{"id":199349,"date":"2025-08-18T00:00:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T05:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=199349"},"modified":"2025-08-18T11:49:23","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T16:49:23","slug":"native-america-calling-native-in-the-spotlight-with-michael-steven-wilson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2025\/08\/18\/native-america-calling-native-in-the-spotlight-with-michael-steven-wilson\/","title":{"rendered":"Native America Calling: Native in the Spotlight with Michael Steven Wilson"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"card mb-2\">\r\n  <div class=\"row\">\r\n    <div class=\"col-md-4 align-self-center\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/nativeamericacalling.jpg\" class=\"img-fluid\" alt=\"native america calling\"\/>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"col-md-8\">\r\n      <div class=\"card-body\">\r\n        <div class=\"h5-responsive card-title\">Native America Calling<\/div>\r\n        <div>\r\n           Listen to Native America Calling every weekday at 1pm Eastern.\r\n        <\/div>\r\n        <div>\r\n          <!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\r\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-1859-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/playerservices.streamtheworld.com\/api\/livestream-redirect\/NV1.mp3\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/playerservices.streamtheworld.com\/api\/livestream-redirect\/NV1.mp3\">http:\/\/playerservices.streamtheworld.com\/api\/livestream-redirect\/NV1.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>\r\n\t\t\tAlternate Links: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nv1.org\/\">Native Voice One<\/a> |\r\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nativeamericacalling.com\/\">NAC<\/a>\r\n\t\t\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\"><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Monday, August 18, 2025<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source-links\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nativeamericacalling.com\/\"><i class=\"fas fa-link fa-xs\"><\/i> nativeamericacalling.com<\/a>\r\n&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/nativeamericacalling\/\"><i class=\"fab fa-instagram fa-xs\"><\/i> nativeamericacalling<\/a>\r\n&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nativeamericacalling\"><i class=\"fab fa-facebook fa-xs\"><\/i> nativeamericacalling<\/a>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">  Native in the Spotlight: Michael Steven Wilson<\/div>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/uncpress.org\/author\/130569-michael-steven-wilson\/\">Michael Steven Wilson<\/a> (Tohono O\u2019odham) was a lay pastor on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tonation-nsn.gov\/\">Tohono O\u2019odham Nation<\/a> in the early 2000s when he started putting out water for migrants crossing into the United States   from Mexico. \r\n<p><\/p>\r\nWilson considered it a religious and ethical calling. But it put him at odds with U.S. immigration officials, his church &#8212; and even his own Native nation. \r\n<p><\/p>\r\nGrowing up in Tucson, Arizona, in the 1950s, Wilson endured racism and poverty. He witnessed injustice in South America while serving in the military &#8212; and he confronted questions about his Christian faith while in seminary school in the &#8217;90s. \r\n<p><\/p>\r\nWilson&#8217;s experiences and observations informed his decision to help relieve the suffering of the migrants risking their lives to cross the Sonoran Desert. All are   documented in the memoir, <a href=https:\/\/amzn.to\/45xUrB7><em>What Side Are You On? A Tohono O&#8217;odham Life across Borders<\/em><\/a>. [PDF: <a href=https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2025\/08\/18\/native-america-calling-native-in-the-spotlight-with-michael-steven-wilson\/whatsideareyouon-2\/>Flyer from The University of North Carolina Press<\/a>]\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nWilson is Native America Calling&#8217;s August Native in the Spotlight.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<div class=row><div class=col-7>\r\n <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/45xUrB7\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"2416\" data-attachment-id=\"199354\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2025\/08\/18\/native-america-calling-native-in-the-spotlight-with-michael-steven-wilson\/whatsideareyouon\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/18\/whatsideareyouon.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1600,2416\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-title=\"What Side Are You On?: A Tohono O&amp;#8217;odham Life across Borders\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;What Side Are You On?: A Tohono O&amp;#8217;odham Life across Borders&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=https:\/\/amzn.to\/4fN42Ye&gt;What Side Are You On?: A Tohono O&amp;#8217;odham Life across Borders&lt;\/a&gt; by Michael Steven Wilson (&lt;a href=https:\/\/uncpress.org\/9781469675589\/what-side-are-you-on\/&gt;The University of North Carolina Press 2024&lt;\/a&gt;) &lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/18\/whatsideareyouon.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/18\/whatsideareyouon.jpg\" alt=\"What Side Are You On?: A Tohono O&#039;odham Life across Borders\"   class=\"size-full wp-image-199354\" \/><\/a>\r\n<\/div><div class=\"col-5 align-self-end\">\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\"> <a href=https:\/\/amzn.to\/45xUrB7>What Side Are You On?: A Tohono O&#8217;odham Life across Borders<\/a> by Michael Steven Wilson (<a href=https:\/\/uncpress.org\/9781469675589\/what-side-are-you-on\/>The University of North Carolina Press 2024<\/a>) <\/figcaption>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-pdfemb-pdf-embedder-viewer\"><a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/18\/WhatSideAreYouOn.pdf\" class=\"pdfemb-viewer\" style=\"\" data-width=\"max\" data-height=\"max\" data-toolbar=\"both\" data-toolbar-fixed=\"on\">What Side Are You On?: A Tohono O&#8217;odham Life across Borders<\/a><\/div>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2025\/08\/18\/native-america-calling-native-in-the-spotlight-with-michael-steven-wilson\/tohonooodhamnation\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-199381\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1536\" data-attachment-id=\"199381\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2025\/08\/18\/native-america-calling-native-in-the-spotlight-with-michael-steven-wilson\/tohonooodhamnation\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/18\/tohonooodhamnation.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2048,1536\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-title=\"Tohono O&amp;#8217;odham Nation\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Tohono O&amp;#8217;odham Nation&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;A fence of the Tohono O&amp;#8217;odham Nation denotes the border between the United States and Mexico. Photo: &lt;a href=https:\/\/flickr.com\/photos\/55007346@N06\/5101130350\/&gt;Jeffrey D. Hendricks \/ Meditations on the Collapse&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/18\/tohonooodhamnation.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/18\/tohonooodhamnation.jpg\" alt=\"Tohono O&#039;odham Nation\" class=\"size-full wp-image-199381\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\"> A fence of the Tohono O&#8217;odham Nation denotes the border between the United States and Mexico. Photo: <a href=https:\/\/flickr.com\/photos\/55007346@N06\/5101130350\/>Jeffrey D. Hendricks \/ Meditations on the Collapse<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/show\/4RE6juPYr7cl2Zsmb2zjq7?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"232\" frameBorder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\"><\/iframe>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">All Episodes on <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/4RE6juPYr7cl2Zsmb2zjq7?si=2a56e59533534bf9\">Spotify<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nativeamericacalling.com\/subscribe-to-podcast\/\">More Options<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Michael Steven Wilson was a lay pastor on the Tohono O\u2019odham Nation when he started putting out water for migrants crossing the border.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":199381,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1,23],"tags":[42,111,45,697,243,550,6681,25,133,61,134,278,41],"class_list":["post-199349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-world","tag-arizona","tag-books","tag-borders","tag-immigration","tag-media","tag-mexico","tag-michael-steven-wilson","tag-military","tag-native-america-calling","tag-racism","tag-radio","tag-religion","tag-tohono-oodham","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/18\/tohonooodhamnation.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-PRj","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199349"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":199382,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199349\/revisions\/199382"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}