota Quest, Dj Bitman, Norma Norman, Carsen Gray, Stoik, Aleah Belle, Joyslam, Khu.eek, Elastic Bond, Solju, Martha Redbone, Anachnid, Q052, Angela Amarualik, Joy Harjo, Dawn Avery, Jasmine Netsena, Brule, Lianna, Toia, DJ Shub, STOik, Firefly, Nancy Sanchez, Angel Baribeau, Samantha Crain and much, much more.

Supreme Court

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A recent Supreme Court decision made clear that police officers from tribal nations can hold non-Indians if there is a “reasonable belief” that state or federal law has been violated.

This is Trahant Reports.

 

The good news is that it was a 9 to 0 decision — unanimous. And it overturned a lower court ruling that defied common sense, a decision that a Crow police officer should not have held a nontribal member who had drugs and weapons in his truck.

 

As Indian Country Today’s Kolby KickingWoman reported: The case, United States v. Cooley, involved Joshua James Cooley, a non-Native man parked on the side of Highway 212 that runs through the Crow Reservation in southeastern Montana. Crow officer James Saylor approached the truck and found “watery, bloodshot eyes” and two guns lying on the front seat of the vehicle.

 

After ordering Cooley out of the truck and a subsequent patdown search, Saylor saw a glass pipe and plastic bag containing meth inside the truck.

 

A federal grand jury indicted Cooley on drug and gun offenses but he moved to have the evidence found by Saylor suppressed claiming that it was found during an illegal search.

 

The Supreme Court said that the lower courts’ rulings would “make it difficult for tribes to protect themselves against ongoing threats.”

 

The Supreme Court said previous rulings support “the general proposition that the inherent sovereign powers of an Indian tribe do not extend to the activities of nonmembers of the tribe … yet, it said, it is not an absolute rule.”

 

Justice Stephen Breyer, who wrote the opinion for the unanimous court, noted that there are two exceptions to that rule, one of which “fit like a glove” in this case. Those are actions to protect the health or welfare of the tribe.

 

“To deny a tribal police officer authority to search and detain for a reasonable time any person he or she believes may commit or has committed a crime would make it difficult for tribes to protect themselves against ongoing threats,” Breyer wrote. “Such threats may be posed by, for instance, non-Indian drunk drivers, transporters of contraband, or other criminal offenders operating on roads within the boundaries of a tribal reservation.”

 

There is a lot of complexity in criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country. That’s because when federal policy changes … the law often does not. So some laws support tribal sovereignty while others undermine that same idea. In the 1950s a number of laws that Congress passed undermined tribal jurisdiction over to state governments, because Congress wanted tribes to go away. That policy, called termination, ended more than 50 years but many of the laws that were passed in that spirit never went away. 

 

And that’s how a common sense decision is a “bare minimum standard” for law enforcement in a tribal nation.

 

I am Mark Trahant.

Indigenous in Music with Larry K – 15 year Anniversary Show with my guests Myron Pyawasit and Tracy Bone

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Welcome to Indigenous in Music with Larry K and our 15th Anniversary special featuring my 1st guest Myron Pyawasit and the Smokeytown Singers along with our good friend Tracy Bone. Tune in and hear my first interviews and 2 hours of Indigenous Women in Music, all of whom have been in our spotlight. From Minneapolis to Sarasota, now on over 65 stations. Salute!

Music from Tracy Bone, Desiree Dorion, Callie Bennett, Gail Obediah, Annie Humphrey, Cindy Paul, Jade Turner, iskwe, Kelly Derrickson, Aasiva, Leanne Goose, Angel Baribeau, Stolen Identity, Natalia Clavier, Melanie Krahmer, Crystal Shawanda, Janel Munoa, Veronica Johnny, Nancy Sanchez, Bomba Estereo, Carsen Gray, Elastic Bond and much, much more….

Inflation

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How big a deal is inflation?
This is Trahant Reports.
The country has been through a long period of stable prices. Yes .. the cost of things always goes up. But for most of the past fifty years there have  also been significant price decreases, the costs of computers is a good example of that.
You have to go back to the 1970s to look at how inflation impacts people in really difficult ways.
 
