Monday, September 11, 2017 — Before disaster strikes
As the flood waters from Hurricane Harvey recede, the death toll in Texas continues to rise and thousands of people remain displaced. Attention is now shifting to the destruction from Hurricane Irma in Florida and other southeast coastal states. The Seminole Tribe of Florida closed their tribal offices and began warning its citizens of potential dangers long before the storm made landfall. It’s a good time to remind ourselves about ways to prepare for disasters ahead of time. We’ll also find out how tribes are responding to natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires.
Tuesday, September 12, 2017 — The warning signs of self-injury
The National Alliance on Mental Illness calls intentionally injuring one’s self by cutting, burning or some other method a misguided way of coping with emotional distress. Statistics on how self-harm affects specific populations are hard to come by. One study by the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health in 2008 looked specifically at the White Mountain Apache Tribe and found children as young as 10 harming themselves. It concludes it’s a mental health concern that goes largely unaddressed in the tribe and mostly likely other tribal nations. Several tribes have developed systems to monitor self-harm as a way to prevent suicides.
Wednesday, September 13, 2017 – On the defense against environmental policy
Tribes and individual Indigenous people are increasingly in the path of oil pipelines and other energy infrastructure projects. At the same time, the spotlight is on a seemingly decreasing ability by tribes to alter environmentally harmful policies. One Lumbee environmental scientist thinks the environmental assessment for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline largely ignored populations of Native Americans in North Carolina. Tribes are also fighting pipeline proposals in northern Minnesota, British Columbia, and North Dakota. That’s in addition to environmental fights in Arizona, Washington state and Alaska among others.
Thursday, September 14, 2017 – Native parent help on the chopping block
Unless Congress steps in, funding for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program is set to expire at the end of the month. The program provides resources for new families who can benefit from guidance in the first few weeks of parenthood. We’ll talk with organizations that depend on this money to provide what they say are vital services for Native Nations.
Friday, September 15, 2017 – Satire: not your grandma’s fake news
With headlines like “ASU Study Suggests George Strait Theory Replace Bering Strait Theory” and “Navajo Man Hikes Large Hill to Use Dating App,” the satirical online paper, “Tlo’chi’iin News,” tackles real political issues with a humorous Navajo perspective. We’ll talk with the creator and some of the contributors about their inspiration and how far is too far when it comes to satirizing Navajo and other Native topics.
