Sunday, October 22, 2006

PBS Announces American Indian Heritage Month schedule

Indian Country Diaries – November 2006 – is a new two-part series that goes inside modern Native American communities to reveal a diverse people working to revitalize their culture while improving the social, physical and spiritual health of their people.

In part one, “A Seat at the Drum” features Native Americans living in Los Angeles. Part two, “Spiral of Fire.” features the Eastern Band of Cherokees in their North Carolina homeland.

Seasoned With Spirit – November 2006 – This five-part series features a culinary tour combining America’s bounty with Native American history and culture with delicious, healthy recipes inspired by indigenous foods.

Gulf Coast Originals, covers native influences on Cajun cooking. Cuisine of the Desert Southwest, focuses on the three-day Tohono O’Odham harvest of saguaro cactus fruit, wild spinach with cholla buds and chiltepine peppers, tapary beans with ribs, ash bread and sweet, refreshing mesquite juice. Return of the Buffalo, travels to the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation to explore sun-dried bison with chokecherries, chokecherry soup and grilled bison with sage-chokecherry jus. Bounty of the River’s Edge, shares the Yurok feast of alderwood-smoked salmon, dried sirfish and eels served with sturgeon egg bread. Food Upon The Waters, explores the wild rice harvest of the Ashinabe, or Ojibwe people of the Great Lakes, including wild rice and maple syrup cake, buffalo, wild rice and cranberry –stuffed acorn squash, buffalo stew, and swamp tea.

The Journey of Sacagawea – November 2006 – This program provides an historical account of Sacagawea’s life and the legends about her.

The Mystery of Chaco Canyon – November 2006 – Discusses how an ancient civilization , without a known written language was able to arrange its buildings in virtual celestial calendar reflected the annual sun cycle and the 19-year cycle of the moon, in area roughly the size of Ireland.

Vis A Vis – November 2006 – Australian aboriginal actress/playwright Ningali Lawford and American Indian performance artist James Luna meet through a series of digital video links to share their lives and work, and explore how each uses humor and storytelling to confront the stereotypes of native peoples in their own countries.

Check your local listings for dates and times.