Post by blackcrowheart on Jun 1, 2006 15:26:02 GMT -5
Native American Indigenous Cinema & Arts
homepage: www.thenaica.org
blog: 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: www.kiliradio.org
(KILI radio is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. All donations are
tax-deductible.)
homepage: www.thenaica.org
blog: 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: www.kiliradio.org
(KILI radio is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. All donations are
tax-deductible.)