Special for American Indian and Alaska-Native Heritage Month from What’s the Word?
What’s the Word? Honors
National American Indian and Alaska-Native Heritage Month
To celebrate National American Indian and Alaska-Native Heritage Month (November 2009), What’s the Word?, the smart, engaging, and highly produced series from the Modern Language Association, presents two half-hour programs:
Voices from the Ojibwe Nation
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.
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Anton Treuer talks about the Ojibwe oral tradition and his work to preserve the Ojibwe language;
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Kimberly Blaeser discusses poetry’s role in Ojibwe life and culture;
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Gordon Henry traces the roots of Ojibwe fiction and speaks about the work of Louise Erdrich.
American Indian and Alaska-Native Tribal Traditions
How do tribal traditions influence the writing and teaching of contemporary American Indians?
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Jeane Breinig discusses works from her Alaskan tribe, the Haida;
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Robert Warrior tells us about the history of the Osage and their 1881 constitution;
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Ofelia Zepeda reads her poetry, written in both English and her tribal language, O’odham.
Available on Content Depot (19 November), CD (order CD), and PRX
Length: 29:00*
Cost: Free
*Play each program separately or combine two to make an hour-long special.
