Program 206

Ready for the Charge. Apsaroke. Photo by Edward S. Curtis. Courtesy of a2zcds. www.a2zcds.com Click for larger view.

The Cheyenne and the Crow

with Arlie Neskahi

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From the journal of William Clark::
Capt. William Clark. March 29 th, 1805. The ice stopped running owing to some obstacle above.. Few Indians visit us today. They are watching to catch the floating buffalo which break through the ice in crossing. I observed the extraordinary dexterity of the Indians in jumping from one cake to another. Many of the cakes of ice which they pass over are not two feet square. Read more »

Crow Chief Joseph Medicine Crow. Photo by Nick Wolcott.

Joseph Medicine Crow

with Brian Bull

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Arlie Neskahi:
Arlie Neskahi: There are many definitions of warriors and what they represent to the Crow Nation. It’s a question that Crow elder and historian Joe Medicine Crow has examined for much of his 90 years, a lifetime which has spanned two world wars, conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, and the Mid East. Medicine Crow’s own warrior legacy goes back to his grandfather, who served as one of Custer’s scouts. In today’s Elder Wisdom, Brian Bull presents Joe Medicine Crow and the warrior code of the Crow Nation. Read more »

Judy Bluehorse Skelton

The Cheyenne and the Environment

with Judy Bluehorse Skelton

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Arlie Neskahi:
When Europeans arrived in North America, they were awed by the vastness of the forests, rivers and mountains. These gifts of creation became natural resources used to build towns and railroads and personal fortunes. Native American professor and author, Vine Deloria Jr., introduced the concept, “natural relations” to more accurately express the interdependence of humans with all of Creation. In today’s Sacred Landscape, Judy Bluehorse Skelton talks about the Northern Cheyenne and their commitment to protect their traditional lands from the coal industry. Read more »

Nico Wind

The Nightwawk Singers

with Nico Wind

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Arlie Neskahi:
One of the oldest and most established gatherings of native singers and dancers is the Crow Fair at Crow Agency, Montana, near the Little Big Horn National Battlefield. Since 1904, the Crow Fair has grown from an agricultural festival to become the largest teepee village in the world, with over a thousand teepees surrounding a 200-foot dance arbor. This four-day event includes daily parades and an all-Indian rodeo.

Today, on Tribal Rhythms, Nico Wind brings us songs of the Crow Fair, sung by the Nighthawk Singers. Read more »

Roy Stewart. Photo by Milt Lee.

The History and Evolution of
Christian Music on the Crow Reservation

with Milt Lee

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Arlie Neskahi :
In the late 1800′s, the Pentecostal Church came to Crow Country. When the famous Crow medicine man, Goes Ahead adopted the Christian Church, it began a new chapter in the history of Native music.

Goes Ahead was a scout with Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Later, he turned his life to medicine. Perhaps it as his familiarity with the white man, or perhaps it was the prophecy of a savior coming to the Crow. We’ll never know, but it was through the Christian Church that some of the Crow people began a musical journey that today mixes religion with hip hop music.

Milt Lee visited the Crow Agency and brings back this story. Read more »

Return of Scouts. Cheyenee. Photo by Edward S. Curtis.

Southern Peace Chief Lawrence Hart

with Lawrence Hart

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Lawrence Hart:
My name is Lawrence Hart. In my Cheyenne, it is Chief In The Sky, and I am one of the traditional chiefs of the Council of Forty-Four.

Arlie Neskahi:
For Today’s Turtle Island Storytellers, we traveled to Clinton, Oklahoma to hear a story from Cheyenne Peace Chief, Lawrence Hart. He shares a piece of the history of the Southern Cheyenne and tells of a massacre of his ancestors following the infamous Sand Creek massacre. Read more »