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Playlist: Native American Heritage Month

Compiled By: PRX Editors

 Credit:
Curated Playlist

Nov. is Native American Heritage Month.

Below are picks chosen by PRX editorial staff. You can see all potential pieces by using our search.

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Hour (49:00-1:00:00)

Native Living: A Sacred Dance Between a River and It's People

From Minnie Sagar | 48:38

A documentary that takes an in-depth look at how natural resource management practices are impacting the Karuk tribal ancestral territory.

Salmon_baking_small A documentary that takes an in depth look at how natural resource management practices are impacting the Karuk tribal ancestral territory.  Karuk tribal members share their expertise as fishermen and gatherers while emphasizing the sacred relationship that the tribe still has with the land.

Coming Home: the Return of the Alutiiq Masks

From Native Voice One | 53:56

A dramatic story of a culture saving its lost art and history comes to life with in the special edition of Koahnic Broadcast Corporation's national program, Earthsongs.

199unartulik3_small A dramatic story of a culture saving its lost art and history comes to life with in the special edition of Koahnic Broadcast Corporation's national program, Earthsongs. This one-hour radio documentary project, set to release in November 2008, stems from a partnership with United States Artist (USA) Rockefeller Fellow and George Peabody Award-Winning Artist, Dmae Roberts and Koahnic's Earthsongs Host and Producer, Shyanne Beatty. The documentary details the long-sought return of the Alutiiq Masks from France to Kodiak. In the winter of 1872, a French anthropologist, Alphonse Pinart, traveled the Kodiak archipelago, assembling one of the world?s most extensive collections of Alutiiq ceremonial masks, and brought them back to France. In May, 2008, 34 of these Alutiiq ceremonial masks were returned to their people and exhibited at The Alutiiq Museum in Kodiak, Alaska. The documentary features artists who helped make the return possible and unveils secrets of the masks that unlocked song, stories and forgotten language once thought lost. The complex, sound-rich production features triptych storytelling, compelling interviews and music from Kodiak Island where Alutiiq/Sugpiaq peoples are undergoing a cultural renaissance. Dmae Roberts (www.dmaeroberts.com) is a two-time Peabody award-winning radio producer living in Portland, OR. She won the USA fellowship and the Asian American Journalists Association's award for civil rights and social justice. She won her second Peabody for her eight-hour Asian American history series, Crossing East. Shyanne Beatty is Hangwichin Athabascan who grew up in a subsistence lifestyle in Eagle, Alaska where the Yukon River meets the Alaska/Canadian border. She began her career in 1999 as a Production Assistant fellow for Koahnic Broadcast Corporation. She is now Koahnic?s traveling media instructor and weekly host of Earthsongs. Koahnic Broadcast Corporation (www.knba.org), the country's leading Native media enterprise, operates four divisions: KNBA 90.3 FM, the country's only urban, Native public radio station; national radio programming including National Native News, Earthsongs and Native America Calling; and Native Voice One (NV1), the Native American radio service.

HV142- Solidod

From Hearing Voices | Part of the Hearing Voices series | 54:00

The Life and Times of Solidod Woods, the last remaining member of her village of Mescalero Apache who lived on the edge of Death Valley.

142solidod200_small Book oover: An Apache Original: The Life And Times Of Solidod

The Life and Times of Solidod, the last remaining member of her village of Mescalero Apache who lived on the edge of Death Valley.

HV editor Larry Massett helped our friend Solidad publish her new e-book, An Apache Original: The Life and Times of Solidod.

Larry composed and performed the piano music in this radio hour.

Solidod is in her 80s and tells about 300 years of her life stories in the book. Here's an excerpt from Larry's...

Introduction

When I first met Solidod she was living alone in a tiny room in a rather depressing subsidized-income apartment complex in Florida. She herself was anything but depressing, though. A few minutes after we met she showed me the little knife she carries with her in her buckskin purse. "But Solidod," I said, "that's kind of a dangerous knife, isn't it?" I said- meaning, dangerous for an 80-year woman. "Yeah, it's sharp," she laughed, "but it would be better if it was rusty. So the cut would get infected in case I stab somebody."

Wow, tough lady. Tough, but also funny, curious, brimming with energy, and a world-class storyteller. As she told me about the adventures of her life I realized she's been everywhere and done just about everything: horse-trainer, bodyguard, trans-Atlantic sailor, carpenter, gardener, artist, you name it. And she's busy. She spends her days zipping around town selling the t-shirts she paints and the jewelry she makes, checking on old friends and chatting up new ones. Most people her age seem to be winding down; Solidod's just getting started...

Me and my Indian, my husband; painting by Solidod
Me and my Indian, my husband; painting by Solidod.

Several of Solidod's paintings accompany the book. Here's a few paragraphs from chapter one:

An Apache Original: The Life And Times Of Solidod

As the eagle soars high above the early dawn, he looks down on the barren boulders that surround most of the mesa. He spots a jackrabbit and a quail. Which way to go? Big is better, but quail is tastier. As he screams and dives on the quail an Indian man is coming out of his wickiup. That's the original mobile home. It's like a brush harbor only smaller. Sort of like a pup tent made out of brush.

The man walks to the edge of the mesa. It is sunrise. Going to be another one of Mother Nature's beautiful days. He sprinkles pollen to the four winds and bows his head, thanking the spirits for all his blessings. He is thinking of his family. He wonders what they are going to do for food since the government did not come through- again.

When there is very little food the Apache do not have babies. The women do not flow in hard times. This baby coming is a big surprise because it will be the only one for many moons. It is his daughter's baby. She has waited for four years for this. It will be soon now. Her father and her husband are very concerned.

