Native America Calling

Composer, singer, and ethnomusicologist Jeremy Dutcher (Wolastoqiyik) is taking his music on an international tour that includes performing in Taiwan and Japan with renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Dutcher’s music continues to draws fans around the world following the release of two acclaimed albums in his Native language, featuring his distinctive tenor voice. His latest album, “ Motewolonuwok &#...

The Trump administration’s proposal to remove questions about a person’s race for the U.S. Census is sparking alarm among tribal leaders, voting rights advocates, and social service providers . They say it will significantly impede tribes’ political representation at the state and federal levels and reduce access to federal resources, adding up to a serious erosion of tribal sovereignty. Counting...

At a time when tribes across the country are working to shut down prediction market companies, the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana is embracing them by launching its own mobile app with the help of industry giant, Kalshi. The Tunica-Biloxi chairman says his tribe is “ creating a new source of economic opportunity and doing it on its own terms .” That is decidedly counter to the other...

From the original Cherokee syllabary to banners waved by Native American demonstrators, graphic works by Native people carry a thread through the centuries that operate within their own design framework. A new book and accompanying gallery exhibition, “ Designed to be Red” , documents and celebrates that thread of visual works by Native designers that exert agency and authority over th...

At a time when Canada is reflecting on the painful history of residential schools, Indigenous leaders are having to speak out against organized efforts to minimize the harms inflicted on generations of Indigenous children. Just days before Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation , white nationalists gathered near the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Colum...

“The Blue Corn Kitchen ” by Alana Yazzie (Diné) gives young reader’s a glimpse of the traditional corn-based Navajo foods many Navajo grandmothers have stocked in their kitchens. It’s the latest project from the self-made, Navajo lifestyle and food blogger who also goes by The Fancy Navajo. Howdy Cakes is a new pastry and cake business by Diné culinarian, Liz McKenzie. It’s...

Named a “legendary Lakota horseman” by the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Fred Ecoffey (Oglala Lakota) has enjoyed a celebrated 68-year career as a jockey. After winning his debut race in 1957, Ecoffey went on to compete in more than 17,500 races, earning inductions into both the Nebraska Racing Hall of Fame and the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame. Ecoffey, 88, has retired from professional racing, though h...

Aliet Paul learns traditional sacred birthing practices of her Mi’kmaq through her grandmother. But the outside world is changing and drives a wedge between her and her community. “ The Birthing Tree ” is the second novel from Amanda Peters (Mi’kmaq). It is a story of identity, overcoming tragedy, and redemption through one’s connections to family and culture. “ How Settlers Get...

Some experts are warning about the risks of artificial intelligence advancing beyond human control in the foreseeable future. The major AI developers themselves are calling on government intervention to slow down the pace of AI progress. In the meantime, tribes are developing policies to head off potential AI misuse of cultural and private data. Much of the tribal policies revolve around intellect...

After centuries of having their stories told by outsiders, Indigenous people made considerable progress in having their voices represented in the media in recent decades. The 2012 book, “ American Indians and the Mass Media ,” co-edited by Meta Carstarphen, documented that growth in authentic Native voices. Now, a new book edited by Carstarphen and Cristina L. Azocar picks up where the original bo...

Modern traditional practitioners are the culmination of generations of people who acquired and passed on their skills, knowledge, and technology. That knowledge includes innovative ways to find water in arid places, stay warm in cold climates, navigate surroundings without a compass or a map, and to use the land in a way that doesn’t deplete it. A new documentary on the PBS science series “N...

Alaska tribes just took over ownership from the federal government of the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, making way for growth that officials have been advocating for years. The new owners, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium , were among the first Native organizations to assume health care sovereignty in 1998, but officials say underinvestment in the facility by the federal Ind...

Musician Kole Galbraith (Peoria Tribe) has spent nearly a decade perfecting his unique blend of electronic and acoustic instrumentation and field recordings to create his signature drone-doom sound. Galbraith’s musical roots are grounded in metal, noise, free jazz, and musique concrète . He is earning praises from audiences from the Pacific Northwest to Eastern Europe for his honed sound that find...

