Monday, June 24, 2019 – The continuing failure of U.S. funding promises
Criminal justice, health care, education, housing and economic development are all underfunded by the U.S. government, according to a report released by the United States Human Rights Commission. The main findings in the report, Broken Promises: Continuing Federal Funding Shortfall for Native Americans, won’t come as a surprise for most people in Indian Country. In fact, the report’s authors note it is an update to a previous effort in 2003, and they say little has changed in terms of the federal government’s inability to uphold its funding promises for Indian Country. We’ll get analysis of the report and hear from a U.S. Human Rights Commissioner about where to go from here.

Tuesday, June 25, 2019 – The U.S. Supreme Court and Oklahoma reservation land
The Supreme Court is set to decide the fundamentals of a murder case that has implications for jurisdiction in Oklahoma. The basic question revolves around which court should decide the case of a Muscogee man accused of murdering another Muscogee man on traditional Muscogee reservation land. But the decision means a definitive federal legal ruling on the contention the Muscogee Nation and other Oklahoma tribes have held all along: Oklahoma reservation boundaries were never disestablished as the state maintains. We’ll break down the legal case and discuss what changes—and what doesn’t—because of the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Wednesday, June 26, 2019 – Native in the Spotlight: Joy Harjo
The Library of Congress just named Mvskoke poet, author, and musician Joy Harjo the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States. She is the first Native poet to hold the position. “I share this honor with ancestors and teachers who inspired in me a love of poetry, who taught that words are powerful and can make change when understanding appears impossible, and how time and timelessness can live together within a poem.” We’ll spend the hour with Joy Harjo, our June Native in the Spotlight.

Thursday, June 27, 2019 –Music Maker: Murray Porter
Murray Porter is a Juno Award winning artist and we’ll visit with him about his newest album “STAND UP.” It’s charged with what the Mohawk musician calls a “velvet growl.” But it also has exhilarating blues beats sprinkled with fruitful piano rhythms. The songs take on heavy issues like Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, suicide and the right to clean water. He’s packed some love stingers into the mix too.

Friday, June 28, 2019 – June in the news
A high school class in Yellow Springs, Ohio cancelled a planned debate on whether Native mascots are offensive after a Native parent spoke out. We’ll hear from the parent who told the school the debate is over and the argument is only about how much harm such a discussion causes. We’ll also catch up with the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Robert Wilkie, about new rules designed to improve access and streamline services for Native veterans. Those stories and more are on our news roundup.

Monday, June 17, 2019 – Live at the National Senior Games
The annual gathering of amateur senior athletes is setting aside a day to celebrate the many Native American athletes who participate. Participants compete in 20 events from swimming to shuffleboard. The National Senior Games originated as an effort to promote a healthy lifestyle for elders over 50. This year’s games are in Albuquerque New Mexico. We’ll be live at the games with a discussion centered around active and healthy elders.

Tuesday, June 18, 2019 – 85 years of the Indian Reorganization Act
The landmark Indian Reorganization Act was meant to move tribes away from the governmental policies of forced assimilation towards self-determination. It ended allotment, renewed tribes’ control over their own assets, and encouraged tribes to establish constitutions. John Collier authored the law as commissioner of the Indian Bureau, which eventually became the Bureau of Indian Affairs. His ideas, like reversing the federal government’s assimilationist policies, were considered radical in 1935. Some historians also believe he romanticized Native American culture, and considered it superior to his own. We’ll discuss Collier’s influence and recognize the Indian Reorganization Act’s ongoing effect as it turns 85.

Wednesday, June 19, 2019 – Molly of Denali: a show for everyone
Molly Mabray is a 10-year old Gwich’in, Koyukon and Dena’ina Athabascan girl who learns about her history and culture while having fun with her dog, Suki, and friends, Tooey and Trini. She is the main character of the new animated PBS series, Molly of Denali, starting in July. In the first episode she sets out to get her grandfather’s long, lost drum returned and learns about the history of boarding schools along the way. It is the first nationally distributed children’s series to feature an Alaska Native lead. In this hour we’ll talk with the creator and cultural advisors to this groundbreaking series.

