Native America Calling

Vermont’s four Abenaki bands face ongoing pushback as they work to assert their Native American identity. With state recognition, the tribes enjoy certain hunting and fishing rights and the ability to list artwork as Native made. The Odanak First Nation in Canada is speaking out on social media and at press conferences, public events, and even at the United Nations, saying the people in Vermont claiming Abenaki blood have no connection to the Abenaki name and are only exploiting a legitimate and respected culture. It’s one of the remaining battlegrounds in the often-contentious discussions over identity. GUESTS Chief Rick O’Bomsawin (Odanak First Nation), Chief of the Abenaki Council of Odanak Chief Don Stevens (Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation) Margaret Bruchac (Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation), professor emerita of anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania   Break 1 Music: Seeing Two (song) Deerlady (band) Greatest Hits (album) Break 2 Music: Only A Whisper (song) Joe H Henry (artist) Real Things (album)

Throat-singing Inuit sisters Tiffany Ayalik and Inuksuk Mackay released their sixth album, offering a soundtrack to the traditional stories they grew up with. “Legends” blends PIQSIQ’s cultural improvisational technique with sophisticated studio production. First Nations Cree singer LOV is on tour, propelled by the success of the video releases for the singles, “Matriarch” and “Mama“. Her upbeat soulful, rhythmic style invokes Amy Winehouse, but LOV has a message all her own drawn from her roots on her Treaty Six Reserve. Country crooner Blaine Bailey barely blinked after getting eliminated from the musical competition reality show, “The Road“. He hit the road with his own tour singing songs from his album, “Indian Country“, with a classic sound built around lyrics full of Native pride. GUESTS Blaine Bailey (United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians), singer and songwriter LOV (Poundmaker Cree Nation), singer and songwriter Tiffany Ayalik (Inuit), singer and songwriter for the duo PIQSIQ Inuksuk Mackay (Inuit), singer and songwriter for the duo PIQSIQ   Break 1 Music: Good Buddy (song) Fontine (artist) Good Buddy (album) Break 2 Music: Traditional Side Step Song (song) Little Otter (artist) Side Step Songs (album)

The Aboriginal people of Australia are on the precipice of cementing a historic agreement with the state of Victoria, one that could provide a blueprint for recognizing Indigenous peoples and incorporating their voices and cultures into the political process going forward. The treaty is a first for Australia and comes after years of research, negotiation, and a failed political referendum in 2023. Among other things, those crafting the treaty look to avoid the pitfalls of federal treaties with Native Americans and First Nations peoples of Canada. We’ll hear from those who worked to make the treaty happen and what about their hopes and concerns following this historic action. GUESTS Dr. Julian Rawiri Kusabs (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Maru [Hauraki], and Tainui), research fellow at the University of Melbourne Dr. Nikki Moodie (Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, and Gamilaraay), professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Melbourne Travis Lovett (Kerrupmara Gunditjmara, Boandik), inaugural executive director of the Centre for Truth Telling and Dialogue at the University of Melbourne Lidia Thorpe (Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung), Independent Senator for Victoria and represents the Blak Sovereign Movement   Break 1 Music: Talkin’ Treaty (song) Blackfire [Australia] (artist) Regeneration (album) Break 2 Music: Traditional Side Step Song (song) Little Otter (artist) Side Step Songs (album)

A team of researchers are actively sifting through archival documents, artifacts, even artwork to expand the story of Indigenous slavery. The Native Bound Unbound project includes interactive maps, digitized documents and recent interviews with descendants whose ancestors endured enslavement. The publicly available digital archive aims to document every instance of Indigenous slavery in the Western Hemisphere to illuminate where and when slavery took place, and the lasting effects for Indigenous communities and their descendants. GUESTS Philip J. Deloria (Yankton Dakota), professor of history at Harvard University Theresa Pasqual (Acoma Pueblo), executive vice president of Indigenous Affairs at the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center and the former tribal historic preservation officer for the Pueblo of Acoma Estevan Rael-Galvez, executive director of Native Bound Unbound: Archive of Indigenous Slavery   Break 1 Music: Crossroad Blues (song) Lakota John (artist) Lakota John and Kin (album) Break 2 Music: Traditional Side Step Song (song) Little Otter (artist) Side Step Songs (album)

As the federal government shutdown drags on, tribes are feeling the brunt more than the general population. That’s among the conclusions in a new report from the Brookings Institution that examines how the government distributes the funds it is obligated to. The report finds that a large portion of the money for tribal necessities like health care, education, and economic well-being required under the Trust and Treaty Responsibility is dependent on annual action by Congress rather than being baked into the automatic allocations that other federal funding recipients enjoy. The report calls on a more reliable funding system for tribes. The shutdown has prompted several tribes, including the Spirit Lake Nation, Standing Rock Tribe, and Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, to declare states of emergency, mainly because of the lack of food and winter heating assistance. We’ll hear more about how the shutdown is grinding away at tribes’ ability to help their citizens. GUESTS Chairman  Joseph James (Yurok Tribe) Nikki Stoops (Native Village of Kotzebue), vice president of engagement for the Alaska Federation of Natives Liz Malerba (Mohegan Tribe), director of policy and legislative affairs for the United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund Robert Maxim (Mashpee Wampanoag), fellow at the Brookings Institution   Break 1 Music: Hard Paddle (song) Salish Spirit Canoe Family (artist) Keep Singing, Keep Dancing (album) Break 2 Music: Traditional Side Step Song (song) Little Otter (artist) Side Step Songs (album)

