American Indian Airwaves

The interview with today’s guest, Laura Shamas (Chickasaw Nation) on her world premiere play Four Women in Red happened several days before the Los Angeles Fires (i.e., Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, Kenneth Fire, and the Hurst Fire). The play was originally scheduled to premiere on January 17th, 2025, at the Victory Theatre Center in Burbank, California where performances were supposed to continue through February 23. As of January 11th, 2025, the Victory Theater Center announced that “With members of the cast, creative team and audience impacted by the wildfires, The Victory Theatre Center has canceled the previously announced January 17 opening of Four Women in Red, a new play by Laura Shamas about the current crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. A revised performance schedule will be announced at a later date.” Four Women in Red is about four resilient Native American women searching for missing friends and relatives in the face of apathetic sheriffs and dwindling clues. Touching on variety if critically important issues such as MMIW, settler colonial violence, and this moving new play celebrates the power of community as the women seek answers against all odds. While the interview references the January and February theater dates for the play, American Indian Airwaves is releasing the program because the fires are profoundly impacting all living relations (human and non-human), including Indigenous peoples involved with Four Women in Red and Indigenous throughout the region. The following are some support organizations providing relief and support for Indigenous peoples impacted by the fires. • UAII headquarters, 1453 W Temple St., Los Angeles, CA 90026, is asking for the following items to be donated: Water, diapers, Snacks, N95 masks, Zip ties, Gauze, Saline flushers & Syringes for insulin, Band aids, Sharps containers, Tampons & pads, batteries, flashlights, Pet food, Jackets & Blankets, Hygiene products, and First Aid Supplies. • Spoon Fed Company, owned by Jacob Spoonhunter, is “making small food care packages (on Friday, Jan. 10) to those who were effected [sic] by the fires as well as the first responders,” according to the company’s Instagram. Spoonhunter is Northern Arapaho, Navajo, and Seminole. Go to the Instagram page for any donations or email: spoonfedco@gmail.com. • Chef Stephanie Pyet DeSpain, Prairie Band Potawatomi and winner of “Next Level Chef,” told her Instagram followers that she and other chefs will be doing a pop-up to feed community members. A plan will come out in the next few days, she said. Pyet announced on Jan. 10 on Instagram that she is teaming with Island Smoke N Grill through Go Fund Me to distribute meals for first responders and displaced families. If anyone wants to donate, volunteer, or needs some food to eat, direct message her on Instagram or email: info@pyetsplate.com. Guest: Laura Shamas (Chickasaw Nations), is an accomplished Native American author, essayist, poet, journalist, playwright, and the recent recipient of the Los Angeles New Play Project (LANPP) grant for the play Four Women in Red which was first developed by Native Voices, the only Actors’ Equity theater company in the country dedicated to developing and producing new plays by Native artists. Archived programs can be heard on Soundcloud at: https://soundcloud.com/burntswamp American Indian Airwaves streams on over ten podcasting platforms such as Amazon Music, Apple Podcast, Audible, Backtracks.fm, Gaana, Google Podcast, Fyyd, iHeart Media, Mixcloud, Player.fm, Podbay.fm, Podcast Republic, SoundCloud, Spotify, Tunein, YouTube, and more.

Today on American Indian Airwaves, listeners will hear extensive update on why 31st Anniversary of the Beginning of the War Against Oblivion, the armed uprising of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) on January 1st, 1994, against the colonial state of Mexico and global capitalism, was placed on hold. On January 1st, 1994, the Mayan peoples’ traditional homelands were recovered after the 12-day armed uprising of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) against state violence and a legacy of settler colonial oppression. The EZLN’s actions are concrete evidence of how Zapatismo in Chiapas has improved the living conditions of the communities based on organization, autonomy, and self-determination. Tune in to hear about how the systemic and increased organized crime violence is having on Indigenous peoples throughout Chiapas, MX. Also, listeners will hear a recap of the major 2024 events for Indigenous peoples throughout the settler colonial state of Mexico such as the 50th anniversary of the important 1974 Indigenous Congress in Chiapas, convened by the late Bishop Samuel Ruiz, whose 100th birthday would have been in 2024. Moreover, hear about the 2024 elections such as with the MORENA party reelected by a landslide; and how Claudia Sheinbaum replaces AMLO, cementing MORENA monopoly on power and what that means for Indigenous and Mayan peoples. The MORENA party corruption means more extractive industry expansion, displacement of Indigenous peoples without free, prior, and informed consent, and the violent repression of Indigenous protests and resistance against megaprojects, plus more. Guest: • Richard Stahler-Sholk, a retired Professor of Political Science at Eastern Michigan University, and community activist involved with the School of Chiapas which is an organization of grassroots activists and communities working to support the autonomous, indigenous Zapatista communities of Chiapas, Mexico. Schools for Chiapas was created the mid-1990’s by individuals searching for ways to make the world a better place and working to create a world where all worlds fit. Archived programs can be heard on Soundcloud at: https://soundcloud.com/burntswamp American Indian Airwaves streams on over ten podcasting platforms such as Amazon Music, Apple Podcast, Audible, Backtracks.fm, Gaana, Google Podcast, Fyyd, iHeart Media, Mixcloud, Player.fm, Podbay.fm, Podcast Republic, SoundCloud, Spotify, Tunein, YouTube, and more.

