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Native American Identity

From: RadioActive Youth Media
Length: 00:04:04

A mother and daughter embrace their heritage Read the full description.

Default-piece-image-2 Karleen Wolfe is half white and half Native American. Her daughter Sydney is only a quarter Sioux and Chippewa. Both struggle to fit in with their Native American friends and family in different ways. In this report on how Native Americans judge the mixed blood among them, Jesse Jacobson explores how a mother and daughter have learned to overcome prejudice and embrace their heritage.

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Piece Description

Karleen Wolfe is half white and half Native American. Her daughter Sydney is only a quarter Sioux and Chippewa. Both struggle to fit in with their Native American friends and family in different ways. In this report on how Native Americans judge the mixed blood among them, Jesse Jacobson explores how a mother and daughter have learned to overcome prejudice and embrace their heritage.

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Review of Native American Identity

This piece is pretty interesting becuase there are not a lot of people who are half Native-American and half white. Jesse doesn't really give context on what it is to be Native-American and white. Jesse should have identified them by tribe and whether or not they live in a rural or urban environment. These things do count becuase not all Native Americans have the same cultural identity. They all do things differently. This information would help us distinguish how they do things and some tribes are starting to become extinct. Another thing is that Jesse should have given some history on Sydney and Karleen. He should have given history like where did they get their white and Native-American blood from. I'm sure a lot of mixed race people can relate to Sydney and Karleen. One thing that could have made the story better would be to have different opinions from Karleen and Sydney's friends about them being half Native-American and half white. Jesse's voice was clear but a little dispassionate. His voice could have used more energy and interest in Karleen and Sydney's situation. But other than that, this piece was appealing to me. It made me think about people of a mixed race.

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Review of Native American Identity

There are some really important ideas explored in this piece, and some great interview tape. It's an acts and tracks piece that includes an interview with a mother and daughter about their mixed race identities. The insights of each woman, and the reporter, are thoughtful and engaging. But I think the piece needs some motion, some action, some energy. I think I would be more interested in the ideas if I got to know these women, just a little bit, beyond the interview setting. I would love to hear them interact with each other, or hear them in a scene within their communities, whatever that might be.

Related Website

http://www.kuow.org/weekdayhigh_2005_rep.asp