Podcast: Play in new window | Download (40.5MB) | Embed
The high-profile political fight over the need for a wall on the border with Mexico offers an opportunity to look at borders from an Indigenous perspective. Before European contact, tribes had their own ways of signifying territories. Navajos, for example, identify their traditional Dinétah homeland as the area within the Four Sacred Mountains. Some other tribes continue to follow specific protocols—including asking permission—when entering another tribe’s territory. Historically, some tribes fought other tribes over resources and hunting territory. We’ll explore both traditional and current concepts of borders.
Guests:
Dr. David Lewis (Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde) – adjunct professor at Oregon State University and blogs at NDN History Research
Freddie Xwenang Lane (Lummi Nation) – councilmember of the Lummi Nation and environmental activist
Jewell James (Lummi) – master totem carver, director of Lummi Sovereignty and Treaty Protection Office
Break Music: Creation Story (song) John-Carlos Perea (artist) Creation Story (album)
Full interview with Verlon Jose (Tohono O’odam) – Vice Chairman of the Tohono O’odam Tribe.
