Native America Calling

First Nations and Métis leaders in Alberta are actively opposing the province’s secession movement. Alberta will hold a referendum this October on whether to separate from Canada. Premier Danielle Smith is in a war of words with First Nations leaders and faces legal challenges from tribes for pushing forward with the vote. Smith publicly admonished tribal leaders to “check themselves” after the main provincial First Nations chiefs organization said Smith’s actions amounted to “treason”. So far, the public overwhelmingly opposes separation, but the debate is highlighting a very real question whether the provincial government can actually act on separation in light of historic treaties signed with the British Crown long before Alberta was established. GUESTS Chief Troy Knowlton (Piikani), Chief of the Piikani Nation and president of the Blackfoot Confederacy Danette Starblanket (Star Blanket Cree), assistant professor with the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Regina Bruce McIvor (Métis), founder and senior partner at First Peoples Law LLP and an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia’s Allard School of Law Matthew Wildcat (Ermineskin Cree), assistant professor and director of Indigenous Governance in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta Jon Eagle Sr. (Hunkpapa Lakota and Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate), former tribal historic preservation officer for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe   Break 1 Music: Old Alberta (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album) Break 2 Music: Feels Like [feat. Sheena Shandea] (song) Nataanii Means (artist)

Citizens of Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and other tribes are making their way to Montana to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of the Greasy Grass, also known as the Battle of the Little Bighorn. They are going there to mark a milestone for one of the most significant battles on U.S. soil. Many of them can directly trace their lineage to the warriors who were there. Among them is Jodi Rave Spotted Bear, whose great-great grandfather, Bear With Horns, died in the fight. His story was preserved by his younger sister Lucy Poor Buffalo, who was seven years old and witnessed the battle. Spotted Bear and others from the online news site, Buffalo’s Fire, are collecting the stories in a Memorial Wall to pay tribute to the Native warriors. We’ll hear from Spotted Bear and other descendants whose stories have been handed down over the generations. GUESTS Ernie LaPointe (Lakota), great-grandson of Sitting Bull and veteran Jodi Rave Spotted Bear (Mandan, Hidatsa and Mniconjou Lakota), executive director of the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance and editor-in-chief of Buffalo’s Fire Donovin Sprague (Miniconjou Lakota), historian, archivist, and professor at Sheridan College   Break 1 Music: Remembering The Warrior (song) Porcupine Singers (artist) Alowanpi – Songs Of Honoring – Lakota Classics: Past & Present, Vol. 1 (album) Break 2 Music: Feels Like [feat. Sheena Shandea] (song) Nataanii Means (artist)

“Rainwater and Whiskey” and “Empty Hands” are the latest singles off Mohawk singer-songwriter Logan Staats‘ forthcoming third album. These songs further explore Staats’ vintage country, soul and blues sound that were showcased on his 2023 Juno-nominated album, A Light in The Attic. His songwriting often centers on Indigenous rights and reclaiming identity. He continues to build on his mainstream success from winning a national Canadian music competition television series in 2018. Cherokee and Muscogee singer-songwriter Kalyn Fay‘s new album, “Garden”, channels quiet, rural life in Oklahoma. Fay waited two years before releasing the album because they “wanted to give the songs time to breathe.” The songwriting on the album is both personal and confessional, drawing inspiration from their family, their Native community, and the landscapes of Oklahoma.   Break 1 Music: Holy Man (song) Logan Staats (artist) A Light In The Attic (album) Break 2 Music: Round Dance (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs (album)

For decades, Leo “Bushido” Bercier (Ojibwe) balanced a full-time job and a family as he worked to make a name for himself as a professional fighter. Now, he’s hoping the controversial sport of bare-knuckle boxing will afford new opportunities. Along the way, he’s helping other amateur fighters in Great Falls, Mont. Similarly, across the country, Joshua Oxendine (Lumbee) is lining up bouts while also teaching traditional boxing at a gym he owns with his wife outside Charlotte, N.C. We’ll speak with both fighters about their passion for the sport that was banned for more than a century. We’ll also get perspectives on the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Rosebud. Chief Crazy Horse and Lakota and Cheyenne warriors successfully turned back the U.S. Army column led by Gen. George Crook, cutting off the re-enforcements heading to the fateful Battle of Greasy Grass eight days later. GUESTS Leo Bercier (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians), boxer and owner of Bushido Fight Series Josh Oxendine (Lumbee), boxer, MMA fighter, and owner of Oxfitness Wilma Bearshield-Robertson (Sicangu Lakota), historian and artisan Leo Killsback (Northern Cheyenne), professor at the University of Arizona and author Here’s an extended version of an interview with historian Dr. Leo Killsback (Northern Cheyenne). Killsback discussing the events leading up to the Battle of Rosebud: https://nativeamericacalling-offload-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/061726-Leo-Killsback-web-audio.mp3   Break 1 Music: Sacrifice (song) Bloodline (artist) Break 2 Music: Round Dance (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs (album)

