Rountree Report Podcast

Podcast 1 | Podcast 2 | Podcast 3 | Podcast 4

The Rountree Report podcast covers an eclectic variety of topics. The central theme of the podcast is the protection and preservation of culture, which means each individual episode may cover anything from law to art to music to language or anything else relating to culture. While the primary emphasis will be Indian and Indigenous culture, they are not the exclusive focus of the podcast. We anticipate releasing one episode every two weeks or so, although the exact schedule may vary.

The show is hosted by Melissa Tatum, the Associate Director of the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy (IPLP) Program at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law and originates in Rountree Hall on the campus of Arizona Law.

Special thanks go to the band Injunuity for allowing us to use their song Indentation as our theme music. For more about this great band (recipient of the 2008 Debut Group of the Year Award from the Native American Music Awards), check out their website at www.injunuity.net

Special thanks also go to Erica DeFrain, Educational Technology Librarian, for her technical expertise - without her, this podcast would never have come together!

We hope you enjoy the podcast and keep checking back for more episodes!

Podcast 1

Our first program is a bit of a departure and not exactly what we had planned. We were going to do a big splashy discussion about some cultural topic currently in the news, but just as we were finalizing our plans, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, a decision that has the potential for wide reaching impact in Indian law.

The case centers around a highly technical statutory interpretation issue regarding the Federal government's ability to take land into trust for Indian tribes, but that narrow technical focus conceals a wealth of policy issues. In this, our inaugural podcast, Profession Kevin Washburn and I sat down within a week of the decision being handed down, and talked through some of those larger issues and speculate about some of the potential impact of the decision.

This is probably the heaviest "legal" show we'll ever do, but since this podcast originates in a program focused on Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy, and since a land base is at the heart of any government's ability to protect and serve its citizens, we thought it important to explore this brand new decision.

• The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion
• More about Professor Melissa L. Tatum
• More about Professor Kevin Washburn

Podcast 2

In our second program, I talk with Professor John Borrows, who holds the Law Foundation Professorship of Aboriginal Justice and Governance at the University of Victoria. Professor Borrows was in Rountree Hall to deliver IPLP's annual Vine Deloria, Jr. lecture, and we sat down after his talk to discuss the difference between Canadian and American approaches to Indian law, as well as efforts to develop tribal common law, the subject of his upcoming book.

We also introduce our "From the Reviewer's Corner" segment, this time focusing on a book - Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon.

• More about Professor John Borrows
• Watch Professor Borrows' lecture "Giants and Little People: Indigenous Law in Context" on ArizonaNativeNet
• Professor Borrows will be joining the University of Minnesota this Fall
• And don't forget to check out the band Injunuity, who's song Indentation is our theme music.

Podcast 3

Episode Three - On this installment of the Rountree Report, we venture far from both Rountree Hall and from the topic of law. As I’ve mentioned, the Rountree Report is focused not just on law, but on the protection and preservation of culture. Episode three takes us (at least metaphorically) to Scotland, which has three languages - English, Scots and Gaelic. For the interview portion of episode three, I spoke with Ed Miller, Scottish singer/songwriter, who also holds degrees in Folkore and Geography. We talk about Scottish culture, the Scots language, and the connection between place and culture.

For our From the Reviewer’s Corner installment, I take a look at two other Scottish singers - Jim Malcolm, who sings in both Scots and English and Julie Fowlis, who sings in Gaelic.

I hope you enjoy our foray into Scotland. In our next episode, we will journey (again, metaphorically to Ireland) before returning to the Americas in Episode 5 with a look at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

For more information about:

• Ed Miller, check out his website
• Jim Malcolm, check out his website
• Julie Fowlis, check out her website and MySpace page.
• There’s also a short film about Julie

Episode Four

Episode Four - In this, the second of two podcasts recorded at the North Texas Irish Fest, we journey (at least metaphorically) to Ireland, courtesy of my four musician guests - Daire Bracken, Eamonn de Barra, Mairtin de Cogain, and Eithne Ni Chathain - all of whom also speak Irish. We discussed topics ranging from language to culture to music and the connections between all of them. Many of the issues we discuss, particularly about the preservation of language, are shared by cultures around the globe.

• Daire Bracken & Eamonn de Barra are both members of the band Slide (www.slide.ie and myspace.com/slideie)
• Eithne Ni Chathain was touring with Slide this past spring and also has a solo album (myspace.com/eithnemusic)
• Mairtin de Cogain has a solo career (www.mairtinmusic.com and myspace.com/mairtindecogain) and also tours with Captain Mackey’s Goatskin and Stringband (www.captainmackey.com) and The Fucshia Band (myspace.com/thefucshiaband)

And as always, check out Injunuity, whose song “Indentation” is our theme music  www.injunuity.net