The month of November is Native American month. Does anyone even know it exists besides Native American people? I subscribe to many online news sites that cater to Native American people. During this time a lot of information was going around about different events, celebrations, and basic information about different tribes. I found this potentially awesome event shared by a friend on Facebook. It was soon shared by all my Native friends on Facebook and all the Native American news sites. It snowballed into this huge thing all around the Native American online community.
MTV was doing a documentary series on Native American music today called Rebel Music. It would show artists and how they are trying to make a positive impact on the Native youth today through their music. It would also touch on some of the struggles Native American youth face and how they are preserving their culture. http://on.mtv.com/1u71RBI It was only going to be shown on Facebook, not on the cable TV outlet.The artists they would feature are young and are very popular among Native American youth.
The Rebel Music page asked if you were going to watch to like their page and go like the MTV page. As I read the comments many people had the same question I did, why is this not being shown on the MTV channel? What can we do to fix this? Rebel Music suggested we email and comment on the MTV page. MTV eventually got enough emails that they would show it, but only on MTV2 and early in the morning. I had to set my DVR because I am not waking up at four in the morning.
I watched the premiere of the documentary it on the MTV Facebook page. I was very impressed and excited to see the next installment. I looked at the comments and saw there was a lot of positive feedback. Many people were proud to be Native American and happy that issues were brought to light. Many couldn't believe MTV would put something like this out there. It was appreciated by all who watched it. I am not familiar with all the artists. One actually came to Dixie State University in October and put on a free concert. Frank Waln is his name. He is a pretty big deal in the Native American community and if I knew he was going to be at our school, I would have been there. I found out a day late.
The documentary talked about missing First Nation women in Canada and how no one is looking for them. There is no help from authorities, so many First Nation people are doing the work themselves. They drug a big body of water and have found a few bodies. Another issue they talked about is Suicide. It is a big problem with Native American youth. It discussed how they are trying to get a positive messages out to the youth. According to the CDC, American Indians/Alaska Native ages 15-34 suicide is the second leading cause of death. It is also 2.5 times higher than the national average for American Indians/Alaska Native ages 15-34. http://1.usa.gov/1zt4jWz
On a personal note, my kids and I participated in a Suicide Awareness walk. It was put on by Chris David of Sage Circle Counseling Center. Chris David is from the Navajo tribe and helps out the Native American children in the area. The event involved honor songs, a smudging ceremony, elders from the Paiute Shivwits band, a moment of silence, and of course the walk. Banners and signs were made and we all did a short walk. My daughter who is three years old walked almost the whole way carrying a sign about as big as she is. An article was put in the Spectrum about the event. http://bit.ly/1Ad13wJ
I did not make the posters and I know that else is spelled wrong. The message is a positive one. Hopefully my children will never commit suicide and my heart goes out to all who have dealt with this.
Many good things have happened since MTV aired Rebel Music documentary. Such as raising awareness of Native American people and issues. First thing being that we still exist and we do not all live in tee pees. We could be your next door neighbor, a co-worker, or even a friend. It brought to light Native American Education and the awful state it is in. Think of our public school system and how bad that is, Native American education is much worse. Not just buildings and physical things, but reading proficiency is low, and I could go on and on. It is so bad that at the Tribal Nations Conference President Obama declared “state of emergency” for Native American education. It was also the first year that youth were involved in the Tribal Nations Conference. Rebel Music put out a mini episode about the youth who were invited. The youth invited were involved in helping other children in their communities. One was raising suicide awareness and another helping other Native American kids to stay in school and get good grades. A special screening of Rebel Music was shown at the event and they held a discussion panel after. Some of the artists featured in the documentary participated in the panel discussion.
I loved this documentary. It made me thankful for my heritage, have a desire to teach my children more about their culture, and a desire to help the youth of my tribe. I want my children to grow up proud to be who they are. I know the challenges they face being Native American in the world we live in. My son has already had a taste of it and he is only in first grade. The documentary spoke to a lot of people because change needs to happen in order for growth.
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