The father watches the sky because he always does. He always gets up to meet the dawn. He blesses his life and the life of his family. He has a little pick at the back of his mind that tells him something is really not quite right...
Getting ready to go to the grand entry of the Pow Wow' painting by Solidod
Getting ready to go to the grand entry of the Pow Wow.

Solidod did a lot of sailing. The chapter titles chart her travels:
  • Loxahatchee, Florida
  • Casablanca
  • Virginia Beach, Virginia
  • San Salador
  • Disney World
  • St. Thomas Virgin Islands, and...

Canary Islands

We had been under sail all the way so we didn't realize that the batteries were dead. We didn't know they were old and would not hold a charge. We came upon a mountain sticking up out of the ocean. No beach or nothing just a big-assed mountain. Of course as soon as it got between us and the wind we were done for. We dropped the sail and then we had no steering. We saw a cut in the mountain and a harbor there. We let her drift toward the cut, we were headed for that big-assed mountain so what are going to do? No wind, no batteries. So I said lets get the oars out of the lifeboat and use 'em to get to the dock. The captain said you can't do that, you might puncture your ribs. Well, they might get punctured anyways so let's try it. I got on the bow and the captain got on the stern. We paddled this yacht into the harbor. There was a little man waving us off, we kept coming, he kept waving, we kept coming, now he's waving a gun. We're trying to tell him our boat is broken. He's yelling, we're yelling, and don't forget the gun. Them some guys came alongside in a launch and took our line and took us to another dock. The captain told them our batteries were dead. They said they would take them and get them charged. We thought we would never see them again, but what else could we do? They took them.

We went for a walk. Trying to get our land legs back. You know how they say you'd walk a mile for a camel, well, we walked about a mile and we saw a real camel. We also saw people living in caves. I saw a woman sweeping out in front of one. Birds were singing everywhere. There were all kinds of beautiful flowers. We got to the center of a park. They were having Cinco de Mayo, the Fifth of May. There was music, singing, and dancing. There were vendors with trinkets and food. I told the captain they must have know we were coming and were having a party for us.

We found out the next morning why the little man was so upset, there was an ocean liner berthed there. We would have been squashed to bits. We went over to thank him. He got all red in the face when we kidded him about his big gun.

The battery guys came back. One of them spoke English and he told the captain that the batteries were old and would not take a full charge. We got twelve new batteries. Six for now, six for backup. The guys wanted to take us for a tour of their town. OK. Does everybody drive on the wrong side and go hell-bent for everywhere? We went whipping round the mountains up and round the hair-raising curves, with the guys laughing. And talking all the way. Then whipping down the mountain and round the hair-raising curves. The next morning they asked us if we would like to see the phenomenon. We said yes, so here we went whipping up the mountain again. We went till the road ran out and then we walked about a quarter of a mile. There was a small cottage. There was a kid sitting outside on a rock. The guys said to give the kid a little money, so we did. A little lady came out of the house and asked us to come in. This human being had a great big head, and one eye was on top of its head and its nose was where its ear ought to be. It made noises, it had a little bitty round mouth. It had a tiny body with a big head. The lady said it was twenty-five years old. She said they wanted to destroy it but she wouldn't let them because it was God's phenomenon. The captain couldn't stand it so we went outside to wait. I didn't want to look at it much but the guys were nice to us and they thought it was something special. I didn't mind leaving there. Next the guys took us to see a lady who made goat cheese. She made us some coffee, she put some goat milk in it. UHH! I didn't mind leaving there either.

When we got back down the mountain we met some more guys. They told our guides to bring us to their houses. In the islands the houses are built like terracing. They do not have streets, just steps and sidewalks. If you ask where so and so lives, he will say so many steps up and to the left or right at the red or blue door. We went seventeen steps up and to the green door. The house was spotless. They have an open-air patio inside the house. There was a young man there who wanted to play his guitar for us. He played and sang. It was beautiful. He wanted to go to America with us. The captain said no. We did not want to be responsible for anyone else.

Then they took us to a bar. We were ready to be back on the ground. When we went in the guys told the bartender it was all right for me to be there. We were Americans. The ladies there were not allowed in the bar. They had us trying all kinds of strange things to eat. One thing I remember was a thing like a shrimp. They ate them legs and all. When it came to the squid I said thanks but no thanks.

When we got the batteries back we took the guys for a day sail. They didn't seem to know that a sailboat heels over when it is really up in the wind. They had brought us some of the food they eat and we were all on deck. The little guys puffed up like roosters when the captain let them take the helm. The boat heeled over and the food and the plates went flying around the deck. They looked at us like they didn't know what was happening. Then they understood and we all had a good laugh. We cleaned up the mess. One of the guys was stuck on me. That's what the captain said. I think he just wanted to go to America. He played a guitar and sang. The music had a strange sound to me. We did stay in the Canary Islands ten days. When we walked we saw a lot of big condos. On the balconies there were big canary cages. Every bird was trying to outsing the other one...
Me and my grandfather.  He is naming me Solidod, Daughter of the Sun.
Me and my grandfather.  He is naming me Solidod, Daughter of the Sun.

HV112- Native America

From Hearing Voices | Part of the Hearing Voices series | 54:00

A tour of our nation's First Nations: NPR's Alex Chadwick rides into the Bitterroot Mountains with Natives and Forest Service workers. We paddle the Pacific Coast with the Canoe Nations of the Northwest. And native poets Henry Real Bird, Joy Harjo, John Trudell and Keith Secola sing us the stories of their homes and ancestors.

112nativeamerica200_small

Canoes, horses, poems, and songs in the heart of Native America:

“Driftwood Feelin’” (1996 / 1:40) Henry Real Bird

From the soundtrack, The United States Of Poetry, part of the
USOP project. Music by Tomandandy.

