Native America Calling

Koahnic
  • 4.8 (167)
  • NEWS
  • UPDATED DAILY

Interactive, daily program featuring Native and Indigenous voices, insights, and stories from across the U.S. and around the world.

  1. 11H AGO

    Friday, April 17, 2026 – Storytelling and advocacy through film, culture, and collaboration at Arctic Encounter

    Filmmaker Kelly Moneymaker is dedicated to documenting how Indigenous people across the world — especially in the Arctic — are adapting to a rapidly changing climate. Moneymaker, who is Samoan and was raised by an adoptive Iñupiaq father, pivoted her career after a successful run in pop music to highlight Indigenous stories on film. Her work has been showcased at United Nations Climate Conferences, prestigious film festivals, and previous Arctic Encounter Summits in Anchorage, Alaska. We’ll speak to Moneymaker about her film work and hear from Unangax̂ tribal leader Crystal Dushkin about her efforts to revitalize her culture while bringing economic security to her community. And Rachel Kallander, Arctic Encounter Summit founder and CEO, will join us for a review of this year’s convening of global leaders and stakeholders.

    57 min

  2. 1D AGO

    Thursday, April 16, 2026 – Eklutna: a trailblazer on gaming and climate change action in Alaska

    There are no casinos or lotteries in Alaska. The state has some of the most restrictive gaming laws in the country, but the small Dena’ina Athabascan Village of Eklutna, located in Anchorage’s municipality, is pushing the envelope on tribal gaming rights in the state. The Chin’an Gaming Hall is still open even after a year of legal disputes and threats by the state to close its doors. The village is also at the forefront of climate advocacy in southcentral Alaska. They have been working to restore their river’s namesake and salmon habitat. We’ll speak with the Eklutna’s president Aaron Leggett, live from the Arctic Encounter Summit in Anchorage, an annual gathering of policymakers, diplomats, Indigenous leaders, and stakeholders. We’ll also hear from Alaska Native elders and subsistence rights advocates from St. Lawrence Island about whaling and contamination from a former military site on the island. GUESTS Aaron Leggett (Dena’ina Athabascan), president of the Village of Eklutna Vi Waghiyi (Yupik), environmental health and justice program director at the Alaska Community Action on Toxics Merle Apassingok (Yupik), elder and leader from the Native Village of Gambell Dr. Sara Olsvig (Inuit), chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council

    57 min

  3. 2D AGO

    Wednesday, April 15, 2026 – Iñupiaq leaders weigh their economic future and oil drilling in the Arctic

    President Donald Trump is pushing for more oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic, a decision directly impacting Iñupiaq communities. Millions of acres in the National Petroleum Reserve were opened for oil and gas leasing and the administration’s reversal of Biden-era protections has the potential to open up the pristine National Wildlife Refuge for leasing and drilling. Some Iñupiaq communities welcome the potential for more oil drilling that promises to boost revenue and jobs for shareholders. Others worry about the environment and their ability to carry on subsistence lifestyles. We’ll get perspectives from Iñupiaq leaders about the future of economic development in the Arctic. We’re broadcasting live from the 2026 Arctic Encounter Summit in Anchorage, Alaska. GUESTS Asisaun Toovak (Iñupiaq), mayor of Utqiagvik, Alaska Pearl Brower (Iñupiaq), president and CEO of Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation Nagruk Harcharek (Iñupiaq), president of The Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat (VOICE)

    57 min

  4. 3D AGO

    Tuesday, April 14, 2026 — Native in the Spotlight: cartographer Margaret Wickens Pearce

    The work of Margaret Pearce (Citizen Potawatomi) as a cartographer does not separate Indigenous people, stories, culture, and memory from a place that she is mapping. She works with tribes, Native scientists, and culture keepers to bring forth map layers often overlooked by the mainstream. One of her recent projects, “The Cold at Inuit Nunangat”, maps the ways Inuit protect their homelands in northern Canada and how colonization interferes with that connection. Her current mapping project, “Mississippi Dialogues”, depicts the Mississippi River through the perspective of Indigenous people and their stewardship. Pearce was named a National Geographic 33 in March and is a recipient of a 2025 MacArthur Fellowship and genius grant. She is our April Native in the Spotlight. We’ll also visit with photographer and National Geographic Explorer Kiliii Yüyan (Nanai Hèzhé) about his photography book, “Guardians of Life: Indigenous Knowledge, Indigenous Science, and Restoring the Planet“. The book, which launched in April, is a culmination of photos from his travels to Indigenous communities throughout the globe with a focus on Indigenous connections and stewardship of land.

