The public is invited to join us as we celebrate the launch of the upcoming new Native American local cable access television project, Discovering Our Story Television Program. This celebration will be:
Date ::: Thursday evening 12 November at 7:30 PM
Location ::: Studio of Portland Community Media (PCM), 2766 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR (97212)
This project was created because Native Americans and their history have been misinterpreted and misrepresented in the media. Hollywood, including popular Disney films like Pocahontas and Peter Pan, continues to perpetuate false images of Indians as threatening aggressors, alcoholics, dying or ‘vanishing’ Indians, or passive, wise sages. They rarely portray Native Americans as being a part of healthy and resilient multi-generational families. Consequently this has created confusing, negative impressions in the minds of Native children and youth.
Recently, Native American producers and directors are developing films and documentaries that accurately and authentically tell tribal stories and oral histories, helping to strengthen the identity and resiliency of Native peoples and increase pride in their families and rich tribal heritage.
The creators of Discovering Our Story Television Program want Portland’s Native American community to have a similar opportunity. Over 3 years, Wisdom of the Elders, Inc. (WISDOM) and several teams of volunteers will produce 26 1-hour cable television programs at Portland Community Media. Funded by Multnomah County’s Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission, this partnership will provide opportunities for multi-generational Native teams to train as volunteers in videography, post-production editing, digital storytelling and studio production.
Each Discovering Our Story Television Program will feature two program hosts who air two 15- minute video recordings of local and regional elders, storytellers, and cultural leaders, and then lead a discussion with special guests from the native community. Excerpts from tribal storytelling festivals and other celebrations will occasionally be aired. Community members will be invited to phone in to the program during live airings. Programs will also be rebroadcast through 2012 and shared with neighboring cable stations in the region. Viewers can also access this programming from PCM’s and WISDOM’s website. These media series will provide public audiences with unprecedented access to and knowledge of authentic and diverse history and cultural arts of tribes, and strengthen their understanding and appreciation for today’s First Peoples.
Several series of WISDOM’s public radio programs, Wisdom of the Elders Radio, continue to be broadcast nationally on 32 Indian radio stations three times a week and have been broadcast internationally on networks on Turtle Island and in Canada, New Zealand and Australia. It can be accessed at our Wisdom of Healers website at no charge to viewers/listeners along with k-12 curriculum materials which are aligned to Oregon’s educational standards. WISDOM is planning production of series four and five of Wisdom of the Elders Radio Program which will explore environmental science issues among Northwest and Pacific Rim tribes. This radio series will encourage youth to explore science, technology, engineering and math as a career option; and will provide internships in environmental science and other fields of science.
For more info or to volunteer, you can e-mail rosehb@wisdomoftheelders.org or call (503) 517-9759.
Volunteers will have several opportunities to participate in the development of Discovering Our Story Television. They can:
- Volunteer on the Programming Review Working Group to view and listen to recordings and offer constructive feedback for the curriculum which is also being used for the radio and television series; 2) receive training scholarships to serve on the post-production or studio crew at Portland Community Media;
- Participate as an audience member of the television program;
- Become part of the networking team that publicizes the radio program and television series at powwows and other community events; and
- Serve on our technology team as we develop a Web 2.0 presence and distribute notices on e-mail list serves, Facebook, and other social media sites.