Inflation is a general increase in the prices of everything … so the dollars you are earning are worth less. It’s especially tough on people living on fixed incomes, such as retirees, because they cannot compete for new better paying jobs the same way a younger person can.
I recently asked Patrice Kunesh about inflation. Kunesh, who is Standing Rock descent, is a former Federal Reserve Bank official and she now runs her own consulting firm, Peȟíŋ Haha Consulting.
Kunesh:
“You know, more spending leads to higher prices and it’s a supply demand issue. And, uh, what we really want to be careful is that we’re spending prudently, we’re spending on necessities. We’re not spending beyond our means. Um, and, uh, I do think we’re going to be able to manage inflation, but it’s always a concern when we have a surge of spending.”
“You know, what we’re prices are going up is like lumber for building materials, building homes, and so forth. Uh, we cannot find the microchips that, you know, that, uh, you know, power, everything we do from our cars to our refrigerators, there’s a scarcity. And when you have scarcity prices go up and that creates inflation. So I think we’re going to, uh, balance out. Uh, but personally we need to be concerned …”
The data from the US Department of Commerce and the Federal Reserve Bank are already showing signs of inflation, the price “basket” of certain goods increased by 4.2 percent in April when the ideal goal is closer to 2 percent. 
There are two ways that inflation will change how we do business, post-pandemic. Think of the impact on people who want a job. Employers will have to pay more to recruit talent. Already there are signs in some industries, such as food service, that there are not enough workers to fill key jobs. 
A second impact will be increasing the cost of replacing and investing in infrastructure. Every bridge, road, and tunnel will cost more both in terms of materials and people who do the work. That means tribes, and other governments, will have to raise more money just to produce the same amount of work. 
Fifty years ago inflation was a real problem, running as high as 13.5 percent per year. In the last decade the numbers have been close to the ideal at or below 2 percent per year. That’s why this is a history that is not worth repeating. 
I am Mark Trahant.

Indigenous in Music with G Precious Interview (Hip Hop, Pop) (Encore)

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Encore: Welcome to Indigenous in Music! This week Larry welcomes from the Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico, Hip Hop performer, Brenda Atencio aka G Precious is in the house. She has just released her newest album “The Forgotten.” G Precious is featured in our current issue of the SAY Magazine find out all about her on our music page IndigenousinMusic.com.

Music from G Precious, Buggin Malone, Mattmac, Chicano Batman, MIOS, DJ krayskree, Dancin Dave, DJ Shub, Hellnback, STOIK, Aleah Belle, Elastic Bond, Frank Waln, JB the First Lady, Q&O, QVLN, Eadse, Carsen Gray, Red Rockerz, Shon Denay, Dawn Avery, Stolen Identity, Zoe, Bomba Estereo, Centavrvs, Plastilina Mosh, 1915, Kinky, Matt Comeau, Stun, Nancy Sanchez and much much more.

Medicaid

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Last Friday the Biden administration announced a plan to spend $4 billion from the American Rescue Plan for pandemic relief in Indigenous communities. And of that amount half, or $2 billion, would be used to supplement third-party billing within the Indian health system.

 

This is Trahant Reports.

 

Two billion dollars for Medicaid and other third-party insurance programs is a really big deal. So Indian Country Today’s Aliyah Chavez asked about that at a White House briefing. 

 

This question did not have an answer from the White House.

 

The Indian health system is a combination of the federal Indian Health Service, tribal and nonprofit hospitals and clinics, and urban facilities that serve 2.5 million American Indians and Alaska Natives in 37 states. About 60 percent of that system is run by tribes or nonprofits; the federal government’s direct services — the Indian Health Service we think about — is the shrinking part of the system. 

 

This is where Medicaid and other third-party insurance programs come in. Officially third-party billing is $1.3 billion of a $6 billion budget (in fiscal year 2020). But there is an asterisk. And that’s because that  budget line only includes federal facilities. Tribes, nonprofits and urban programs — the majority of the system — are not included. There is no reporting mechanism for 60 percent of the Indian health system. 

