Native America Calling

December is a traditional time for feasts, family, and giving, but the financial and time burdens of the holiday-heavy month, combined with the change of seasons and other factors, also make it a time ripe for breaks in a person’s mental health. We’ll find out how connections — with other people, cultural traditions, or spiritual foundations — can be a way to mitigate the added stresses of December — or any time, in this encore presentation. GUESTS Dr. Pamela End of Horn (Oglala Lakota), national suicide prevention consultant for the Indian Health Service Kristin Mitchell (Diné), assistant project director for Project AWARE Wildcats (PAWS) Dr. Jessica Saniguq Ullrich (Nome Eskimo Community and Native Village of Wales), assistant professor at the Institute for Research and Education to Advance Community Health (IREACH) at Washington State University Break 1 Music: Dreaming of A Christmas (song) Randall Paskemin (artist) Christmas Cheer (album) Break 2 Music: Coventry Carol (song) PIQSIQ (artist) Coventry Carol (album)

New York Times best-selling author Angeline Boulley (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) made a number of best-of-2025 lists with the third book in her series centered in the Ojibwe community, Sugar Island, titled “Sisters in the Wind.” Another favorite comes from young adult author and editor, Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee), who challenged more than a dozen other Native authors to imagine a Native future where a frybread eatery holds community and culture in the “Legendary Frybread Drive-In.” And renowned Potawatomi botanist and writer, Robin Wall Kimmerer tapped into the curiosity of young readers with her first children’s book “Bud Finds Her Gift.” They are among the Native works highlighted by our distinguished panel of reading enthusiasts. You can find their lists of favorite books of the year below. GUESTS Allison Waukau (Menominee and Navajo), American Indian Library Association member -at-large Amber McCrary (Diné), writer and poet Stacy Wells (Choctaw Nation), author and librarian Allison Waukau’s favorite books:  “I Am on Indigenous Land” by Katrina M. Phillips “We Survived the Night” by Julian Brave Noisecat *featured on NAC in October “Sisters in the Wind” by Angeline Boulley *featured on NAC in September  “Across the Ice: How We Saved the Ojibwe Horse” by Darcy Whitecrow and Heather O’Connor “Moon Song” by Michaela Goade “Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones *featured on NAC in October “Bud Finds Her Gift” by Robin Wall Kimmerer *featured on NAC in September  “Ishkode: A Story of Fire” by Evan Larson and Nisogaabokwe Melonee Montano and illustrated by Moira Villiard Minnesota Lives series Stacy Wells’ favorite books:  “The Others” by Cheryl Issacs (sequel to “The Unfinished”) “Legendary Frybread Drive-In” edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith *featured on The Menu in August  “Faye and the Dangerous Journey: An Ojibwe Removal Survival Story” by Kim Sigafus “The Summer of the Bone Horses” by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve *featured on NAC in July  Amber McCrary’s favorite books:  “The Museum of Unnatural Histories” by Annie Wenstrup “Mele” by Kalehua Kim “Beyond the Glittering World: an Anthology of Indigenous Feminisms and Futurisms” edited by Stacie Shannon Denetsosie, Kinsale Drake and Darcie Little Badger “Soft as Bones” by Chyana Marie Sage Shawn Spruce’s favorite books:  “Hole in the Sky” by Daniel H. Wilson *featured on NAC in October  “Sisters in the Wind” by Angeline Boulley *featured on NAC in September  “We Survived the Night” by Julian Brave Noisecat *featured on NAC in October “Stick Houses” by Matthew Fletcher *featured on NAC in June  Andi Murphy’s (NAC producer) favorite books: “Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones *featured on NAC in October “Punished” by Ann-Helén Laestadius *featured on NAC in February  “Broken Fields” by Marcie R. Rendon *featured on NAC in March “Big Chief” by Jon Hickey “Love is a War Song” by Danica Nava “The Whistler” by Nick Medina *featured on NAC in October  “Hole in the Sky” by Daniel H. Wilson *featured on NAC in October  “Surviva: A Future Ancestral Field Guide” by Cannupa H. Luger *featured on NAC in October  Break 1 Music: 12 Days of Christmas (song) Carol Adams (artist) Heartbeat of the Holiday Season (album) Break 2 Music: Coventry Carol (song) PIQSIQ (artist) Coventry Carol (album)

On the cusp of what could be a new era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), some researchers are urging caution and the need for deliberate controls to keep the developing technology from robbing Indigenous people of their cultures and sovereignty. A project with three universities provides a framework of standards to prevent AI from stripping Native Americans and all other Indigenous peoples of their right to control images, language, cultural knowledge, and other components of their identities they’ve worked so hard to retain. We’ll hear about the potential benefits and threats of AI to Native people. This is an encore show so we won’t be taking calls from listeners. GUESTS Danielle Boyer (Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians), robotics inventor Randy Kekoa Akee (Native Hawaiian), Julie Johnson Kidd Professor of Indigenous Governance and Development at Harvard University Michael Running Wolf (Lakota and Cheyenne), community leader in AI research Crystal Hill-Pennington, professor at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks Break 1 Music: Obsidian (song) Red-209 (artist) Break 2 Music: Coventry Carol (song) PIQSIQ (artist) Coventry Carol (album)

With the stroke of a pen, the U.S. welcomes more than 50,000 new federally recognized tribal citizens. After numerous failed attempts, the Lumbee Nation is the 575th federally recognized tribe — the fourth-largest overall in terms of population and the largest tribe east of the Mississippi River. The recognition brings a host of potential changes, including new political power, economic development opportunities, and a sense of pride for Lumbee citizens who have worked for nearly 140 years to be counted among the country’s established sovereign nations. GUESTS David E. Wilkins (Lumbee), professor at the University of Richmond Malinda Maynor Lowery (Lumbee), professor at Emory University, historian, and filmmaker Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz (Lumbee), professor at the University of Iowa and director of the Native Policy Lab Break 1 Music: Maple Leaf Rag (song) Lakota John (artist) Winds of Time (album) Break 2 Music: Coventry Carol (song) PIQSIQ (artist) Coventry Carol (album)

Leonard Peltier’s release after nearly 50 years in federal prison tops our list for the most momentous events of 2025. We’ll explore what the unrepentant elder activist’s relative freedom (he remains under house arrest) means nearly a year after President Joe Biden commuted his sentence. We’ll also revisit some of the other top news events including how President Donald Trump’s first year touched everything from Native health care to federal contracts, and federal recognition for the Lumbee Nation. GUESTS Jourdan Bennett-Begaye (Diné), managing editor of ICT Graham Lee Brewer (Cherokee), national reporter for The Associated Press Levi Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation), publisher and editor of Native News Online and Tribal Business News Melanie Henshaw (Mvskoke), Indigenous affairs reporter for InvestigateWest Break 1 Music: Ridin’ Out the Storm (song) Samantha Crain (artist) Break 2 Music: Coventry Carol (song) PIQSIQ (artist) Coventry Carol (album)