“Nez Perce Trail: Rediscovery” (2001 / 18:56)

A National Geographic / NPR Radio Expeditions: Nez Perce tribal members and Forest Service workers travel the Nez Perce Trail on horseback, looking for lost histories and common ground. Featues Nez Perce elder Horace Axtell. Producer: Carolyn Jensen Chadwick, editor: Christopher Joyce; engineer: Suraya Mohamed.

“Indigenous Angel (feat. Ulali)” (2003 / 1:00 excerpt) RedCloud

From the CD Traveling Circus.

“Crazy Horse” (2002 / 6:01) John Trudell

From the album, Bone Days, by actor, poet, Santee Sioux, musician John Trudell.

 

“Anchorage” (2006 / 2:32) Joy Harjo

From the poet’s collection, She Had She Some Horses.

“Tribal Journey” (2005 / 11:22) Jesse Boggs

Every year the Canoe Nations of the Northwest boat trip along the Pacific coast, paddling and preserving their traditional culture on the Tribal Journeys. And check HV’s photo-audio webwork: Tribal Journey.

“4R Ancestors” (1996 / 4:31) Keith Secola & The Wild Band Of Indians

From the CD Honor – A Benefit for the Honor the Earth Campaign; and on Kieth Secola’s Wild Band of Indians.

“All My Relations” (1996 / 3:32) Ulali

Also from Honor; and on the Smoke Signals soundtrack. Ulali: MySpace.

Winona LaDuke

From American Public Media | Part of the The Promised Land series | 54:00

Winona LaDuke has spent decades working on issues of renewable energy, health, and environmental justice on northern Minnesota's White Earth Reservation and beyond. Outspoken, engaging, and unflaggingly dedicated, LaDuke introduces host Majora Carter to the pine forests, lakes, and windswept plains of her land. She talks about harnessing wind power, improving nutrition, preserving heritage crops, and a mandate to protect the land inherited from her ancestors.

Winonathumb_small

Winona LaDuke sums up the dichotomy: “Native peoples are the poorest population in North America, yet our lands are home to a wealth of resources.”

And the two-time Green Party vice presidential candidate and National Women’s Hall of Fame inductee is trying to make the most of those resources. Winona is behind many projects on the White Earth Reservation, including a wind energy project, a biodiesel ice cream truck, and the reservation's first radio station.

Winona LaDuke is founding director of White Earth Land Recovery Project, a nonprofit organization created in 1989 in order to recover land for the Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe) people. She is also program director of Honor the Earth, a national advocacy group encouraging public support and funding for native environmental groups.

 

Native American Indian Heritage Month

From Wind & Rhythm | 58:30

The description “Native American” has been in use for the past couple of decades. It was a description suggested by the US government, and as you might imagine wasn’t universally accepted by the indigenous people of this continent as of the 15th century. There is no surprise that the friction between us is deeply rooted, and hearing music that honors, well for the purpose of this program, native Americans, is simply the composers’ attempt to honor them.

Dreamcatcher_small

The mission of Wind & Rhythm is to build a community of individuals who love wind bands; to grow a wider audience for the music bands play; and to provide a venue for band members and directors to speak about their art.

To accomplish our mission we produce both on-air and on-line programming that invites listeners to reconnect with their roots as members of bands; encourages listeners to participate in community music-making; and provides for listeners an opportunity to hear the best bands in the world.

Peace Talks Radio: Native Wisdom in Parenting and Peacemaking

From Good Radio Shows, Inc. | Part of the Peace Talks Radio: Weekly Hour Long Episodes series | 58:58

In this episode, Peace Talks Radio brings together proponents of applying Native American wisdom to the family and to peace between nations.

Orenlyons_small Peace Talks: The radio series about peacemaking and nonviolent conflict resolution strategies. This is one of many newscast friendly hours that are currently available from Good Radio Shows, Inc. and producer Paul Ingles. In this episode, we bring together proponents of applying Native American wisdom both to bringing peace in the family and peace between nations. In part one, host Carol Boss talks with Laura Ramirez, author of the book "Keepers of the Children: Native American Wisdom and Parenting." In part two, we hear about The Great Law of Peace, the founding constitution of the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy from Professors Oren Lyons (pictured) and the late John Mohawk. Both of these topics are available for air in their own discrete 29:00 programs if that better suits your needs. Laura Ramirez: http://www.prx.org/pieces/12741 Great Law of Peace: http://www.prx.org/pieces/7335

Massasoit's Peace Pact with the Pilgrims: Peace Talks Radio [59:00/54:00]

From Good Radio Shows, Inc. | Part of the Peace Talks Radio: Weekly Hour Long Episodes series | 59:00

Massasoit was the leader of the Wampanoag Confederacy who negotiated a truce with British settlers of Plymouth Colony that lasted for 40 years in the 1600s, starting shortly after the first Thanksgiving. This time on Peace Talks Radio, conversation with American Indian scholars and a filmmaker who fill in the details of this Massasoit's attempt to make peace for his people and with the new strangers.

Massasoit1_small Massasoit was the leader of the Wampanoag Confederacy when English settlers landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620.  He and his people kept the Pilgrims from starving in the early years of their settlement, attended the first Thanksgiving and forged a peace treaty with the English that lasted 40 years until his death.  We'll talk with American Indian scholars Darius Coombs and Bob Charlesbois who'll fill in the details of this Native American leader's attempt to make peace for his people and with the new strangers.   Also, Native American film director Chris Eyre on his portrayal of Massasoit for the 2009 PBS television series We Shall Remain.

Iñupiaq Drum and Dance: A Cultural Renaissance

From Creative PR | 59:00

A one-hour special radio documentary about the resurgence of Iñupiaq drum and dance traditions in Alaska framed with narration, interviews, and live dance performances.