December 29th of every year marks another anniversary of the Wound Knee Massacre of 1890, and the Occupation of Wounded Knee occurred from 02/27/1973 to 05/08/1973. The Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890 is the result of the United States (U.S.) 7th Calvary stopping Miniconjou and Lakota Ghost Dancers and community members from returning home to Pine Ridge in what is presently known as South Dakota. The Wounded Knee Massacre took place near the Wounded Knee Creek during a time when the United States government essentially banned all Native American cultural traditions, ceremonies, and “religious” practices. Shortly thereafter the initial encounter, a scuffle ensued which resulted in the U.S. 7th Calvary open firing and killing over three hundred Indigenous women, children, and men. The Occupation of Wounded Knee from 02/27/1973 to 05/08/1973 is the outcome of over 200 members of the American Indian Movement (A.I.M.) and supporters occupying Wounded Knee (Lakota Nation) in response to a call to action from traditional Lakota residents who’s civil, human, and treaty rights were constantly being violated by corrupt Indigenous and United States government officials. The Wound Knee Occupation resulted in a 67-day military standoff with U.S. government officials and quickly drew international and domestic support from people, organizations, and foreign governments throughout the world. Today’s show on American Indian Airwaves is comprised of sound from two principal sources: The Pacifica Radio archives and the documentary A Tattoo on My Heart: The Warriors of Wounded Knee 1973. The Pacifica Radio Archives include original reports from Pacifica’s-affiliate station, KPFA in Berkeley, CA which covered live the 1973 Wounded Knee occupation. In addition, sound from the documentary A Tattoo on My Heart: The Warriors of Wounded Knee 1973 includes reflective testimonies of the Wound Knee Indigenous activist such as Lenny Foster, Bill Means, Madonna Thunderhawk, and narrated by the late Floyd “Red Crow” Westerman, plus more. American Indian Airwaves regularly broadcast every Thursday from 7pm to 8pm (PCT) on KPFK FM 90.7 in Los Angeles, CA; FM 98.7 in Santa Barbara, CA; FM 99.5 in China Lake, CA; FM 93.7 in North San Diego, CA; FM 99.1 KLBP in Long Beach, CA (Sundays 11am-12pm); FM 90.7 FM in Oregon on KBOO; and on the Internet at: www.kpfk.org. Archived programs can be heard on Soundcloud at: https://soundcloud.com/burntswamp American Indian Airwaves streams on over ten podcasting platforms such as Amazon Music, Apple Podcast, Audible, Backtracks.fm, Gaana, Google Podcast, Fyyd, iHeart Media, Player.fm, Podbay.fm, Podcast Republic, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher, Tunein, YouTube, and more.

John Kush has been a part of the Chumash community's ongoing expression of unique art and culture since his early childhood. Our guest lives and works within the Chumash ancestral homelands as personal and professional artists and previously worked on several important projects for the Northern Chumash Tribal Council (NCTC). Our guest’s artistic legacy spans decades and he joins for the hour to discuss the forthcoming, international indigenous exhibit: Decolonize Native Art (D.N.A.). which comprises of Indigenous artists across Turtle Island who express what decolonization means through their “art” and more. Tune in to hear about the D.N.A. exhibit, Chumash history and contemporary struggles and more. Guest: o John Kush (Chumash Nation) is the principal organizer for the upcoming Decolonize Native Art (DNA), which is being held at the Santa Barbara Community Arts Workshop, 631 Garden Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, from 12/13/2024-12/18/2024. Archived AIA programs are on Soundcloud at: https://soundcloud.com/burntswamp American Indian Airwaves streams on over ten podcasting platforms such as Amazon Music, Apple Podcast, Audible, Backtracks.fm, Gaana, Google Podcast, Fyyd, iHeart Media, Mixcloud, Player.fm, Podbay.fm, Podcast Republic, SoundCloud, Spotify, Tunein, YouTube, and more.

On Indigenous Peoples Day in October 2024, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) designated the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary off the California coast. The Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary makes it America’s 17th national marine sanctuary, the sixth off the U.S. West Coast, and it is considered one of the largest in the National Marine Sanctuary System. The sanctuary encompasses 4,543 square miles of Central California’s coastal and ocean waters, providing protection to nationally significant natural, cultural, and historical resources while bringing new opportunities for research, community engagement, and education and outreach activities. While much of the settler colonial and some Indigenous media treated the designation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary as beneficial for the Chumash Nation and Mother Earth, there are larger questions about the true origins of the proposed Chumash Maritime Sanctuary along with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) process of adhering to all bands of Chumash nations free, prior, and informed consent international rights, and the failed mechanisms within between different Chumash bands and the NOAA, plus more. Today on American Indian Airwaves we address all these questions with our guests who combined with themselves and their ancestors have decades of living experiences protecting their cultural and traditional practices while simultaneous resisting settler colonial violence. Guest: o Micheal Khus-Zarate (Chumash), Board Member of the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation and Marcus Lopez (Barbareño band of the Chumash Nation), co-host and executive producer of American Indian Airwaves.

