Native America Calling

Tribes in Michigan oppose Enbridge the Line 5 oil pipeline replacement plan, arguing the environmental risks to their traditional waters far outweigh any benefits. The proposal to replace the 70-year-old pipeline that currently runs through Michigan and Wisconsin has faced many legal challenges over the years. Now, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the state or federal government should have say over how the project proceeds. The decision could set a precedent on how much power tribes and states have in regulating fossil fuel development. We’ll speak with tribal leaders, Native legal scholars, and others about what’s next for the ongoing Line 5 pipeline legal battle.

GUESTS

Wenona Singel (Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa), associate professor of law at Michigan State University College of Law and associate director of the Indigenous Law and Policy Center

Elizabeth Arbuckle (Bad River), chairwoman of the Bad River Tribe

Melissa Kay, Tribal Water Institute fellow at the Native American Rights Fund



Break 1 Music: Nothing New Since 1492 (song) RematriNation (artist)

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

The full statement by Enbridge on the U.S. Supreme Court case:

We are encouraged that the U.S. Supreme Court has heard arguments and is reviewing the June 2024 decision of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Sixth Circuit’s ruling conflicts with decisions issued by two other federal Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the Supreme Court’s review will provide needed clarity by resolving that conflict.

For more than six years, the Attorney General has attempted to shut down Line 5 based on perceived safety concerns. However, the safety of Line 5 is regulated exclusively by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation. PHMSA conducts annual reviews of Line 5’s safety compliance across the Straits of Mackinac and has not identified any safety issues with its continued operation.

There are also significant implications for energy security and foreign affairs if the Attorney General continues to pursue the lawsuit now in state court.

We believe that federal law prohibits the Attorney General from shutting down Line 5. A shutdown of Line 5 would undermine the 1977 Transit Pipelines Treaty, which prohibits Michigan from impeding the operation of the pipeline. It would also undermine the legal doctrine that reserves foreign affairs matters for the federal government. The lawful operation of the Line 5 Dual Pipelines continues to be vital to provide needed petroleum products, including home heating and transportation fuels, to Michiganders, the Detroit Metro Airport, and the surrounding region. 

We value our relationships with all the communities and community members in areas where Enbridge has assets. As we continue to move closer to construction on the Great Lakes Tunnel Project, we remain committed to including Tribes and Tribal citizens in this incredibly important and consequential project and welcome constructive dialogue and engagement.

Line 5 is critical energy infrastructure. The Great Lakes Tunnel makes a safe pipeline safer while also ensuring the continued safe, secure, and affordable delivery of essential energy to the Great Lakes region.

Jody Potts-Joseph is the first Hän Gwich’in woman to compete in Alaska’s famed Iditarod sled dog race. The musher and cast member on the reality TV show “Life Below Zero: First Alaskans“, says she was raised in the basket of a dog sled. She has raced in more than a half-dozen pro dog sled competitions, but this was her first attempt at the grueling 1,000-mile Iditarod. We’ll hear about the race and her work raising sled dogs.

We’ll also hear from athletes who competed in the annual Arctic Winter Games, held this year in Whitehorse, Yukon. In addition to common winter events like curling and figure skating, the games include traditional Indigenous competitions including single foot kick, knuckle hop, and stick pull.

GUESTS

Jody Potts-Joseph (Hän Gwich’in), Iditarod musher, environmentalist, traditional tattooist, and athlete

Kyle Worl (Tlingit, Deg-Hit’an Athabascan, and Yup’ik), traditional games coach and athlete

Candice Parker (Nome Eskimo Community), Arctic sport coach for Team Alaska

Joanna Hopson (Iñupiaq), Arctic games coach and athlete for Team Alaska

Emelia Maring (Gwich’in First Nation from the Inuvik Native Band), member of Team Wainman



Break 1 Music: Humma [Feat. Kendra Tagoona & Tracy Sarazin] (song) Sultans of String (artist)

Break 2 Music: Lowlands (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)

Muslims around the world are marking the end of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. It’s a time of prayer, fasting, and spiritual rejuvenation. Among those participating is a handful of Native Americans who have a unique relationship with Islam. We’ll speak with some Native Muslims about their faith and how they confront renewed animosity toward their beliefs as rhetoric from elected leaders and others increases.

We’ll also get Indigenous perspectives on increasing tensions between the United States and Cuba. President Donald Trump threatens to take over the country. A U.S. blockade is exacerbating Cuba’s long-standing energy crisis, shutting citizens off from many of the basics of daily life.

GUESTS

Megan Kalk (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe), Muslim convert

Jamila Southwind (Keeseekoose First Nation), Muslim, mother, and former translator

Raymond Matt (Crow Creek Sioux and Salish and Kootenai), Muslim Revert and father

José Barreiro (Taíno), journalist, former editor of Akwesasne Notes, and scholar emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution



Break 1 Music: Round Dance (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs (album)

Break 2 Music: Lowlands (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)

Washington State awarded a number of tribes almost $18 million for clean energy projects — from solar installations to electric fishing and research boat conversions. It is one of the alternative funding sources as tribes and tribal economic development ventures scramble to fill a void following the withdrawal of some $1.5 billion in federal dollars. We’ll get an update on where clean energy infrastructure and development trends are headed in the absence of any new federal money.

GUESTS

David Harper (Mojave from the Colorado River Indian Tribes), CEO of Huurav Energy

John Lewis (Gila River Indian Community), managing director for Native American Energy at Avant Energy

Miacel Spotted Elk (Navajo and Northern Cheyenne), Indigenous affairs reporter at Grist

Shaun Tsabetsaye (Zuni), head of tribal technical assistance and project development for the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy



Break 1 Music: Lightning Scarred Heart (song) Cheryl L’Hirondelle and Friends (artist) Why the Caged Bird Sings (album)

Break 2 Music: Lowlands (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)

The words “Sioux”, “Chippewa”, and “Crow” are some of the well-known names in the official lexicon that identify tribes, but they are also among the monikers that arise from mispronunciations, errant assumptions, and even derogatory terms by outsiders that found their way into conventional use. Over the years, some tribes have undertaken the arduous process to change their official names to take back what they have always called themselves. Others simply change how they present their names to the public, without updating the official record. We’ll talk with representatives from tribes who seek to have their names better reflect their own culture and language.

GUESTS

Jennifer Heminokeky, tribal chairwoman of the Fort Sill Chiricahua-Warm Springs Apache Tribe

Vivian Juan-Saunders (Tohono O’odham), former chairwoman of the Tohono O’odham Nation

Jonathan Hale  (Diné), former tribal leader

Jason Salsman (Muscogee), press secretary for the Muscogee Nation



Break 1 Music: Coffee (song) James Bilagody (artist) Near Midnight (album)

Break 2 Music: Lowlands (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)