Native America Calling

As the country gears up to commemorate 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, several galleries are exploring the enduring strengths of Native Americans through both traditional and contemporary works. “Paper Trails: Unfolding Indigenous Narratives” at the Museum of Contemporary Native Art in Santa Fe, N.M. aims to stretch the boundaries of the paper medium while also examining Native cultural survival in the face of colonization. “Constellations of Place” at the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College is centered on a visual history of Native people in Colorado. And Seattle’s Tidelands Gallery compiles a narrative inspired by “Lushootseed Creation Stories”. We’ll talk with artists and curators about how art inserts itself into the narratives being told about the origin of America.

We’ll also hear about the year-long streaming Native film festival, “Everything is Connected”, developed by Vision Maker Media.

GUESTS

Alana Stone (Sičhą́ǧu Lakȟóta and Diné), curatorial specialist at Vision Maker Media

Matika Wilbur (Swinomish and Tulalip), author, photographer, and CEO of Tidelands Native Art Gallery

Melissa Melero-Moose (Northern Paiute), artist and co-curator of “Paper Trails: Unfolding Indigenous Narratives”

Dr. Meranda Roberts (Yerington Paiute Tribe and Chicana) guest curator for “Constellations of Place”



Break 1 Music: Atomic Drop [feat. Northern Cree] (song) The Halluci Nation (artist) Path of the Heel (album)

Break 2 Music: Wahzhazhe (song) Scott George (artist) Killers of the Flower Moon Soundtrack (album)

An Iñupiaq village on Alaska’s North Slope is suing after the Trump administration removed protections for an area important to subsistence hunting. The suit by Nuiqsut Trilateral Inc. says the action is in response to a move to expand oil drilling beyond what is in a Biden-era agreement for the Willow project. Another fight pitting caribou and oil drilling is resurfacing over increased momentum to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where Gwich’in people express concern over the declines of the Porcupine caribou herd — the state’s largest — which is down to a quarter of what it was two decades ago. We’ll look at the factors that affect Alaska’s caribou and what Alaska Native people who depend on them are doing about them.

We’ll also hear about Indigenous climate activist Daria Egereva (Selkup) who is facing terrorism charges in Russia after testifying at the United Nation’s COP30 summit in favor of including Indigenous women in climate negotiations.

GUESTS

Rosemary Ahtuangaruak (Iñupiaq), former Mayor of Nuiqsut

Aivana Enmynkau (Chukchi), climate activist

Luda Kinok (Yupik), Indigenous rights activist



Break 1 Music: Reindeer (song) Pamyua (artist) Caught in The Act (album)

Break 2 Music: Wahzhazhe (song) Scott George (artist) Killers of the Flower Moon Soundtrack (album)

College Native American Studies courses are engines for Native-led research in addition to serving as a welcoming academic home for Native students. As it is, Native students are already the most under-represented group on college campuses. Their numbers declined in the decade before the Covid pandemic. There are indications that the 2023 Supreme Court decision upending Affirmative Action and the Trump administration’s focus on unraveling Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are doing further damage to all minority enrollment. As the American Indian Studies Association convention gets underway, we’ll assess the power and challenges of college programs focusing specifically on Native issues.

GUESTS

Dr. Souksavanh Keovorabouth (Diné), assistant professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Northern Arizona University and president of the American Indian Studies Association

Mario Atencio (Diné), Native American Studies Ph.D candidate at the University of New Mexico

Allison Shaddox (Cherokee), Native American Studies Ph.D. student at the University of New Mexico

Kelly Nalani Beym (Diné), Ph.D. candidate in geography at the University of Kansas



Break 1 Music: Manitou (song) The Delbert Anderson Trio (artist) MANITOU (album)

Break 2 Music: Wahzhazhe (song) Scott George (artist) Killers of the Flower Moon Soundtrack (album)

The Timbisha Shoshone Tribe just held an event to commemorate 25 years since the landmark legislation outlining a historic co-stewardship agreement between the tribe and the National Park Service in Death Valley. The tribe’s name is on the entrance sign to the park. At the same time, the Trump administration is calling for the removal of informational plaques in the visitor center that tells the tribe’s story. The sign’s removal is one of almost 20 at National Park sites around the country, including Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument, the site of the allied tribes’ decisive victory over George Armstrong Custer and U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry Regiment. We’ll talk to tribal representatives about how the information in National Parks was developed and what message removing it sends.

GUESTS

Dorothy FireCloud (Rosebud Sioux Tribe), retired assistant director of Native American affairs for the National Park Service

Otis Halfmoon (Nez Perce), retired National Park Service employee

Mandi Campbell (Timbisha Shoshone), tribal historic preservation officer for the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe

Gheri Hall (Blackfeet), co-director of the Tribal Historic Preservation Office for the Blackfeet Tribe



Break 1 Music: This Land (song) Keith Secola (artist) Native Americana – A Coup Stick (album)

Break 2 Music: Wahzhazhe (song) Scott George (artist) Killers of the Flower Moon Soundtrack (album)

The Oglala Lakota tribal president banned U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Red Lake Band of Ojibwe officials say ICE can’t operate on their Minnesota reservation without prior consultation. A number of tribes are waiving tribal ID fees and reaching out to secure their members’ citizenship documents. Dozens of tribes are offering guidance for Native Americans who encounter ICE agents. The actions are part of the response by tribes and prominent Native organizations as more stories surface of Native residents tangling — and even being detained — in the ICE crackdown in Minneapolis and elsewhere.

GUESTS

Lenny Fineday (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe), general counsel for the National Congress of American Indians

Beth Margaret Wright (Laguna Pueblo), senior staff attorney with the Native American Rights Fund

Frank Star Comes Out (Oglala Lakota), president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe



Break 1 Music: Our Autonomy (song) Klee Benally (artist) Appropriation (album)

Break 2 Music: Wahzhazhe (song) Scott George (artist) Killers of the Flower Moon Soundtrack (album)