Episodes

  • The Contradictions of Indigenous Peoples Day

    The Contradictions of Indigenous Peoples Day
    Oct 11 2024
    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,
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    58 mins
  • Climate Resilience through Ecocultural Stewardship: The 2024 Fires and California Indigenous Peoples

    Climate Resilience through Ecocultural Stewardship: The 2024 Fires and California Indigenous Peoples
    Sep 11 2024
    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
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    58 mins
  • Southern Alaska Native Nations’ Intervention: Stopping the Mining Industry & Protecting Futures

    Southern Alaska Native Nations’ Intervention: Stopping the Mining Industry & Protecting Futures
    Aug 15 2024
    “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.
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    58 mins
  • Sacred Stage: Talks with Native Playwrights and Artists with DeLanna Studi & Native Voices

    Sacred Stage: Talks with Native Playwrights and Artists with DeLanna Studi & Native Voices
    Aug 8 2024
    “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.
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    59 mins
  • On the Swamp: Fighting for Indigenous Environmental Justice

    On the Swamp: Fighting for Indigenous Environmental Justice
    Jun 13 2024
    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.
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    59 mins
  • Update on the Northern Route: Peace and Dignity Journeys 2024

    Update on the Northern Route: Peace and Dignity Journeys 2024
    Jun 9 2024
    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.
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    58 mins
  • Plastic Colonization: Indigenous Nations Survivance in the Arctic Circumpolar Region

    Plastic Colonization: Indigenous Nations Survivance in the Arctic Circumpolar Region
    May 17 2024
    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.
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    58 mins
  • Under Threat, Desecration, and Protecting Shalawa in the Chumash Nation

    Under Threat, Desecration, and Protecting Shalawa in the Chumash Nation
    May 1 2024
    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.
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    59 mins