Native American Heritage Month Programming on KCET Includes Inspiring Slate of Documentaries Honoring Culture of Native Peoples

Press Contact

Emily Merkley
Publicist
​emerkley@kcet.org
747-201-5298

KCET Digital Series TENDING THE WILD Unveils Two New Episodes Following Native Peoples’ Use of Plants as Food and Medicine  

http://www.kcet.org/nativeamericanheritage

Burbank, Calif. –Oct. 27,2016 – KCET, the nation’s largest independent public television station,

announced today a robust line up of programming that will celebrate the culture and history of Native peoples in honor of Native American Heritage Month. Documentaries will explore Native American veterans with PTSD, activists trying to preserve the native community and Native Peoples’ role in the current fight for oil.

Related programming content will be telecast as follows:

HEALING THE WARRIOR’S HEART - Fri., Nov. 11 at 11:30 a.m. PT:

HEALING THE WARRIOR’S HEART examines the emotional trauma of war through the prism of Native American tradition and ceremony. The program reveals the central role that military service plays in Native life and explores the spiritual traditions that help returning soldiers reintegrate into society. These traditions hold lessons for the nation as we seek to bring comfort and healing to veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  

ISHI’S RETURN - Fri., Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. PT:

ISHI’S RETURN is a half-hour film about Ishi, billed in 1911 as the “last wild Indian” when he wandered out of the woods in Oroville, CA, and became a national sensation. When Ishi died, his brain was removed and sent to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. Eighty years later, his descendants in California fight to have his remains repatriated to his ancestral home.

FINDING REFUGE - Fri., Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. PT:

Isabella Blatchford (Alutiiq) embarks on an urgent quest to understand her cultural heritage before stage-four breast cancer leaves her too weak to complete her journey. Blatchford yearns to shed a lifetime of shame and cultural denial and replace it with pride in her Native culture. Supported through a broader view from scholars, elders, fishermen, hunters, parents and community leaders working to repatriate Alutiiq culture, Isabella learns the history of her people, the origin of shame, and the value of Native storytelling.

RED POWER ENERGY – Sat., Nov. 26 at 7 p.m. PT:

Native peoples have had an historically passive role in mineral extraction that frequently left their resource-rich reservations either leased out for pennies on the dollar or contaminated by environmental degradation and Federal mismanagement. But recently, Native communities are in the midst of an extraordinary resurgence. They are challenging long-held stereotypes, fighting for the sovereign right to control their lands and develop their natural and mineral resources.

In addition to the above listed on-air programming, KCET.org and LinkTV.org will continue to roll out new episodes of the digital series TENDING THE WILD at KCET.org/TendingTheWild. The series explores how the traditional practices of Native California communities can help address current environmental challenges. TENDING THE WILD premiered on Oct. 3, with new episodes released online every two weeks, accompanied by an extensive web hub that features resources, videos, articles and first-hand perspectives of Native California cultures revolving around the concept of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK).

The following TENDING THE WILD episodes will be released digitally in November:

Eps. 4 “Plants As Food” – TENDING THE WILD: “Decolonizing the Diet” – Mon., Nov. 14 on KCET.org and LinkTV.org

“Plants As Food” gives viewers a glimpse into the “decolonized” diet including the preparation, harvesting and processing of raw material from indigenous plants. Many Native California communities today are reincorporating indigenous plants into their diets, which can potentially help prevent obesity and diabetes, two diseases on the rise since the industrialization of food. Craig Torres explains the health and dietary benefits of indigenous plants while Barbara Drake explores what issues arise when people are deprived of their traditional foods.

Eps. 5 “Plants As Medicine” – TENDING THE WILD: “Gathering Medicine” – Mon., Nov. 28 on KCET.org and LinkTV.org

“Plants As Medicine” will explore nature as a natural resource for medicinal purposes. Natural resources such as willow bark, yerba buena and sage can contribute to healthier lifestyles. Ethnobotanist and herbalist Sage LaPena gives an overview of plants as medicine and details how indigenous medicines work pharmacologically and culturally.

The KCET community kiosk will be at the Autry Museum of the American West’s American Indian Arts Marketplace, the largest Native arts fair in southern California, the weekend of Nov. 12-13 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at The Autry in Griffith Park.  The Marketplace features 200 Native American artists representing more than 40 tribes from across the country offering sculpture, pottery, beadwork, basketry, photography, paintings, jewelry, textiles, wooden carvings, mixed media works, and more. For more information, please go to TheAutry.org/Marketplace

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 50-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 Hulu, Apple TV and Roku platforms.