Learning Ojibwe: Giizhigoon

From Chelsea Annette's book, "Discovering the Little Brothers"


  Giizhigoon:  Days
 
 Listen

Biboong gwanaaj giizhigoon: In the winter are beautiful days!

Click here for more editions of Learning Ojibwe.

Culturology 12-30: Tim Byrns' burlwood sculpture

by Travis Ryder
 
Tim Byrns finds chunks of recycled lumber, burlwood, and other items and transforms them into incredible shapes.  Justin Cook interviews Tim on Thursday's edition of Culturology.  Also, the culture calendar and This Week in Minnesota History.  Tune in select Thursdays at 8:10 and visit the Culturology page to find archived segments.

This week in Minnesota history:

Dec. 26, 1862 The federal government hangs thirty–eight Dakota men in Mankato in the wake of the U.S.–Dakota War.  It’s the largest mass execution in American history.

Dec. 30, 1884 The first white settler in the International Falls area, fur trader Alexander Baker, secures his land claim.

Jan. 1, 1893 Workers nail the final spike in the Great Northern Railroad, connecting St. Paul to the Pacific Ocean.

Roseau and Mahnomen Counties are established this week in 1894 and 1906, respectively.

Dec. 28, 1909 W. E. "Pussyfoot" Johnson, the federal liquor law enforcer on Indian reservations, leads a raid on the saloons of Park Rapids.  These establishments were illegally serving residents of White Earth Reservation.  Johnson and a trainload of U.S. marshals gather every bottle they can find and demolish them on Main Street.

In advance of the New Year’s holiday in 1957, Governor Orville Freeman announces that Minnesota will crack down on "drinking drivers." He urges sheriffs in the state to resist local pressures to reduce drunk driving charges to charges of careless driving.

On New Year’s Eve 1957, University of Minnesota president James L. Morrill announces that the university will expand westward across the Washington Avenue Bridge into a "blighted area" of Minneapolis. A key part of the plan is a new double-deck bridge.

Jan. 1, 1969 The Coast Guard closes Split Rock Lighthouse after fifty-nine years of service. It becomes a state park the following year.

Dec. 30, 1977 Legendary sports broadcaster Halsey Hall dies in his Minneapolis home at age seventy-nine. Known for his cigar-smoking, whiskey-drinking style, Hall was broadcaster of Twins games for many years and the first to use the phrase "holy cow" during a broadcast. He also coined the adjective "golden" to describe the University of Minnesota's sports teams.

The Culture Calendar includes:

Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm has the exhibits 'Iron Stories', through Jan. 2, and the veterans' exhibit 'Letters From Home', closing Jan. 16.

Iron Range Repertory Players present the dinner theater event 'Murder Rides Again', Thursday and Friday, Dec. 30 and 31, 6 p.m., at the Coates Hotel in Virginia. Reservations: 741-5577.

Bovey/Coleraine family New Year's Eve celebration at Longyear Park, Coleraine. Skating, sledding, hot chocolate & tube steaks 4-5 p.m., singalong, fireworks 6 p.m.

Northland Flavor preparation sessions, for artists seeking retail buyers at the Feb. 28 Duluth event.  Prep sessions Jan. 6 in Virginia 10 a.m. and Duluth 5:30 p.m. Preregister: carmenb@entrepreneurfund.org or 218-623-5738.

A Winter Wonderland Slideshow from Northern Community Radio

This has been one of the best winters for Northern MN snow enthusiasts in recent memory: lots of snow that stuck. While not great for ice skaters, it has been wonderful for skiing, sledding and appreciating the beauty of it all. Here is a slideshow of our Winter Wonderland, use the button in the bottom right to view full screen:
We'd love to add your pictures! Email them to photo@kaxe.org along with your name and where the picture was taken.

Music is Todd Clouser's First Language

by Doug MacRostie. 

Todd Clouser's "A Love Electric" is an instrumental album with a lot to say. For some people music is a first language; there is a channel to the soul where music flows out, expressing more feeling and emotion than words ever could. Todd felt that connection the first time he strummed a guitar when he was 11 years old and I am really excited to talk with him this week on Centerstage MN.

