Native America Calling

Paiute and Shoshone tribes in California’s Owens Valley are facing a shortage of water — an issue that spans decades, but is now exacerbated by climate change. The city of Los Angeles, more than 200 miles away, is guzzling one-third of the groundwater in the region. The city’s diversion of water from the valley began in 1913. L.A. drained Owens Lake dry within a decade. The land, once...

December is a traditional time for feasts, family, and giving, but the financial and time burdens of the holiday-heavy month, combined with the change of seasons and other factors, also make it a time ripe for breaks in a person’s mental health . We’ll find out how connections — with other people, cultural traditions, or spiritual foundations — can be a way to mitigate the added stresses of Decemb...

Crow leadership are working toward revamping their tribal citizenship requirements. If their proposal goes through, any currently enrolled tribal citizens would be designated as having 100% Crow blood. The St. Croix Ojibwe Tribe in Wisconsin is seeing their first tribal enrollment gains in years after they got rid of their blood quantum requirement. They are among the tribes looking down the road...

Cuts in grants and operating funds, federal staff reductions, and department disorganization – and the federal government shutdown – all took a toll on the work done by tribal museums this year. Tribal museums are a source of economic development for many tribes, but more than that they offer an authentic and more comprehensive picture of Native culture and history than their non-Nativ...

State by state, tribes are staking out a share in the burgeoning online sports betting business. Places like Colorado, California, Wisconsin, and Michigan all have ongoing legal and political disputes involving tribes’ ability to expand casino enterprises into online sports books. We’ll look at how the clash between states, private companies, and tribes are raising complex questions over sov...

Nine out of ten people seeking jobs say they have a side hustle — a second or even third job. An Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll from October 2025 also says a higher percentage of younger job-seekers — Gen Z and Millennials —expect to be able to overlap their side jobs on company time. Money is a major factor – and the Bureau of Labor and Statistics reported this year that more...

A one-time allocation for Tribal Colleges and Universities unexpectedly just doubled the federal allocation compared to the previous year. And a small handful of colleges are rejoicing over multi-million-dollar windfalls from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. But that doesn’t mean officials at any of those institutions are breathing a sigh of relief. Instead, the unpredictable nature of federal fund...

“ Braids ” by director, writer, and editor Elise Aachix̂ Qağaduug Beers (Unangan) tells the story of a Native student who contends with bullying and uninformed school policy. It’s a modern-day tale with a long historical reach. “ Guts ,” a comedy by Elias Gold (Diné), is a story of a drifter who wreaks havoc on the Navajo reservation in search of a particular traditional food. We’ll talk with both...

Despite promises by elected leaders to address the disproportionate number of Native Americans and Alaska Natives who are murdered or go missing, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) advocates say there is little progress and even steps backward for victims and their families. Advocates say the Trump administration’s removal of the Not One More report from the Department of Justice’s w...

In his second cookbook, “ Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America ,” Sean Sherman (Oglala Lakota), James Beard Award-wining chef and restaurateur , dives deeper into the Indigenous culinary communities of 13 regions of North America and Mesoamerica. He shares dozens of recipes inspired by his travels and the people he calls friends, teachers, and leaders that...

The Aboriginal people of Australia have cemented a historic agreement with the state of Victoria that could provide a blueprint for recognizing Indigenous peoples and incorporating their voices and cultures into the political process going forward. The treaty is a first for Australia and comes after years of research, negotiation, and a failed political referendum in 2023. Among other things, thos...

Mel Tonasket ( Colville Tribes)  is one of the key reasons the Colville Tribes remain thriving today. As a newly elected tribal council member in 1971, he cast the deciding vote against a deal with the federal government that traded cash payouts to individual tribal members for the tribe’s permanent termination. Tonasket credits the mentorship of tribal activist Lucy Covington for guiding his insi...

On the cusp of what could be a new era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), some researchers are urging caution and the need for deliberate controls to keep the developing technology from robbing Indigenous people of their cultures and sovereignty. A project with three universities provides a framework of standards to prevent AI from stripping Native Americans and all other Indigenous peoples of their...