Artworks-000162524725-iaqkre-t500x500_small Earthsongs special documentary with Host/Producer Alexis Sallee (Iñupiaq)

A one-hour special radio documentary about the resurgence of Iñupiaq drum and dance traditions in Alaska framed with narration, interviews, and live dance performances.

Alaska Native music and dance traditions are unique expressions of culture and spirituality. Each village has its own unique style of dance and music, reflective of a place in its geographic environment and history. In the 1960s and 70s, the Iñupiat were among the many Native communities who joined together to stand up against the repression of culture and threat on Native lands by the state. A resurgence began and led to a cultural renaissance for many Alaska Native tribes, alongside the civil rights movement and the influential 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which created several Native regional economic development corporations. This documentary introduces us to the Iñupiaq people who carry on these traditions of song and dance, while sharing stories of their ancestors.

Edge of the Rez, Hour One

From Geoff Norcross | 59:01

A documentary exploring the lives of Native American and non-Native people who live in Northern Arizona towns neighboring the Hopi and Navajo Nations.

Edgerez_small EDGE OF THE REZ is a two hour long documentary produced by KNAU, Arizona Public Radio. The series profiles the people who straddle two sometimes disparate worlds living in towns that neighbor the Hopi and Navajo reservations in northern Arizona. It explores tough issues including education, alcoholism, religion and racism through the compelling, often emotional, personal stories of both native and non-native people who live on the ?edge of the rez.? Hour One of EDGE OF THE REZ begins in Farmington, New Mexico, where hundreds of Navajos recently held a peaceful march to protest discrimination in border towns. We profile a Navajo/African American singer who grew up traditionally on the reservation, as well as a bicultural Indian trading family that spans two generations. We also tackle the thorny issue of alcoholism, and explore what two border towns are doing to address the problem.

We Shall Remain One-Hour Special

From Native Public Media | Part of the We Shall Remain series | 59:02

Note: There are two other versions of We Shall Remain; a half-hour feature and a series of five 5-min cutaways.

Who is an Indian? And who decides? Based on what criteria? The thorny politics of tribal enrollment - create tensions between mixed-race Indians and those who consider themselves culturally "purer" effecting the future of Native sovereignty.

Weshall_small

A compilation of the five 5-minute features, plus

Warrior Tradition, a bonus feature from Brian Bull, and

 Native American Media Leaders, how Tribal Radio Stations are serving their communities


Half-Hour (24:00-30:00)

Adaptation, Survival, Gratitude: a Lumbee Thanksgiving (Gravy Ep. 1)

From Southern Foodways Alliance | Part of the Gravy Podcast series | 24:21

For Thanksgiving, a Native American story… but not the one you’re imagining. No Pilgrims here. For the Lumbee Indians in North Carolina, the holiday meal involves cornbread, collards and a whole lot of pork. The Lumbee food story is a portal to a hybrid Southern-Native history that’s rarely glimpsed outside the tribe.

Photo-6_small

At this point, most of us know the Thanksgiving story about the Pilgrims and the Indians happily indulging in a joint feast is a vast oversimplification of what actually happened. 

But how many of us still have an idea of Native people that’s stuck in the past? “People didn’t believe that I was Native because I was from North Carolina,” Lumbee Indian Malinda Maynor Lowery says. “The only thing they learned about Indians in school, maybe, was that we were removed from the Southeast.”

In this first episode of Gravy, meet a tribe of Indians who are very much still in the Southeast– and whose food reflects a distinct hybrid of Southern and Native history. The Lumbee’s story is one that spans centuries, and includes new windows into periods you may think you know– like the Jim Crow era. Plus something you’ll be eager to eat: the collard sandwich.

Native American Education

From WDSE | Part of the Community Conversations series | 30:14

Dr. Linda LeGarde Grover, an associate professor of American Indian studies at UMD, and Edye Howes, Coordinator of the Indian Education department of the Duluth Public Schools join us for a conversation about Native American heritage in Minnesota’s schools: a look at what and how Minnesota’s Native heritage is passed on to the next generation.

Native_american_small Dr. Linda LeGarde Grover, an associate professor of American Indian studies at UMD, and Edye Howes, Coordinator of the Indian Education department of the Duluth Public Schools join us for a conversation about Native American heritage in Minnesota’s schools: a look at what and how Minnesota’s Native heritage is passed on to the next generation.

What's the Word? Honors National American Indian and Alaska-Native Heritage Month (Series)

Produced by Modern Language Association

Two half-hour programs honoring National American Indian and Alaska-Native Heritage Month.

Most recent piece in this series:

What's the Word? "Voices from the Ojibwe Nation"

From Modern Language Association | Part of the What's the Word? Honors National American Indian and Alaska-Native Heritage Month series | 29:00

Wtw-logo-brown_anna_preferred_small
Anton Treuer talks about the Ojibwe oral tradition and his work to preserve the Ojibwe language;

Kimberly Blaeser discusses poetry's role in Ojibwe life and culture;

Gordon Henry traces the roots of Ojibwe fiction and speaks about the work of Louise Erdrich.

Evergreen

Well-suited to National American Indian and Alaska-Native Heritage Month in November

Thirty- and fifteen-second promos available.

This piece has a companion, What's the Word? "American Indian and Alaska-Native Tribal Traditions".


Legends (Series)

Produced by Native Voice One

A storytelling series featuring stories from various Native American nations/tribes, "Legends" is hosted by storyteller Elbert TwoPonies, who ensures that the stories are entertaining, but also have lessons on how to live and how things came to be.

