Podcast
Native America Calling
Hosted by Koahnic · EN
Interactive, daily program featuring Native and Indigenous voices, insights, and stories from across the U.S. and around the world.
100episodes
Episodes
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Monday, June 29, 2026 — First Nations group works to reclaim thousands of sacred items from Swiss collector
3d ago00:56:49Tap to summarizeA Swiss private collector is selling a massive collection of thousands of Indigenous pipes, firearms, and cultural items, valued at over $17 million. A group is leading an effort to repatriate the items that are nearly 200 years old. They originated with First Nations and potentially U.S. tribes. The group is hoping to raise millions of dollars to bring these items home before they fall into another private collector’s hands. We’ll discuss the struggle to reclaim items from overseas private collectors, alongside a the broader push make museums and universities return ancestral items by a 2029 deadline. Plus, we’ll look at a pivotal U.S. Supreme Court case deciding the future of birthright citizenship, just as their current term ends. GUESTS Shannon O’Loughlin (Choctaw), chief executive and attorney for the Association on American Indian Affairs Coleen Rajotte (Cree), journalist, Sixties Scoop survivor, and repatriation advocate Lance White (Santee Dakota and Arikara), repatriation advocate Robert Miller (Eastern Shawnee), law professor at Arizona State University and tribal judge Gerald Neufeld, repatriation researcher and advocate Break 1 Music: Ancestors (song) Mike Bern (artist) Ancestors (album) Break 2 Music: Tsudadatla Tsisqwa (song) Kalyn Fay (artist) Garden (album)
Transcribe →Friday, June 26, 2026 — Native books to keep young readers engaged this summer
6d ago00:56:49Tap to summarizeIf you’re looking for an alternative to screens for the youngsters and young adults in your life over summer break, a new book by a Native author might be the solution. There is a wealth of new and familiar stories that feature Native characters. We’ll hear from our panel of avid readers — who are also authors of books for kids and young adults — about some of their favorite new reads as well as some that are yet to be released. GUESTS Stacy Wells (Choctaw), author and librarian Andrea L. Rogers (Cherokee), author and a PhD student at the University of Arkansas Byron Graves (Ojibwe and Lakota), author and skateboarder Break 1 Music: A Turtle’s Honour Song [NDN Jazz] (song) Mwalim (artist) Break 2 Music: Feels Like [feat. Sheena Shandea] (song) Nataanii Means (artist)
Transcribe →Thursday, June 25, 2026 — First Nations challenge Alberta’s separation drive
1w ago00:56:51Tap to summarizeFirst 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)
Transcribe →Wednesday, June 24, 2026 — Affordable housing progress misses Native priorities
1w ago00:56:49Tap to summarizeSweeping legislation in Congress is aimed at lowering the cost of housing. The fate of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is still questionable, but if it is approved it would, among other things, remove some barriers to housing construction, especially in major cities. While the bill enjoys relatively rare bipartisan support, Native American affordable housing advocates say it is a missed opportunity to address long-standing issues faced by a population disproportionately affected by housing affordability. It includes provisions for tribal housing improvement, but Native housing experts say it falls far short of what’s needed. Mostly, Native advocates are pushing for reauthorizing the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act (NAHASDA), the block grant program driving the construction and repair of thousands of homes in Native communities over the last three decades. It’s authorization expired more than a dozen years ago. We’ll discuss recent progress and ongoing needs in affordable housing. GUESTS Jackie Pata (Tlingit), president and CEO of the Tlingit and Haida Regional Housing Authority; First Vice President of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska; co-chair of the HUD Secretary’s Tribal Intergovernmental Advisory Committee; and board member of the National American Indian Housing Council Derrick Belgarde (Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and Chippewa Cree), executive director of the Chief Seattle Club Lenny Fineday (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe), general counsel for the National Congress of American Indians Griffin Hagle-Forster, executive director of the Association of Alaska Housing Authorities Break 1 Music: Kunax yak’ei gayshagook (song) Khu.éex’ (artist) Siyáadlan (album) Break 2 Music: Feels Like [feat. Sheena Shandea] (song) Nataanii Means (artist)
Transcribe →Tuesday, June 23, 2026 — Descendants reflect on Greasy Grass anniversary
