Native America Calling

01/02/2026

Whether you view the New Year as a good time for a hard reboot or just a few tweaks here and there, a few words of encouragement can’t hurt. A lot of people see January as the time to launch a new exercise routine or start being a more patient parent. It doesn’t necessarily take an established place of worship or hours in a quiet room to engage with your own internal strengths. We have a panel of experts in mindfulness and using one’s own cultural connections to help stay on a more positive and meaningful path.

GUESTS

D.J. Eagle Bear Vanas (Odawa), motivational storyteller, host of the PBS special, “Discovering your Warrior Spirit”, and author of “Warrior Within” from Penguin Random House

Michael Yellow Bird (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara), professor at the faculty of social work at the University of Manitoba

Eduardo Duran (Apache, Tewa, and Lakota), psychologist and author of “Healing the Soul Wound”

Whether you view the New Year as a good time for a hard reboot or just a few tweaks here and there, a few words of encouragement can’t hurt. A lot of people see January as the time to launch a new exercise routine or start being a more patient parent. It doesn’t necessarily take an established p...

12/31/2025

Today is the final day of Koahnic’s National End-of-Year Drive. If Indigenous journalism and Native voices matter to you, make your year-end gift today. Your support helps sustain trusted programming and fill critical funding gaps for 2026 and beyond.
💛 Last chance to give. ✈️ Last chance to enter to win two Alaska Airlines tickets! Visit 👉 koahnic.org/donate | Text KOAHNIC to 41444
Rules of the airlines ticket sweepstakes available through the donation portal accessible at Koahnic.org/Donate.

12/31/2025

The scariest clown to ever appear on screen drives a storyline involving a fictional tribe in Maine. “IT: Welcome to Derry” uses horror writer Stephen King’s 1986 novel as a jumping off point. The hit HBO Max miniseries provides a new Native American theme to the plot with some veteran Native talent in front of and behind the camara. It is one of the notable projects from 2025, a list that also includes Sterlin Harjo’s "The Lowdown", the TIFF Best Canadian Feature winner, “Uiksaringitara,” and SXSW Documentary Feature Special Jury Award winner, “Remaining Native.” We’ll recall some of the best film and TV projects from the year and see what’s in store for 2026.

GUESTS

Johnnie Jae (Otoe-Missouria and Choctaw), founder of Red Pop News

Jason Asenap (Comanche and Muscogee), writer, critic, and filmmaker

Sunrise Tippeconnie (Commanche, Navajo and Cherokee), director of programming at deadCenter Film and co-host of the Reel Indigenous Podcast

Kimberly Guerrero (Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and Salish and Kootenai), actress, screenwriter, and professor at UC Riverside

The scariest clown to ever appear on screen drives a storyline involving a fictional tribe in Maine. “IT: Welcome to Derry” uses horror writer Stephen King’s 1986 novel as a jumping off point. The hit HBO Max miniseries provides a new Native American theme to the plot with some veteran Native ...

12/30/2025

We’re in the final days of Koahnic’s National End-of-Year Drive! Your support sustains National Native News, Native America Calling, and Indigenous storytelling heard across the country — now and into 2026 and beyond.
💛 Donate by December 31, 2025 and be automatically entered to win two Alaska Airlines tickets. 👉Visit koahnic.org/donate or text Koahnic to 41444. Rules of the airlines ticket sweepstakes available through the donation portal accessible at Koahnic.org/Donate!
Thank you, Alaska Airlines, for your partnership!

12/30/2025

A historically devastating salmon die-off on the Klamath River in 2002 was among the influences putting Amy Bowers Cordalis (Yurok) on her path of conservation. She recounts that moment, along with her family’s multigenerational fight to save their ties to the river, in her memoir, “The Water Remembers.” She is an instrumental voice in what became the largest river reclamation project in U.S. history.

The story of the Blackfeet Tribe’s revitalization of their historical ties to buffalo is the subject of the Thunderheart Films documentary “Bring Them Home”/“Aiskótáhkapiyaaya.” The film is directed by Blackfeet siblings and Oscar-nominated actor Lily Gladstone (Blackfeet) is the narrator and executive producer.

Tribes and tribal organizations are still waiting for the dust to settle after a year of unprecedented upheaval and funding cuts from the federal government. We’ll get an assessment of what happened and what this moment in time means for food sovereignty going forward.

