Native America Calling

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. GUESTS Dr. Jennifer Richards (Diné, Oglala Lakota, and Taos Pueblo), assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health Crystal Austin (Diné), director of external affairs for the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health Dr. Brian Thompson (Oneida), physician, obstetrician gynecologist, and member of the national board of March of Dimes Vanessa Sanchez (Shoshone-Bannock), mother from the HEAR HER video campaign Dr. Tina Pattara-Lau, maternal child health consultant at Indian Health Service headquarters   Break 1 Music: Women’s Honoring Song (song) Red Hawk Medicine Drum (artist) New Beginnings (album) Break 2 Music: Another Night to Cry (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)

The Faces backstage at a concert, 1975. Bobby Daniels, left, Ronnie Wood, Rod Stewart, and Jesse Ed Davis. (Photo: Patti Daley / Patti Daley Collection; courtesy The Bob Dylan Center) 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.” GUESTS Joy Harjo (Mvskoke), 23rd U.S. Poet Laureate, musician, playwright, and co-curator of the Jesse Ed Davis: Natural Anthem exhibition Chebon Tiger (Seminole and Mvskoke), musician Douglas Miller, author of Washita Love Child: The Rise of Indigenous Rock Star Jesse Ed Davis and co-curator of the Jesse Ed Davis: Natural Anthem exhibition Steven Jenkins, director of the Bob Dylan Center   Break 1 Music: Beauty in a Fade (song) John Trudell (artist) Graffiti Man (album) Break 2 Music: Another Night to Cry (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)

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. We’ll also check in on the Gravel to Gravel Keystone Initiative in Alaska, another co-stewardship project tribes are involved in. GUESTS Violet Sage Walker (Chumash), chairwoman of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council Michael Murray, deputy superintendent for programs at the NOAA Channel Islands Kenneth Kahn, chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Eugene Paul (Holy Cross Tribe), former tribal chief of the Holy Cross Tribe, chair of the Bering Sea-Interior Tribal Commission and a member of the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission   Break 1 Music: Ocean Waves Song (song) Various Artists (artist) Chumash Story and Song Collection (album) Break 2 Music: Another Night to Cry (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)

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. GUESTS Joseph Xulue (Kanak and Samoan), executive member and former president of the New Zealand Pacific Lawyers’ Association Viro Xulue (Kanak), human rights and Indigenous law officer for the Drehu Customary Council of New Caledonia Dr. Christiane Leurquin (Kanak and French), senior lecturer in Global Studies and Social Anthropology at the University of Otago Dr. Tate LeFevre, cultural anthropologist and Kanaky/New Caledonia specialist   Break 1 Music: Atay (song) YATA (artist) Break 2 Music: Another Night to Cry (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)

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. GUEST Dr. Holly Miowak Guise (Iñupiaq), assistant professor of History at the University of New Mexico and the author of Alaska Native Resilience: Voices from WWII   Break 1 Music: Flag Song (song) Black Lodge (artist) Veteran’s Honor Song (album) Break 2 Music: Another Night to Cry (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)

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. GUESTS Gabe Galanda (member of the Round Valley Indian Tribe), managing lawyer at Galanda Broadman Genaro Rivas (Shoshone and Paiute), artist and tattoo artist at Feast or Famine Tattoo Jesus Ancheta (Cowichan First Nation), artist Dawn Lawson, Leonard Peltier’s personal assistant and a member of the official Leonard Peltier ad hoc committee   Break 1 Music: Red Dust Rising (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album) Break 2 Music: Midnite Blues (song) Crystal Shawanda (artist) Midnight Blues (album)

Good pay and a strong job demand are among the factors that make the information technology industry an promising career choice. But a study by the Kapor Center shows Native Americans are significantly underrepresented in the IT workforce. The divide is even wider for Native women. Starting early — offering computer science instruction in high schools — is one way IT advocates say will move the statistics in the right direction. We’ll talk about that and why Native IT experts are needed. GUESTS Renita DiStefano (Seneca Nation), president and CEO of Second Derivative, LLC Gary Burnette (Cheroenhaka Nottoway), current board chair for AISES and vice president of advisory consulting at Kyndryl Richard Chance (Cherokee Nation), CEO and founder of First Americans Marketplace Exchange (FAME) Rebecca Fisher (Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians), account executive at Bulletproof (a GLI company)   Break 1 Music: Standing Rock [feat. Nick Ørbæk Jacobsen] (song) Uyarakq (artist) Miseraq (album) Break 2 Music: Midnite Blues (song) Crystal Shawanda (artist) Midnight Blues (album)

President Donald Trump and Republicans pulled off a decisive victory. Are Native Americans poised to benefit from the change in power? We’ll get the early analysis about what the election results mean from a Native perspective and hear more about how Native candidates fared up and down the ballot. We’ll also find out how tribes might shift strategies to accommodate the change in political winds. GUESTS OJ Semans Sr. (Rosebud Sioux Tribe), co-executive director of Four Directions Vote Allen Wright (Choctaw), president and founder of the Hustings Group Dr. Aaron Payment (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians), tribal councilman and former chairperson for the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Rhonda McBride, journalist and producer at our Koahnic Broadcast Corp. flagship station KNBA   Break 1 Music: 500 Years O’ Blues (song) Digging Roots (artist) Seeds (album) Break 2 Music: Midnite Blues (song) Crystal Shawanda (artist) Midnight Blues (album)  

It’s the final day to cast your vote, setting the political course for the foreseeable future. All the messages to encourage Native voting, the legal and technical work to assure access, and the onslaught of campaign ads come down to Election Day. We’ll get reports from around the country to talk about progress and remaining hurdles as Native voters choose their elected leaders. GUESTS Gabriella Cázares-Kelly (Tohono O’odham), Pima County Recorder April Ignacio (Tohono O’odham), co-founder of Indivisible Tohono Kevin Killer (Oglala Lakota), former president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and member of the South Dakota legislature Maria Haskins (Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe), Wisconsin Native Vote manager and organizer   Break 1 Music: Ideal Dub (song) Casper Loma Da-Wa (artist) Honor the People (album) Break 2 Music: Midnite Blues (song) Crystal Shawanda (artist) Midnight Blues (album)

The Lumbee Nation counts 55,000 members, and although they are not federally recognized and have no tribal trust land, they have a strong cultural identity. The possibility of federal recognition is a factor in who members support in the presidential race. Across the state, the smaller, but federally recognized, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has political and economic muscle and opposes Lumbee recognition. We’ll explore the dynamics of navigating the Native vote in a critical swing state. GUESTS John Cummings (Lumbee Tribe), chairman of the Robeson County Board of Commissioners Christopher Reed (enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), vice chair of the North Carolina District 11 Democratic Party Jesalyn Kaziah (Lumbee), executive director of the Triangle Native American Society   Break 1 Music: Hug Room (song) Chuck Copenace (artist) Oshki Manitou (album) Break 2 Music: Midnite Blues (song) Crystal Shawanda (artist) Midnight Blues (album)