Native America Calling

After the initial grief of losing her daughter to a hit-and-run driver on the Flathead Indian Reservation, Carissa HeavyRunner faced months of inaction by local law enforcement to adequately investigate and charge the person responsible. Her frustration grew into a personal mission to see justice served. HeavyRunner’s story is one of the chief complaints by Native Americans who have lost a loved one and wake up every day without any progress toward getting any answers. We’ll learn about some outstanding Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) cases and the effort to improve the statistics in spite of law enforcement foot-dragging. GUESTS Adrian Jackson (Yakama). eldest son of Mona Vallo Carissa HeavyRunner (Blackfeet and Diné), founder of Mika Matters, MMIP advocate Ahli-sha Stephens (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), co-host of “We Are Resilient: A MMIW True Crime Podcast” Sheyahshe Littledave (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), co-host of “We Are Resilient: A MMIW True Crime Podcast” Darlene Gomez, attorney and activist for MMIP   Break 1 Music: Remember Me (song) Fawn Wood (artist) Kikāwiynaw (album) Break 2 Music: Chicken Dance (song) Blackfoot Confederacy (artist) Confederacy Style (album)

An exhibition at The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Alberta celebrates the work of the Indigenous Group of Seven, influential Indigenous artists who, over a period of decades, pushed a new definition of Native art in Canada. We’ll also highlight exhibitions honoring contemporary and up-and-coming Native American artists including the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s McClung Museum of Natural History & Culture exhibition, “Homelands: Connecting to Mounds through Native Art“, and the Institute of American Indian Art’s annual showcase of work by the visual arts graduating class. GUESTS Joseph Sánchez, artist, former curator for IAIA’s Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, member of the Indigenous Group of Seven, and co-curator of “The Ancestors Are Talking” exhibit at The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies Kayla Wanatee (Meskwaki Tribe), multi-disciplinary artist and a spring 2025 IAIA Bachelor’s of Fine Arts graduate Kassidy Plyler (Catawba), artist and cultural public programs specialist for the Catawba Nation   Break 1 Music: Indigenous Life (song) Fiji (artist) Indigenous Life (album) Break 2 Music: Rodeo Song [Skip Dance Song] (song) Sweethearts of Navajoland (artist) From the Heart of Diné Nation Traditional Songs of the Navajo (album)  

Among the 168 people killed in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City was Raymond Lee Johnson (Seminole Nation of Oklahoma). He was volunteering with the Older Native American Program at the time and was heavily involved in education and other issues important to Native people. Cherokee Ballard was a television news anchor and reporter who covered the aftermath and the subsequent trials. And FBI special agent Walter Lamar was on the scene that day helping rescue survivors. He was also part of the FBI’s investigation into the bombing. We’ll hear stories about how the bombing affected the city with one of the highest percentages of Native citizens in the nation. GUESTS Walter Lamar (Blackfeet and Wichita), founder of Lamar Associates and former FBI special agent Anne Marshall (Muscogee), council representative for the Muscogee Creek Nation Cherokee Ballard (Cherokee), communications director for the Oklahoma County Clerk and former news anchor and reporter   Break 1 Music: 500 Years O’ Blues (song) Digging Roots (artist) Seeds (album) Break 2 Music: Rodeo Song [Skip Dance Song] (song) Sweethearts of Navajoland (artist) From the Heart of Diné Nation Traditional Songs of the Navajo (album)

Greg Biskakone Johnson (Lac du Flambeau), an experienced spearfisher and his tribe’s culture and language instructor, was helping an elder stock up on walleye when four gunshots rang out through the dark night last week. That and other incidents prompted Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI) to issue a statement about the state’s responsibility to uphold treaty fishing rights. The incidents come 30 years after the violent confrontations in the state known as ‘The Walleye Wars.” Among the $1 billion in grants for schools and food programs rescinded by the Trump administration is a $750,000 USDA grant for Day Eagle Hope Project. The non-profit runs a food pantry and food delivery service on the Ft. Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana. We’ll hear from its director about the program’s future. GUESTS Greg Biskakone Johnson (Lac du Flambeau), tribal spearfisherman and cultural and language instructor Jason Schlender (Lac Courte Oreilles), executive administrator for the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission Tescha Hawley (Aaniiih), founder and CEO of the Day Eagle Hope Project Richard Elm-Hill (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin), associate director of Native Agriculture and Food Systems Investments at the First Nations Development Institute   Break 1 Music: Stomp (song) The GrayHawk Band (artist) Worth The Wait (album) Break 2 Music: Rodeo Song [Skip Dance Song] (song) Sweethearts of Navajoland (artist) From the Heart of Diné Nation Traditional Songs of the Navajo (album)