Since President Abraham Lincoln established observing the Thanksgiving Day holiday in 1863 to heal a fractured country amid the American Civil War (1861-1865). Consequentially, Americans for generations have believed in and centralized their national identity within several mythologies, including the propaganda surrounding the purported first thanksgiving between the Wampanoags and the pilgrims. Today on American Indian Airwaves, our guest from the Aquinnah Wampanoag nation joins us for the entire hour to discuss in-depth the origins of the Thanksgiving Day Holiday, the settler colonial perpetrators of violence and fabrication regarding this mythology that traces back to 1620s, the National Day of Mourning, the censorship of Frank “Wamsutta” Jame’s speech in 1970 for the 350th Anniversary of the Mayflower’s landing, who are the Wampanoag peoples along with their cultural and traditional practices, and more. Guest: o Linda Coombs (Aquinnah Wampanoag) is an author and historian from the Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah, and lives in the Wampanoag community of Mashpee on Cape Cod, MA. In addition, our guest worked for over 30 years in the Wampanoag Indigenous Program (WIP) of Plimoth Plantation, including 15 years as the WIP’s Associate Director; and worked 9 years at the Aquinnah Cultural Center. She is the recent author of the remarkable book: Colonization and the Wampanoag Story (2023) Archived AIA programs are on Soundcloud at: https://soundcloud.com/burntswamp American Indian Airwaves streams on over ten podcasting platforms such as Amazon Music, Apple Podcast, Audible, Backtracks.fm, Gaana, Google Podcast, Fyyd, iHeart Media, Mixcloud, Player.fm, Podbay.fm, Podcast Republic, SoundCloud, Spotify, Tunein, YouTube, and more.

On October 25th, 2024, U.S. President Joe Biden formally apologized to Native Americans for the “sin” of a government-run boarding school system that for decades forcibly separated children from their parents, calling it a “blot on American history” in his first presidential visit to Indian Country. At least 973 Native American children died in the U.S. government’s abusive boarding school system over a 150-year period that ended in 1969, according to an Interior Department investigation that called for a U.S. government apology. At least 18,000 children, some as young as 4, were taken from their parents and forced to attend schools that sought to assimilate them. There were more than 523 U.S. government-funded, and often church-run, boarding schools between 1869 and 1969. Children between the ages of 6 to 16 were not only taken from their parents, communities, and nations, but also, they were forced to compulsory education. The U.S. government purposes of the operating the boarding schools was to erase Native American identities and strip them of them cultures and ultimately eradicate them as The Peoples. Native American children were forced to endure American militarization by having their cut and wear military-style clothing, they were given anglicized names – often Christian names and former president names; In fact, Native American children forced to learn Christianity and basic male and female labor skills. During the early boarding school era, all cultural practices and languages were banned and punishment followed if caught. Native American children were starved to control them; they faced disease (e.g., tuberculosis, mumps, etc.) which led to being placed into the infirmary and isolation until death; they were tortured, worked as forced labor, and often experienced pedophilia, sexual abuse, psychological and physical abuse and death at the hands U.S. government agents. The United States Board School system was designed to assimilate Native Americans into American society by killing them as The Peoples. More than 140 different Native Americans nations alone were negatively impacted by 1918, and our guest recently authored a statement in response to U.S. Government’s apology for its violent legacy of operating Native American boarding school. Today on American Indian Airwaves, Marcus Lopez from the Barbareño Band of the Chumash Nation, and co-host and executive producer of AIA, along with myself have the honor and pleasure to speak with Chris Peters from the Puhlik-lah/Karuk nations. He is a long-time, activist, community organizer, elder, cultural bearer, and President of the 7th Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples, Inc. Chris has more than 50 years of experience in grassroots community organizing with his work focusing on climate change, sacred sites protection, and the renaissance of sacred knowledge and Earth Renewal ceremonies of Northern California Tribal Peoples. We have in-depth conversations with Chris Peters on his recently authored statement on the U.S. Presidential apology regarding the violent settler colonial legacy of U.S. government Native American boarding schools, plus more. Guest: o Chris Peters (Puhlik-lah/Karuk Nations), activist, community organizer, elder, cultural bearer, and President of the 7th Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples, Inc. Chris has more than 50 years of experience in grassroots community organizing with his work focusing on climate change, sacred sites protection, and the renaissance of sacred knowledge and Earth Renewal ceremonies of Northern California Tribal Peoples. Archived AIA programs are on Soundcloud at: https://soundcloud.com/burntswamp American Indian Airwaves streams on over ten podcasting platforms such as Amazon Music, Apple Podcast, Audible, Backtracks.fm, Gaana, Google Podcast, Fyyd, iHeart Media, Mixcloud, Player.fm, Podbay.fm, Podcast Republic, SoundCloud, Spotify, Tunein, YouTube, and more.

