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Native American Radio Network

Infrastructure

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Water projects will be a high priority for infrastructure spending. (Bureau of Indian Affairs photo)
This is the ideal moment for infrastructure projects across the country and the need remains particularly great in tribal communities.
This is Trahant Reports.
Infrastructure is one of those words that has broad support across politics. (The only dividing line is how to pay for stuff.) Everyone knows we need to rebuild so many structural parts of our society. Then again in tribal communities some of these infrastructure projects are not rebuilds … but being done for the very first time.
What do we mean when we talk about infrastructure?
There are roads, rails and bridges. Water systems. Energy transmission — such as electricity. Ports and waterways. And even pipelines. 
The shared idea is that these projects are extraordinarily expensive and to be successful there has to be a partnership with the federal government.
John Tahsuda III, who was a deputy Interior assistant secretary for Indian affairs, said that roads and bridges will be high priorities for many tribal communities. He told Indian Country Today’s newscast last week about a “horrific accident in South Dakota where a culvert had washed out.” That’s and example of the kind of projects that need to happen
Across the country there are a lot of aging systems, roads, water pipelines … and that’s why Congress is considering spending the $2 trillion as a downpayment. 
In addition to the money there are other challenges for tribal leaders.  In testimony last month, the chair of the Colorado Indian River, Amelia Flores, said “The first thing you need to know: you don’t need to just throw money at the problem. It helps of course, but it’s not the only thing holding tribes back.” She cited a number of legal and policy barriers that make it nearly impossible to maintain a water system.
She said routine maintenance often goes unfinished because the Bureau of Indian Affairs fails to charge water users enough to cover the basic costs of maintenance. Flores testified: “The tribe asks the BIA year after year to raise these rates — essentially taxing ourselves—so that the work can get done. But we have had minimal success even as the maintenance backlog grows.”
None of this is new.  A few years ago a Senate report pegged the unmet infrastructure needs in tribal communities at $50 billion.
Indeed two areas where there will be a lot of discussion are about safe water delivery and waste water management. Both of these were important weaknesses in the transmission of the coronavirus and essential going forward. A report four years ago by the National Congress of American Indians found that nearly 10 percent of American Indian and Alaska Natives do not have access to safe water at home and the backlog of sanitation systems had grown more than 80 percent to $3.39 billion worth of projects. 
So, yes,  the federal government is about to spend a lot of money … but there is still a much longer “to do” list.

 

I am Mark Trahant

Indigenous in Music with Blair Bellrose of Midnight Sparrows Interview (Rock)

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Welcome to Indigenous in Music! This week Larry welcomes from Vancouver BC, Mr. Blair Bellrose, singer, writer and performer. He has just released his new solo project entitled “Midnight Sparrows” along with a new album “Rock and Roll City.” He is featured in our current issue of the SAY magazine, read all about him on our music page at IndigenousinMusic.com and hear his music on Spotify.

Music from Midnight Sparrows, Electric Religious, The Jerry Cans, Soda Stereo, Juanes, Jota Quest, QVLN, Julian Taylor Band, Hour Eleven, Stevie Salas, Jumbo, Injunuity, The Deeds, Patti Lamoureux, La Ley. The Council, Indian City, The Mavericks, Midnight Shine, Spirit Cry, Brianne Lea Pruett, Quantic and his Combo Barbaro, Robert Mirabal, Priscilla’s Revenge, Romeo Void, Perry & James, Wayne Lavallee, Shasin, Technicolor Fabrics and much, much more.

Independent

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Indian Country Today’s broadcast studio. (Photo by Tomás Amaya Karmelo, Indian Country Today)
Indian Country Today is on a new path.
This is Trahant Reports.