Once overshadowed by the myth of “Custer’s Last Stand”, Native Americans have successfully reclaimed the narrative of the Battle of Greasy Grass. 150 years after the defeat of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer’s 7th U.S. Cavalry, northern Plains tribes plan numerous events over multiple days to commemorate the historical milestone and to explore the ways the unexpected victory by a coalition of tribes continues to reverberate today. The sesquicentennial is less about celebrating past military dominance and more about a unified, multi-tribal declaration that, despite a century and a half of forced displacement, Indigenous cultures and identities remain vibrantly alive. GUESTS Tom Eagle Staff (Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe), Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe planning coordinator for the 150th Anniversary of Battle of Little Bighorn Dave West (Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe), director of the Cheyenne River Lakota Cultural Center Dion Killsback (Northern Cheyenne), Northern Cheyenne Tribe’s camp coordinator for the 150th Anniversary of Little Bighorn and an attorney   Break 1 Music: A War Chief I Have Been (song) Courtney Yellow Fat (artist) The Lost Songs of Sitting Bull (album) Break 2 Music: Round Dance (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs (album)

A site of tragedy for the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation has become a place of renewal and promise. The tribe has worked for the past seven years to revitalize the land of the 1863 Bear River Massacre. By eradicating invasive species, reviving native plants, and returning water canals to their natural paths, the tribe is significantly boosting both water quality and flow of the river. It is one of the biggest sources of water for the Great Salt Lake, and officials say the tribe’s efforts could be part of a solution to preventing the iconic body of water from disappearing amid an increasingly dry climate. And in Montana, The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes continue work as part of a historic compact to revitalize the Jocko River. We’ll discuss how Indigenous knowledge is providing promise against a troubling trend. GUESTS Brad Parry (Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation), vice chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation Seth Makepeace, hydrologist for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Donella Miller (Yakama), fish science manager for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission Hannah Freeze, Great Salt Lake deputy commissioner   Break 1 Music: Prayer Song (song) Salish Spirit Canoe Family (artist) Keep Singing, Keep Dancing (album) Break 2 Music: Beauty Way (song) Summit Dub Squad (artist) The Beauty Way (album)

A racial discrimination lawsuit by a non-Native resident of Hawaii threatens to dismantle a Native Hawaiian land benefit established by Congress more than a century ago. The suit challenges the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1921, a federal law reserving more than 200,000 acres of land in a public trust for Hawaii’s Native population. Residents need to prove they have a 50% blood quantum to qualify for 99-year lease. The plaintiff argues he was denied a lease based on an unconstitutional racial preference. It is one in a series of challenges for similar benefits including school admissions and a health studies scholarship, all giving preference for Native Hawaiians, who do not share the same political protections as Native Americans. We’ll discuss how the lawsuits brings issues of equity, blood quantum, and historic land dispossession to the forefront. GUESTS Robin Danner (Native Hawaiian), senior advisor to the Sovereign Council of Hawaiian Homestead Association Elizabeth Ho’oipo Pa Nakea (Native Hawaiian), attorney, founding president of Hui Na’auao, and executive director of the Native Hawaiian Advisory Council Patrick Kahawaiolaa (Native Hawaiian), homesteader and elder Derek Kauanoe (Native Hawaiian), assistant professor of law at the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa   Break 1 Music: Ke Aloha I Ka Pu’uwai / He ‘Ili ‘Ula Au a He Hawai’I (song) Mark Keali’i Ho’omalu (artist) Call It What You Like (album) Break 2 Music: Beauty Way (song) Summit Dub Squad (artist) The Beauty Way (album)

A major housing and retail development proposal in Virginia threatens to pave over the birthplace of one of America’s most influential historical leader. Paramount Chief Powhatan is the notable late-1500s leader who united local tribes into what became known as the Powhatan Confederacy to face the first waves of English settlers. He was the being father of Matoaka, also known as Pocahontas. The nonprofit organization Preservation Virginia placed the site on its 2026 list of most endangered places. Tribal leaders are actively working to halt the development project, saying it would be “an immeasurable loss to tribal communities and the Commonwealth of Virginia.” We’ll hear from tribal leaders about Powhatan’s birthplace and his enduring legacy. GUESTS Chief Kevin Brown (Pamunkey) Chief Frank Adams (Upper Mattaponi)   Break 1 Music: A Beautiful Darkness [Feat. Nadjiwen] (song) Sultans of String (artist) Break 2 Music: Trick Song (song) Battle River (artist) Hard Times (album)

