Native America Calling

The historic heat dome moving across the country smashed hundreds of high temperature records. Several places in Arizona and California reached 112 degrees — an unheard-of high in March. The Tohono O’odham Nation in southern Arizona issued an extreme heat warning after an official high temperature hit 108 degrees. The temporary weather phenomenon is slowly moving on, but not before drying out watersheds and melting snowpack that are critical sources of summer for people and agriculture. And climate experts say the abnormally hot start to the year is only the beginning. We’ll speak with researchers and others who are keeping track of climate trends for the year on what people can expect in the months ahead.

GUESTS

Roberta “Birdie” Wilcox-Cano (Diné), mayor of Winslow, Ariz.

Mary “Cathy” Cathleen Wilson (Tohono O’odham), climate journalist and advocate

Dr. Eugene Livar, Chief Heat Officer for Arizona Department of Health Services

Alexander “Sasha” Gershunov, research meteorologist for the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California San Diego

Rob Fairbanks (Leech Lake Ojibwe), comedian aka The Rez Reporter



Break 1 Music: To Keep the World We Know (song) Bruce Cockburn (artist) O Sun O Moon (album)

Break 2 Music: Save the World (song) Tribz (artist) Trimmed (album)

Kickapoo chef Crystal Wahpepah documents the intertribal flavors and characteristics of contemporary Native American cuisine and her upbringing in Oakland, Calif. in her debut cookbook, “A Feather and a Fork: 125 Intertribal Dishes from an Indigenous Food Warrior.” Woven through the recipes and gorgeous food photos, Wahpepah gives readers and cooks a tour of her restaurant, Wahpepah’s Kitchen, and present Oakland Native food sovereignty initiatives — and poignant personal and cultural stories that ingredients and flavors hold.

Near the end of winter, ooligan (eulachon or smelt), a small oily fish, would come rushing up rivers by the millions in the Pacific Northwest, according to historical accounts and elders’ stories. Today, ooligan are listed as a threatened species with sporadic springtime runs that more often do not support subsistence fishing. We’ll hear from the Nuxalk Nation in British Columbia about their ooligan studies and restoration, and from fishermen in Metlakatla, Alaska about this spring’s ooligan haul.

GUESTS

Crystal Wahpepah (Kickapoo), chef and owner of Wahpepah’s Kitchen and author of “A Feather and a Fork: 125 Intertribal Dishes from an Indigenous Food Warrior”

Cindy Wagner (Tsimshian and Haida), fisherman

Louie Wagner (Tsimshian and Tlingit), fisherman

Jason Moody (Nuxalk), Nuxalk fisheries and wildlife planning coordinator and owner of Nan Adventure Tours



Break 1 Music: Boujee Natives (song) Snotty Nose Rez Kids (artist) Trapline (album)

Break 2 Music: Save the World (song) Tribz (artist) Trimmed (album)



Editor’s Note: The publisher of “A Feather and a Fork” is a sponsor of Koahnic Broadcast Corporation. That plays no role in Native America Calling’s editorial coverage decisions.

In the early 2000s, an investigation found a handful of tribes in at least four states were paying exorbitant fees to a lobbying firm headed by Jack Abramoff. The tribes were looking to gain ground in the rapidly evolving Native gaming political landscape. The investigation and the resulting fraud and bribery trials would convict Abramoff and a dozen others, including congressional staffers, in a scheme that totaled at least $80 million. One tribal official called them “the contemporary faces of the exploitation of Native peoples“. While he was taking their money, Abramoff privately referred to the tribal officials he was dealing with as “monkeys” and “morons.” A Blackfeet tribal member was instrumental in exposing Abramoff’s crimes. We’ll look back at this significant event in tribal gaming history and what has changed in the 25 years since.

GUESTS

Philip Hogen (Oglala Lakota), former chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission and of counsel for Hogen Adams PLLC

Tom “One Who Rides His Horse East” Rodgers (Blackfeet), founder of Carlyle Consulting and named one of Politico’s most powerful people on race, culture and politics in 2023

Monica Lubiarz-Quigley, attorney and former lawyer for the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe



Break 1 Music: Thick as Thieves (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)

Break 2 Music: Save the World (song) Tribz (artist) Trimmed (album)

Born in Greenland, Aaju Peter did not begin to explore the breadth of her own Inuit culture until she moved to Nunavut, Canada. It was there that she got in touch with an internal drive to learn about and strengthen language, education, policy, and the arts toward improving Inuit representation on an international scale. That has resulted in a varied career as an activist, lawyer, clothing designer, and musician. Among her many accolades is the Order of Canada, awarded for her preservation and promotion of Inuit culture. Aaju Peter joins us as our Native in the Spotlight.



Break 1 Music: The Great Angakkuq [feat. Kevin Qamaniq-Mason] (song) Silla (artist) Sila Is Boss (album)

Break 2 Music: Hard Times Will Be Coming (song) Courtney Yellow Fat (artist) The Lost Songs of Sitting Bull (album)

The Oneida Nation went from having nearly all of their land stripped from them to being one of the most powerful political and economic entities in Wisconsin. In “Unsettling Territory: The Resurgence of the Oneida Nation in the Face of Settler Backlash“, Oneida author and historian Douglas Metoxen Kiel reveals how the tribe turned displacement into opportunity and managed to strengthen and grow their presence in the face of organized opposition that many Native Americans are familiar with.

Diné writer Dorothy Denetclaw and journalist Matt Fitzsimons uncover the events leading up to the murder trial involving two sons of the Navajo spiritual leader, Ahdilthdoney, also known as Gunshooter. The book, “The Sons of Gunshooter: A Navajo Resistance Story“, tells the story of the 1919 shooting death of Charles Hubbell, a member of a prominent trading family. The authors access archival research and oral storytelling to arrive at a different conclusion than what the courts and news media landed on at the time. It goes on to also tell a larger story of resistance against outside colonial oppression.



Break 1 Music: Tha Mash Up (song) Wayne Silas, Jr. (artist) Infinite Passion (album)

Break 2 Music: Hard Times Will Be Coming (song) Courtney Yellow Fat (artist) The Lost Songs of Sitting Bull (album)