[00:00:02] HeyMud podcast presents.
[00:00:12] Welcome to Heart of the Earth. This is a program about Native Americans and other indigenous cultures. My name is Agnes and before I get into the show this morning, I just want to ask people, however you pray or shine white light, send good energy to Southern California. It's on fire. It's on fire. Really bad. It started in Pacific Palisades and I had said yesterday to my husband, I said, boy, they're gonna have like 100 mile hour winds in the valley, you know, tomorrow it's gonna be really something. And then by last night, Pacific Palisades was on fire. It's headed toward Malibu, Santa Monica. All of Pacific coast highway has burned down.
[00:00:53] They were able to save the Getty Museum. I mean it's just incredible. And I was watching some live coverage and oh my gosh, people had just left their cars, you know, because they were stuck in traffic. Well, the fire trucks couldn't get up and they brought big tractors and just smashed all these cars out of the way.
[00:01:12] And then now there's five fires. There's one out by Pasadena Sylmar. And then I saw and they said the Woodley fire. I said Woodley mean like Woodley Avenue in the valley. And sure enough, if anybody knows Southern California and knows the valley, you know the Sepulveda Dam and the sepulveda basin, about 75 acres as of 7:00 this morning was all on fire. And if you know where Highway 101 and 405 meet, it's right there.
[00:01:48] And so it's, I mean something like 40,000 people have been evacuated, thousands of homes have burnt down, businesses.
[00:01:57] It's just incredible inferno that is happening. And then different school districts have closed even though there isn't fire real close to them. But the smoke is so bad, it's not good to be in a classroom everybody inhaling it. So they've had to close some schools today down there. So if you know anybody in Southern California, you might want to make sure they're okay. And if you don't still send them some good energy because it's just an incredible. I grew up there. I know all the Woodley Avenue when I would go from my mom's house to Northridge down to my sister who used to live on Sepulava Boulevard, right by Burbank. And they said the fire has gone to Burbank Boulevard.
[00:02:39] It's right where I always drove. And so I really, very, very aware of that area. And it's really, really scary that a city could just be on fire. So again send him some good energy. I wanted to honor Deb Haaland, our Interior secretary, and she has done more for Native people and Indigenous people than all the other Interior secretaries we've ever had combined.
[00:03:13] And that's because she's a Native person and she knows their wants and needs.
[00:03:18] Yes, and this is from the Arizona Republic.
[00:03:22] Deb Haaland had just begun her second term in the US House of Representatives in January of 2021. Elected from her native New Mexico, she was one of the first Indigenous women to be elected to Congress. But President Joe Biden had another first in mind. He nominated her as the first Native American cabinet official and the first Native person to serve as Secretary of the Interior, holland said. It was a really scary thing when she first stepped in, stepped onto the road to public service.
[00:03:54] It was like stepping into an area that you haven't gone before, she said. And the job was no different. I had never been a Secretary of the Interior before. She overcame that anxiety and set out to make history. Among her accomplishments, managing the U.S. government's largest agency was a significant step for indigenous communities. Quote we gave tribes a two seat at the table Holland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo, will depart the Interior Department at the end of Biden's term on January 20th. She leaves behind new and enhanced partnership agreements, more Indian country homes with electricity for the first time, and tribes playing a more active role in directing management of the Colorado River. During an interview with the Arizona Republic, Holland said she was proud of the work she and her staff had done to put tribes at the table and partners in land and water management. She was particularly proud of her efforts to shine a light on the harm done to Indian country children, families and communities by federal Indian boarding schools. During a two year study she commissioned, Holland gathered firsthand accounts of school survivors and their families, assembling a record of the worst abuses in the 367 boarding schools run by the Bureau of Indian affairs and later the Bureau of Indian Education.
[00:05:20] As part of her Road to Healing tour, she visited the Gila River Indian community, hearing from people about their sometimes harrowing experiences. One former student talked about how her tongue was split when a teacher put a clothespin on it as punishment for speaking in o adam in class.
