It was only 20 years ago when poet, professor and musician Joy Harjo went to a gathering to discuss the Columbus quincentenary and heard an indigenous Bolivian woman say she was stunned to discover indigenous people still existed in the U.S. and Canada.

"She stood up and said, 'We all welcome you and we're really surprised to see you and so many people from North America because'--and she wasn't joking--'we all thought that John Wayne had killed all of you," Harjo (Muscogee) said.

As the series We Shall Remain using such imagery debuts on PBS' American Experience tonight, a companion radio piece also rolls out today, which Native people say works to balance the historic visuals with sounds and conversation from contemporary people and culture--the remain part in We Shall Remain.

To read more about radio project, click here.

To listen to interviews with Charlie Hill, Joy Harjo or Chris Eyre for the radio series, click here.

The five-part We Shall Remain series, a look at 300 years of Native American history in America, airs April 13. NAPT served as a funder and an advisor for the American Experience series.

For more information about the series, click here.

To check your local PBS station's schedule, click here.

VisionMaker Video, a product of NAPT, will start accepting online entries for the Youth VisionMaker Video Contest on April 15.

VisionMaker Video/NAPT seeks to engage today's youth by aiding in the development of their storytelling abilities through video. Contestants will produce a short video that relates to this year's theme: "Youth Choices, Elder Voices." The contest is open to legal residents of the U.S. and its territories who are 14-21 years of age at the time of entry. There is no entry fee.

The top five videos will be screened at the biennial VisionMaker Film Festival Oct. 30-Nov. 5 in Lincoln, Neb. The VisionMaker Film Festival is a showcase of Native American documentaries and feature films.

Deadline to enter is Sept. 1.

Check www.nativetelecom.org/visionmakervideocontest on April 15 for more details.

Native Sounds-Native Voices is rolling out the special programming this spring in honor of great events in Indian Country. The following shows will air on the all-Native online radio network, AIROS.org. Check AIROS.org for times:

• Gathering of Nations - 4/17-4/25
• Earth Day - 4/21-/4/24
• Waila/Chicken scratch - 4/28-5/9
• Mother's Day songs - 5/9-5/10
  
• Thunder songs - 5/14-5/18

And don't forget to check out the new blogs from the new Native Sounds-Native Voices hosts Sina Bear Eagle and Aden Marshall.

VisionMaker Video is clearing out its inventory of VHS tapes. Buy these great stories for $5 each + shipping and handling:

Beyond Reservation Road

Battling high unemployment, dropouts and teenage pregnancy, the Oklahoma Cherokee community of Cherry Tree said they had enough and started on a project to build a baseball field to illustrate how a grassroots effort can make a difference.

• Winner of the 1997 Parents Choice Gold Award -- Video Librarian

• "Highly recommended," 3 ½ stars -- Video Librarian

• "Well-told and skillfully filmed" -- School Library Journal

• Best Indian-Produced Documentary (short), 1997 Red Earth Film Festival

Home use $5
Educational use $5


Fire Warriors

Capturing real-life action of the Chief Mountain Hotshots, an elite firefighting crew of the Blackfeet Indian Nation in Montana, Fire Warriors follows the crew through an 18-day tour of duty during the worst fire season in U.S. history. Companion discussion guide for web or print.

Home use $5
Educational use $5

For a full list of VHS specials, go to www.visionmaker.org.

 

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