The idea of Indigenous Peoples Day originated in 1977, in Geneva, at the first International NGO Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the America. The conference was attended by Indigenous peoples throughout world and by the conclusion of the conference, a list of recommendations was drafted, outlining a course of action to support Indigenous peoples right to self-determination, a formal rebuttal was declared to Doctrine of Discovery or Dominion, and Indigenous peoples stated their intention “to observe October 12, the day of so-called ‘discovery’ of America, as an International Day of Solidarity with the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas.” Thereafter in the United States, cities and states started observing Indigenous Peoples Day including for example, in 1989 South Dakota adopted Native American Day; on 10/22/91, the Berkely, CA city council adopts Indigenous Peoples Day. In the City of Los Angeles, CA, the city council declared the second Monday of October Indigenous Peoples Day and in 2019, CA Governor Gavin Newsom declared Indigenous Peoples’ Day a California holiday. To date, it is estimated that a little over 150 cities celebrate or observe Indigenous Peoples Day out of 19,502 incorporated cities, towns, and villages in the United States. Presumably, in cities with large or semi-large Native American/Indigenous communities. At the state level, 28 states observe Indigenous Peoples Day, but only three states, Maine, Nebraska, and New Mexico deem it a state holiday. The Washington DC district also considers it a holiday. At the federal level, in October 2021, President Biden designated the second Monday of October as Indigenous Peoples Day and The Indigenous Peoples’ Day Act (SB 2970) which if passed would replace Columbus Day as a federal holiday and designate the second Monday of October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day was introduced in Congress in 2021 and reintroduced in Congress in 2023 with no traction since then. As of 2024, for the few cities and states that observe Indigenous Peoples Day with celebrations, they still acknowledge Columbus Day as the default, often, paid holiday. There are many contradictions to celebrating and participating in Indigenous People Day celebration at the city and state levels and today on American Indian Airwaves we round-table discussion what is Indigenous Peoples Day? Our discussion panel includes Fidel Rodriguez of Chumash Nation and host of the former KPFK Divine Forces Radio and Marcus Lopez, of Barberieno band of the Chumash Nation and executive producer and host American Indian Airwaves, and me. We begin today’s program with the question what Indigenous Peoples Day mean to you with Marcus Lopez first and followed by Fidel Rodriguez second. And the now the Contradictions of Indigenous Peoples Day here on American Indian Airwaves. Guests: o Marcus Lopez, (Barbareño Band of the Chumash Nation), executive producer of American Indian Airwaves, Fidel Rodriquez (Chumash Nation) and former host of KPFK’s Divine Forces Radio, and Larry Smith (Lumbee Nation). Archived AIA programs are on Soundcloud at: https://soundcloud.com/burntswamp American Indian Airwaves streams on over ten podcasting platforms such as Amazon Music, Apple Podcast, Audible, Backtracks.fm, Gaana, Google Podcast, Fyyd,

As of September 10th, 2024 (Tuesdays), estimates are that the 2024 fires have burned 2,247,356 acres with seventy-one (71) large active fires presently active across Turtle Island (the United States) such as in the politically defined borders of California, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, and Wyoming. In California alone, there are approximately more than twenty (20) active fires and thousands of people are currently under mandatory evacuation orders in numerous counties such as Lake County, Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, and within the foothills of the Los Angeles National Forest. Today on American Indian Airwaves our guest discusses the 2024 fires impact on California Indigenous peoples, nations, and their homelands; how the historical and contemporary legacies of settler colonial violence contributes to the present form of the climate crises, how Indigenous relations and cultural sustainability for future generations face insurmountable and compounded risks provided the perpetrators and collaborators of the climate crises maintain their violent behaviors and operations, and how traditional forms of Indigenous fire-management practices are not only different compared to common United States fire management practices, but also with Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), Indigenous Stewardship (IS), along with climate resilience through ecocultural stewardship, new possibilities for reindigenizing Mother Earth, centering and balancing the trajectory for cultural sustainability, and healing are tenable. In fact, many Native American nations, organizations, and communities within the state of California are already performing the hard work of Indigenous Stewardship while facing settler colonial obstacles, yet they provide direction for the future. All this and more is covered on today’s episode of American Indian Airwaves. Guests: o Don Hankins (Miwok Nation), Professor of Geography and Planning at California State University, Chico State, co-founder of the Indigenous Stewardship Network (https://www.indigenousstewardship.org), and author and contributing author of numerous publications such as “Climate Resilience through Ecocultural Stewardship” (2024), and “Realignment of Federal Environmental Policies to Recognize Fire’s Role” (2024). Archived AIA programs are on Soundcloud at: https://soundcloud.com/burntswamp American Indian Airwaves streams on over ten podcasting platforms such as Amazon Music, Apple Podcast, Audible, Backtracks.fm, Gaana, Google Podcast, Fyyd, iHeart Media, Mixcloud, Player.fm, Podbay.fm, Podcast Republic, SoundCloud, Spotify, Tunein, YouTube, and more