1w ago00:56:30Tap to summarizeCitizens 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)
Transcribe →Monday, June 22, 2026 — Rebecca Nagle’s ‘First America’ amplifies Native voices amid the din of America 250 celebrations
1w ago00:56:30Tap to summarizeThe Declaration of Independence infamously contains the phrase, “merciless Indian savages”, an indication of just where Native Americans fit into this year’s celebration of the founding document’s 250th anniversary For much of that time, the federal government, colonial historians, and the general public have fetishized a version of Native culture, all while working to extinguish that culture from continued existence. Acclaimed Cherokee journalist Rebecca Nagle takes on the semiquincentennial from the Native perspective in her new six-part podcast, “First America“. Nagle is also the creator of the podcast, “This Land”, which earned a Peabody Award nomination and won the 2020 American Mosaic Journalism Prize, and she wrote the national best-selling book, “By the Fire We Carry”. We’ll hear from Nagle and some of the historians and academics who provided insights on the Native influences on early democracy and the uneasy balance between Native people and America ever since. GUESTS Rebecca Nagle (Cherokee), creator and host of the “First America” podcast; author of “By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land”; and creator of “This Land” podcast Philip Deloria (Yankton Dakota), professor of history at Harvard University Dr. Nick Estes (Lower Brule Sioux Tribe), associate professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota Break 1 Music: Old Hallicrafter Radio (song) Samantha Crain (artist) Gumshoe (album) Break 2 Music: Feels Like [feat. Sheena Shandea] (song) Nataanii Means (artist)
Transcribe →Friday, June 19, 2026 — Native Playlist: Kalyn Fay and Logan Staats
2w ago00:56:30Tap to summarize“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. Billboard Music: Seven (song) Kalyn Fay (artist) Garden (album) 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)
Transcribe →Thursday, June 18, 2026 — Native Bookshelf: ‘The Home of the Drowned’ by Elin Anna Labba
2w ago00:56:30Tap to summarizeSweden’s surging demand for electricity to power its mid 20th Century modernization had life-changing consequences for the country’s Indigenous Sámi people. In her new novel, “The Home of the Drowned”, Elin Anna Labba tells the fictional account of a family forced out of their village by the construction of a series of hydroelectric dams that flood their village. It’s based on the real account of the creation of Lake Akkajaure that displaced hundreds of Sami people. Through the eyes of 13-year-old Iŋgá, readers live through the Sami struggle to adapt to a way of life that is removed from their traditional herding culture. “The Home of the Drowned” is a heartbreaking account of Indigenous resilience in Sweden. Elin Anna Labba joins us for our Native Bookshelf feature. Break 1 Music: Ancient Forces (song) Berit Margrethe Oskal (artist) Fargga (album) Break 2 Music: Round Dance (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs (album)
Transcribe →Wednesday, June 17, 2026 — Gloves off: Native bare-knuckle boxers fight for recognition in the ring
2w ago00:56:30Tap to summarizeFor 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)
Transcribe →Tuesday, June 16, 2026 — Native impressions of the nation’s 250th year celebrations
2w ago00:56:30Tap to summarizeOregon’s only contribution to a time capsule organized for the America250 commemoration is a pin by Lillian Pitt, an artist from the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs known for her focus on Native Americans’ 12,000 years of history. In a statement, Pitt says she’s gratified that the work will remind the people who open the capsule 250 years from now “of those who have made this land their home since time immemorial.” The National Museum of the American Indian is compiling a quilt with panels created in a series by different artists offering interpretations of the country’s history through a Native lens. They are among the many contributions by Native individuals and organizations during the nation’s semiquincentennial. GUESTS Elizabeth Woody (Warm Springs, Navajo, and Yakama), executive director of The Museum at Warm Springs Lillian Pitt (Warm Springs, Wasco, and Yakama), artist Gabriel Fray (Passamaquoddy), artist Tracy Goodluck (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and Muscogee), executive director of the Center for Native American Youth Emma Alcazar (Chickasaw), a designer for the Quilt Along Break 1 Music: This Land (song) Keith Secola (artist) Native Americana – A Coup Stick (album) Break 2 Music: Round Dance (song) Black Lodge (artist) Enter the Circle – Pow-Wow Songs (album)
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