Wishing everyone a happy new year!  

Looking forward to sharing news, stories, Political analysis, interviews,  and more from Indian Country in 2025!

Please be safe!

-The Native Opinion Team

http://www.nativeopinion.com

We take a closer look at President Biden's recent apology for the historical atrocities committed through Indian boarding schools, analyzing the substance of his remarks versus the expectations for actionable measures. We debate whether an apology alone suffices or if it requires a commitment to reparative actions, such as increased funding for mental health services and the repatriation of remains. 

We also dissect President Biden’s previous statements that no Native American has ever held a consequential cabinet position, calling attention to historical inaccuracies and the complexities of representation in American political structures. 

We then shift our focus to the recent United States presidential elections and reflect on the political landscape, contemplating whether the Democratic Party learned from past mistakes or remains entrenched in a cycle of disenfranchisement. We also provide Native American voting pattern data provided by a partnrship between the First Nations Development Institute, BSP Research, and the African American Research Collaborative.   The data confirms the necessity of addressing tribal issues, especially land rights and environmental concerns.

Our conversation transitions into discussions around the changing political paradigms, underscoring the need for authentic engagement with Native issues beyond election cycles.

The 2024 political election, and season is fast coming to an end. We wish it would also be an end to the chaos. Given the lead up to this presidential, as well as Senate and Congressional races, what issues are being debated by any of these candidates relevant to America’s Indigenous County? From the perspective of the hosts of this show not much. In fact, we are still (again) very much invisible to most candidates running for office. In this episode of Native Opinion, we come with receipts to demonstrate, sadly once again, they still don’t know us….

Title: Usually, when the government is being so gracious, there is usually something they want in return!


Topics discussed in this episode:

1). BREAKING NEWS... Biden is out of the Presidential Race. But now what?   

2). Arizona congressional delegation introduces massive $5 billion tribal water rights legislation which would guarantee three tribes access to land and water…    

3).  A Native American tribe in North Dakota is planning a sprawling greenhouse complex on its reservation securing its Food Sovereignty…    

4). In our environment segment, with the sudden increase in the use and implementation of Artificial Intelligence, the consumption of energy is at an all-time high. Clean energy advocates think Geo-Thermal may be the solution to fossil Fuels… but is it?    

In thos episode of Native Opinion:

* Biden/Trump Debate Coverage... What the ?!?!?!?

* Judge Orders Rail Operator to Pay $400 Million to Tribe for Trespassing

* House Subcommittee Considers Bills to Expand Tribal Land Trust Authority

* Israel's Netanyahu blames Biden for withholding weapons. US officials say that's not the whole story

* Oklahoma's top education official orders schools to teach the Bible, and why this is very wrong...

Episode Description:

It is rare in America to see a wealthy, white male convicted of a Felony crime. But that rarity disappeared recently for Donald Trump.  Jurors convicted Trump on 34 counts of falsification of business records in the first degree, which is a felony in New York. Trump was a resident of New York most of his life, and generated wealth dealing in real estate, among many other business ventures.  Trump is an individual who conned many Americans into voting for him in 2016 to become America’s 45th President. 

In this episode of Native Opinion, we provide our opinion about the conviction, expressing that "It's about time."


Also in this episode:

We provide some perspective on definitions of the terms "Co-Management" and "Co-Stewardship" in Indian country. Usually attributed to land, we look at the positives and negatives to the application of these terms in partnerships with the United States federal government.

Racism in America Segment:

1.) A Federal Senator bars the appointment of America's first Native American Federal Judge 
2.) A law suit waged by three men of color against American Airlines. You're not going to believe why they are suing!


Ways to support our show:

1) Share the show! Telling others about our show really helps us reach more people
2.) Become a Native Opinion Member though Patron! Your monthly contributions really help us to keep producing episodes. (https://www.patreon.com/nativeopinion/membership)
3.) Purchasing merchandise at the Mohegan Trading Post online retail store.  A business owned by Co-host Michael Kickingbear (Mashantucket Pequot) and his wife Carol (Mohegan), check out http://www.mohegantradingpost.com 

Episode 431: “The Youth Can Lead the Way”

Our Native youth can lead the way if we show them how, give them the tools to do so, and then get out of the way. 

Ever since Hamas attacked Israel, United States Federal  Government has sworn to Support Israel’s stance of “it’s right to defend itself by continuing to fund them. But the killing of over 20,000 Palestinians of all ages and genders makes us believe this is genocide. Indigenous people of Turtle Island know all too well what genocide is. We have been experiencing all forms of it for the past 300 years. In this episode of Native Opinion, we will draw sharp historic comparisons between the genocide that Israel is committing against Palestine and what the Indigenous Peoples of the North and Southern American Continents continue to endure. 

Resources: DECOLONIZE PALESTINE

                    Indigenous peoples in Palestine

In this episode of Native Opinion, we do a deep dive into the fires which eliminated the town of Lahaina, in Maui, Hawaii. From the loss of life, to greedy venture capitalists looking to acquire more land from the Kanaka Hawaiian people who have already lost so much. We also look at the politics involved, and try to bring a perspective that was never shared by Main Stream news media outlets who only sought to elevate Kanaka loss and assess blame. *WARNING* This is a very emotional episode.

This podcast episode is sponsored by Mohegan Trading Post, a Native American gift store. The holidays are coming! Check them out for great gift ideas!

In this Episode:

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or “NAGPRA” Provides for the ownership or control of Native American cultural items (human remains and objects) excavated or discovered on Federal or tribal lands back to Federally recognized tribes. Among several aspects of the act, it directs Federal agencies and museums with possession or control over holdings or collections of Native American human remains and funerary objects to inventory them, identify their geographic and cultural affiliation, and notify the affected Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organization to begin the established process of returning them to tribes. Some institutions and states have been slow, even resistant to comply with this law. We look deeper into the responsibilities of institutions to comply with this law.

Also…

A landmark law case before the Supreme Court Of The United States (SCOTUS) handed down a major decision in favor of Native American tribes and parents by keeping in place a 40 year federal law known as the Indian Child Welfare Act. (or ICWA) We deconstruct this lawsuit and look into the reasons behind this very important case for Indian Country.
And finally…
American healthcare has become corporatized, and there have been some very serious consequences as a result of what has become risky business for patients and even medical providers across the country. We provide some examples of these changes and ask very important questions.

Contact The show!

E-mail: [email protected]
Call Us: 860-800-5595

First, there was an acknowledgement by the Catholic Church about sins it committed against Indigenous people dating back to the 13th century. Then, in July of 2022, a mere Two Thousand, Thirty Four years since the church blessed and approved the genocide of Indigenous people to colonize North American continent and beyond, Pope Francis, who represents the entire Catholic church, issued an apology (sort of) to first nations indigenous peoples on Canadian soil. Now, in 2023, the Church Presumably has repudiated colonization concepts of the past which has created the countries of Canada and the United States. But given the colonial history, well known throughout our tribal communities, is THAT enough? Dont' we already know it was and is currently wrong? In this episode, we deconstruct this new attempt by the Catholic church to alleviate its own guilt.