[00:05:39] The tour and study were summarized in a two volume report that detailed many abuses in the system, how so many kids were taken from their homes and sent to faraway schools, the long term effects of generations of traumatized students scarred their families and communities, and how so many children died in the schools. The report also outlined recommendations for healing communities wracked by the social ills wrought by the schools, for revitalizing language and cultural support, for reunifying families and for reforms in tribal community education and for steps to reduce violence in tribal communities. Haaland accompanied President Joe Biden to the Gila River Indian Community in October as he formally apologized to Indian country, an historic moment for the government and the thousands of people whose lives were upended by the schools. In December, Biden announced the creation of the Carlisle Indian Boarding School National Monument, which will share the story of the thousands of Native children, their families and communities who are affected by the schools. Carlisle was the first of its kind designed to forcibly assimilate Native kids with the goal of terminating tribes.
[00:06:55] Native American history is American history, haaland said, and we are making sure that our country doesn't forget the sacrifices during this era of our history. As sad and terrible as it was, the Secretary's days weren't all spent recounting abuses and trauma. Some of Holland's work highlighted during her travels after her 2021 confirmat were joyous occasions. Holland visited Arizona in 2022 when she outlined water, drought resilience and other projects that would be funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law. She discussed water delivery funding for the drought Resilience Plan and tribal water projects. In July of 2023, Holland joined Biden and tribal, federal and state dignitaries for the creation of the Baja Nuovo Kata Kuventi, ancestral footprints of the Grand Canyon national monument. The 917,618 acre monument encompasses public lands surrounding the Grand Canyon national park and includes many sacred and lines oh, let's see. I must have. Okay. And cultural sites for area tribes and I just want to interject here. Yesterday, President Biden signed a bill for two more monuments in the area around Joshua Tree national park in Southern California and area surrounding Mount Shasta that is home to the Pitt River. And I'm hoping to interview someone from the Pitt river next week. They spent so many years trying to make this happen and I have to tell you, I'm sure it was just a jubilation when President Biden did this yesterday. But to continue two months before that announcement, Holland made an historic trip of her own when she hiked down the steep 8 mile long Havasupai Trail to Supai as part of the first ever visit of a sitting Interior Secretary to the Havasupai Tribe. After the visit, she hiked back up the trail. The same day in June, Holland joined Colorado River Indian Tribe's chairwoman Amelia Flores and Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs to formally sign an historic agreement as the next step in the 4300 members project to lease or exchange portions of its Arizona water allocation. Holland returned to Arizona in September to formally announce the Apache trout had been removed from the endangered species list after a 50 year long conservation partnership among federal, state, tribal and nonprofit organizations. The trout is the first sport fish and first trout species to recover from near extinction.
[00:09:54] Holland also played a leading role in forwarding Biden's America the Beautiful initiative which set out to conserve 30% of the nation's lands and waters by 2030. She oversaw the establishment of new rules governing the oversight of 250 million acres of public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management to better safeguard the lands, expediate clean energy development and continue to provide for outdoor recreation. Tribes now have more say in what happens to ancestral lands and other issues important to Native peoples. Quote we had held consultations that really made sure that tribes had a seat at the table. She said, quote because of President Biden, $45 billion was able to be sent to Indian country for tribes to make the lives of their people better. She established a missing and murdered indigenous person unit at the Bureau of Indian affairs to institute a cross government approach to pursue such cases. Holland also created a task force to eliminate offensive geographic names. She praised her team, including Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Kamlyn Toton, for working to give tribes representation in many interior agencies. She also touted work the interior has done to forward the clean energy transition, including offshore wind and tribal electrification across the nation's reservations. She signed water deals and held groundbreaking ceremonies for new transmission lines to bring renewable solar power to the west. The Hopi tribe had houses that never had electricity before and now have electricity, she said. And in what Holland believed was an enduring change, interior agencies signed 400 co stewardship agreements with tribes incorporating tribal traditional knowledge into land stewardship.
