Native American Heritage Month Recognized With Special Programming Lineup on KCET in Southern California
CONTACT:
Allison Gray
AGray@kcet.org /747-201-5209
Four Documentaries Broadcast Starting November 12 Highlight Calif. Native Peoples as Well as Seneca, Navajo and Mohawk Cultures
Burbank, Calif. – Oct. 23, 2017 - KCET, the nation’s largest independent public television station, announced today four specially curated programs to celebrate Native American Heritage. The shows highlight Native American culture as well as the obstacles presented to indigenous peoples by today’s societal constraints. Exploring the challenges of bi-cultural identity, the triumphs of environmental knowledge and the history of various native peoples, these documentaries showcase the faces of a culture determined to remember their past. The programming lineup runs from Sun., Nov. 12 – Nov. 19 on KCET in Southern California.
The lineup will telecast as follows (subject to change):
“Lake of Betrayal” Sun., Nov. 12 at 7 p.m.
The film explores the history of Kinzua Dam on the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania and its impact on the Seneca Nation of Indians. Completed in 1965, it was originally proposed to help mitigate flooding in Pittsburgh, almost 200 miles downriver, but the 27-mile reservoir that formed behind it inundated vast tracts of the Seneca Indians' ancestral lands, forcing their removal in breach of the United States' oldest treaty, then in effect. The film looks at the Seneca Nation's fight to protect its sovereignty against the U.S. government's Indian termination policy and overwhelming political and economic forces driving the post-WWII boom.
“Tending the Wild” Mon., Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. & Thurs., Nov. 30 at 12 p.m.
Shining a light on the environmental knowledge of indigenous peoples across California, the film explores how they have actively shaped and tended the land for millennia, in the process developing a deep understanding of plant and animal life. This documentary examines how humans are necessary to live in balance with nature and how traditional practices can inspire a new generation of Californians to tend their environment. Available to stream online at KCET.org, YouTube, Apple TV, Roku and Amazon.
“Metal Road” Sun., Nov. 19 at 7 p.m.
For decades, thousands of Navajos worked the railroads, maintaining the trans-continental network. The film explores the dynamics of livelihood, family and the railroads through the lens of a Navajo trackman.
Metal Road sheds a light on manual labor in the U.S. and Native American histories. Laborers are often the most economically oppressed people doing infrastructure jobs, but the workers are strong and resilient as demonstrated by the generations of Navajo Railroaders.
“Ohero: Kon – Under the Husk” Sun., Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m.
Documentary follows the challenging journey of two Mohawk girls as they take part in their traditional passage rites to becoming Mohawk Women. Kaienkwinehtha and Kasennakohe are childhood friends living in the Mohawk Community that straddles the U.S. / Canada border who both take part in a four-year adolescent passage rites ceremony that challenges them spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically.
Join the conversation on social media using #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth
ABOUT KCET
On-air, online and in the community, KCET plays a vital role in the cultural and educational enrichment of Southern and Central California. KCET offers a wide range of award-winning local programming as well as the finest public television programs from around the world. Throughout its 53-year history, KCET has won hundreds of major awards for its local and regional news and public affairs programming, its national drama and documentary productions, its quality educational family and children's programs, its outreach and community services and its website, kcet.org. KCET is a donor-supported community institution. For additional information about KCET productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community events, please visit kcet.org. KCET is a part of the KCETLink Media Group. Select original programming from KCET is also available for streaming on Apple TV and Roku platforms.