Most recent piece in this series:

Legends: Star Stories

From Native Voice One | Part of the Legends series | 28:58

Elbertphoto_small Legends is a storytelling show. It features stories from various Native American Nations/Tribes, hosted by storyteller Elbert TwoPonies.
 
The stories are entertaining and give explanations for how things came to be. Theses stories taught people how to live in their clans and tribes.
 
Today, there is a need for stories that speak to us. It is hoped that the listener will hold one or more of these stories in his or her heart and mind and tell it to others. A meaningful story becomes a personal friend, something that speaks to one in times of trouble and helps you get through a difficult day. These stories entertain us and can help us in life, regardless of our heritage.
 
Each story is there to help all of us that are willing to listen; tell the story and pass it on to someone else.


Elbert Dee Walston TwoPonies (Cherokee, Comanche) was born in Slaton, Texas in 1951.  In 1972 he was taught how to tell stories in the Native American tradition by John TwoPonies, a Northern Cheyenne man who was living on the Dine' Reservation in Arizona. Elbert TwoPonies realized that the stories are very entertaining, but also have lessons, instructions on how to live and how things came to be.
 
In 1997 Elbert TwoPonies began telling stories on his internet radio station in hopes of giving the stories to a larger audience. He tells stories from different nations that he believes will help the listeners. It is his hope that when people listen to the stories, one or more of those stories will speak to them and that people will learn the stories, tell them to others, and pass them on.  The retelling of the stories will keep them alive.

Peaceful Parenting: Native American Wisdom (PeaceTalks Radio Series)

From Good Radio Shows, Inc. | Part of the Peace Talks Radio: Weekly Half Hour Episodes series | 29:01

Author Laura Ramirez talks about applying Native American Wisdom to parenting including the special challenges of raising children of mixed racial background.

Laurahead1_small On this program, the third in our Peace Talks series on Peaceful Parenting, we talk with Laura Ramirez, author of the book "Keepers of the Children: Native American Wisdom and Parenting." Ramirez' husband is a member of the Pasquayaki Tribe. In her book, she uses little known Native American concepts and teaching stories to show parents how to raise children to unfold the gifts within their hearts. By teaching children how to create fulfilling lives, she says, parents deepen their sense of satisfaction with their own. She offers observations on the challenge of raising bi-racial children. Carol Bost hosts the program.

What's the Word? "Voices from the Ojibwe Nation"

From Modern Language Association | Part of the What's the Word? Honors National American Indian and Alaska-Native Heritage Month series | 29:00

Three members of Ojibwe communities, which reach from Michigan to Montana in the United States and from Quebec to Saskatchewan in Canada, share their rich literary history.

Wtw-logo-brown_anna_preferred_small
Anton Treuer talks about the Ojibwe oral tradition and his work to preserve the Ojibwe language;

Kimberly Blaeser discusses poetry's role in Ojibwe life and culture;

Gordon Henry traces the roots of Ojibwe fiction and speaks about the work of Louise Erdrich.

Evergreen

Well-suited to National American Indian and Alaska-Native Heritage Month in November

Thirty- and fifteen-second promos available.

This piece has a companion, What's the Word? "American Indian and Alaska-Native Tribal Traditions".


Peacekeeping Traditions of the Iroquois Confederacy (Peace Talks Radio Series)

From Good Radio Shows, Inc. | Part of the Peace Talks Radio: Weekly Half Hour Episodes series | 29:01

Hear about The Great Law of Peace, the founding constitution of the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy. Also known as the Haudenosaunee, the confederacy, according to oral tradition, came together in ancient times through the efforts of one who came to be known as the Peacemaker.

Orenlyons_small On this edition of Peace Talks, we hear about The Great Law of Peace, the founding constitution of the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy. Also known as the Haudenosaunee, the confederacy, according to oral tradition, came together in ancient times through the efforts of one who came to be known as the Peacemaker. We?ll be hearing the story of the Peacemaker today from Oren Lyons (pictured), Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan, Onondaga Council of Chiefs of the Haudenosaunee. Lyons, an American Studies professor at State University of New York at Buffalo, tells us more about the principles of the great law of peace. In addition, we?ll be featuring comments from John Mohawk, also a professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He?s been active in diplomatic circles for the Seneca nation for years as well as being a farmer, writer and magazine editor. John Mohawk expands on the peace principles and talk about how they could be applied by individuals and other nations, to help create a more peaceful world today.

The 'Discovery' of North America

From With Good Reason | 28:59

Two Native American scholars explore how the Europeans' "Doctrine of Discovery" has affected American Indian nations from 1607 to today.

Pamlicovillage_small When the British planted a cross and their flag on territory previously unclaimed by European nations, they were, Chief Justice John Marshall would later say, exercising a right of discovery that extended back to the 15th-century colonization by Spain and Portugal of non-Christian lands.  Historian Robert J. Miller and Karenne Wood (Virginia Foundation for the Humanities) explain how this "discovery doctrine" has affected American Indian nations from 1607 to today.  Also: Encyclopedia Virginia is an authoritative and dynamic online resource that explores the people, places, and history of the Commonwealth. John Kneebone and  Matthew Gibson  (Virginia Foundation for the Humanities) discuss the how Encyclopedia Virginia provides a platform for discovering and learning about Virginia.


Segments (9:00-23:59)

The RPM Podcast (Series)

Produced by Christa Couture

Indigenous music and culture meet in sound. Each episode gives voice to the music, stories, and experiences of indigenous artists from around the world by exploring a place, idea, or tradition that inspires their songs and people.

Most recent piece in this series:

RPM Podcast #014: “Mesoamerica”

From Christa Couture | Part of the The RPM Podcast series | 21:33

Rpm-mesoamerica1_small

On the flags of Canada and U.S.A. there’s nothing that speaks of pre-colonial times – nothing to symbolize the long history of Indigenous peoples on these lands. But look at the flag of Mexico and see smack in the middle a golden eagle with a serpent in its claws. That is an Aztec symbol.