A rule change in South Dakota opened a door that allowed a sizable increase in the number of eligible foster parents. It is a boon for places like the Oglala Sioux Reservation that declared an emergency in foster child placement as recently as three years ago. The Minnesota Supreme Court turned back another challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) as the legal justifications for such claims dwindle. And we’ll learn about a Pascua Yaqui tribal secretary who has opened her home to more than two dozen foster children over the years. GUESTS Nancy Marie Spears (Cherokee), Indigenous Children and Families reporter for The Imprint Susan Schrader (Oglala Lakota), director of the Child Protection Services and ICWA program for the Oglala Sioux Tribe, kinship caregiver, and an elder Toni Giago (Oglala Lakota), family developer for Oglala Sioux Tribe Child Protection Services Anna Evans (Chickasaw and Cherokee), mother   Break 1 Music: Children’s Honoring Song (song) Red Hawk Medicine Drum (artist) New Beginnings (album) Break 2 Music: Trick Song (song) Battle River (artist) Hard Times (album)

The State of Alaska is moving forward with a program to kill brown bears across a 40,000-square-mile swath of land in southwest Alaska. The plan to shoot bears from helicopters aims to improve declining numbers of the Mulchatna Caribou Herd. Several local tribes and the Alaska Federation of Natives support the plan. Caribou are a subsistence food source. The herd peaked at over 200,000 in the 1990s, but plummeted to 12,000 by 2022. Conservationists oppose the bear control measures, arguing it lacks scientific evidence that it achieves what officials say it goes. We’ll explore the complexities of predator management in Alaska. GUESTS Janet Bavilla (Yup’ik), subsistence hunter and Platinum Traditional Village council member Doug Vincent-Lang, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game   Break 1 Music: Bear Beats (song) Cheevers Toppah (artist) True Melodies (album) Break 2 Music: Trick Song (song) Battle River (artist) Hard Times (album)

Iñupiaq poet Joan Kane explores themes of home and colonial dispossession in her new poetry collection, “with snow pouring southward past the window“. Kane’s poems center on Iñupiaq worldviews and language, featuring masterful experimentation with form and imagery. Her critically acclaimed work has led to faculty appointments at Harvard University, Tufts University, and Reed College. She also recently edited “Circumpolar Connections: Creative Indigenous Geographies of the Arctic”, an anthology of Indigenous writings about the region. Ho-Chunk elder Sherman Funmaker just released his debut collection of poems and essays in “Bear Tracks“. He navigates the culture, family, loss, and racism he experienced growing up in Wisconsin. He writes with both emotional depth and humor about such life-changing decisions as dropping out of high school to be a rock-and-roll drummer and finding success as a writer later in life.   Break 1 Music: The Wild One (song) Link Wray (artist) Break 2 Music: Cauyaqa Nauwa [Where’s My Drum] (song) Pamyua (artist) Drums Of The North: Traditional Yup’ik Songs (album)

Construction crews working on the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona significantly damaged a 1,000-year-old geoglyph located in Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. It’s one of a number of places tribes on both sides of the border say are damaged or are threatened by the fast-tracked construction process. Tribal leaders say such desecration is happening at a record pace after the Trump administration sidelined cultural and environmental barriers to construction. We’ll hear from cultural historians and policy experts about that is being lost and what can be done about it. GUESTS Emily Burgueno (Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel), chairwoman of the Kumeyaay Diegueño Land Conservancy David Martinez (Akimel O’odham, Hia-Ced O’odham and Mexican), professor of American Indian Studies and Transborder Studies and director and founder of the Institute for Transborder Indigenous Nations at Arizona State University Christina Leza (Yoeme and Chicana), professor of anthropology at Colorado College Felicity Amaya Schaeffer, professor of feminist studies, critical race and ethnic Studies at the University of California Santa Cruz   Break 1 Music: Connections (song) R. Carlos Nakai (artist) Reconnections (album) Break 2 Music: Cauyaqa Nauwa [Where’s My Drum] (song) Pamyua (artist) Drums Of The North: Traditional Yup’ik Songs (album)

The U.S. government and private mining corporations are ignoring the rights of tribes to free, prior, and informed consent when it comes to lithium mining in Nevada, according to a new report by Amnesty International. The report comes amid the Trump administration’s fast tracking of metals and minerals extraction. With more than 20,000 active mining claims across the state, tribes are having to weigh how every new proposal would impact their communities. The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska that the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) applies to remains buried at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, which is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army. The decision gets the tribe one step closer to repatriating two children from the oldest Indian boarding school, and could establish legal precedent for federal agencies to comply with NAGPRA in the future. GUESTS Chairman Coly Brown (Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska) Beth Margaret Wright (Laguna Pueblo), senior staff attorney with the Native American Rights Fund Fermina Stevens (Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone), executive director of the Western Shoshone Defense Project Clifford Banuelos (Te-Moak Tribe of the Western Shoshone), tribal-state environmental liaison for the Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada   Break 1 Music: Chant Ancestral (song) Geneviève Gros-Louis (artist) Break 2 Music: Traditional Side Step Song (song) Little Otter (artist) Side Step Songs (album)