Category: 9-NotNowMaybeSomeday

As the country gears up to commemorate 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, several galleries are exploring the enduring strengths of Native Americans through both traditional and contemporary works. “Paper Trails: Unfolding Indigenous Narratives” at the Museum of Contemporary Native Art in Santa Fe, N.M. aims to stretch the boundaries of the paper medium while also examining Native cultural survival in the face of colonization. “Constellations of Place” at the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College is centered on a visual history of Native people in Colorado. And Seattle’s Tidelands Gallery compiles a narrative inspired by “Lushootseed Creation Stories”. We’ll talk with artists and curators about how art inserts itself into the narratives being told about the origin of America.

We’ll also hear about the year-long streaming Native film festival, “Everything is Connected”, developed by Vision Maker Media.

GUESTS

Alana Stone (Sičhą́ǧu Lakȟóta and Diné), curatorial specialist at Vision Maker Media

Matika Wilbur (Swinomish and Tulalip), author, photographer, and CEO of Tidelands

Melissa Melero-Moose (Northern Paiute), artist, independent curator, and co-curator of “Paper Trails: Unfolding Indigenous Narratives”

Dr. Meranda Roberts (Yerington Paiute Tribe and Chicana), independent curator and guest curator for “Constellations of Place”

Break 1 Music: Atomic Drop [feat. Northern Cree] (song) The Halluci Nation (artist) Path of the Heel (album)

Break 2 Music: Wahzhazhe (song) Scott George (artist) Killers of the Flower Moon Soundtrack (album)

An Iñupiaq village on Alaska’s North Slope is suing after the Trump administration removed protections for an area important to subsistence hunting. The suit by Nuiqsut Trilateral Inc. says the action is in response to a move to expand oil drilling beyond what is in a Biden-era agreement for the Willow project. Another fight pitting caribou and oil drilling is resurfacing over increased momentum to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where Gwich’in people express concern over the declines of the Porcupine caribou herd — the state’s largest — which is down to a quarter of what it was two decades ago. We’ll look at the factors that affect Alaska’s caribou and what Alaska Native people who depend on them are doing about them.

We’ll also hear about Indigenous climate activist Daria Egereva (Selkup) who is facing terrorism charges in Russia after testifying at the United Nation’s COP30 summit in favor of including Indigenous women in climate negotiations.

GUESTS

Rosemary Ahtuangaruak (Iñupiaq), former Mayor of Nuiqsut

Aivana Enmynkau (Chukchi), climate activist

Luda Kinok (Yupik), Indigenous rights activist

Break 1 Music: Reindeer (song) Pamyua (artist) Caught in The Act (album)

Break 2 Music: Wahzhazhe (song) Scott George (artist) Killers of the Flower Moon Soundtrack (album)

College Native American Studies courses are engines for Native-led research in addition to serving as a welcoming academic home for Native students. As it is, Native students are already the most under-represented group on college campuses. Their numbers declined in the decade before the Covid pandemic. There are indications that the 2023 Supreme Court decision upending Affirmative Action and the Trump administration’s focus on unraveling Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are doing further damage to all minority enrollment. As the American Indian Studies Association convention gets underway, we’ll assess the power and challenges of college programs focusing specifically on Native issues.

GUESTS

Dr. Souksavanh Keovorabouth (Diné), assistant professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Northern Arizona University and president of the American Indian Studies Association

Mario Atencio (Diné), Native American Studies Ph.D candidate at the University of New Mexico

Allison Shaddox (Cherokee), Native American Studies Ph.D. student at the University of New Mexico

Kelly Nalani Beym (Diné), Ph.D. candidate in geography at the University of Kansas

Break 1 Music: Manitou (song) The Delbert Anderson Trio (artist) MANITOU (album)

Break 2 Music: Wahzhazhe (song) Scott George (artist) Killers of the Flower Moon Soundtrack (album)