 

That’s why Chavez’s question was so important. Medicaid is officially a state and federal partnership. The federal government pays each state a share of the cost and each state sets the rules for who is eligible and what services are covered. But the federal government also pays a 100 percent match for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

 

So a patient might go into a tribal facility in say, North Dakota, and be eligible for Medicaid insurance coverage and the clinic would be able to bill for those services. This is because North Dakota expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. But a family member who lives a few miles away, in South Dakota, would not get the same insurance coverage because the rules are different. 

 

Yet in either case the federal government will reimburse the state Medicaid program at 100 percent. 

 

This makes no sense. 

 

But what if tribes, not states, set the rules for eligibility? This could happen by treating tribes as states (saving a lot of bureaucratic steps) or by issuing specific waivers or a managed care system that directs full Medicaid funding to the Indian health system as a direct entity. 

 

Indeed, Medicaid reform could change the nature of funding in the Indian healthcare system. 

 

There are questions still waiting to be answered. But one thing we know for sure is that a tribal expansion of Medicaid would reduce the number of uninsured in Indian Country — and provide a permanent funding boost for the Indian health. 

 

I am Mark Trahant.

Indigenous in Music with Jace Martin (Pop, Rock) – Encore

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Encore:  Welcome to Indigenous in Music! This week Larry welcomes Mr. Jace Martin from Toronto, Ontario. Singer, song writer and entrepreneur, He has just dropped his new album out “Rainboworld.” Jace is featured in our current issue of the Say Magazine, visit us at www.IndigenousinMusic.com to read all about him.
Music from Jace Martin, Nancy Sanchez, Locos Por Juana, XAXO, Iceis Rain, Eadse, Angel Baribeau, Artson, Quese Imc, Supaman, Joey Stylez, Somos Uno, Chancha Via Circuito, Sidestepper, Orishas, Samantha Crain, Darren Geffery, Brandis Knudsen, Nimkish, Stolen Identity, La Dame Blanche, Systema Solar, DJ Bitman, The Halluci Nation, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Somos Uno, Carsen Gray, Kinky, Crown Lands, Joshua Arden Miller, Jerry Sereda,
Esther Penneli, 1915 and much much more.

Language

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This is a story that starts with someone who wanted to learn more about his language, Qeuchan. Along the way he ran across a name that’s not well known, a man who devoted his life to documenting Indigenous languages.

 

This is Trahant Reports.

 

Last week I interviewed Daniel Golding for Indian Country Today. He has a new film coming out this month on American Public Television, “Chasing Voices.” It’s the story of John Peabody Harrington. An ethnologist and linguist who spent more than fifty years conducting exhaustive research that preserved some 150 languages (including detailed notes with more than 1 million pages).

 

Daniel Golding:
I was involved years ago with language. I wanted to do master apprentice language learning to speak my language from my Quechan on language. I was doing that master apprentice stuff. And during my learning the language, I came across Harrington who had documented our creation story from a man named Joe Homer back in like the early 1900s, 1907, somewhere in there.”
“And so I just kind of researched him a little bit and I was kind of fascinated by his story. I thought it was just this really kind of interesting story of what he had done and the fact that nobody has really ever heard of him. He’s this eccentric linguist ethnographer who documented all these different languages over million pages of notes on over 150 different Native American languages.”  

 

In the film Golding talks about how some tribes have used the collection to rebuild languages that could have been lost.

 

Or even compare notes. Imaging knowing how a language sounded in the 1920s and comparing that to what we hear today. That’s extraordinary information about a culture. Other tribes have used this collection to document sacred sites. Or even to make their case for federal recognition.

 

Golding says the amount of time that Harrington spent with elders is an important part of the story too. He did not just record the language as it’s supposed to be, but chronicled how people actually spoke it. He got the nuances right.

 

We hear the phrase a “dying language” all the time. And it’s true that many languages are losing fluency. But then again you never know when you’ll run into a million pages of notes that’s an unexpected bonus.

 

“I encourage everyone to make an effort to try and learn a little bit of your language. It’s such an important part of who we are as Native people.”

 

I am Mark Trahant.
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