“Southern Alaska Native Nations’ Intervention: Stopping the Extractive Mining Industry from Maiming and Extinguishing Life” Today on American Indian Airwaves, we go to southeast Alaska and British Colombia (B.C.), Canada, to discuss the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC), which consists of 15 Indigenous nations in southeast Alaska and rooted along Canada’s transboundary rivers, recent submission of a formal request with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a legal organization that is part of the Organization of American States (OAS), to halt the protracted and reckless mining activities that are violating Indigenous peoples human rights throughout the region. Dozens of mining companies are seeking permission from the British Columbia (B.C.) government to develop some of the world’s largest gold mines in the headwaters of Southeast Alaska’s transboundary rivers, and the Canadian government continues denying the sovereign rights of the Alaskan Native nations living downstream from the extractive mining activities. In fact, a recent decision, ordered by Canada’s Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship on June 27th, 2024, could guarantee the destruction of both a critical ecological hotspot and the ways of life of the Southeast Alaska nations. For example, Skeena Resources Limited (“Skeena”) proposed in 2021 a major gold and silver mining project called The Eskay Creek Project. It is one of eight mines in B.C. that are at issue, but the Esky Project, which is in the final environmental review state, and if built, would produce an estimated 7.5 million tons of gold and silver over an estimated 14-year mine life span and the project would be in the same area as a previous mine that operated from 1994-2008. Lastly, the Esky Creek Project risk southern Alaska Native nations, rivers including the Unuk, Stikine, and Taku, five species of wild Pacific salmon, and more traditional lifeways with possible extinction if left unheeded. Guests: Guy Archibald, Executive Director, of the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (www.seitc.org). Guy is an analytical environmental chemist and microbiologist with over 20 years of experience. He works to utilize western science and apply traditional knowledge and practices to protect the various communities, the forest, salmon, trees, and people. Esther Reese is Eagle Tsaagweidí (Killerwhale) from Ḵéex̱ʼ Kwáan (Kake), Alaska. She is President of the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (www.seitc.org), and serves as the Tribal Administrator for the Wrangell Cooperative Association, the federally recognized Tribe in Wrangell, an Alaska Native nation at the mouth of the Stikine River. Archived AIA programs are on Soundcloud at: https://soundcloud.com/burntswamp American Indian Airwaves streams on over ten podcasting platforms such as Amazon Music, Apple Podcast, Audible, Backtracks.fm, Gaana, Google Podcast, Fyyd, iHeart Media, Mixcloud, Player.fm, Podbay.fm, Podcast Republic, SoundCloud, Spotify, Tunein, YouTube, and more.

“Sacred Stage: Talks with Native Playwrights and Artists with DeLanna Studi & the 30th Anniversary of Native Voices at the Autry” 2024 marks the 30th Anniversary for the Native Voices at the Autry, the only Equity Theatre in the country developing and producing plays written by Native American playwrights. Since Native Voices inception, many aspiring, working, and veteran Native American playwrights, artists, and actors/actresses have benefited from having this invaluable program and resources the Autry provides for assisting Native American storyteller and storying in various forms. Located in Los Angeles County, CA, Native Voices at the Autry celebrates its accomplishments and recent partnership with the Generation Now Theater Partnership, which is comprised of BIPOC artists presently creating new artistic creations targeting multigenerational audiences. Our guest for today, joins us for the hour to discuss the 30th Anniversary of Native Voices at the Autry and its continuing legacy for providing Native American artists and aspiring artists a space in theater and the arts as well as to the multi coalition Generation Now Theater Partnership project, the importance of Native American storytelling, upcoming Native American plays and projects, plus more. Click on the titles for more information on the Autry Museum of the West, Native Voices, and upcoming Autry events. Guest: DeLanna Studi (Cherokee Nation) is an accomplished performer, storyteller, playwright, and activist for over 25 years. Some of her theater credits include the First National Broadway Tour of Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning play August: Osage County, Off-Broadway’s Gloria: A Life (Daryl Roth Theatre), Informed Consent (Duke Theater on 42nd Street).In addition, DeLanna originated roles in over thirty World Premieres, including writing and performing in And So We Walked: An Artist’s Journey Along the Trail of Tears where she retraced her family’s footsteps along the Trail of Tears with her father. Her film and television contributions extend more than 20 years, and, in fact, DeLanna starred in the Peabody Award winning Edge of America, Hallmark’s Dreamkeeper, Goliath, Shameless, General Hospital, Disney + Launchpad: The Roof, and Reservation Dogs to name just a few. She has served as a cultural liaison for theatre, film, and television, most recently the television series La Brea. Our guest has also been the chair of the SAG-AFTRA National Native Americans Committee since 2007 and she presently is the Artistic Director of Native Voices at the Autry, the only Equity Theatre in the country developing and producing plays written by Native American playwrights. Archived AIA programs are on Soundcloud at: https://soundcloud.com/burntswamp American Indian Airwaves streams on over ten podcasting platforms such as Amazon Music, Apple Podcast, Audible, Backtracks.fm, Gaana, Google Podcast, Fyyd, iHeart Media, Mixcloud, Player.fm, Podbay.fm, Podcast Republic, SoundCloud, Spotify, Tunein, YouTube, and more.

