Native America Calling

Nearly all of the artwork by Gina Herrera (Tesuque Pueblo) reflects some aspect of her 25 years in the U.S. military. The California-based mixed media artist questions her own practices and the effect she has on the environment through her assemblages of metal, plastics, found objects, and even military insignia. We’ll hear from her about her unique passion to convey both her culture and her milit...

Tribes and Native organizations nearly universally oppose the provisions of the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, which water down tribal say over projects that threaten cultural resources. The bill’s supporters see it clearing the way for major energy infrastructure projects, including clean energy, but it also includes major changes to the current requirements for government-...

A coalition of Michigan tribes is on mission to restore Arctic grayling to Michigan rivers. The fish was once an important food source, but it hasn’t been seen in nearly a century. The coalition just released thousands of fingerlings for the second year in a row hoping they can start repopulating on their own. A similar effort focused on Alewives in Maine is showing signs of success after three de...

Def-i (Diné) cut his teeth as a rapper freestyling in rural New Mexico. He just put the skills he’s been honing in the years since to the test in a pair of back-to-back freestyle events; he participated in a three-day rap cypher marathon followed by a 13-hour freestyle attempt to break a Guinness World Record. Def-i calls it a “grueling challenge”. Longtime Minneapolis-based rapper Tall Paul incor...

A grassroots campaign in Hawai’i, built from the ashes of the deadly fire in Lahaina, sent a first-time Native Hawaiian candidate to the state legislature. The Green Party’s Pāʻele Kiakona unseated the incumbent Republican in what his supporters say is a commitment to protect āina from predatory developers. It’s one of dozens of state elections that collectively add to Native representation around...

In rejecting the direction President Donald Trump took the country in the past two years, voters also sent a record number of Native Americans to elected office. Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo), who made history as the first Native American cabinet secretary, makes history a second time as the first Native woman elected governor. Peggy Flanagan (White Earth Band of Ojibwe) is the first Native woman in...

While Native American voters generally stick with Democrats, any actual data on what is driving their decisions for the midterm elections is scarce. We’ll talk with first-time voters as well as veteran get-out-the-vote organizers to hear what is on the minds of voters this Election Day, which President Donald Trump calls “the most important midterm … in our lifetime.” Gasoline and groc...

Win or lose, Native American women are making a major showing in state and national races on Election Day. There is a very good chance Native women will fill a state governor’s seat and be represented in the U.S. Senate for the first time in history. The gains in representation come as a record number of Native candidates are on local, state, and national ballots around the country. As the nation...

Rising consumer costs and cuts to subsidized food programs are increasing the pressure on organizations that deliver food assistance. Native American food pantries are trying to forge new partnerships and develop additional tribal resources — like farms and meat processors — to meet the demand, all while reducing the stigma for those seeking help putting food on their tables. We’ll hear about how...

The first woman to hold the Navajo Nation Council Speaker post is now vying to become the tribe’s first female president. Navajo voters will decide November 3 whether Crystalyne Curley or her opponent, attorney Jason Jones, will lead the country’s largest tribe for the next four years. The two candidates edged out current President Buu Nygren in the primary election. The Navajo election is one of...

The Trump administration’s intervention in the U.S. Senate race in Alaska indicates the high stakes — and the scrutiny that comes with them — in the November 3 election. Mary Peltola, a Democrat, is one of two candidates hoping to make history as the first Native woman to be elected to the Senate. The Department of Justice is trying to block election results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan lo...

A mining company unleashes an evil entity as the Arctic village of Chukchi falls into polar night in “ It Looks Like You in the Dark “, the debut horror novel from Mathilda Zeller. It’s among several new books by Native writers that are especially fitting during the annual spooky season. Dr. Mat RudeWalker’s story, “Party at the Alvarez Ranch”, is included in the horror anthology, “ Back for...

A new analysis by the Brookings Institution tallies nearly $470 million in federal funding taken from tribes and Native organizations early last year by the Department of Government Efficiency. Advocates at the Piikani Lodge Health Institute worked hard for years to secure an $8.5 million USDA grant to support local producers in and around the Blackfeet community. DOGE cut those funds before the t...

The Alaska Federation of Natives was formed by tribal leaders in 1966 to protect land and preserve tribal governance. Now, at the 60th convention, tribal leaders and members from across the state gather to discuss current issues of politics, sovereignty, and culture. This year’s central issues include subsistence fishing and hunting, the rising cost of living, climate change, and voting rights and...

Declining salmon numbers are threatening the way of life for Alaska Natives, according to a report by the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN), the largest Native organization in Alaska. And report findings are similar across regions: concern about the future of food security in rural villages, frustration with state and federal management of waterways, and difficulty maintaining sacred traditions....

Hundreds of Native people from across the state will discuss issues such as declining salmon populations, voting rights, and education funding at this year’s Alaska Federation of Natives Convention in Anchorage. For some, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People crisis remains a top priority. In recent years, law enforcement agencies in Alaska have worked to improve protocols for handling missin...

In 1966, as Alaska Native leaders worked to secure their lands, Emil Notti (Koyukon Athabascan) helped form the Alaska Federation of Natives. Notti became its first president and later served as a key negotiator of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which was passed nearly 55 years ago. He also held various roles in government and business. At AFN’s 60th anniversary, we’ll speak with Notti,...

As recorder of Pima County in Arizona, Gabriella Cázares-Kelly (Tohono O’odham) is responsible for administering early voting and keeping track of more than 600,000 voter registrations. While in office during the past six years, she’s helped make voting more accessible to tribal members and rural communities, including recently installing eight new drop-off ballot boxes across the coun...

The Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe failed to stop the federal government from rounding up hundreds of wild horses this summer from public land next to their reservation at the California-Nevada border. It’s part of the government’s larger plan to remove about 14,000 wild horses from public lands in several western states in 2026. Wild horse roundups are a controversial issue that has trib...

Before Indian self-determination became federal law, a cohort of angry and disillusioned Native college students, including a young Ponca student named Clyde Warrior, helped lay the foundation for the Red Power movement and inspire the American Indian Movement. Warrior became a pivotal co-founder of the National Indian Youth Council (NIYC), an activist group that protested federal termination poli...

Across the country, tribes are coming up against resistance to having their voices heard on issues involving water. In California, tribes say they feel betrayed by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s vetoes of legislation that would have given the tribes more say in access to the state’s dwindling surface water supply. The Karuk Tribe and the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians were instrumental in drafting the...

A handful of tribes just finalized an agreement with the National Park Service , clearing the way for foraging in the Yosemite National Park. Tribal members will collect acorns, yarrow, wild onions, and numerous other plants for food and medicine on land their tribes have always been connected to. It’s the latest agreement since a 2016 law cleared the way for more traditional plant collections by...

The new poetry collection “ Cloud Runner ” from Joy Harjo (Mvskoke) is the culmination and curated expression of her own personal grief. The poems spring from the aftermath of her daughter’s death in 2023 and range from devastating to hopeful. Harjo, musician, artist, and the first Native American U.S. Poet Laureate, explores a mother’s anguish and the time and work it takes to reconci...

The rape allegations by a former Cornell University student that administrators and law enforcement officials failed to follow up on shine a new light on college campus safety. Sexual assault prevention advocates have long faulted colleges and universities with poor protocols and inconsistent reporting. The organization End Rape on Campus finds that Native college students and students of color ex...

The number of books dropped from school reading lists and public library shelves is the highest since the organization, PEN America, started keeping track . Fueled mainly by conservative pressure groups and elected leaders at the school board and state legislative levels , the challenges to books target what opponents consider obscenity and themes that are too mature for younger readers. But books...