Monday, December 16, 2019 – A Sober Christmas Story
The holiday season offers more opportunities to celebrate with family and friends. A poll (by the makers of a hangover recovery product) last year found Americans double their alcohol consumption between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. For people who choose sobriety, this time of year can be a challenge to get through with so many temptations or feelings of alienation from friends who imbibe. In this program, we’ll talk about staying sober through the holidays.
Tuesday, December 17, 2019 – The art of crafts
A powwow or Native community event isn’t complete without the arts and crafts section. Among the jewelers’ and artists’ tables are booths displaying mostly inexpensive art pieces that are hand-sewn, glue-gunned, glittered and painted. These items and the craftspeople who make them don’t always get the spotlight, but their presence is ubiquitous. We’re giving them some well-deserved attention and talking about the art of the craft.
Wednesday, December 18, 2019 – Minnesota’s Native home
An Ojibwe men’s moccasin game, a birch bark box from 1890 and a star quilt made by a Dakota artist are just a few of the items found in Our Home: Native Minnesota, a new permanent exhibit at the Minnesota History Center. In addition to historical artifacts, the exhibit also includes hands-on activities and art from contemporary Ojibwe and Dakota artists. But those who worked on the exhibit will tell you it’s much more than a collection of information about the history and current lives of Native people in Minnesota, it is about resiliency and healing. We’ll talk with the curators about how this exhibit and what inspired it.
Thursday, December 19, 2019 – Gaming standoff in Oklahoma
Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt (Cherokee Nation) believes a compact signed with 31 tribes in the state expires on January 1st and he wants to renegotiate the fees the tribes pay to the state. Tribes say the compact renews automatically, and have walked out of recent negotiations with the state. It’s most likely headed for the courts. At stake are 76,000 jobs and more than $100,000,000 in revenue that benefits Oklahoma public schools. We’ll talk with experts about how common it is for states to battle with tribes over compact fees.
Friday, December 20, 2019 – Native In the Spotlight: Fawn Sharp
The new president of the National Congress of American Indians brings more than a decade of experience as the president of her tribe, the Quinault Indian Nation. Here are some fast facts about Fawn Sharp: she graduated from college at age 19, she was an administrative law judge for the Washington State Department of Revenue, and last year she was instrumental in getting the Washington State Attorney General’s office to obtain free, prior and informed consent before initiating a project that affects tribes. We’ll learn about what drives Fawn Sharp and her hopes for NCAI.