Despite centuries of colonialism, Indigenous peoples still occupy parts of their ancestral homelands in what is now Eastern North Carolina—a patchwork quilt of forested swamps, sandy plains, and blackwater streams that spreads across the Coastal Plain between the Fall Line and the Atlantic Ocean. In these backwaters, Lumbees and other American Indians have adapted to a radically transformed world while maintaining vibrant cultures and powerful connections to land and water. Like many Indigenous communities and nations worldwide, we continue to assert our rights to self-determination by resisting legacies of colonialism and the continued transformation of their homelands through pollution, unsustainable development, and climate change. Today’s guest is Environmental scientist Ryan E. Emanuel, a member of the Lumbee Nation and he provides listeners some highlights from his new book, On the Swamp: Fighting for Indigenous Environmental Justice (UNC Press, 2024). On the Swamp includes shared stories from North Carolina about Indigenous survival and resilience in the face of radical environmental changes. From addressing issues such as the profound loss of wetlands to the arrival of gas pipelines, Dr. Emanuel connects all the stories together and shows the relationships between historic patterns of Indigenous oppression and present-day efforts to promote environmental justice and Indigenous rights on the swamp. All that more, on today’s episode. Guest: Dr. Ryan Emanuel, Lumbee hydrologist and community-engaged scholar from North Carolina. A tenured faculty member at Duke University, Ryan leads a research group based at the Duke River Center that studies how humans and our non-human relatives affect (and are affected by) water and environmental processes. His work promotes environmental justice and Indigenous rights through research, teaching, and public engagement. He has written or co-authored more than 50 academic articles. Archived AIA programs are on Soundcloud at: @burntswamp American Indian Airwaves streams on over ten podcasting platforms such as Amazon Music, Apple Podcast, Audible, Backtracks.fm, Gaana, Google Podcast, Fyyd, iHeart Media, Mixcloud, Player.fm, Podbay.fm, Podcast Republic, SoundCloud, Spotify, Tunein, YouTube, and more.

The “Peace and Dignity Journeys” is an indigenous and First Nation ceremonial run that invites the participation of Native and non-Native individuals committed to the survival of Native American cultures, nations, and the uniting of the indigenous peoples across Turtle Island (North, Central and South America). With its roots in traditions of running as prayer and as an expression of indigenous cultural self-determination, the Peace & Dignity Journeys was formally established in 1990 in Quito, Ecuador at a gathering of over two hundred representatives from different Indigenous nations from throughout the western hemisphere. The 6,000-mile, seven-month spiritual relay run takes place every four years and this year runners will begin in Fairbanks, Alaska running south and in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina running north, eventually all runners will converge and meet El Cuaca, Columbia. Tune in to hear our guests discuss this year’s significantly important Peace and Journeys 2024 ceremonial run, the organizational coordination for the preparation across Turtle Island, and how people can help and who can participate. Listen to our guests inform listeners on the themes for each Peace and Dignity Journeys, how the climate crises are impacting the ceremony, the role of Indigenous nations and communities supporting the runners, and what are some the trial and tribulation, accomplishments and struggles, four weeks into the Peace and Dignity Journeys 2024 along the northern route which began in May 2024. Guests: Adelia Torres, California Organizer and a Contributory Organizer for the West Coast P&D Committee, and Eddie Gonzales, Santa Barbara organizers for the Peace and Dignity Journeys 2024 – Central Coast. For more information, you can visit: www.peacedignitycentralcoast.org Archived AIA programs are on Soundcloud at: @burntswamp American Indian Airwaves streams on over ten podcasting platforms such as Amazon Music, Apple Podcast, Audible, Backtracks.fm, Gaana, Google Podcast, Fyyd, iHeart Media, Mixcloud, Player.fm, Podbay.fm, Podcast Republic, SoundCloud, Spotify, Tunein, YouTube, and more.

Today we go to the state of Alaska which is home to 229 federally recognized Native American nations. Our guest joins us for the hour to share her experiences at the United Nations Environmental Programme 4th Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (April 23rd-29th, 2024), including the United States violations of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, U.S. militarism, plastic colonization from the violent legacy of the American petroleum and chemical companies maiming, MMIWG2+, and the wounding and killing life throughout the Arctic region combined forms are intensifying the process of genocide and are placing Indigenous peoples throughout the Arctic Circumpolar Region futures at risk. There are more than 13 million people from more than 40 ethnic groups and Indigenous nations inhabiting the Arctic Circumpolar North region and all face real and formidable risks and threats from the climate crises, state-corporate violence, other compounded forms of settler colonial violence, including the intergenerational harms caused from plastic colonization. With the annual plastic production doubling in 20 years to 460 million tons, plastic contributions to global warming could more than double by 2060 if current rates remain unchanged. Plastic colonization severely impacts the Arctic region and it is, in fact, a “hemispheric sink” where plastics and petrochemicals from the South (of the Arctic region) accumulate, leaving Indigenous communities and nations to bear the brunt of pollution that did not come from their traditional lands. The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee 4th Session was held from April 23rd to April 29th, 2024 in Ottawa, Cananda. The meeting, nonetheless, was attended by 480 observer organizations, including environmental NGOs and 196 fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists and its purposes was for all parties to develop a legally binding instrument that ultimately would eliminate toxic plastic productions as one way to stop plastic colonialism, the killing life on the Mother Earth, and help reduce the impacts of the climate crises. Listen to hear what happened and how Indigenous peoples and nations were treated. Guest: Vi Waghiyi, Sivuqaq Yupik, Native Village of Savoonga Tribal Citizen, grandmother, mother, activist, and she is the Environmental Health and Justice Director with the Alaska Community Action on Toxics (https://www.akaction.org). Vi Waghiyi is a nationally recognized environmental justice leader and is frequently invited to speak locally, nationally, and internationally. Vi serves as a leader of the Global Indigenous Peoples Caucus that advises the United Nation’s international delegates for treaties concerning persistent organic pollutants. She served as a member of the Environmental Health Sciences Council that advises the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The Native Village of Savoonga is located on what is colonially known as the St. Lawrence Island which is located west of mainland Alaska in the Bering Sea. See the co-authored Alaska Community Action on Toxics and IPEN April 2024 report titled: The Arctic’s Plastic Crisis: Toxic Threats to Health, Human Rights, and Indigenous Lands From the Petrochemical Industry. Archived AIA programs are on Soundcloud at: https://soundcloud.com/burntswamp American Indian Airwaves streams on over ten podcasting platforms such as Amazon Music, Apple Podcast, Audible, Backtracks.fm, Gaana, Google Podcast, Fyyd, iHeart Media, Mixcloud, Player.fm, Podbay.fm, Podcast Republic, SoundCloud, Spotify, Tunein, YouTube, and more.

