Native America Calling

Some residents of Zuni Pueblo in northwestern New Mexico were forced to evacuate their homes due to severe flash flooding earlier this week. The community is bracing for more storms and flooding as the monsoon season continues. Tribal leadership is working to protect tribal members and historical structures. We’ll get an update from community members, and the Pueblo’s governor, on recovery efforts and the damage caused.

We’ll also hear from an Indigenous journalist covering the worsening wildfires in Ontario, Canada. More than 13 First Nations communities were displaced.

GUESTS

Arden Kucate (Zuni), governor of the Pueblo of Zuni

Shaun Tsabetsaye (Zuni), co-founder and chief of technology of Major Market Inc.

Willow Fiddler (Sandy Lake First Nation), Indigenous affairs reporter for The Globe and Mail



Break 1 Music: Land of the Shalako (song) Zuni Midnighters (artist) Land of the Shalako (album)

Break 2 Music: I Know [feat. Sebastian Gaskin] (song) Shub (artist) Heritage [Pt. 2] (album)

More than 35 First Nations in Canada have active drinking water advisories, but a new federal bill aims to address the issue. Indigenous leaders are critical of the bill and argue that it limits federal liability and fails to protect clean water as a basic human right. Some Indigenous communities have been without clean water since the 1960s, leading First Nations leaders to demand legislative fixes to industrial pollution and longstanding neglect by the federal government. We’ll hear from leaders and experts about what’s in the new water bill and the ongoing water crisis in parts of the country.

We’ll also hear about a new scientific study by Conservation International that examines how Indigenous stewardship and cultural practices improve the ecological health of lands. Researchers looked at the unique practices of more than 40 Indigenous communities around the world and how they’re adapting to a changing climate.

GUESTS

Linda Debassige (M’Chigeeng First Nation), Grand Council Chief of the Anishinabek Nation

Leah Gazan (Wood Mountain Lakota Nation), NDP Member of Parliament

Kerry Black, associate professor and Canada Research Chair in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Calgary

Sushma Shrestha Sangat (Newari), conservation scientist and researcher



Break 1 Music: Red Dust Rising (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)

Break 2 Music: I Know [feat. Sebastian Gaskin] (song) Shub (artist) Heritage [Pt. 2] (album)

Around 200 wildfires are currently burning across the country and nearly 900 are burning in Canada. Large swaths of the northeastern U.S. are blanketed in heavy, hazardous smoke coming from widespread wildfires burning in northern Minnesota and Ontario. In the neighboring Canadian province, three First Nations communities were forced to evacuate after fires ripped through their remote reserves. Significant drought and decades of hands-off wild land management factor into increasingly severe wildfire seasons that impact Indigenous people the most. We’ll get updates from Indigenous fire experts about current wildfire events, smoke impacts, and the vulnerability of Indigenous communities.

GUESTS

Dr. Amy Cardinal Christianson (Métis), senior fire advisor for the Indigenous Leadership Initiative and board member of the International Association of Wildland Fire

Arnold Lazare (Mohawk), interim CEO of the National Indigenous Fire Safety Council and the Indigenous fire marshal for Canada

Ferin Davis Anderson (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians), natural resources manager for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community

Tim Sexton, fire program manager for the Klamath Tribes



Break 1 Music: La Grande Gigue Simple/ Red River Jig/ Big John McNeil (song) Métis Fiddler Quartet (artist) North West Voyage Nord Ouest (album)

Break 2 Music: I Know [feat. Sebastian Gaskin] (song) Shub (artist) Heritage [Pt. 2] (album)

Acclaimed Diné writer and Arizona’s current poet laureate, Dr. Laura Tohe, is working to share her poetry across the state’s rural communities. That includes public readings and uplifting young, emerging poets in the state. Growing up in a remote community on the Navajo Nation, Tohe demonstrated a firm grasp of both Diné bizaad and English at an early age. She attributes that to growing up in a family of storytellers, including her father who was a Navajo Code Talker in World War II. She’s been recognized by some of the top literary organizations and her writing has been translated to multiple languages for an international audience. Tohe joins us for our special feature, Native in the Spotlight, to discuss her career and her work to make poetry more accessible for everyone.



Break 1 Music: Chief Manuelito (song) Vincent Craig (artist) Self-titled Release (album)

Break 2 Music: I Know [feat. Sebastian Gaskin] (song) Shub (artist) Heritage [Pt. 2] (album)

Conservation groups and at least two Pacific Northwest tribes filed lawsuits against the federal government after it redefined “harm” in the Endangered Species Act earlier this month. Now, destruction of habitat is no longer considered “harm” to endangered wildlife. Supporters of the move say it lifts burdensome restrictions to land management and development. Environmental groups and tribes like the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and Squaxin Island Tribe say it puts endangered species, like Chinook salmon, and the environment they depend on in even greater danger.

GUESTS

Cheyenne Skye Branscum (Citizen Potawatomi Nation), Sierra Club president of the board of directors

Dr. Victoria Sutton (Lumbee), distinguished Horn Professor at Texas Tech University school of Law

Dr. Luhui Whitebear (Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation, Huastec and Cochimi), assistant professor and coordinator of Indigenous Studies at Oregon State University

Wyatt Golding, attorney at Ziontz Chestnut for the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community

Kristin Boyles, managing attorney with Earthjustice



Break 1 Music: In the River: A Protest Song (song) Raye Zaragoza (artist)

Break 2 Music: I Know [feat. Sebastian Gaskin] (song) Shub (artist) Heritage [Pt. 2] (album)