 

The 40-year-old newspaper is no longer owned by the National Congress of American Indians. In fact, the Associated Press’s headline was particularly cool. “News outlet Indian Country Today has new a owner: itself.”
So after four decades of publication ICT is not owned by an individual, a tribe, or NCAI. Our enterprise is now operated by journalists and our cause is simple, report the news and make sure the Indigineous voice is reflected in the public square. 
This is a chapter in a long story. 
Cherokee Chief John Ross summed up the contradictions in one speech in 1828. He called the Phoenix “a public press” that “should be cherished as an important vehicle in the diffusion of general information … Then he warned “to guard against the admission of scurrilous productions of a personal character, and also against cherishing sectarian principles on religious subjects. The press being the public property of the Nation, it would ill become its character if such infringements upon the feelings of the people should be tolerated. In other respects, the liberty of the press should be as free as the breeze that glides upon the surface.
Free as the breeze is a high calling for press performance. This was the goal of ICT 40 years ago when Tim Giago founded it at Pine Ridge. It was a similar idea for Howard Rock and the Tundra Times in 1962 in Fairbanks when he wrote that the paper is “here to express your ideas, your thoughts and opinions on issues that vitally affect you. With this humble beginning we hope, not for any distinction, but to serve with dedication the truthful presentation of Native problems, issues and interests.” 
Our mission statement: “Indian Country Today is a spacious channel that serves Indigenous communities with news, entertainment, and opinion.”
“This is a new day for ICT, which has a long history as a premier source of news for and about Indigenous communities, written and produced by Indigenous journalists,” said Karen Michel, Ho Chunk, president and CEO of IndiJ Public Media. “As IndiJ Public Media’s name implies, our focus remains on Indigenous journalism while emphasizing our expansion into broadcasting.”
NCAI President Fawn Sharp called the change an “exciting time for Indian Country Today to become fiscally independent and to continue its tradition of an autonomous free press.”
Free press is the key words. Even now many of us still call ICT a “newspaper” even though it’s a digital site and a daily broadcaster. 
The new company IndiJ Public Media has some challenges ahead. And the prospects are amazing. As the comic book possum, Pogo once said. “We are faced with insurmountable opportunities.”
I am Mark Trahant.

Indigenous in Music with G Precious Interview (Hip Hop, Pop)

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Welcome to Indigenous in Music! This week Larry welcomes from the Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico, she is a singer, songwriter and Hip Hop performer, Brenda Atencio aka G Precious is in the house. She has just released her newest album “The Forgotten.” Find out all about her on our music page IndigenousinMusic.com and hear her music on Spotify.

Music from G Precious, Buggin Malone, Mattmac, Chicano Batman, MIOS, DJ krayskree, Dancin Dave, DJ Shub, Hellnback, STOIK, Aleah Belle, Elastic Bond, Frank Waln, JB the First Lady, Q&O, QVLN, Eadse, Carsen Gray, Red Rockerz, Shon Denay, Dawn Avery, Stolen Identity, Zoe, Bomba Estereo, Centavrvs, Plastilina Mosh, 1915, Kinky, Matt Comeau, Stun, Nancy Sanchez and much much more.

Washington

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Tears. Joy. Amazement. These are words that are rarely associated with the act of governing. Yet last week they flooded social media coming from Indigenous communities who rarely see power as “ours.” 
One measure of the week: Hundreds of thousands of people watched Interior Secretary Deb Haaland put her moccasins on before taking the oath of office.
This is Trahant Reports.
Last week Vice President Kamala Harris ceremonially gave the oath of office to Haaland. Then she said: “Congratulations, Madam Secretary. History is being made, yet again.” Haaland is a citizen of Laguna Pueblo.
Madam Secretary has an extraordinary portfolio, managing millions of acres of public lands (far more than any governor). She has direct oversight or significant responsibility for some 60,000 federal employees, U.S. territories around the world, fish and game, geological survey, water management and, of course, the federal government’s relations with tribes.
This history would be amazing all by itself. But the thing is … Haaland is not alone. The administration of President Joe Biden has made a number of key appointments, including, most recently, Janie Hipp, as the general counsel for the Department of Agriculture. 
Hipp is a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation. Much of the Department of Agriculture is focused on the industry of food; not food itself. Hipp will bring her experience rethinking how important food, good food, is to society and consumers. I expect her to be at the forefront of reform.
Another reformer is Jamie Pinkham. He’s Nez Perce. His new job is a mouthful. He has been appointed principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for civil works. He will have a lot to say about the operation of the Army Corps of Engineers.
The role of the Army Corps cannot be understated for tribal nations. This is the agency that grants permits for pipelines to cross rivers. It works on reclamation and dam projects. And this is where Pinkham’s expertise is so significant … he is an expert on salmon. This is the ideal job to try to use the levers of government to restore a healthy salmon environment.
And I should mention that all of these jobs will give Indigenous communities a voice in a way that has not happened ever before. 
President Biden has said that climate change is an existential threat. So the government should react in order to make decisions based on that danger. These appointments are clear steps in that direction. 
As Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan tweeted last week: “I can’t stop crying, happy tears.”
I am Mark Trahant.