Today on American Indian Airwaves we go to the Barbareño band of the Chumash Nation in the Santa Barbara County area to a Chumash sacred site respectfully known as Shalawa. Approximately three-acres of Shalawa remains and to non-Native American peoples, the place is commonly referred to as “Hammonds Meadow” and “Sea Meadow”. Since Spanish colonialization beginning, Shalawa has always been threatened by settler colonial violence. However, in 1985 the United Chumash Council, the Barbareño Chumash Tribal Council, the Board of Supervisors in Santa Barbara, CA, to name just a few parties, executed an agreement to protect Shalawa. In addition, several documents were produced by various parties re-stating the laws and commitments to protecting this sacred site. Today on American Indian Airwaves listeners are joined by David Bluewolf Diaz (Chumash Nation) and Marcus Lopez (Barbareño band of the Chumash Nation), co-host and executive producer of American Indian Airwaves. Both individuals have been tirelessly working to protect Shalawa for more than 35 years and on today’s program listeners will hear how both Indigenous community activists clearly demonstrate how the current Hammond Meadow – Shalawa Preservation and Restoration Plan, is rife with government malfeasance – from the local to national levels -, gross negligence, and if the restoration plan is fully executed, it will result in the ultimate desecration of Shalawa. Tune in, to learn the history of land, the historical and contemporary struggles to protect Shalawa, and what people can do to stop this settler colonial violence. Guest: • David Bluewolf Diaz (Chumash Nation) and Marcus Lopez (Chumash Nation and the Barbareño Chumash Tribal Council of Santa Barbara, https://bctcsb.com/). Archived AIA programs are on Soundcloud at: https://soundcloud.com/burntswamp American Indian Airwaves streams on over ten podcasting platforms such as Amazon Music, Apple Podcast, Audible, Backtracks.fm, Gaana, Google Podcast, Fyyd, iHeart Media, Mixcloud, Player.fm, Podbay.fm, Podcast Republic, SoundCloud, Spotify, Tunein, YouTube, and more.

As of 4/23/2024 at least 34,183 Palestinians have been killed; 77,143 wounded have been wounded; over 8,000 Palestinians are missing, and over 50% of all Palestinian homes have been destroyed as a result of the Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. Meanwhile, common diseases such as hepatitis and meningitis, to name a few, are rapidly spreading throughout Gaza. In fact, it is estimated that 15 people are killed - six are children every hour in Gaza. In the Occupied West Bank, at least 487 Palestinians have been killed, more than 4,800 have been injured, and over 7,350 have been arrested since March 2024. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7th, 2023, attacks stand at 1,139 with dozens still held captive in Gaza. In the United States American Citizens Constitutionally protected free speech rights and the right to assembly are constantly being attacked by universities and colleges. Recently, USC cancelled Asna Tabassum, a graduating senior at USC, valedictorian’s graduation speech. She was selected as valedictorian and offered a traditional slot to speak at the 2024 graduation. In addition, Columbia University has suspended the campus chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, citing “University policies” regulating “the time, place and manner of certain forms of public expression.” To date, more than 100 students have been arrested. Join us for the hour on American Indian Airwaves as our guest draws on the parallels between the legacy of settler colonial violence here in the United States to Israel’s violence and war on Palestine and Palestinians, from past to present, and what does peace look like for all life on Mother Earth. All that and more! Guest: o Adam Gottlieb, Jewish musician, poet, peace movement organizer in Chicago, IL; and a cantor with Tzedek Chicago, an anti-Zionist synagogue. Archived AIA programs are on Soundcloud at: https://soundcloud.com/burntswamp American Indian Airwaves streams on over ten podcasting platforms such as Amazon Music, Apple Podcast, Audible, Backtracks.fm, Gaana, Google Podcast, Fyyd, iHeart Media, Mixcloud, Player.fm, Podbay.fm, Podcast Republic, SoundCloud, Spotify, Tunein, YouTube, and more.

The “Peace and Dignity Journeys” is an indigenous and First Nation ceremonial run that invites the participation of Native and non-Native individuals committed to the survival of Native American cultures, nations, and the uniting of the indigenous peoples across Turtle Island (North, Central and South America). With its roots in traditions of running as prayer and as an expression of indigenous cultural self-determination, the Peace & Dignity Journeys was formally established in 1990 in Quito, Ecuador at a gathering of over two hundred representatives from different Indigenous nations from throughout the western hemisphere. The 6,000-mile, seven-month spiritual relay run takes place every four years and this year runners will begin in Fairbanks, Alaska running south and in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina running north, eventually all runners will converge and meet El Cuaca, Columbia. Tune in to hear our guests discuss this year’s significantly important Peace and Journeys 2024 ceremonial run, the organizational coordination for the preparation across Turtle Island, and how people can help and who can participate. This year’s Peace and Dignity Journeys starts in May 2024. Guests: Eddie Gonzales and Marcus Vargas are organizers and co-chairs for the Peace and Dignity Journeys 2024 – Central Coast. For more information, you can visit: www.peacedignitycentralcoast.org Archived AIA programs are on Soundcloud at: https://soundcloud.com/burntswamp American Indian Airwaves streams on over ten podcasting platforms such as Amazon Music, Apple Podcast, Audible, Backtracks.fm, Gaana, Google Podcast, Fyyd, iHeart Media, Mixcloud, Player.fm, Podbay.fm, Podcast Republic, SoundCloud, Spotify, Tunein, YouTube, and more.