[00:11:57] Some of her decisions weren't universally acclaimed by tribes. In 2023, Holland issued a 20 year ban on new oil and gas drilling and fracking around Chaco Canyon, a world Heritage site protected by the Chaco Cultural National Historic Park. That move herald by Pueblo tribes, some Navajos and environmentalists was panned by the Navajo Nation, which said the ban could impede local Navajo residents ability to make a living from developing the resources under the land. And I have to say it was a minor group of people. I mean the majority of the, of my understanding, the Navajo were against it. Holland said she has not, she's not done yet. Quote we're going to keep working for another month, she said. The folks who will leave when I leave are still working to get things done. The career staff, including scientists, biologists, ecologists and other experts, will stay on the job after she and her fellow appointees leave, she said, quote, and I'm going to be cheering them on the sidelines because I know they'll continue to do the amazing work that they always do because they're public servants and they care about this country, she said, quote, I wish the American people knew what I know about them, that they wake up every single day ready to serve their dedicated ready to serve their dedicated to the future and I applaud them every day.
[00:13:24] The Department of Interior's 65,000 employees run the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service. Interior also oversees the Bureaus of Reclamation, Ocean Energy Management, Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the U.S. geological Survey and the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement. The staff oversees 480 million acres of public lands as well as subsurface minerals such as oil and gas and outer continental shelf. The department also manages several Indian agencies, including the Bureau of Indian affairs, the Bureau of Indian Education and the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration.
[00:14:07] Holland is hopeful that much of that work to include tribes as partners continues into the next administration. For example, all of those co stewardship agreements that we put in place, all of the tribal traditional knowledge that we've been able to incorporate into the way we steward those lands aren't going away, she said, quote. Above all, I really hope that the tribes will continue to have a voice, she said. We're really worked hard to make sure they've had a seat at the table in important decisions that we may have made when it comes to their ancestral homelands. Holland said she hopes tribes continue to use their voice and make sure they're listened to when moving forward. She was cagey about her plans after leaving the Interior as rumors swirl about her possible bid to become New Mexico's first Native American governor in 2026. Instead, she said, I'm going to be cheering the staff from the sidelines. As she prepares to leave her office, Holland said she has been visiting different groups across the department. Quote, I've gone into their hallways. I've been visiting with staff and appointees for about the last month. At the end of the day, Holland said, quote, what I can say is that I really try to be my authentic self.
[00:15:28] Kmud is a community radio station in the Redwood Region of Northern California. Donate to Support People powered
[email protected] well we're all a native country and many people are really hoping and praying that President Biden will grant clemency to Leonard Peltier.
[00:16:00] The number to the White House is area code 202-456-1111.
[00:16:11] If you haven't called or if you have in the past, call again.
[00:16:16] Ask for clemency for Leonard Pelchier.
[00:16:21] Six piece reggae band I Rebellion, based in Taos, New Mexico has released a new single to advocate for the release of Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist who has been in prison for nearly 50 years. Leonard Peltier's song features Grammy winning flutist Robert Mirabel of Taos Pueblo and a traditional drum group composed of singers from several indigenous nations. Through this collaboration, the band hopes to amplify calls for President Joe Biden to grant clemency to Peltier. The song blends Irebellion's reggae inspired rhythms with Robert Mirabel's signature flute playing and the traditional indigenous drumming and singing of John Swift Bird of the Lakota Nation Chaste Pachejo Dakota, Santo Domingo Pueblo and Bryson Sanchez a Dakota, San Felipe Pueblo. The song makes a direct plea for justice with Davis crafting a chorus do the right thing, let freedom ring it's been so long, let's right this wrong that appeals to President Biden to take action and write what the band views as a long standing rom. The musical advocacy for Peltier's case has a rich history in popular music. Robbie Robinson the late Robbie Robinson from the Mohawk Nation, the legendary guitarist and songwriter of the band, created a particularly powerful statement with his song Sacrifice, which incorporated Peltier's own voice through a recorded prison phone call with Robertson. Little Stephen that's Stephen Van Zandt, known for both his work with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and his solo career also contributed to this musical legacy with his own Leonard Peltier, which, like Iraebellion's new release, used Caribbean rhythms to carry its message to justice. Peltier, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, became involved in the American Indian movement in the 1970s, a time of tension between indigenous communities and the US government. AIM advocated addressing issues such as police brutality, treaty violations and systematic inequality affecting Native Americans. Peltier's case comes from a 1975 shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota where two FBI agents and a young Native man were killed. The shootout occurred during a period of violence on the reservation often referred to as the quote, reign of terror, when residents faced threats and attacks for their tithes to aim.