Indigenous in Music with Jace Martin (Pop, Rock)

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Welcome to Indigenous in Music! This week Larry welcomes Mr. Jace Martin from Toronto, Ontario. Singer, song writer and entrepreneur, He has just dropped his new album out “Rainboworld.” Find out all about him at darrenrossagency.com and hear his music on Spotify.

Music from Jace Martin, Nancy Sanchez, Locos Por Juana, XAXO, Iceis Rain, Eadse, Angel Baribeau, Artson, Quese Imc, Supaman, Joey Stylez, Somos Uno, Chancha Via Circuito, Sidestepper, Orishas, Samantha Crain, Darren Geffery, Brandis Knudsen, Nimkish, Stolen Identity, La Dame Blanche, Systema Solar, DJ Bitman, The Halluci Nation, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Somos Uno, Carsen Gray, Kinky, Crown Lands, Joshua Arden Miller, Jerry Sereda,
Esther Penneli, 1915 and much much more.

What’s Next – Not quite Post Pandemic

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Temporary studio at the Phoenix Indian School Visitor Center was the home of Indian Country Today. This week the news program moves into a regular studio at Arizona PBS. (Mark Trahant photo)
Sometimes a call for patience can be tough.
This is Trahant Reports.
In Phoenix, Arizona, the team that produces the television version of Indian Country Today has been eager to get into the studio to produce a better version of the show. 
This whole enterprise is a pandemic special. 
Last March we started producing Zoom calls and Facebook live reports and discovered that we had a significant audience. At the time ICT was a digital publication but we had also planned on a weekly broadcast. So we started to interview key people about what was going on … the first episode was asking reporters what was going on what they saw. Then Dean Seneca, an expert in infectious disease. Then we started doing it everyday. 
Within a week the programs were 26 minutes and 46 seconds … this is the PBS standard for a half-hour show. The program was carried by FNX: First Nations Experience … and we were producing a daily news report. Last summer we created a temporary studio at the Phoenix Indian School Visitor Center. 
A lot has happened since then. We never could have pulled this off without the pandemic. Normally we would have needed millions of dollars in equipment and people in order to produce a broadcast quality program. But the pandemic was an excuse to do it differently. We could interview people on Zoom. We used a home office or living room as a studio. We showed that the content, Native American stories, was worthy of a national audience.

Today we are carried daily or weekly by many public television stations across the country (and in Australia.) As they say … check your local listing. More are being added regularly. 
March 15 was supposed to be our first day in a new studio at Arizona PBS. But late last week there was a COVID-19 report in our building. So we all went home again. I recorded Monday’s show in my living room, a full circle.
The good news is the test was a false positive — our show will debut in the studio later this week. 
That’s really cool because there is so much news going on now. Soon we will be able to say, Madam Secretary, as Rep. Deb Haaland is confirmed as the Secretary of the interior. And the new American Rescue Plan Act has so much to unpack because it’s the most significant investment in tribal communities in the history of our country,
But the lesson here is worth heeding. Even though we have plans … even though we want life to return to normal … we still live in a moment of caution. 
When the pandemic began we did not let going home limit our imaginations. We can still balance innovation with safety. 
As we begin the “what’s next?” portion of this story, this experience, is a lesson here for us all. 

 

I am Mark Trahant.

