Exploring ‘Indian Country:' PBS documentary increases understanding of Cherokee...

Indian Country Diaries - INDIAN COUNTRY DIARIES is a two-part series airing on PBS this November that explores issues that are being played out in Native American communities in both urban and reservation settings. Stories about today’s concerns of Native Americans including identity, assimilation, sovereignty, revitalizing Native cultures, preserving families, economic development and health. An exploration of how historic trauma of tribal relocations, genocide, boarding schools and assimilation may be impacting Native health problems. Oral history interviews with Cherokee elders and urban Indian relocation pioneers. Full lesson plans tied to standards for educators. And resources for viewers and discussion leaders. Come back in November 2006 for compelling content. To learn more about the program, read the press release [59k PDF file]. NOTE: Link will open in a new window. You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to view this file. © 2006 Native American Public Telecommunications

Indian Country Diaries - Coming to Public Television for Native American Heritage Month. http://nativetelecom.org/  Check local listings or contact your public television station for dates and times: http://www.pbs.org/stationfinder/ Indian Country Diaries A new two-part series told with wonder, humor, and insight. A provocative must-see "State of the Nations" report from modern Native America. Co-Produced of Native American Public Telecommunications and Adanvdo Vision. Visit the Indian Country Diaries website http://indiancountrydiaries.org.   http://www.pbs.org/indiancountry/

Exploring ‘Indian Country:' PBS documentary increases understanding of Cherokee

by Quintin Ellison, qellison@citizen-times.com

published November 8, 2006 12:15 am

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CHEROKEE — Casino money brought pride and prosperity to members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, but it hasn’t erased racism, greed or the threat of diabetes,which threatens 40 percent of the population.

A documentary airing at 9 tonight on UNC-TV and other PBS stations nationwide explores the tension faced by the modern Cherokee to balance identity and culture with financial empowerment.

The documentary, “Indian Country Diaries,” is a two-part series.

The first part looks at journalist Mark Anthony Rolo, a Bad River Ojibwe, as he uncovers how Indians in Los Angeles preserve their cultural identity, survive economically and cope with the pressure of a federal relocation program and assimilation in a multicultural metropolis.

Part two takes author LeAnne Howe to Cherokee. Howe is the illegitimate daughter of a Choctaw woman, was fathered by a Cherokee man and raised by an adopted Cherokee family in Oklahoma.

Howe looks at how diabetes has ravished the tribe. She also questions the glitz of Cherokee, including the practice of “chiefing.” For decades, some Cherokee have dressed in headdresses and other clothing used by Plains Indians to attract tourists. Some critics have accused the “chiefs” of demeaning Cherokee culture.

“When they first came, they thought it was funny,” said Lynne Harlan, public relations coordinator for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, who helped coordinate the filming and puts in a couple of appearances on the documentary. “We watched as their opinions turned around as they came to realize that it is about economics.”

Film co-executive producer Carol Cornsilk of Lincoln, Neb., agreed that her crew’s attitude changed as they learned how the tribe was forced to cater to tourists before Harrah’s Cherokee Casino opened in 1997.

Cornsilk, a western Cherokee from Oklahoma who has vacationed and worked in this region before, said filming the documentary, which started in 2002, helped increase her understanding of the Eastern Band.

“It really did deepen my knowledge of how their community is different from other Indian communities,” she said. “It’s because of their still being on their original area. The geography of the land gives them a sense of community.”

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200661107090

For Missouri it is not tonight but on Sundays

When to Watch Indian Country Diaries [D] indicates digital channel   |   Digital subscribers: get channel numbers Get e-mail reminders : select dates   Ozarks Public Television CHANNEL 21 Indian Country Diaries: A Seat at the Drum Sunday, November 12, 3:30pm Part 1 of 2. A look at issues facing Native Americans. Indian Country Diaries: Spiral of Fire Sunday, November 19, 3:30pm Conclusion. A look at issues facing Native Americans. KOZKDT1 [D] Indian Country Diaries: A Seat at the Drum Sunday, November 12, 3:30pm Part 1 of 2. A look at issues facing Native Americans. Indian Country Diaries: Spiral of Fire Sunday, November 19, 3:30pm Conclusion. A look at issues facing Native Americans. Get e-mail reminders : select dates   Check for more broadcast times in your viewing area Change my preferred station	Indian Country Diaries is a co-production of NAPT and Adanvdo Vision Funding was provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Foundation, ITVS and public television viewers
Indian Country Diaries premieres November 2006 on PBS. Go behind the stereotypes to the reality of life for urban and reservation Native Americans today.