KILI radio

[Okwes]

KILI radio, a small, but important station from the Pine Ridge reservation
in South Dakota has been unable to broadcast since its transmission tower
was
damaged in a spring storm. More than $200,000 is needed to repair the
tower;
in the meantime thousands of local residents remain isolated without their
community and cultural voice. An effort is underway to raise funds. Read
below
for more background on how you can support this worthy effort and spread
the
word....
Regards,
Carole Levine
Native American Indigenous Cinema & Arts
homepage: _www.thenaica.org_ (http://www.thenaica.org/)
blog: _http://thenaica.org/nucleus/carole.php_
(http://thenaica.org/nucleus/carole.php)

NO MORE SILENCE: BRINGING BACK THE VOICE OF KILI RADIO
For anybody driving west through the prairie expanse of South Dakota,
something changes once you cross the Missouri. You soon come upon the
moonscape
terrain of the Badlands followed by the dramatic melding into the
pine-covered
Black Hills. If you're into drinking in the local ambience and turn off
your
iPod and satellite radio you'll discover something else. The intermittent
radio signal of a station that is nothing like what most of us have
listened to
before.

The DJs occasionally speak in Lakota; sometimes interspersing the dialect
with English in the same conversation. They broadcast live from pow wows,
inform listeners about healthy lifestyles, school events and tribal
meetings,
discuss local issues, and play music. The playlist is especially eclectic;
traditional and pow wow along with with pop, contemporary Native music and
hip hop
to appeal to younger listeners.

KILI Radio, broadcast "high atop Porcupine Butte" on the Pine Ridge
Reservation, calls itself the "Voice of the Lakota Nation." Recognizing the
physical isolation of Pine Ridge and nearby reservations, you appreciate
the
importance of having a venue residents can tune into to keep in touch with
neighbors
who may literally live an hour's drive away. But that voice has been
silenced. This past April a lightning strike knocked out their transmission
tower,
and with it, the community connection in Pine Ridge.

The station is still broadcasting and is accessible through live streaming
on their website. Whereas you and I and thousands across the globe can find
out about the upcoming school board meeting, a majority of those in Pine
Ridge
cannot. Access to the internet is simply not an option for many in this
poorest of poor reservations and the fact that a housewife from Stuttgart
can
tune in while an elderly resident of Kyle is unable to seems more than
ironic.

Repairing the tower could cost up to $200,000. Raising that amount, which
will enable the station to receive a matching grant, may seem
insurmountable. It
's not-literally millions of tourists travel through South Dakota each
year, many stopping in at the local pow wows and sipping a soda at Big
Bats.
These folks might be tiresome and at times obnoxious fixtures to Lakota
residents
but they are also potential supporters of the reservation they swarm each
summer.

For that reason, let's hope KILI puts the word out beyond South Dakota and
Indian media outlets. Let's do our part as well. The voice of the Lakota
nation has already been silenced too long.

Website: _http://www.kiliradio.org_ (http://www.kiliradio.org/)
(KILI radio is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. All donations are
tax-deductible.)

~ Director of The Red Roots Educational Project
~ Author of the column, The Native Truth
~ On line journal at terrijeanblog.blogspot.com