Monday, March 25, 2019 – Dogs of the tundra: more than sled dogs
Peter Kaiser is the first Yup’ik musher to win the Iditarod. Long before competitive sled dog races, Indigenous people in Alaska and Canada maintained an important relationship with dogs. In addition to transportation over snow and ice, dogs help in subsistence hunting and protection. We’ll take time to learn more about this symbiotic relationship between dogs and Indigenous people in the north.
Tuesday, March 26, 2019 – Book of the Month: In the Night of Memory
The novel “In the Night of Memory” by Linda LeGarde Grover of the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe weaves a story about family history that includes the people that sometimes get brushed over or are forgotten. Foster placement and war are two of the forces that change the lives of the Natives characters we meet in this month’s literary feature. They must look inside to face challenges and accept the reality that reconnecting with family is not always easy. We’ll sit down with the Native author to get insights on her latest work of fiction.
Wednesday, March 27, 2019 – Indigenous Trade routes
Archaeologists were surprised to find a stash of 3,000-year-old quinoa seeds while surveying a construction site in Ontario Canada. Up to that point, the South American grain from the same time period had been documented only as far north as Kentucky. Scientists think a previously unknown Indigenous trade route could have brought the quinoa to Canada. Other traditional trade routes are well-documented. Abalone and other ocean sea shells are important to tribes in the landlocked Southwest. The Three Sisters—corn, beans and squash—originally made their way to Native farm fields from Central America. We’ll learn the history of Indigenous trade routes and how they relate to today’s commerce and customs.
Thursday, March 28, 2019 – Meet the 2019 Champions for Change
Every year the Center for Native American Youth picks a handful of outstanding Native youth who are working to make change in their communities. Charitie Ropati (Native Village of Kongignak) wants to decolonize education and is working in her school district to include regalia at graduation. Madison White (Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne) is devoted to healing from intergenerational trauma. She is making strides toward starting a sexual assault support group, a language immersion school, and a traditional resource center. Shandiin Herrera (Diné) is a Gates Millennium Scholar, a Udall Scholar, and a Chief Manuelito Scholar studying at Duke University. We’ll talk with them about their plans for making big and small changes in Native America.
Friday, March 29, 2019 – March in the news
A new wave of summer missionaries will soon flock to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Journalist Mary Annette Pember (Red Cliff Band of Wisconsin Ojibwe) tracked where the money raised to help Oglala Sioux tribal members goes. Her latest piece in Indian Country Today is titled, “Seasonal complaint: ‘Missionaries are on our reservation!’” Also, College Horizons has some perspective about how the college bribery scandal affects Native students trying to get into college.