Scholars like to talk about the Aztec civilization as though it’s a thing of the past, but as the flag suggests Aztec culture is alive and kicking with a rhythmic revolution.

Yaotl shares how being Indigenous has shaped his experiences, identity and music, and how he seeks to “see tomorrow”. Zero describes the magic that happened when creating music joined his cultural knowledge and where to El Vuh has taken their work.

Check out their music and conversations with Ostwelve.

Saints and Indians

From Homelands Productions | Part of the Worlds of Difference series | 15:40

Winner of the 2006 Edward R. Murrow Award for best national news documentary, Saints & Indians tells the story of a program that placed thousands of Navajo children in Mormon foster homes.

Girls_small Between 1954 and 1996, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sponsored a program for American Indian children. The Indian Student Placement Program had two aims: to provide Native children with an education and to help the Church fulfill one of its central prophecies. According to Mormon teachings, American Indians are descendants of the ancient House of Israel and Church members have a responsibility to help bring them back to the Kingdom of God. More than 20,000 children from more than 60 tribes were baptized and enrolled in the Placement program. For some, it was a chance to overcome the stresses of reservation life. For others, it was a repudiation of their identity. For everyone, it was a life-changing experience. Producer Kate Davidson spent a year talking with people involved in Placement. The story that emerged is a complicated one -- about culture, power, identity and belief.

A Peculiar Wilderness

From Lisa Matuska | 13:44

Chicago's Native American community transforms a tiny medicine garden into an urban wilderness.

Img_0018_small The sounds you hear surrounding the American Indian Center on Chicago's Northside are those of any urban street corner- cars, dogs, footsteps and busses. But one sound you can't hear is that of a tiny garden. Each spring the garden begins to show signs of last season's work- medicinal plants and herbs. As the plants grow so do the stories they tell about Chicago's Native American community- the 3rd largest urban native population in the country. These are stories of the tradition, migration, and growth of this community and the transformation of their wilderness from native lands to an urban wilderness; a more peculiar wilderness.

 

Walking High Steel: Mohawk Ironworkers at the Twin Towers

From The Kitchen Sisters | Part of the The Sonic Memorial Project: 5 Stories series | 15:18

Mohawk ironworkers built some of the most recognizable buildings in NYC, including the Twin Towers.

Twintowers_small The Empire State Building, the George Washington Bridge, the World Trade Center—for over a hundred years Mohawk ironworkers have traveled to New York City to help shape the city's skyline. As part of the Sonic Memorial Project, producer Jamie York visited the two Mohawk reserves to gather sound and stories about the legacy of Mohawk ironworkers.

People Without A Nation

From Charles McGuigan | 09:58

There are eleven tribes of Indians who call Virginia home, among them the Chickahominy. And though they all now enjoy state recognition, the federal government doesn’t believe they exist.

Chickahominy__tribe__medium_small In Virginia, there are eleven Indian tribes, some several thousand people in all. Yet the United States doesn’t believe they exist. The seeds of this denial were planted in the early years of the last century by one man with a narrow vision and unrestrained power. Charles McGuigan recently visited the Indian Council Grounds in Charles City, Virginia and heard the story from one of the assistant chiefs of the Chickahominy tribe.


Cutaways (5:00-8:59)

Minnesota Native News (Series)

Produced by Ampers

Each week Minnesota Native News looks at social, economic, cultural, health issues and more facing Minnesota’s Native American communities. By informing and educating all Minnesotans about events, activities, and issues in Minnesota’s Native American communities this program interweaves the Native American culture into the rest of the communities of the state.

Most recent piece in this series:

The Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center Welcomes New CEO

From Ampers | Part of the Minnesota Native News series | 05:00

Miwrc_logo_small This week, the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resources Center (MIWRC) welcomed Ruth Anna Buffalo, the organization's new CEO.

Living the Ojibwe Way of Life (Series)

Produced by KOJB 90.1 FM The eagle

A look at the Ojibwe way of living in the wild off of what nature provides for us.

Most recent piece in this series:

Funerals 3

From KOJB 90.1 FM The eagle | Part of the Living the Ojibwe Way of Life series | 09:57

Defaultimage_small Funerals 3 – the burial day preparations.

Where Does the Washington Football Team's Controversial Name Come From?

From Lauren Ober | 06:14

For the past few years, the Washington Redskins have been embroiled in battle after battle over its team name. Lots of people object to the name on the grounds that it's a racist epithet from a bygone era. But before engaging in the debate, it helps to understand the origin of the word "redskin" and how it came to be seen as offensive. Many claim that the word harkens back to the days when Indians were scalped for bounties, but as Lauren Ober reports, the word's genesis might come as a surprise. Originally aired on WAMU's Metro Connection, April 11, 2014.

Redskins_small For the past few years, the Washington Redskins have been embroiled in battle after battle over its team name. Lots of people object to the name on the grounds that it's a racist epithet from a bygone era. But before engaging in the debate, it helps to understand the origin of the word "redskin" and how it came to be seen as offensive. Many claim that the word harkens back to the days when Indians were scalped for bounties, but as Lauren Ober reports, the word's genesis might come as a surprise. Originally aired on WAMU's Metro Connection, April 11, 2014.

Something To Keep

From Salt Institute for Documentary Studies | 06:35

Two Native American women try to convince their tribe to hold on to their traditions.

Default-piece-image-1 Two members of the Penobscot tribe in Maine are trying to preserve the traditions passed down for hundreds of years.  But they're discovering that's easier said than done.

