Arts Archives » Native America Calling

A new book is just one of multidisciplinary artist Cannupa Hanska Luger ’s (Mandan, Hidatsa, & Arikara and Lakota) many current creative projects. He’s the 2025 artist-in-residence for Verbier 3-D Foundation, a contemporary art non-profit in Switzerland. He has new work that is part of an augmented reality exhibition with other Indigenous artists at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s American Wi...

Two films take on real life accounts with strong Native cultural themes. One is a major Hollywood drama. The other is a smoldering independent documentary. The Hulu documentary “ Blood & Myth ” follows Iñupiaq musician and writer James Dommek Jr.’s obsession with a bizarre 2012 string of violence. Dommek digs into the motivations of the fellow Alaska Native man acting on the influence of supe...

Missoula, Mont. is the setting for the inaugural festival of literature, music, and other arts known as Indigipalooza . Musician and former U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo (Mvskoke) headlines the list of talent offering their perspectives on the state of Indigenous storytelling. We’ll also hear from filmmaker Adam Piron about his curated selection of films screened in New York highlighting Native Ame...

In Larissa FastHorse’s (Sičháŋǧu Lakota) new play, a nonprofit works to accommodate “race shifters”, people who are compelled to change the ethnicity they're born with. “ Fake it Until You Make It ” is a satirical look at the serious topic of Native identity, helped out by a talented cast and Indigenous-grounded writing. The new children’s TV puppet series, Navajo Highways , is making the rounds o...

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy won 17 Academy Awards and its legacy endures nearly 25 years after the first film’s release. The trilogy’s success has put its filming location, New Zealand, on the industry map. The motion picture business contributes at least $2.12 billion a year to New Zealand’s economy. That’s also been a boon for Indigenous cinema. Māori film critic and programmer Leo Koziol...

The acrobatic dance style known as "Breaking" started almost a half century ago with the hip-hop culture on the streets of the Bronx. Among its most enduring features is the influence of powwow fancy dance steps . Breaking’s debut at the Paris Olympics propelled awareness of the current skill and athleticism that goes into it. We’ll talk with noted Native b-boys and b-girls about the origins and f...

Distinctly Native American artwork, fashion, and films converge again for the annual Santa Fe Indian Market , with at least 1,000 booths and somewhere around 100,000 visitors. Native America Calling is live from Santa Fe, hearing from Southwestern Association for Indian Arts representatives, 2023 Best In Show winner Jennifer Tafoya , curators from the Native Cinema Showcase , and others to get a p...

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy won 17 Academy Awards and its legacy endures nearly 25 years after the first film’s release. The trilogy’s success has put its filming location, New Zealand, on the industry map. The motion picture business contributes at least $2.12 billion a year to New Zealand’s economy. That’s also been a boon for Indigenous cinema. Māori film critic and programmer Leo Koziol...

Blackfeet actor Lily Gladstone made history as the first Native American to win a Golden Globe for best actress. She acknowledged the "allies" that supported her win for her role as Mollie in “Killers of the Flower Moon”. In her acceptance speech she spoke Blackfeet and dedicated the award to every "little rez kid, every little urban kid, every little Native kid out there who has a dream". We’ll t...

A new year offers a sense of promise. But that promise this year comes with the backdrop of lingering division that infects our personal and professional relationships. Heated political discourse is at the top of the list and permeates everything from how we protect our own health to how we approach international security. Today on Native America Calling, we’ll speak with Theda New Breast (Blackfe...