Julian Lang is an elder, artist, and dedicated language teacher. He has spent decades talking with elders and poring over documents — including deciphering cryptic field notes from an anthropological linguist a century ago — to help rebuild the structure of his Karuk language. Now, a master-apprenticeship program he helped found is being recognized by linguists as a successful example of language...

A new report by the Native American Rights Fund finds rejections increased for both ballots and voter registration forms sent by mail from places with high Native populations from 2020 to 2024. NARF’s analysis also documents generations of efforts to suppress or hinder Native voters. The report comes as both Congress and the courts are turning back several President Donald Trump’s most significant...

A diverse team of mainly Alaska Native talent spent nearly nine years building the operatic version of a historic battle in the early 1800s. “ Ḵutulagaaw: The Tlingit-Russian Battles ”, a combination of music, writing, anthropology, and culture, is now on stage in Juneau , offering audiences a Tlingit perspective that is frequently dismissed in historical accounts. The presentation in the high art...

A proposed overhaul of the federal process that protects cultural heritage sites and resources is fueling considerable pushback from tribes. They are concerned about how recommended changes to the National Historic Preservation Act might diminish tribal input on matters such as development projects in known sensitive areas. Critics say the changes have the potential to permanently destroy any rema...

For those who witnessed the attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., the terrorist attacks remain a vivid memory 25 years later. It’s even burned into the minds of those who watched the tragedy unfold on television. At the same time, up to 30% of Americans were born after the historic event and have no first-hand knowledge. We’ll remember 9/11 though the eyes of those who were close enough to see...

The risks of fighting wildfires hit home this summer as 13 firefighters, including two Native Americans, died on the job . The profession is facing burnout, overwork, and higher risk as the number of wildfires steadily increases and the number of federal firefighters drops following budget cuts by the Trump administration. We’ll hear about what wildland firefighters are currently up against and wh...

The Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas and its leader Juan Mancias have established themselves as leaders in environmental causes including the DAPL pipeline protests and another oil and gas pipeline in Texas. Mancias is recognized by the U.N. and has worked hand-in-hand with several established environmental organizations. Along the way, the tribe has brought in more than $5 million in philanthropi...

Thirty-five years after he walked free from prison when his murder conviction was overturned, Santiago Ventura Morales (Mixtec) is receiving monetary compensation from the state and an official document declaring his innocence. Morales spent five years behind bars before witnesses in the case admitted to submitting false testimony and other forensic evidence proved faulty. During his initial trial...

Courtney Jordan (Cherokee) is an attorney who built her expertise of federal Indian Law and tribal law serving in some of the highest levels of her profession. She is a former Assistant United States Attorney. She was also an Assistant Attorney General for the Cherokee Nation, and a Tribal Liaison for the State of Oklahoma. Her career was turned upside down after she was convicted of criminal char...

Eliza "Lyda" Conley was a strong, independent Wyandot woman who is credited with preserving the cemetery where her family and other tribal members were buried in the face of mounting commercial development pressure. Conley defended the Huron Indian Cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas in the courts as well as from a makeshift shack where she and her sister took up residence with their father’s Civil Wa...

The Osage Nation's Daposka Ahnkodapi language immersion school in Pawhuska, Oklahoma announced it is closing one week before the start of the new school year. Tribal leadership closed the school citing dire budgetary problems. Teachers and parents were left scrambling to find a place for the nearly 100 students. For some, Daposka Ahnkodapi was the only school they’d known. We’ll speak with parents...

After record-setting temperatures across the country, dangerous summer heat continues to spill into September. The number of heat-related deaths in the Phoenix area are on track to triple last year’s numbers . Schools, businesses, and events are shutting down across the Midwest from Iowa to Michigan. Institutions are also forced to close down in Pennsylvania and other states along parts of the Eas...