Winona's Words...an Op-Ed Radio Program with Winona LaDuke (Series)

Produced by KKWE Niijii Radio

Winona LaDuke is an Anishinaabe activist, environmentalist, economist, and writer, known for her work on tribal land claims and preservation, as well as sustainable development. She is from the White Earth Nation.

Most recent piece in this series:

Dark Times and Hitting Reset

From KKWE Niijii Radio | Part of the Winona's Words...an Op-Ed Radio Program with Winona LaDuke series | 05:45

14642475_1208477385866864_5355447036716185073_n_small Recorded on 12.19.2017 The opinions stated in this piece do not reflect the opinions and statements from KKWE Niijii Broadcasting.

Nothing To Cheer About

From Salt Institute for Documentary Studies | 07:34

Sports teams across the country are considering whether it’s appropriate to use Native Americans as mascots. Allison Swaim brings us the story of a high school in Old Town, Maine—the home of the Penobscot tribe.

Radioill112008__2046_-_version_2_small Louis Sockalexis from the Penobscot tribe in Maine was the first Native American baseball player to make it to the big leagues. In fact, the Cleveland Indians are named in his honor.  A century later, however, sports teams across the country are considering whether it’s appropriate to use Native Americans as mascots. Allison Swaim brings us the story of a high school in Old Town, Maine—the home of the Penobscot tribe.

Identity

From Native Public Media | Part of the We Shall Remain series | 05:00

Note: this is one of 5 5-min pieces in the series. There are also half-hour and hour-long versions of We Shall Remain.

Who is an Indian? And who decides? Based on what criteria? The thorny politics of tribal enrollment - create tensions between mixed-race Indians and those who consider themselves culturally "purer" effecting the future of Native sovereignty.

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Indentity examines the controversial question,  “Who is an Indian?” Who should define who is Indian, and based on what criteria? In the last census more than 4.1 million Americans reported some Indian blood;  2.5 million reported only Native American. Most Native American tribes base membership on blood quantum; a Federally imposed definition on Indians. Most Tribes define membership based on a minimum of ? blood quantum. Some extreme leaders feel that marrying outside the tribe means that children could lose citizenship in the tribe. Many Indians criticize this bureaucratic approach to identity.  The complicated politics of tribal enrollment also creates tensions between mixed race Indians and those who consider themselves  culturally “purer” because of their high blood quantum. Today children are born who do not have enough “blood quantum” in any tribe to be enrolled but are considered part of the Indian community. T he issue has become even more complicated thanks to the vast sums of money introduced by Native gaming.  In some cases people are removed from Tribal rolls. Who  and how these issues  are decided is key to the future of sovereignty. 

Voices:
Attorney Patrick Guillory,  a Muskogee Native , successfully represented disenrolled Tribal members and founder of Mixed Race Nations, an organization working with urban youth.
Wintun leader, Caleen Sisk Franco
Anthropologist Susan Lobo, author of “Urban Indians”
Joe Garcia, President of the National Congress of American Indians.
Morningstar Gali, SF Bay Area Urban Indian leader.

 

Cigarette losers: Native Americans who don't profit from untaxed cigarettes

From Charles Lane | 06:03

The new federal tax on cigarettes makes untaxed cigarettes on Indian reservations that much more appealing. But this investigative feature reveals not everyone benefits from the booming cigarette trade.

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There is also an audio slide show available: http://2ndwindow.org/slideshows/poospatuck4/.  Embedable html code is below.

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The Termination of the Klamath Tribes

From KLCC | 07:14

This is an audio postcard (only brief reporter narration) that tells the story of the termination of the Klamath Tribes by the federal government in the 1950s.

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(Also host intro)
In the early part of the twentieth century the Klamath Tribes, consisting of the Klamath, Modoc and Yahooskin (Ya-hoo'-skin) Indians, were one of the few success stories of the reservation era.  The tribes enjoyed thriving ranching and logging industries.  By the 1950s, they were among the nation's wealthiest.  But with that success came a price.  Congress, having deemed the Klamaths economically self sufficient, passed a law in 1953 ending federal recognition of the tribes and terminating the reservation.  It was viewed by some as the final step in the full assimilation of Indians into mainstream American culture.  From station KLCC in Eugene, Oregon, Andrew Bartholomew picks up the story.   

Bois Forte Veteran Series - Dianna Goodsky

From Bois Forte Tribal Community Radio | Part of the Bois Forte Veterans Series series | 06:08

KBFT Bois Forte Veterans Day Series featuring Anishinaabe Men and Women of the Bois Forte Nation of Chippewa in Minnesota. In this episode, we hear from US Navy Chief Petty Officer, Dianna Goodsky who tells her story on why she served the US Navy.

Dianna_goodsky_veterans_series_small KBFT Bois Forte Veterans Day Series featuring Anishinaabe Men and Women of the Bois Forte Nation of Chippewa in Minnesota. In this episode, we hear from US Navy Chief Petty Officer, Dianna Goodsky who tells her story on why she served the US Navy.

Mardi Gras Indian Music

From 90.9 WBUR - Boston's NPR News Station | 06:44

The Musical Tradition of New Orleans' Black Indians.

Default-piece-image-2 On Mardi Gras Day, tourists line New Orleans' wide avenues to watch the grand parade floats. The celebration tourists rarely see takes place on the strrets and stoops of the Treme, Black Pearl and the Ninth Ward, some of the neighborhoods hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. Those are the parade grounds of New Orleans Black or Mardi Gras Indians. The Wild Magnolias, the Fi Yi Yi, altogether about 40 tribes march in elaborate costumes inspired by the noble Native Americans who were not enslaved by whites. , Some say the tradition reflects West African masking and dance rituals. While their numbers have diminished since Katrina, a number of tribes have recorded music through the years. Producer Virginia Prescott dusts off the stacks to hear the music of the Mardi Gras Indians.


