Miss Indian New Mexico, the First Native American Woman in Space, & Albuquerque’s Bosque in Autumn

This week on New Mexico in Focus, correspondent Antonia Gonzales catches up with the newly crowned Miss Indian New Mexico. Alysia Coriz explains how she plans to use her role to inspire and engage young people to be more active in their communities.  

Senior Producer Lou DiVizio sits down with New Mexico Secretary of Indian Affairs Lynn Trujillo to talk about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Task Force, and its state response plan drafted to address the crisis of missing indigenous people.   

De Haven Solimon Chaffins grew up living with her grandparents on the Laguna Pueblo. The landscape there shaped her view of the world, the natural landscape and the Jackpile-Paguate Uranium Mine. This week, Chaffins sits down with Our Land Correspondent Laura Paskus to explain how her artwork explores the story of the mine and its impacts, including cancer-causing contamination.  

Correspondent Antonia Gonzales sits down with a Diné novelist to talk about her new book ‘Shutter,’ which follows a young woman from the Navajo Nation who becomes a forensic photographer. Author Ramona Emerson also explains why she thinks it’s so important for indigenous people to tell indigenous stories.   

And, on this Thanksgiving weekend we offer our appreciation to one of Albuquerque’s living treasures, the Bosque. This Emmy-nominated Our Land piece is a visual celebration of one of the country’s most unique and diverse public spaces.

Host: Gene Grant 

No Line opinion panel this week. 

Segments: 
2022 Miss Indian New Mexico 
Correspondent: Antonia Gonzales 
Guest: Alysia Coriz, 2022 Miss Indian New Mexico 

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons 
Correspondent: Lou DiVizio 
Guest: Lynn Trujillo, Secretary of Indian Affairs 

First Native American Woman in Space 
Correspondent: Antonia Gonzales 
Guest: Nicole Mann, NASA Astronaut, Crew Commander: SpaceX Crew-5 

Radon Daughter 
Correspondent: Laura Paskus 
Guest: De Haven Solimon Chaffins (Laguna/Zuni), artist   

‘Shutter’: Behind Navajo Novelist’s Debut Book 
Correspondent: Antonia Gonzales 
Guest: Ramona Emerson, author, filmmaker, Diné 

Albuquerque’s Bosque in Autumn 
Correspondent: Laura Paskus