Social worker and political newcomer Sierra Yazzie Asamoa-Tutu will take office in January 2026 as Gallup, N.M.’s first Diné city council member. Notably a city along Route 66 and on the edge of the Navajo Nation, Gallup’s population is more than half Native American . Yazzie Asamoa-Tutu is one of a number of Native candidates filling local elected seats since the mid-term elections. We’ll talk wi...

New works by two best-selling Cherokee writers intertwine riveting fictional narratives with a dose of Native American historical reality. Vanessa Lillie ’s “ The Bone Thief ” continues the suspenseful trajectory of Syd Walker, a BIA archaeologist first introduced in Lillie’s novel, “Blood Sisters.” This time, the setting for the story is present-day Narragansett territory in New England and colon...

Because of a clerical error, Leticia Jacobo was told she would be handed over to ICE officials (Photo: courtesy Leticia Jacobo) Family, friends, and tribal officials rallied to help after authorities in Iowa notified Leticia Jacobo she would be handed over to federal immigration officials instead of being released from jail. Jacobo is a member of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. Afte...

As 200 nations from around the globe meet on the edge of the Amazon rainforest to hammer out cooperative goals on climate change, Indigenous people are making their presence known. They are included in discussions but have no negotiation power outside of the official representation from the countries they reside in. Many Indigenous attendees have organized marches, experienced civil disobedience,...

Access to land for hunting, fishing, and gathering are foundational provisions in so many treaties between tribes and the federal government, but individual hunters and anglers are frequently challenged when out exercising those treaty rights. The legal justifications were settled decades ago following landmark rulings such as the Boldt Decision in Washington State and, more recently, in the 9th C...

A surprise insertion in the bill to end the federal government shutdown has thrown Native hemp producers into chaos. The language prohibits products like beverages, vapes, and gummies containing THC compounds derived from hemp. Those products were widely available and contribute to a nearly $30 billion industry. Among them is the Lac du Flambeau tribe that produces and sells hemp-derived products...

Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings of the northern New Mexico landscape are among the most recognizable and beloved works of art in history. So much so that the distinctive mesas, bluffs, and plateaus are sometimes referred to as O’Keeffe Country. But the land has always been home to Pueblo people that have deep cultural ties to those same iconic landscapes. A new exhibition at the Georgia O’Keeffe Muse...

A relentless offensive against minority student recruiting and retention threatens more than Native American participation in school. Advocates for such outreach say it affects community well-being and even the health of Native citizens. We’ll hear from proponents for Native student achievement about President Donald Trump’s “Compact for Higher Education” and the latest tre...

The storm that ravaged villages along Alaska’s west coast may have washed away thousands of artifacts that promised to provide valuable insights into early Yup’ik settlements. The storm destroyed nearly 60 feet of shoreline near the village of Quinhagak. Along with it was a site that was the source of early masks, tools and other items that make up the world’s largest collection of Yup’ik artifact...

Filmmaker and U.S. Air Force veteran Ryan Begay (Diné) set out to bring some of the stories of others Native American veterans to a broader audience. In the process, he brings those stories, especially those of Native women who serve in the military to life, in the documentary, “ Honor Song “. We’ll hear about the film and from some of those featured in it. Another Air Force veteran, S...

Vermont’s four Abenaki bands face ongoing pushback as they work to assert their Native American identity. With state recognition, the tribes enjoy certain hunting and fishing rights and the ability to list artwork as Native made. The Odanak First Nation in Canada is speaking out on social media and at press conferences, public events, and even at the United Nations, saying the people in Vermont cl...

Throat-singing Inuit sisters Tiffany Ayalik and Inuksuk Mackay released their sixth album, offering a soundtrack to the traditional stories they grew up with. “Legends” blends PIQSIQ’s cultural improvisational technique with sophisticated studio production. First Nations Cree singer LOV is on tour, propelled by the success of the video releases for the singles, “ Matriarch...