With Hollywood film production costs easily exceeding millions of dollars per film, and given the constant marginalization, erasures, and stereotypes about Native Americans and Indigenous peoples for more than a century, as well as the film industry’s chronic unwillingness to unconditionally support an abundance of Native American film productions, distributions, and exhibitions, many Native Americans film writers, producers, and directors find themselves working independently outside of the Hollywood-entertainment media system. Our guest for the hour is the writer, director and producer of a new feature film, The Heart Stays (2024), a coming-of-age story about two Osage sisters. Cast with veteran and non-veteran Native American actors/actresses, our guest for the hour emphasizes the unique artistic importance of the film, demonstrates how the film’s story is an artistically superior method of Native storytelling, and expresses how a unique community-based business model was used to produce The Heart Stays. Tune in for the hour to hear our guest explain how and where the film was made and how this ground-breaking and newly produced featured film is truly a Native American film that all must experience and see. The Heart Stays was released on March 26th, 2024, and is available on a variety of digital streaming platforms including, but not limited to: Apple TV, Prime Video, Vudu, Google Play, and DirecTV. Guest: • Diane Fraher (Osage/Cherokee Nations), founder and director of Amerinda Inc., a community-based multi-arts organization that works to empower Native Americans. She also the writer, director and producer of a new feature film, The Heart Stays (2024), a coming-of-age story about two Osage sisters filmed on Osage Nation. Archived AIA programs are on Soundcloud at: https://soundcloud.com/burntswamp American Indian Airwaves streams on over ten podcasting platforms such as Amazon Music, Apple Podcast, Audible, Backtracks.fm, Gaana, Google Podcast, Fyyd, iHeart Media, Mixcloud, Player.fm, Podbay.fm, Podcast Republic, SoundCloud, Spotify, Tunein, YouTube, and more.

Once numbering at least 40-60 million, settler colonial men once hunted the buffalo through the train windows for sport – who had the most kills. By 1890, however, there were less than 1,000 buffalo with only 23 surviving in Yellowstone’s Pelican Valley. Today, in Yellowstone National Park, the buffalo are trapped for slaughter and quarantine. In fact, once migrating into Montana, the buffalo are under the control of the Department of Livestock instead of Yellowstone Park National Service. When trapped, the buffalo are often tested for Brucellosis – the disease given to them by cattle. In Gardiner, MT, a group of 28 buffalo migrating into Gardiner Basin were recently trapped by Yellowstone National Park at Stephens Creek near Gardiner, Montana. The group was the first buffalo to migrate into the basin this season. Another group of 49 buffalo migrated beyond Yellowstone National Park’s trap and the remaining buffalo retreated from the National Forest to Yellowstone National Park. Today on American Indian Airwaves, our guest provides in-depth updates on the U.S. National Park Services failed Bison Management program and the Yellowstone National Park continued operations causing the depopulation of the last remaining original genetically pure buffalo herds (~9,000), the failed Endangered Species Act, how the climate crises is impacting the ecosystems throughout the region and the buffalo relations, as well as how the U.S. government’s divide and conquer strategy in creating buffalo policies simultaneous benefits larger Native American nations buffalo management programs from far way compared to local and smaller Native American nations near the Yellowstone Nation Park regions. Moreover, our guest highlights the cultural importance of the buffalo relations for Native American lifeways and what is threatening the cultural sustainability for future Native America nations. Guest: • James Holt Sr. (Nimiipuu Nation), Executive Director of the Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC), and the board member for International Wildlife Coexistance Network Archived programs can be heard on Soundcloud at: https://soundcloud.com/burntswamp

In a coordinated effort between several federal and local government agencies and private contractors, more than 400,000 tons of toxic and hazards waste are planning to be removed from Lahaina and transported to the temporary debris storage site in Olowalu. The toxic and hazardous waste includes high levels of household waste, asbestos, arsenic, lead, and other toxins. Meanwhile an emergency declaration remains active which allows for side-setting and ignoring various federal, state, city laws and ordinances as part of toxic and hazardous waste removal efforts and any future development to rebuild Lahaina. Excluded or marginalized from the any of the actions, from waste removal and storage which would desecrate sacred sites, to the planned development, which will recolonize Lahaina, are some of the lineal descendants and other Kanaka maoli working to defend and stop the harm to Mother Earth in the Hawaiian Nation. Guests: • Ka’io Martin Cruz and John Cruz, creators and organizers of the People’s Community Council of Maui. Archived programs can be heard on Soundcloud at: https://soundcloud.com/burntswamp