[00:19:00] Peltier was convicted in 1977 of killing the agents, but his trial has been widely criticized. Key witnesses were withheld by the Key evidence was withheld by the prosecution, including ballistics reports that could have supported his defense. Eyewitnesses testimony used to extradite Peltier from Canada was later recanted, with the witness stating that they were coerced by the FBI. Even the U.S. attorney who handled the case has since admitted that no one knows who fired the fatal shots. Peltier has maintained his innocence for nearly five decades, and his case has been condemned by numerous human rights organizations, including Amnesty International. Calls for his release have grown in recent years, with Peltier now he's about to turn 80 and facing health challenges. Peltier's Leonard Peltier's song is available on streaming platforms including Spotify and Apple Music, and can be found on their website Here now page. The band encourages listeners to not only enjoy the song, but also take action by learning about Peltier's case, signing petitions and contacting officials to advocate for his release.
[00:20:17] And if you want to learn more, you can go to the international Leonard Peltier Defense Committee website.
[00:20:23] Again, the phone number to the White House is 202-456-1111.
[00:20:34] I was told that there might be, you might have a problem getting through on the, on the phone line. They're saying that they're on vacation or something. I know tomorrow's considered a federal holiday in honor of President Carter, but you still can contact the White House. If you have a way to get on the Internet, you can go to www.WhiteHouse.gov contact again www.WhiteHouse.gov contact and ask for clemency for Leonard Peltier. That's how you do it, you know, with awareness. And I've been reading Lafita Love Child, the book about Jesse Davis and just how important it was for Bob Dylan the first time he heard tribal voices, Graffiti man. And he was absolutely mind blown. He wanted to meet John Trudell.
[00:21:44] And I was at that concert in Phoenix with Bob Dylan and Tom Petty. We came down from Big Mountain to go see that show and we didn't have tickets and so the only tickets we could get were basically he said, well, you'll see pretty good if, you know, it was the first row on the balcony. It was kind of like almost behind the stage. It was a little, a little bit, you know, to the side right behind backstage. But it was great because we knew we could hang our banner that said stop force relocation. And so everybody that was looking at the stage, when they looked at the stage, they had to look at that banner too.
[00:22:24] But was walking into that show and hearing John Trudell. And that's what Bob Dylan did.
[00:22:31] He played that at every show he did with that tour.
[00:22:38] And when you have, you know, when you're allowed. No one told me to take that banner down either. We were allowed to. And my camera, too.
[00:22:48] It's important. It's important for the message. I want to share this with you. It's called Fork Real Community Cafe. Yes, this is by Grouchy Gourmet from Native News Sun. And she said Grouchy can still recall the warmth of her childhood days growing up on the rez, where the scent of simmering soup filled the air, an ever present reminder of her untie Mabel's culinary magic. With just a simple piece of tallow meat, Unti could create hearty soups that would feed the whole family. Give her a chicken and a big pot of chicken soup would await, its comforting aroma wrapping around them like a warm embrace. Sirloin steak, no problem. Mabel would transform that into a rich steak soup, bubbling and inviting. In a family of many, it was clear one steak wouldn't suffice, but a big pot of soup could nourish them all.
