Native America Calling

More than a year after Arizona cracked down on fake substance abuse treatment facilities following a $2.5 billion Medicaid fraud scam, hundreds of people can’t find adequate treatment. The scam swept up thousands of Native Americans and sought reimbursement for care they never received. An investigative report by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting and ProPublica also discovered continued confusion over Medicaid reimbursements that threatens the viability of the legitimate facilities cleared by the state to continue. We’ll get an update on the aftermath of the Medicaid scam and the ongoing effort to help people needing behavioral health care. The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting continues to collect information about people affected by the interruption in behavioral health services. Those with information can write to info@azcir.org, or call 505-226-0626.

A Navajo family tells the story in Bad Indian: Hiding in Antelope Canyon, a new film about their relative Tadidinii, who was killed while refusing to return his daughter back to the boarding school from which she ran away. The men who killed him were acquitted. The family also gives tours of the part of Antelope Canyon on the Navajo Nation where Tadidinii hid out. Another Yerington Paiute boy repeatedly ran away and traveled the 50 miles back home until the boarding school administrators gave up. These are among the stories that descendants are uncovering about the dangers their relatives endured to resist forced attendance in boarding schools from the 1860s to the 1970s. We’ll hear some of the stories of danger, desperation, and courage.

If he lives up to his word, President-elect Donald Trump’s first day in the Oval Office will include a wave of executive actions with significant repercussions for tribes and individuals. In addition to major moves to expel immigrants, Trump promises to expand oil and other extractive development, cancel selected green energy spending, and eliminate federal diversity and equity measures. Trump also has an ambitious agenda for his first 100 days that herald sweeping changes in federal government. We’ll hear from political watchers about what could be in store.

Ten years since a world-changing blackout, an Anishinaabe community must embark on a mission of discovery if they’re going to survive. First Nations author Waubgeshig Rice revisits the survivors from his first novel, Moon of the Crusted Snow, as they search south for sustainable future in his next novel, Moon of the Turning Leaves. We’ll hear from him how he works to bring hope into a post-apocalyptic story. Plus, we’ll be joined by one of Jim Thorpe’s granddaughters about his posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Personal stories of pregnancy-related complications by Indigenous women are the centerpiece of a new informational campaign by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC wants to raise awareness about the high rate of pre- and post-natal complications among Native women. The effort comes just as the March of Dimes launched its own initiative to improve poor maternal care outcomes. It includes a map of "maternity care deserts", many of which are in areas with high Native populations. We’ll talk about these and other efforts to improve care for pregnant Native women.

Guitarist Jesse Ed Davis (Kiowa) was an in-demand session player starting in the mid 60s, appearing on dozens of recordings with artists such as Taj Mahal, Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton, and Jackson Browne. He appears on solo albums by three of the four Beatles. Davis toured with The Faces, alongside Rod Stewart and Ron Wood. The Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Okla., is mounting an exhibition celebrating Davis’ life and work along with a tribute concert featuring Jackson Browne, Taj Mahal, and Joy Harjo. We’ll hear from some of the people who knew and worked with the man Bonnie Raitt called “one of the most original, and soulful, and cool guitar players.”

Local southern California tribes will share management of a new 4,500-square-mile marine sanctuary. The designation from the Biden Administration cites the need to protect at-risk plants and animals, including whales, dolphins, and sea turtles. Establishing the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary is the first such designation initiated by Native Americans. The idea started more than a decade ago by a member of the Northern Chumash Tribe. We’ll find out about how the sanctuary designation came about and what its managers hope it accomplishes.

Tensions are high in New Caledonia as the remote Pacific island nation's Indigenous people are pushing for independence more than 170 years after the island was colonized by France. At least 13 people have died in protests triggered in May when the French government attempted to institute voting changes that would bolster the political power of New Caledonia's white settler communities at the expense of the Indigenous Kanak people. There's been little progress in the four decades after the Kanak tried to force better recognition from New Caledonia's political leaders aligned with Paris. It's a fight that has parallels to current and past struggles by Indigenous people in North America and elsewhere.

The stories she heard as a young girl from her own elder relatives inspired Holly Miowak Guise to research and document the experience of Alaska Native veterans of World War II. Her work is compiled in the book, Alaska Native Resilience: Voices from World War II. Her work encompasses the U.S. Government’s occupation of the Aleutian Islands, the trauma of religious boarding schools, and the historic Alaska Native fight to overcome institutionalized discrimination. We’ll talk with Guise about her work and the people she encountered.

Native Americans have a long and rich tradition of producing artwork from behind bars. In the past, it was both a means of artistic expression and a way to document and communicate important events. Modern inmate artwork is also a vehicle for creative expression. It is also a valuable tool for personal growth and rehabilitation. We’ll hear about artwork’s healing and redemptive significance for incarcerated Native Americans.