Haskell Indian Nations University lost nearly a quarter of its staff in the Trump administration’s mass terminations. It’s one of two higher education institutions that rely on federal funds through the U.S. Bureau of Indian Education that are scrambling after the sudden and unprecedented job cuts. The reduction of more than a thousand National Park Service employees prompted worries over certain sacred and important Native treasures protected by federal workers. We’ll check on how the fast-paced federal job restructurings are affecting issues Native people are following.

GUESTS

Chuck Sams (Cayuse and Walla Walla), former National Park Service director

Pearl Yellowman (Diné), former vice president of college operations at Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute

Paige Willett (Citizen Potawatomi), former communications specialist at the Bureau of Indian Education

Angel Ahtone Elizarraras (Wichita), Student Government Association president at Haskell Indian Nations University

Break 1 Music: Long Black Train (song) Blue Moon Marquee (artist) Scream, Holler, and Howl (album)

Break 2 Music: Water by Jim Pepper [Arranged by Jhoely Garay] (song) Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band (artist) Live at Joe’s Pub, NYC on January 13th, 2024 (performance)