Native America Calling Koahnic

At a time when Australian bands like Men At Work, Midnight Oil, and INXS were reaching worldwide recognition, a number of Aboriginal rock and reggae bands were making their own waves in the music world. Names like Coloured Stone, No Fixed Address, and others were getting broader interest from audiences and notched impressive record sales globally. All the while they faced considerable racism and their peoples’ land rights battles, themes that their songs often invoke. We’ll hear from some of those musicians about how they now look back on this important decade of music.



GUESTS



Dr. Shino Konishi (Yawuru woman), associate professor for the Australian Catholic University 



Laurie May, poet and former label manager for CAAMA Music



Ricky Harrison (Kurnai man), singer/songwriter with No Fixed Address 



Grant Hansen (Kulin man), guitarist/vocals with Blackfire; television and radio broadcaster 



Bunna Lawrie (Mirning man), singer and founding member of Coloured Stone, elder, whalesong, and medicine man 



Jason Lee Scott (Mirning/Wirrangu man), singer/songwriter

Arizona officials are still sorting out the details of what they say is among the biggest and costliest fraud scandals in state history. The scheme targeted Native people and involved billing for sham treatment services. Some residents were literally taken off the street and held against their will at fake treatment centers. Officials say the operators of the fraud bilked Arizona’s Medicaid system of some $100 million over several years. Tribal officials in the state say hundreds of their citizens were harmed and some remain missing.



GUESTS



Ethel Branch (Diné), attorney general of the Navajo Nation



Darren Thompson (Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe), reporter for Native News Online



Elizabeth Bryant (citizen of the Cherokee Nation), psychiatric nurse practitioner



Reva Stewart (Diné), grassroots advocate with the #StolenPeopleStolenBenefits campaign



Coleen Chatter (Diné), grassroots advocate with the #StolenPeopleStolenBenefits campaign

An ambitious project in Denver aims to build affordable units for the city’s Native population. It includes plans for a Native health clinic and is intended to address the disparities of homelessness for Native people. It’s one of a handful of housing projects built with collaborative health and program space around the country designed to prioritize the needs of Native people.



GUESTS



Carla Respects Nothing (Oglala Sioux from Pine Ridge), Native American housing advocate for the Native American Housing Circle



Paul Lumley (citizen of the Yakama Nation), CEO of the Native American Youth and Family Center



Lindsay Goes Behind (Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas), chief program officer for the Chief Seattle Club

While it still happens in some places, Native tourism is moving far beyond selling rubber tomahawks, chicken feather headbands, and other trinkets. Tribes and Native-owned businesses are realizing the value for authentic, Native-made works and meaningful traveler experiences. The time between Memorial Day and Labor Day is prime tourism season. We’ll find out how tribes are making the transition to culturally sustainable tourism development.



Also, MSNBC is airing a roundtable discussion among accomplished Native women about culture, identity, and representation in a society that so often treats Indigenous people as invisible. It’s an intimate and frank conversation hosted by Alyssa London and airs on the Peacock Network. We'll hear from Alyssa about how the show came about and what it can do to hear powerful Native women voices.

Every weekday in Gualala, Calif., radio listeners can tune into the long-running show Peggy’s Place on KGUA to learn about their neighbors and the rest of the world. The show is just one of the many projects spanning the 50-year radio career of its host, Peggy Berryhill. She started with the show Living on Indian Time on KPFA in Berkeley, Calif. in 1973. She has since worked at National Public Radio, helped develop Native stations, mentored Native broadcasters, and founded the Native Media Resource Center. She has picked up numerous awards and accolades along the way. In this encore show, we’ll get her take on her notable accomplishments and the future of Native radio.

What happens if you're a chef and you lose your sense of smell, something that is crucial for taste? For First Nations chef Gerry Brandon, it was time to call it quits at his restaurant in Temiskaming Shores, Ontario that blended French, American, and Indigenous flavors and garnered positive reviews over the last four years. And a new season of PBS’ The Great American Recipe features two Native home cooks who get to share their Native culinary traditions with the show's judges and audience. That’s on The Menu, the Native America Calling regular feature on Indigenous food.