Thursday, June 20, 2019 – The long path of international repatriation
An auction house in France has gone ahead with the sale this month of cultural items despite pleas from tribes, elected leaders and the Association on American Indian Affairs. It’s one in a string of auctions by the Paris auction house that chooses to ignore admonitions against the harm they’re causing. The Yaqui has been working for decades to repatriate a sacred Maaso Kova that the tribe says was never meant to be out of the tribe’s possession or on public display. We’ll get an update on some repatriation efforts and what’s being done to influence international traders in cultural items.

Friday, June 21, 2019 – Native LGBTQ2 artistic expression
Native artists frequently reference tribal traditions in their work. Native LGBTQ2 artists also turn to the joys and challenges of their sexual orientation for inspiration. They use paint, music, dance or theater to tell personal stories and to raise awareness of contemporary issues. For LGBTQ2 Pride Month, we’ll talk with some Native LGBTQ and Two-Spirit artists about the stories they tell through their art.

Monday, June 10, 2019 – Book of the Month: ‘Our History Is the Future’ by Nick Estes
Indigenous scholar Nick Estes, a citizen of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, recounts the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline in his new book “Our History Is the Future.” He explores the Indigenous resistance for what’s also referred to as #NoDAPL or, simply, Standing Rock. What started in a humble camp in opposition to the pipeline turned into the Water Is Life movement that carries on in other fights involving corporate intrusion at the expense of Native sovereignty. Estes joins us for a discussion of “Our History Is the Future.”

Tuesday, June 11, 2019 – Defrauding impostor syndrome
Do you ever get looked down on for not speaking your Native language fluently? Or do you feel pressure to achieve more than your peers so they don’t label you an ‘Affirmative Action’ hire? You might fit into what psychologists describe as imposter syndrome. It’s the feeling that you don’t belong or that you don’t deserve success. There are a number of ways to cope with it and we’ll hear some of the strategies.

Wednesday, June 12, 2019 – Can Carcieri be fixed?
The U.S. House of Representatives approved a “fix” for the controversial U.S. Supreme Court ruling on placing land into trust. The proposal is now stalled in the Senate. For the past 10 years, elected leaders on both sides of the aisle have called it a bad ruling and have been working on a legislative solution. The Carcieri v. Salazar decision from 2009 means the Interior Department can place land into trust only for tribes recognized by the federal government before 1934. There are some exceptions. In 2011, Assistant Secretary–Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk called it a “Carcieri crisis” and warned that the ruling affects jobs, economic development and public safety. We’ll get an update on the status of a legislative “fix” and hear about the ongoing effects of the decision on tribes.

Thursday, June 13, 2019 – Saguaro fruit harvest time
In Arizona, June is the traditional time Saguaro cactus fruits are ripe. It is also the Tohono O’odham New Year. For traditional harvests, the fruit is knocked down with sticks, called kuipad, made from dried Saguaro ribs. The fruit can be eaten fresh or made into juice, syrup, jam or a fermented ceremonial wine among other things. We’ll hear about the traditional importance of Saguaro cactus fruit for Native people in the Sonoran Desert.

Friday, June 14, 2019 – A conversation with “Chambers” actor Sivan Alyra Rose
Sivan Alyra Rose (San Carlos Apache) is the first Native woman to play a lead role in a Netflix series. She portrays a young Navajo woman who is experiencing visions after she receives a heart transplant in the supernatural thriller, “Chambers“. The series also stars Uma Thurman and Tony Goldwyn. We’ll hear from Rose about the series and her life as an artist, model and actress.

Monday, June 3, 2019 – Beyond consultation: tribal consent
The Washington state attorney general’s office must now obtain free, prior and informed consent on projects that affect the tribes. It’s a step up from consultation, which, in practice, typically falls short of adequate discourse on projects that include ancestral land. The United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples sets a standard mandating consent with Indigenous people “before adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures that may affect them.” We’ll talk with the tribal president who was instrumental in getting the policy in Washington adopted. We’ll also get a picture of how consent is utilized internationally.