[00:23:43] This tradition of love and warmth through food deeply ingrained a love for soup in Grouchy. So when she discovered the Fork Real Community Cafe in Rapid City, it felt like home. The cafe, known for its welcoming environment, operated on a pay what you can bas, inviting everyone in the community to enjoy healthy meals without the burden of financial strain. Their commitment to locally sourced ingredients ensured that there was always something fresh and seasonal on the menu. Customary options like tomato biscay, various chili recipes, and of course, delicious squash soups all warmed Grouchy's heart, just like Uchi's and cherished recipes. Last week, with the chill of winter surrounding her, Grouchy set out to find a bowl of soup, warming soup at Fork Reel. However, as she pushed open the cafe door, she was met with an unexpected sight. The dining area was nearly empty. Just a couple of weeks before, she had driven past and seen workers moving tables. And now it all made sense. The cafe was in transition. Grouchy remembered hearing about the planned move to a new location, an initiative aimed at accessing and engaging more of the community community. The new address at 507 Main street in the former offices of the Rapid City Journal, promised to bring more visibility and a heartier connection with the public. But for now they were just they were still serving meals at the old location at 324St. Joseph St. Conveniently situated across the Pennington County Courthouse. They they are serving brunch and lunch and are open from 11am to 2pm and determined not to be deterred by the sparse decor, Grouchy found a cozy table and filled her bowl with the hearty helping of homemade beef soup. And as she settled in, savoring the first spoonful, she was joined by Sarah, a relative who embodied the resilience and spirit of the community. Fork Reel embraced. Sarah's smile, despite the hardships she faced was a testament to the nurturing environment that the cafe cultivated. And currently staying at the Cornerstone Rescue Mission, a temporary shelter, Sarah is hopeful for a more permanent home. Their shared connection, a love for good food, and the warmth of community made the moment feel special. Sarah filled Grouchy in her current living arrangements, and their conversation drifted between laughter and stories, solidifying the bond they share. And as they chatted, it dawned on grouchy that the Real4Community Cafe was more than just a place to eat. It was a refuge, a space that offered not just nourishment for the body, but comfort for the soul. In that nearly empty cafe, surrounded by bare walls and echoing memories of change, Grouchy felt a profound sense of belonging. She realized that even amidst transitions, the heart of the community beats strong. And as the cafe prepares to step into a new chapter, Grouchy recognized that its spirit would continue to thrive, providing a warmth, love and connection through the simple act of sharing a bowl of Soup.
[00:26:57] On Saturday, January 25, at the Meteill Community center, there's going to be a supapaloosa. Yes, it's going to be a lot of fun. If you have a special soup. I think it costs like $25 to enter your soup. Everybody comes with their big pots and if you don't have a soup and want to come, it costs $10 and you get to taste every soup that's there and you get to vote on the best one. So I just really appreciate the Mattel having. They did it last year and yeah, in the middle of winter having some warm soup. And I know there's a lot of cooks and chefs out there that have their own specialty soup or chili and they're gonna bring it on January 25th. So you wanna mark your calendars because yes, warm soup in our community center is, you know, what a way to celebrate the middle of winter.
[00:27:52] Again, I want to mention the address to send an email to the White house and asking for clemency for Leonard Peltier. It's www.this is their website. You go to that website and then you make the contact. Okay, it's www.whitehouse.gov.
[00:28:22] contact and tell him you want clemency for Leonard Peltier. President Biden has till the morning of January 20th to free him.
[00:28:34] It's about time he talked about sacrificing. I think Leonard sacrificed enough. He sacrificed his whole life.
[00:28:43] And before they stopped allowing him to be interviewed, I interviewed him three different times here on Heart of the Earth on KMUD, probably within the first five years of KMUD's existence.
[00:28:57] I have those tapes somewhere. I just don't have a tape player to listen to it. But I'll be back next week.
[00:29:07] This has been a K Mutt podcast to listen to other shows and more episodes of this show. Find us on all the platforms where you get your podcast and also on our website, kmud.org.