    57 min

  5. 4D AGO

    Monday, April 13, 2026 — Tribes confront growing data center development pressure

    The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma is one of the first tribes to pass a moratorium against the construction of hyperscale data centers. The nearby Muscogee Nation also turned down an opportunity to build a data center after Muscogee citizens spoke out in force against the plan. Large tech companies are stepping up the pressure to build hyperscale data centers to house the processing power for data storage and generative AI. The federal government is providing incentives for tribes to get involved in this part of the tech boom. It is part of the Trump administration’s push to unleash American technological power, but such facilities typically require a lot of power and water. Native environmentalists warn data center companies are only looking to take advantage of tribes’ sovereignty and resources. GUESTS Cheyenne McNeill (Coharie), editorial fellow at Mother Jones Jordan Harmon (Muscogee), policy specialist at Indigenous Environmental Network Ashley Leitka (Absentee Shawnee Tribe and Oglala Lakota), co-director of the sovereignty and self-determination department for Honor The Earth Dr. Karen Jarratt Snider (Choctaw), professor of applied Indigenous studies at Northern Arizona University

    57 min

  6. APR 10

    Friday, April 10, 2026 – Money management during economic uncertainty and the rise of Buy Now Pay Later

    Paying to have a sandwich delivered to your door or even replacing a broken appliance is as easy as clicking an app and worrying about the bill later. Apps like Klarna and Afterpay allow consumers to pay installments for goods they can have in hand right away. A new report by Lending Tree finds 4 in 10 Americans now use pay later loans for groceries, an increase from the previous year fueled partly in a rise in prices. Financial literacy experts warn of the potential for consumers to quickly lose control of spending with such apps, but even for consumers using conventional methods, keeping on top of increasing costs for food and gas means more disciplined spending, at least in the short term. We’ll go over ideas for keeping a lid on personal finances. We’ll also hear about the uncertain future of a federal Native financial grant and loan program that is slated for elimination with President Donald Trump’s 2027 budget proposal. The $28 million program aids Native communities with homeownership, credit building, and entrepreneurship, but the administration says it is promoting “cultural Marxism“. GUESTS Chantay Moore (Diné), certified financial educator Pete Upton (Ponca), CEO and chairperson of the Native CDFI Network and the executive director of the Native360 Loan Fund   Break 1 Music: C.R.E.A.M. [Instrumental] (song) Wu-Tang Clan (artist) Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers [Instrumentals] (album) Break 2 Music: Further From the Country (song) William Prince (artist) Further From the Country (album)

    57 min

  7. APR 9

    Thursday, April 9, 2026 — Roller derby skaters don’t let anyone push them around

    Indigenous women skaters shove and elbow their way around the oval roller derby track — and along the way they are finding sisterhood and a sense of pride. Clad in helmets and knee pads, they take full-contact laps around the track that also serves as an arena for visibility and representation. The international team, Indigenous Rising, is a ground-breaking pack made up of skaters from dozens of tribes who otherwise compete on local teams. The documentary, “Rising Through the Fray”, follows the team’s journey and the personal passions and sacrifice individual players put into this unique and fast-paced sport. GUESTS Kristina “Krispy” Glass (Cherokee), coach and manager for Indigenous Rising Roller Derby Sherry “Sour Cherry” Bontkes (Saulteaux Ojibwe from the Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba), roller derby player Angelene “Niketah” Ketah (Tlingit), roller derby player Kapulani “Hawaiian Blaze” Patterson (Kanaka Maoli) Courtney Montour (Kanien’kehá:ka), filmmaker, writer, and director of “Rising Through the Fray”   Break 1 Music: Head High (song) Wavelengths (artist) Break 2 Music: Further From the Country (song) William Prince (artist) Further From the Country (album)

    57 min

  8. APR 8

    Wednesday, April 8, 2026 – Tribes scramble to save critical healthcare funding

    President Donald Trump’s federal budget proposal includes a 75% funding cut to a diabetes prevention and treatment program specifically for Native Americans. It also calls for up to $65 million in cuts to Indian Health Care facilities improvements. The Republican-controlled Congress has a mixed record on supporting Trump’s budget cuts to Native health care, but the proposals are cause for concern for tribes like Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico that is contending with costly repairs for its aging health clinic. It also comes as the country faces the looming dropoff in Medicaid reimbursements that jeopardizes the future for hundreds of mainly rural hospitals across the country. We’ll assess the threats to Native health care as we know it and other potential challenges that the ongoing shift in federal priorities is bringing to the surface. GUESTS Liz Malerba (Mohegan), director of policy and legislative affairs for the United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund A.C. Locklear (Lumbee), CEO of the National Indian Health Board Jerilyn Church (Cheyenne River Lakota), president and CEO of the Great Plains Tribal Leader’s Health Board Kurt Riley (Acoma Pueblo), chairman of the Acoma Pueblo Health Board and former governor of Acoma Pueblo   Break 1 Music: Intertribal (song) Blackfoot Confederacy (artist) Confederacy Style (album) Break 2 Music: Further From the Country (song) William Prince (artist) Further From the Country (album)

    57 min
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4.8
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167 Ratings

About

Interactive, daily program featuring Native and Indigenous voices, insights, and stories from across the U.S. and around the world.

Information

  • Creator
    Koahnic
  • Years Active
    2014 - 2026
  • Episodes
    300
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Koahnic Broadcast Corporation - All rights reserved - Contact nola@nv1.org for permission
  • Show Website
    Native America Calling

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