Researchers are documenting more and longer-lasting wildfires in northern Alaska and Canada. In fact, the increase of wildfires is a trend across the Arctic, as far as Norway and Siberia, driven by higher temperatures and dryer conditions. The trend has immediate threats to people’s homes and health. Some tribes in Alaska and Canada also worry about the possibility of a long-term cataclysmic cycle of fires burning through vast stores of peat, producing uncountable amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. We’ll get a look at the latest research and learn what concerned Alaska Native tribes and other Indigenous stakeholders are doing to prepare. GUESTS Edward Alexander (Gwich’in), co-chair for Gwich’in Council International and senior Arctic Lead Woodwell Climate Research Center Dr. Amy Cardinal Christianson (Métis), senior fire advisor for the Indigenous Leadership Initiative and board member of the International Association of Wildland Fire Malinda Chase (Deg Hit’an), tribal liaison for the Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center under the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the land manager for her village Anvik   Break 1 Music: Blueberry Hill (song) Métis Fiddler Quartet (artist) Northwest Voyage Nord Ouest (album) Break 2 Music: Traditional Side Step Song (song) Little Otter (artist) Side Step Songs (album)

The practice of celebrating dead ancestors started long before Spanish colonizers came to what is now Mexico, but the Aztec and Mayan custom eventually engulfed the entire country, blending Catholic, Spanish, and Indigenous elements into what is now Dia de los Muertos. The festival even spills into parts of the U.S. Some people with Mexican Indigenous ties are working to cut through the contemporary pop culture trappings of the holiday and reconnect with the deeper, more spiritual origins. We’ll also hear about Vision Maker Media’s expanded push to train and support young filmmakers to tell stories driven by mission. The Native Youth Media Project partners with tribes, organizations, and individuals to develop storytellers at a time when federal support for such projects has disappeared. GUESTS Janet Martinez (Zapotec), executive director of Communidades Indigenas en Liderazgo (CIELO) Kurly Tlapoyawa (Chicano and Nahua), archaeologist and co-host of the “Tales from Aztlantis” podcast Anita Huízar-Hernández, associate director of the Hispanic Research Center and publisher and managing editor of the Bilingual Press at Arizona State University Francene Blythe-Lewis (Diné, Sisseton Wahpeton and Eastern Band of Cherokee), executive director of Vision Maker Media Break 1 Music: Hechizos (song) Glass Spells (artist) Crystals (album) Break 2 Music: Halloween (song) Blood Dance (artist) Halloween (album)

Julian Brave Noisecat’s re-established relationship with his estranged father is the jumping off point for recounting the lives of the author and his family. “We Survived The Night” is a story both unique and familiar that Noisecat delivers with a mix of journalism, memoir, and his Secwepemc people’s traditional storytelling. Coming off the acclaim that includes an Oscar nomination for his documentary, “Sugarcane“, Noisecat provides a deeper look into the personal experience, family lore, and neglected historical accounts that make up who he is.   Break 1 Music: Bad Dude (song) Joe H Henry (artist) Real Things (album) Break 2 Music: Halloween (song) Blood Dance (artist) Halloween (album)

Federal food assistance is set to stop November 1 if lawmakers are unable to solve the government shutdown. That means the supply of food through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to low-income Native Americans will begin running out without help from alternative sources. Some tribes are putting funds and other efforts toward filling the sudden gap. At least one tribe is culling their own buffalo herds to provide meat for hungry citizens. We’ll get an overview of the situation for Native residents who rely on SNAP. We’ll also hear about the lengths to which Alaska Native organizations are working to provide traditional foods to the people displaced by major storms on the state’s west coast. GUESTS Carly Griffith-Hotvedt (Cherokee), executive director of the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative Lyle Rutherford (Blackfeet), Blackfeet Tribal Councilman Kelsey Ciugun Wallace (Yup’ik and Irish), president and CEO of the Alaska Native Heritage Center   Break 1 Music: Prayer Song (song) Salish Spirit Canoe Family (artist) Keep Singing, Keep Dancing (album) Break 2 Music: Halloween (song) Blood Dance (artist) Halloween (album)

A struggle over who is running the Northern Cheyenne tribal government has resulted in arrests of government officials, frozen bank accounts, and an emergency action by traditional tribal leaders to ban women from voting. The divide started after newly elected President Gene Small authorized a forensic financial audit. Another long-standing divide is coming to a head on the Navajo Nation, prompting President Buu Nygren to state he will not resign his position. We’ll talk with reporters covering these two internal government disputes and take a look at some other notable issues and events. GUESTS Krista Allen (Diné), editor of the Navajo Times Thomas Tortez (Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians), former chairman of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians Brad Lopes (Aquinnah Wampanoag), Native American Teacher Retention Initiative program manager and former classroom teacher Nora Mabie, Indigenous affairs reporter with Montana Free Press   Break 1 Music: Current (song) Chuck Copenace (artist) Oshki Manitou (album) Break 2 Music: Halloween (song) Blood Dance (artist) Halloween (album)