Native America Calling

𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀.

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Sweeping 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 Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority; First Vice President of the Central Council of the
Tlingit & 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

Wednesday, June 24, 2026 — Affordable housing progress misses Native priorities » Native America Calling Sweeping 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 relat...

Citizens 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

Tuesday, June 23, 2026 — Descendants reflect on Greasy Grass anniversary » Native America Calling Citizens 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. soi...

The 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 celebrations. 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 from Pushkin Industries; author of “By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land” from HarperCollins; and creator of "This Land" podcast from Crooked Media

Philip Deloria (Yankton Dakota), professor of history at Harvard University

Dr. Nick Estes (Lower Brule Sioux Tribe), associate professor of Department of American Indian Studies - University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Monday, June 22, 2026 — Rebecca Nagle’s ‘First America’ amplifies Native voices amid the din of America 250 celebrations » Native America Calling The 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 celebrations. For much of that time, the federal government, colonial histori...