NATIVE NEWS HEADLINES

A spate of preventable deaths from suicide, drugs, violence, and inadequate health care has prompted a regional First Nation body in Canada to declare a state of emergency. The Keewatin Tribal Council is calling for immediate government action to correct what 11 First Nations are calling a dire situation. Today on Native America Calling, we find out how the First Nations are coping with Keewatin Tribal Council Grand Chief Walter Wastesicoot (from York Factory First Nation) and George Neepin (Fox Lake Cree Nation), chief executive officer of the Keewatin Tribal Council.

The Yurok Tribe hired its own investigator to pursue unsolved cases of their citizens who are missing or murdered. Arizona is among the states establishing an MMIP task force that the new governor says will “ensure that not one more Indigenous man, woman, or child is a target of violence, abuse, or exploitation.” The actions are part of the attempts to address the slow momentum to investigate and solve cases with Native victims. Today on Native America Calling, we speak with Jessica Carter (Yurok), Yurok Tribal Court Director; Daisy Bluestar (Southern Ute), member of the MMIR Taskforce in Colorado; Skye Alloway (Forest County Potawatomi tribal member), co-chair of Wisconsin’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force; and Annie Forsman-Adams (Suquamish), program director for the Washington State Native American Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (Women Spirit Coalition).

Kelli Mosteller (Citizen Potawatomi Nation) is the executive director of Harvard University’s Native American Program. Prior to that position, she was the director of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center, as well as the tribal historic preservation officer. For over a decade she has been working on repatriating remains under the Native American Graves Protection Act (NAGPRA). Recently, it was announced she would also serve on the National Museum and Library Services Board, which does advisory work with museums, libraries, and information services throughout the country. Today on Native America Calling, Shawn Spruce speaks with Mosteller about her work with Harvard and her tribe on our regular feature Native in the Spotlight.   

In Defense of Sovereignty: Protecting the Oneida Nation’s Inherent to Self-Determination by author Rebecca Webster (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin), assistant professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota, examines a 20-year jurisdictional dispute between the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and the town of Hobart. Today on Native America Calling, we talk with Webster on our regular feature Native Bookshelf as well as Kinsale Drake (Diné), poet and founder of NDN Girls Book Club.

Indigenous-owned businesses like The Rez Life, The NTVS, OXDX, and Section 35 help drive casual Native fashion by turning out jackets, shorts, and beanies stitched with Native art and shirts splashed with words and phrases like “Land Back”, “Resilient”, and “Skoden.” Streetwear is casual fashion that draws from the aesthetic elements of sportswear, hip-hop, punk, and skateboard – and mixes in community vibes and coolness. Indigenous fashion shows include the latest in streetwear and Indigenous celebrities like Amber Midthunder and the cast of Reservation Dogs drip Native streetwear and carry with them messages of cultural vibrancy, strength, and resistance everywhere they go. Today on Native America Calling, we speak with Ricko DeWilde (Athabascan), hunter and owner of HYDZ Gear; Justin Louis (member of the Samson Cree Nation), creative director and founder of Section 35; and Sean Rayland-Boubar (Anishinaabe from Sagkeeng First Nation), founder and owner of Red Rebel Armour.