Tuesday, June 4, 2019 – Recommended Native reading for kids this summer
Are your kids reading books this summer? Many libraries are offering summer reading programs with incentives like movie tickets and gift cards to get children reading. A large body of research warns that an entire summer off from school can lower achievement levels by the time classes start again in fall. Joining a reading program or taking a summer class can help prevent the “summer slide.” Educators and book lovers share their recommendations and their joy of summer reading.

Wednesday, June 5, 2019 – Kokopelli: origins, history and appropriation
There’s a number of interpretations for the hunch-backed, flute playing figure known as Kokopelli. It’s variously described as a fertility deity, a male trader going from village to village with a sack of goods, or even an insect. Depictions of Kokopelli appeared on pottery and rock art in the Four Corners area. In the last 30 years, Kokopelli has been adopted as a commercial symbol on everything from skateboards and café signs to t-shirts and roadside tourist stops. We’ll hear from historians and tribal cultural experts on what’s known about Kokopelli and how it has become a modern symbol for Southwest Indigenous culture.

Thursday, June 6, 2019 – Coffee’s place in Native pantries and economic development
Coffee is not Indigenous to North America, but more than 60 percent of Americans drink a cup of coffee every day, according to the National Coffee Association USA’s 2019 National Coffee Data Trends report. It’s also found a place in Native American pantries and is now a cherished and necessary part of Native life. Coffee cafes, roasters and wholesalers are all reliable economic development opportunities for Native entrepreneurs.

Friday, June 7, 2019 – Are e-cigarettes safer?
E-cigarettes might be a better alternative for adult commercial tobacco smokers. At the same time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns e-cigarettes are not safe for pregnant women and potentially pose serious health threats, especially for teens. Scientists are still learning about the long term health effects of vaping nicotine. We’ll talk with tobacco prevention experts about things to consider before taking up the e-cigarettes habit.

Monday, May 27, 2019 – Remembering artist and musician T.C. Cannon
For Memorial Day we revive a special remembrance of Caddo/Kiowa artist T.C. Cannon. A new exhibition of his paintings, works on paper, poetry and music is now at the National Museum of the American Indian. It reflects the influences on his work, including his upbringing in Oklahoma and his service during the Vietnam War. This remembrance features friends, members of his family, and others who were inspired by his work.

Tuesday, May 28, 2019 – Detecting Hepatitis C earlier saves lives
Millions more Native Americans should be getting tested for Hepatitis C. That’s according to new recommendations by the Indian Health Service. IHS greatly expanded its recommendation for the age groups at risk of the potentially fatal infection. Previously, IHS deferred to the recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that those born before 1965 get tested. The new recommendations reflect growing concern that Hepatitis C mortality rates for Native Americans are twice the national average. We’ll talk with health professionals who say catching infections earlier gives a better chance of treating and even curing the disease.

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 – Mental Health First Aid
People often take courses on how to help someone with a serious injury or health emergency. Responding appropriately to a mental health crisis can be just as valuable. Mental health professionals now offer training called mental health first aid. The program teaches people how to recognize signs of mental distress whether it’s brought on by anxiety, mental illness or substance use. It gives people tools for responding to someone in crisis. We’ll hear more about the training and how it’s helping people in Native America.

Thursday, May 30, 2019 – Congratulations Class of 2019!
It’s the time of year students sit through long graduation ceremonies with notable speeches to pick up their diplomas. But graduation day marks years of hard work and dedication.As graduates prepare for the next chapter in their lives, we take the opportunity to celebrate their achievements. We’ll hear from educators, graduating seniors and their parents to help us honor the Native Class of 2019.

Friday, May 31, 2019 – May in the news
The Supreme Court affirmed treaty rights in the case of a Crow tribal member charged with hunting without a license in Big Horn National Forrest in Wyoming. The court ruled the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty granted rights to hunt in traditional territory. We’ll talk with a legal expert about what the ruling could mean for other cases. Also we’ll talk with U.S. Representative Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) about his priorities as chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources. And we’ll check in with ongoing efforts to include Indigenous people in California’s public school curriculum.