Ernestine Chaco's guest appearances

Ernestine Chaco

21st Century Native Leaders

AMERICAN DIAGNOSIS with Dr. Céline Gounder

Nancy Lublin

Anthony Smith

Mark Jones

Nicholas Bagley

Larry King

Carl Hart

Jennifer Michael Hecht

Ralph Nader

Jenny Jaffe

Hanna Pickard

Denise Pope

Gabor Maté

LOREN ANTHONY

Dana Loesch

Rory Miller

OwlTail

Brianna Johnson

In 2020, during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Zoel Zohnnie was feeling restless. Growing up on the Navajo Nation, he said, the importance of caring for family and community was instilled at an early age. So Zohnnie wanted to find a way to help members of his tribe. One need in particular stood out: water.American Indian and Alaska Native households are 3.7 times more likely to lack complete plumbing compared with households whose members do not identify as Indigenous or Black, according to a 2019 mapping report on plumbing poverty in the United States. “Climate change and excessive water use is exacerbating these struggles,” explained George McGraw, CEO of DigDeep. “Much of the western United States has been in severe drought for years. Many rivers and wells on or near the Navajo land have dried up. As groundwater recedes, people are forced to seek water from unsafe sources.”To answer that need, Zohnnie began hauling water to people who were without, and he founded Water Warriors United. In this episode, listeners come along for the ride as he ― and his truck ― make one herculean trek across snow-covered roads in New Mexico.  Episode 6 is an exploration of the root causes behind the Navajo Nation’s water accessibility challenges and a story about the water rights that some communities have effectively lost.Click here for a transcript of the episode.Voices from the Episode: Dr. Ernestine Chaco, emergency medicine physician and lawyer — TwitterBrianna Johnson, community health representative with the Naschitti Chapter, Navajo NationGeorge McGraw, CEO of DigDeep — LinkedIn, Instagram, TwitterJeanette Wolfley, assistant professor of law at the University of New Mexico — LinkedInZoel Zohnnie, founder of Collective Medicine and actor — TikTokSeason 4 of “American Diagnosis” is a co-production of KHN and Just Human Productions.  Our Editorial Advisory Board includes Jourdan Bennett-Begaye, Alastair Bitsóí, and Bryan Pollard.  

In 2020, during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Zoel Zohnnie was feeling restless. Growing up on the Navajo Nation, he said, the importance of caring for family and community was instilled at an early age. So Zohnnie wanted to find a way to help members of his tribe. One need in particular stood out: water.American Indian and Alaska Native households are 3.7 times more likely to lack complete plumbing compared with households whose members do not identify as Indigenous or Black, according to a 2019 <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331616690_Plumbing_Poverty_Mapping_Hot_Spots_of_Racial_and_Geographic_Inequality_in_US_Household_Water_Insecurity" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">mapping report</a> on plumbing poverty in the United States. “Climate change and excessive water use is exacerbating these struggles,” explained George McGraw, CEO of <a href="https://www.digdeep.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">DigDeep</a>. “Much of the western United States has been in severe drought for years. Many rivers and wells on or near the Navajo land have dried up. As groundwater recedes, people are forced to seek water from unsafe sources.”To answer that need, Zohnnie began hauling water to people who were without, and he founded <a href="https://www.collectivemedicine.net/water-warriors-united" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Water Warriors United</a>. In this episode, listeners come along for the ride as he ― and his truck ― make one herculean trek across snow-covered roads in New Mexico.  Episode 6 is an exploration of the root causes behind the Navajo Nation’s water accessibility challenges and a story about the water rights that some communities have effectively lost.<a href="https://khn.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/ADXs4e6-TRANSCRIPT.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click here for a transcript of the episode.</a>Voices from the Episode: <ul><li>Dr. Ernestine Chaco, emergency medicine physician and lawyer — <a href="https://twitter.com/ernestine_chaco" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li><li>Brianna Johnson, community health representative with the Naschitti Chapter, Navajo Nation</li><li>George McGraw, CEO of <a href="http://www.digdeep.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">DigDeep</a> —<a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/georgemcgraw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> LinkedIn</a>,<a href="https://www.instagram.com/gmcginge/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Instagram</a>,<a href="https://twitter.com/GMcGinge" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Twitter</a></li><li>Jeanette Wolfley, assistant professor of law at the University of New Mexico —<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanette-wolfley-46578180" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> LinkedIn</a></li><li>Zoel Zohnnie, founder of <a href="https://www.collectivemedicine.net/water-warriors-united" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Collective Medicine</a> and actor —<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@zoelzohnnie" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> TikTok</a></li></ul>Season 4 of “American Diagnosis” is a co-production of KHN and Just Human Productions.  Our Editorial Advisory Board includes <a href="https://twitter.com/jourdanbb?lang=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jourdan Bennett-Begaye</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/alastairbitsoi" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Alastair Bitsóí</a>, and <a href="http://cherokee_editor/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bryan Pollard</a>.