Indigenous in Music with Vince Fontaine of Eagle & Hawk Interview (Funk, Tribal Sounds)

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Welcome to Indigenous in Music! This week Larry welcomes back our guest from Winnipeg, Manitoba. We have Mr. Vince Fontaine in our spotlight. He is the creator and lead guitarist of the Funk and Tribal Sounds group “Eagle & Hawk.” He’s been staying busy and has just released their newest single “Sundancer 21.” Find out all about him and his band at www.eagleandhawk.com.

Music from Eagle & Hawk, Jota Quest, Banda Black Rio, Gareth, 1915, Joey Stylez, Northern Cree Singers, Mattmac, Drezus, El Loco, Jimmy Lee Young, Shon Denay, Big Skoon, Twin Flames, Juanes, Brian Hedges, Jimmy Wolf, Pura Fe, Brandon Baker, Captain Planet, La Yegros, Yoqui, Dj Shub, Hellnback, Ed Koban, Joy Harjo, Juan Luis Guerro, Seu Jorge, Adrian Sutherland and much much more.

Families

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The latest coronavirus relief package has a couple of more steps before it becomes law. But that path is now clear.
This is Trahant Reports.
There is a clear distinction between the way Republicans govern and how Democrats operate the levers. The Trump administration’s first act was for a $1.9 trillion tax relief bill,  a bonanza for the wealthy. Now the first major piece of legislation from the Biden administration also costs $1.9 trillion and its impacts are more focused on working families and the poor.
The plan pumps money into the economy through all sorts of mechanisms, including $20 billion that will go directly to tribal nations and another $6 billion for Indian health programs. The plan has money for quicker vaccine distribution, expanded unemployment insurance, support for ailing businesses, funding for schools, and, of course, a check of $1,400 to most Americans. 
This legislation does more to address poverty, especially child poverty, than any law since the 1960s and the Great Society or 1930s and the New Deal. 
The most important provision may be the expansion of Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit. These laws currently lift 5.1 million children above poverty, and the new proposal would lift another 4.1 million children above the poverty line, cutting the remaining number of children in poverty by more than half, according to a study by Columbia University,
One of the odd things that has happened to our tax code over the past decade is that most people play more in payroll taxes than income taxes. Income tax is supposed to be progressive, make more, pay more. But it has not worked like that. The most famous example is Warren Buffett revealing that his tax rate was lower than his secretary’s rate. The Democrats’ plan addresses this inequity by making the Earned Income Tax Credit fully refundable. That’s money back in working families’ pockets. 
The Biden plan also increases the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 to $3,000 per child, adding an additional $600 per child under the age of 6 (phasing it out for single parents making $112,500 and couples earning $150,000). 
The money spent on families will have the quickest impact on the economy. 
We also know that the tribal nations have significant challenges ahead.
As the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities put it in a recent report … “the pandemic has stretched tribal nations’ finances and health systems to the breaking point.”
National Congress of American Indians President Fawn Sharp said that “direct relief and other aid which is critical to the health, safety, and well-being of our communities and necessary to build back our distressed governments and economies.”
This bill will be a huge relief. For tribal nations. And for the families in those tribes.
I am Mark Trahant.

Indigenous in Music with Adrian Sutherland of Midnight Shine interview (Rock)

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Welcome to Indigenous in Music!  This week Larry welcomes back from
James Bay, Ontario, Mr. Adrian Sutherland. He is the creator and lead guitarist of the Rock group “Midnight Shine.” He’s has just released their new single along with a video “Respect the Gift.” Find out all about him and his band at www.MidnightShineonline.com.
Music from Midnight Shine, nehiyawak, Eagle & Hawk, The Deeds, Damian Quinones, Fiebre Amarilla, Iceis Rain, Axel Krygier, Brule, Joyslam, Stoik, Aleah Belle, Janel Munoa, The Johnnys, Irv Lyons Jr, Dustin Roads Band, Soda Stereo, 1915, Khu.eex, Steven Rushingwind, Janet Panic, Brule, Michael Bucher, Ed Koban, Solju, Innastate, Ozomatli, Slightly Stoopid, Julian Taylor Band and much much more.
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