This year marks 100 years since Mount Rushmore was dedicated as a national monument. The stone butte carved with the faces of four presidents has become a patriotic symbol. But the federal government’s broken treaties to take over the land is only the beginning of the famous monument’s troubled history. We’ll hear about Rushmore’s connection to the Confederate South and the ongoing insult of honoring leaders who contributed to efforts to eliminate the sacred land’s original inhabitants. GUESTS Nick Estes (Lower Brule Sioux Tribe), assistant professor of American Indian studies at the University of Minnesota Chief Arvol Looking Horse (Lakota/Dakota/Nakota), 19th Generation Keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Pipe Matthew Davis, author of forthcoming book “A Biography of a Mountain: The Making and Meaning of Mount Rushmore”   Break 1 Music:  Nothing for Ourselves (song) Klee Benally (artist) Appropriation (album) Break 2 Music: Rodeo Song [Skip Dance Song] (song) Sweethearts of Navajoland (artist) From the Heart of Diné Nation Traditional Songs of the Navajo (album)

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr. promises a “massive testing and research effort” to find the cause of autism. Sec. Kennedy says it will happen by September. That ambitious promise alone, and other comments by Kennedy, are met with skepticism and even backlash by autism advocates and experts. Meanwhile, groups like Diné Parents Taking Action at Northern Arizona University are putting the work in to provide support and raise awareness when it comes to autism among Native Americans and other underserved communities. We’ll go over some of the facts about autism and how the disorder is being addressed among Native people. GUESTS Jules Edwards (Anishinaabe), author and disability justice advocate Dr. Davis Henderson (Diné), associate professor with Northern Arizona University Dr. Candi Running Bear (Diné), assistant professor at Western New Mexico University  Dr. Olivia Lindly, assistant professor at Northern Arizona University   Break 1 Music: Walking In Beauty (song) Jay Begaye (artist) The Beauty Way (album) Break 2 Music: Rodeo Song [Skip Dance Song] (song) Sweethearts of Navajoland (artist) From the Heart of Diné Nation Traditional Songs of the Navajo (album)

It’s a Native America Calling tradition to invite Pueblo musician Jir Anderson and his troupe of songwriters into the studio to play live during their run in Albuquerque. Native Guitars Tour always presents a diverse set of musicians with a focus on guitars. We’ll hear about what’s new with the tour and listen to some live music. GUESTS Jir Anderson (Cochiti Pueblo), lead singer for the Jir Project and founder of Native Guitars Jacob Shije (Santa Clara Pueblo), musician Ailani (Santa Clara Pueblo), singer/songwriter Welby June (Oglala Lakota, Muscogee, Ho-Chunk, and Cheyenne), musician Christy Bird (Santa Domingo Pueblo), fashion coordinator Scotti Clifford (Cheyenne/Lakota),  singer/songwriter Break 1 Music: Bounty (song) Deerlady (band) Greatest Hits (album) Break 2 Music: Intertribal Song (song) Black Lodge Singers (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs Recorded Live at Coeur D’Alene (album)

As scores of talented musicians and artists assemble in Albuquerque during the Gathering of Nations Powwow, we’ll sample some of the musical offerings happening on stages around town. We begin with two established and popular shows featuring hip-hop and metal music: the Gathering of MCs and Merciless Savages. We’ll talk with organizers from each of the shows and take in some of the new music and some old favorites. GUESTS Franklin Yazzie (Diné), vocalist for Under Exile Randall Hoskie (Diné), promotor of the Merciless Savages shows Nataanii Means (Oglala Lakota, Omaha, and Diné), hip-hop artist, motivational speaker, and Indigenous advocate Def-I (Diné), hip-hop artist, and MC and co-host of the Gathering of MCs   Break 1 Music – G.O.N. (Grand Entry Song) (song) Gathering of Nations (artist) Gathering of Nations: Spirit Rising (album) Break 2 Music: Intertribal Song (song) Black Lodge Singers (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs Recorded Live at Coeur D’Alene (album)

The PBS program “Frontline” examines the financial, cultural, and human toll of climate change on the western Alaska coastline and the Native people that have always called it home. Hopi producer Patty Talahongva takes a fresh look at the warming temperatures, increasingly destructive storms, and retreating wildlife that are forcing a drastic change in how some Alaska Native live. We’ll hear about the issue from those involved in the documentary. GUESTS Patty Talahongva (Hopi), correspondent, writer, director, and producer of “Alaska’s Vanishing Native Villages” Agatha Napoleon (Paimiut), climate change program coordinator Edgar Tall Sr. (Yup’ik), Chief of the Native Village of Hooper Bay   Break 1 Music: Take U Places (song) Pamyua (artist) Side A Side B (album) Break 2 Music: Intertribal Song (song) Black Lodge Singers (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs Recorded Live at Coeur D’Alene (album)

Tribes that rely on Colorado River water — and the complex set of rules that govern it — are worried about how President Donald Trump’s executive orders and the ongoing legal questions about them will affect their water access. President Trump froze federal funds for the Inflation Reduction Act. Even after a judge reinstated those funds, tribes are concerned about the viability of some water conservation efforts going forward. Those water access issues are becoming increasingly important because of long-term trends showing significantly less water available in the basin. GUESTS Heather Whiteman Runs Him (Apsáalooke), associate clinical professor at the James E. Rogers College of Law and director of the Tribal Justice Clinic at the University of Arizona Jenny Dumas, water attorney for the Jicarilla Apache Nation Daryl Vigil (Jicarilla Apache Nation), co-director of the Water & Tribes Initiative Edward Wemytewa (Zuni), Pueblo of Zuni tribal councilman