S4E6 / Right to Water / Ernestine Chaco, Brianna Johnson, George McGraw, Jeanette Wolfley, Zoel Zohnnie

Travel to the forests outside the Grand Canyon to follow Dr. Sophina Calderon and other Navajo Nation leaders as covid-19 tests the Diné people. Roughly 30% of the homes on the Navajo Nation rely on wood-burning stoves for heat. Many of those households haul wood from nearby forests. That’s what Calderon was doing when she realized the pandemic’s reach wouldn’t stop at the hospital — it was going to create a heating crisis too. This episode explores root causes behind why some citizens of the Navajo Nation lack access to electricity and other infrastructure, and how so-called social determinants of health made the Diné so vulnerable to the first surges of the pandemic.Click here for a transcript of the episode.Voices from the episode:Dr. Sophina Calderón — @calderonsophinaJill Jim, Ph.D. — LinkedInDr. Ernestine Chaco — @Ernestine_ChacoEpisode 1 includes audio of pine siskin birds recorded in Coconino, Arizona, courtesy of contributor Parker Davis via the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (ML153777441).Season 4 of “American Diagnosis” is a co-production of KHN and Just Human Productions.Our Editorial Advisory Board includes Jourdan Bennett-Begaye, Alastair Bitsóí, and Bryan Pollard.

Travel to the forests outside the Grand Canyon to follow Dr. Sophina Calderon and other Navajo Nation leaders as covid-19 tests the Diné people. Roughly 30% of the homes on the Navajo Nation rely on wood-burning stoves for heat. Many of those households haul wood from nearby forests. That’s what Calderon was doing when she realized the pandemic’s reach wouldn’t stop at the hospital — it was going to create a heating crisis too. This episode explores root causes behind why some citizens of the Navajo Nation lack access to electricity and other infrastructure, and how so-called social determinants of health made the Diné so vulnerable to the first surges of the pandemic.<a href="https://khn.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/ADXs4e1-TRANSCRIPT.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click here for a transcript of the episode.</a>Voices from the episode:<ul><li>Dr. Sophina Calderón — <a href="https://twitter.com/calderonsophina" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@calderonsophina</a></li><li>Jill Jim, Ph.D. — <a href="http://linkedin.com/in/jill-jim" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li><li>Dr. Ernestine Chaco — <a href="https://twitter.com/ernestine_chaco" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@Ernestine_Chaco</a></li></ul>Episode 1 includes audio of <a href="https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/153777441" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">pine siskin</a> birds recorded in Coconino, Arizona, courtesy of contributor Parker Davis via the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (ML153777441).Season 4 of “American Diagnosis” is a co-production of KHN and Just Human Productions.Our Editorial Advisory Board includes Jourdan Bennett-Begaye, Alastair Bitsóí, and Bryan Pollard.

S4E1 / It's Up to You / Sophina Calderon, Ernestine Chaco, Jill Jim

In podcast episode 129, Dr. Ernestine Chaco (Navajo) talks about how she completed her juris doctorate and medical degree simultaneously. She shares some of the specific details about each degree and provides some tips to successfully complete each degree. This is one of the most amazing stories I have heard.  Dr. Chaco is available to speak with students. Contact her on Facebook.

In podcast episode 129, Dr. Ernestine Chaco (Navajo) talks about how she completed her juris doctorate and medical degree simultaneously. She shares some of the specific details about each degree and provides some tips to successfully complete each degree. This is one of the most amazing stories I have heard.  Dr. Chaco is available to speak with students. Contact her on Facebook.

Dr. Ernestine Chaco, J.D. and M.D.