Drop-Ins (2:00-4:59)

OCCANEECHI POW WOW

From Keith Weston | 07:30

The Occaneechi Band of the Saponi nation is a small Indian community located primarily in the old settlement of Little Texas Pleasant Grove Township, Alamance County, North Carolina. Twice yearly they sponsor an inter-tribal Pow Wow.

Default-piece-image-0 The Occaneechi Band of the Saponi nation is a small Indian community located primarily in the old settlement of Little Texas Pleasant Grove Township, Alamance County, North Carolina. Twice yearly they sponsor an inter-tribal Pow Wow. Pow Wows used to be private, sacred affairs for Native peoples. Over the last several decades many tribes have opened them up to the general public as cultural festivals. The Occaneechi started their pow wow 9 years ago as part of their bid to win state recognition for the band in North Carolina. A tribal member serves as our guide for this spring's pow wow. (STEREO content; N.B.: A 4:00 version is also available upon request.)

This I Believe - Joy Harjo

From This I Believe | Part of the This I Believe series | 03:24

Native American poet tells of her belief in the Sun and our sacred connection to it.

Tiblogosmall_small HOST: In "Eagle Poem," poet Joy Harjo writes, "To pray, you open your whole self to sky, to earth, to Sun, to Moon." It is in the heavens that Harjo finds her belief. A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, now living in Hawaii, Harjo is a member of the Muskogee Creek Nation. Here she is with her essay for This I Believe. HARJO: I believe in the sun. In the tangle of human failures of fear, greed, and forgetfulness, the sun gives me clarity. When explorers first encountered my people, they called us heathens, sun worshippers. They didn't understand that the sun is a relative, and illuminates our path on this earth. Many of us continue ceremonies that ensure a connection with the sun. After dancing all night in a circle we realize that we are a part of a larger sense of stars and planets dancing with us overhead. When the sun rises at the apex of the ceremony, we are renewed. There is no mistaking this connection, though WalMart might be just down the road. Humans are vulnerable and rely on the kindnesses of the earth and the sun; we exist together in a sacred field of meaning. A few weeks ago I visited some friends at a pueblo for a feast day celebration. The runners were up at dawn and completed a ceremonial run that ensures that the sun will continue to return. It is a humble and necessary act of respect. And because the celebration continues, the sun, the earth and these humans are still together in a harmonious relationship. Our earth is shifting. We can all see it. I hear from my Inuit and Yupik relatives up north that everything has changed. It's so hot; there is not enough winter. Animals are confused. Ice is melting. The quantum physicists have it right; they are beginning to think like Indians: everything is connected dynamically at an intimate level. When you remember this, then the current wobble of the earth makes sense. How much more oil can be drained without replacement, without reciprocity? One day, recently I walked out of a hotel room just off Times Square at dawn to find the sun. It was the fourth morning since the birth of my fourth granddaughter. This was the morning I was to present her to the sun, as a relative, as one of us. It was still dark, overcast as I walked through Times Square. I stood beneath a 21st century totem pole of symbols of multinational corporations, made of flash and neon. The sun rose up over the city but I couldn't see it amidst the rain. Though I was not at home, bundling up the baby to carry her outside, I carried this newborn girl within the cradleboard of my heart. I held her up and presented her to the sun, so she would be recognized as a relative, so that she won't forget this connection, this promise, so that we all remember the sacredness of life.

Generations: Cherokee language through art

From Jordan Nelson | 03:38

The Cherokee Heritage Center is using art to help pass on the Cherokee language.

Art2_small The Cherokee language is thousands of years old.  In 1821, Sequoyah--one of the most famous Cherokees in history--created a written syllabary of characters to represent the Cherokee language's sounds.

From the late 1800s through much of the 20th century, discrimination and English-only rules at Indian boarding schools discouraged use of the language, meaning most of today's Cherokees cannot speak their own language.

The Cherokee Heritage Center's new exhibit in Tahlequah, Okla., is using art to help pass on the native language.

Culturology: "Sugarbush Voices" an essay from Anne Dunn

From Northern Community Radio - KAXE & KBXE, Minnesota | Part of the Culturology series | 03:55

Anne Dunn is an Ojibwe storyteller and crone, which she describes as an elder wisdom keeper, holy hag, earth mother, and sky woman.

Anne_dunn_golden_locks_small Anne Dunn is an Ojibwe storyteller and crone, which she describes as an elder wisdom keeper, holy hag, earth mother, and sky woman.

Myaamia

From Jessica Gould | 03:46

A Virginia father teaches his children a rare Native American language.

Playing
Myaamia
From
Jessica Gould

Photo-1_small Growing up, Tim McCoy knew his ancestors had been part of the Myaami tribe of Oklahoma. But he never heard much about their traditions. In fact, he never heard one word of the family's ancestral language being spoken. That's because the last "first language" speaker of the tribe's language, Myaamia, died in 1962. But McCoy says languages such as Myaamia aren't extinct. They're just sleeping -- waiting for someone to bring them back. Now McCoy, who lives with his family in Northern Virginia, is working with other members of the Myaami tribe to revive the language. 

Navajo Taco Adapted As The People Did

From Anne Hoffman | 02:45

On the Navajo Nation, tacos lose the tortilla and take on fry bread. This summer, a group of teenagers visited a Navajo farm to learn the art of Navajo tacos.

Screen_shot_2013-11-17_at_11 On the Navajo Nation, tacos lose the tortilla and take on fry bread. This summer, a group of teenagers visited a Navajo farm to learn the art of Navajo tacos.