In this excerpt from the documentary "Voices of North Carolina*" Cherokee people in North Carolina talk about efforts to preserve their language and culture.
In honor of Native American Heritage Month
In honor of Native American Heritage Month, here is a short film from New Mexico PBS: COLORES | In Between The Lines: Native American Poetry.
"Featured are a remarkable group of Native American teen poets from Pueblos and the Navajo Reservation. For many Native teens, their tie to tradition and culture is blurring, these poets are standing at a crossroads in a rapidly evolving world. In Between the Lines catches that spark that ignites these young writers. We go in-between-the-lines and film them on their home ground in a cinema verite style. Through their poetry we learn of connections: family, the land around them and their native language. We also learn of obstacles: poverty, the drug and alcohol abuse and the dramatic incursion of a modern Western world. How do they keep the tradition and culture alive? Do they even want to hold on to their heritage? How do they see the Western world? Where do they fit in? In Between the Lines intimately looks at the questions these young Native Americans poets face."
In honor of Native American Heritage Month, here is Cherokee Morning Song with accompanying English translation.
November is Native American Heritage Month. A number of online events are noted at https://nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov. One of the events was recorded and available on YouTube which I am sharing today:
"To kick off Native American Heritage Month, Joy Harjo, the first Native American U.S. Poet Laureate, joins Deb Haaland, the first Native American cabinet secretary, in a conversation with Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden."