GUESTS

Carly Griffith-Hotvedt (Cherokee), executive director of the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative

Amy Bowers Cordalis (Yurok), fisherwoman, attorney, co-founder and executive director of the Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group, and author of “The Water Remembers”

Ivy MacDonald (Blackfeet), writer, director, and cinematographer

Ivan MacDonald (Blackfeet), filmmaker, director, and producer

A historically devastating salmon die-off on the Klamath River in 2002 was among the influences putting Amy Bowers Cordalis (Yurok) on her path of conservation. She recounts that moment, along with her family’s multigenerational fight to save their ties to the river, in her memoir, “The Water Re...

12/29/2025

As South Dakota tribes mark the 135th anniversary of the Wounded Knee Massacre, they face a headwind of history revision by the Trump administration. After years of admonishment by tribal leaders to rescind the Medals of Honor awarded to the soldiers who participated in the massacre, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth instead praised the soldiers for their bravery and declared that the medals will stand. Since then, President Donald Trump signed legislation preserving land at the site in honor of the tragedy. We’ll get perspective on how Wounded Knee is remembered.

GUESTS

Jeff Means (Oglala Lakota), associate professor and department chair of the University of Wyoming History Department

Courtney Yellow Fat (Hunkpapa Lakota), historian and chief cultural consultant and co-producer with the Densmore/Lakota Songs Repatriation Project

Willard Malebear Jr. (Hunkpapa Lakota), current organizer of the Dakota 38+2 Memorial Run

As South Dakota tribes mark the 135th anniversary of the Wounded Knee Massacre, they face a headwind of history revision by the Trump administration. After years of admonishment by tribal leaders to rescind the Medals of Honor awarded to the soldiers who participated in the massacre, U.S. Defense Se...

12/28/2025

As the year comes to a close, thank you for supporting Indigenous media. Your gift helps ensure Native stories, perspectives, and journalism remain part of the national conversation — strengthening community-powered media for the year ahead.
💛 Make your year-end gift today 👉Visit koahnic.org/donate or text Koahnic to 41444. ✈️ Be automatically entered to win two Alaska Airlines tickets. For sweepstakes rules, visit Koahnic.org/Donate!

12/27/2025

🎙️ Native voices deserve a national platform — every day. Your support powers National Native News, Native America Calling, and Indigenous-led journalism heard across the country — helping sustain trusted programming into 2026 and beyond.
💛 Donate during Koahnic’s National End-of-Year Drive (Dec 17–31) ✈️ Enter to win two Alaska Airlines round-trip tickets as our thank-you. Rules of the airlines ticket sweepstakes available through the donation portal accessible at Koahnic.org/Donate!
To donate today, visit 👉 koahnic.org/donate | Text KOAHNIC to 41444

12/26/2025

A Christmas parade on the Navajo Nation was suddenly cut short this week after a suspected drunk driver struck and killed three-year-old Karson Apodaca and injured three bystanders. KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has the tragic details in the latest edition of National Native News with Antonia Gonzales.

https://www.nativenews.net/friday-december-26-2025/

12/25/2025

Many families across Indian Country celebrated Santa’s overnight visit to deliver presents and eat some cookies. But while the mainstream depiction is of a jolly old elf who’s white and decked out in a red, fur-lined suit, some Native Santas are inspiring yuletide cheer in their own ways. Brian Bull of Buffalo’s Fire shadowed one across Oregon, in this special Christmas edition of National Native News with Antonia Gonzales.

  Native Santas change the Jolly Old Saint Nick narrative   'Navajo Highways' premieres first holiday special on FNX  

12/24/2025

“Big Chief”, the debut novel by Jon Hickey (Anishinaabe), derives some grim humor from tribal government corruption. The New York Times says it “creates suspense not from the question of whether open conflict will take place, but when.”

“Hole in the Sky” by Daniel H. Wilson (Cherokee) mixes tribal tradition with extraterrestrial visitation in Oklahoma. Publisher’s Weekly says the way Wilson’s alien character brings out human elements in vivid detail is “a masterful feat.”

And environmental engineer Brook Thompson’s (Yurok and Karuk) colorful children’s book, “I Love Salmon and Lampreys”, is inspired by her tribes’ fight to restore their cultural connection to a river. These are among the dozens of Native writers who released notable books this year.

We’ll hear from our panel of dedicated readers about these and other favorite books of 2025.

GUESTS

Allison Waukau (Menominee and Navajo), American Indian Library Association member -at-large

Amber McCrary (Diné), writer and poet

Stacy Wells (Choctaw Nation), author and librarian

Byron Graves (Ojibwe and Lakota)

Jon Hickey’s (Anishinaabe) debut novel “Big Chief” derives some grim humor from tribal government corruption. The New York Times says it “creates suspense not from the question of whether open conflict will take place, but when.” “Hole in the Sky” by Daniel H. Wilson (Cherokee) mixes t...