Protecting the Buffalo Relations from Yellowstone National Park & MT Ranchers & NDGNSLA Education

American Indian Airwaves

Part 1 Marking the 150th Anniversary of the Yellowstone National Park, the National Park Service (NPS) is reaching out to include Indigenous peoples cultural and historical relationship to Yellowstone National Park’s boundaries; however, simultaneously Yellowstone National Park just closed its public comments section on the possibilities of implementing a new Bison Population Management program, which could lead to the additional killings of some of the last remaining genetically pure bison. Meanwhile, the Montana cattle industry is ramping up its methods for kill even more buffalo. In fact, more than 90 buffalo relations were taken in 2021; 859 buffalo were killed between 2019-2020; and 12,575 buffalo have been killed since 1985. The buffalo are cultural significant to numerous Native American nations throughout the region and beyond. Our guest, Mike Mease, for today is the co-founder of the Buffalo Field Campaign. He joins to discuss the recent events on the ground, at the state and national levels, as well as Yellowstone National Parks problematic and hypocritical positioning of including Indigenous peoples cultural histories into the “parks” reopening while simultaneously complicit in creating and supporting the conditions for the taking of buffalo relations, which are import for all living relations. Guest: Mike Mease, Co-founder of the Buffalo Field Campaign. Part 2: Education for Native American and Indigenous children in the public school system in the Los Angeles County area has always been problematic, fraught with forms of structural racism and discrimination, and antagonistic for a healthy and constructive learning environment that includes Indigeneity or culturally, educational based content. In addition, many Native American children are lost in the colonial system and often struggle to attend college and learn culturally-based Indigenous content. Our guest for today, Shannon Rivers (Akimel O'otham Nation), is the Director of Programming for NDGNSLA., American Indian Resurgence Initiative/Native Ways to College (AIR/NW2C), NDGNSLA, a new gateway program launching in early 2022. Shannon Rivers discusses the state of education not only across the United States, but also in the Los Angeles County region and how the launching of the new gateway educational program reflects Indigenous self-determination and creates opportunities for Indigenous children and families to participate in a program assisting them to reach college and learn-Indigenous based content so children who become have the cultural and settler colonial tools for decolonization and helping Native American/Indigenous communities and nations. Guest: Shannon Rivers (Akimel O'otham Nation), is the Director of Programming for NDGNSLA., American Indian Resurgence Initiative/Native Ways to College (AIR/NW2C), NDGNSLA. Click here for archived American Indian Airwaves programs on the KPFK website within the past 60-days only or click on (below) after 8pm for today’s scheduled program. Soundcloud Apple Podcast Google Podcast iHeartRadio Pocket Casts Spotify Podcast Stitcher Podcast Tunein Podcast