From Minneapols, and recently relocated to Baja, Mexico, Todd Clouser is a genre-defying guitarist bringing 70's rock and modern jazz into a new realm. Todd told me, "When I did discover jazz it was a similar feeling to when I discovered Bob Dylan or Tom Waits; music didn’t have to sound a certain way, and you didn’t have to write your lyrics a certain way. Like a Dylan tune could be 6 minutes long with 7 verses, it didn’t have to be in the 'verse-chorus' digestible pop formula. And that’s how I felt when I listened to Jazz – all these things that I’d been feeling and wanting to express earlier but the form of the music felt restricting – jazz opened the door to get that out." Todd wrote the music down in Baja, but came back to Minneapolis to record this fiery, high-flying album.

We'll also hear a feature about Cornbread Harris, an 83 year old blues musician still performing in Minneapolis. He performed on MN's first rock record 55 years ago, his son Jimmy Jam Harris has produced the likes of Prince and Michael and Janet Jackson. When you hear his voice, you can imagine an 83 year old blues musician who's dedicated his life to music, and thanks to our sister station KFAI for producing this piece, made possible by the MN Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

And the new CD "Dawn and Daylight" from jazz duo Charmin and Shapira has arrived, I've got the debut from Cook County's Most Wanted, and we'll ring in the new year with a song from Take Cover, a high energy pop-rock band out of Duluth.

Centerstage MN is Thursday evenings at 6, streaming live online at www.KAXE.org; or 91.7 Grand Rapids, 89.9 Brainerd and 105.3 Bemidji and can be heard again Sunday mornings at 6. All interviews are archived at www.KAXE.org. Centerstage MN is also heard on KSRQ in Thief River Falls Saturday nights at 11 & Wednesdays at Noon, and on WTIP in Grand Marais Thursday afternoons at 4. Often featured on MNartists.org.

Learning Ojibwe: Giiwedinong

From Chelsea Annette's book, "Discovering the Little Brothers"


  Giiwedinong: in the direction of the north
 
 Listen

In "Little Brothers" the songbird, Nagamowin-bineshiinh, flies high in the sky, ishpiming, to the north, giiwedinong.

Click here for more editions of Learning Ojibwe.

Culturology 12-23: Copper Art and Sordid MN Christmas History

Dan and Frances Hedbloom make art from copper in a unique process created by Dan's stepmother.  Justin Cook talked with Dan at the recent Gifts Worth Giving event in Grand Rapids.  Though these Hedblooms don't have a website yet, they suggest that the general idea of their work can be seen at Dan's parents' website.


This week in Minnesota history:

12-23-1846 A bill is introduced in Congress to create a territory called "Minasota." Although the bill fails, this is the first legislative use of the name.

12-20-1902 Clearwater County is established, named for Clearwater Lake and River.

12-21-1998 Television's original Betty Crocker, Adelaide Hawley Cumming, dies in Seattle. Cumming starred in the Betty Crocker Show beginning in 1949 and remained General Mills' advertising icon until 1964.

12-25-1842 The first U.S. flag in St. Paul is raised on a pole in front of Richard Mortimer's house. Born in England, Mortimer had served successively in both the British and American armies and served at Fort Snelling before settling in upper St. Paul. The flag flies briefly and then is cut down by "some wicked scamp" from the rival Lowertown neighborhood.

12-25-1866 Two Mankato fur traders are lynched in New Ulm after they kill a citizen in a bar fight. The following day, 300 angry residents of Mankato, along with a company of militia, march to New Ulm to investigate the lynching. Liscomb and Campbell's mutilated bodies are found stuffed under the ice of the Minnesota River. A subsequent investigation names many members of the lynch mob, but no indictments are ever made.

12-25-1874 On Christmas morning, firemen at St. Paul's No. 3 engine house brawl with each other in "a very disgraceful fight" that leaves two seriously injured, several badly bruised, and five arrested on a charge of assault with intent to do great bodily harm. The fight is apparently caused by an "unpleasant feeling" between the principal parties, an insulting remark about a piece of equipment not working properly, and a cigar stump thrown at one of the men.

Last Minute Christmas Gifts!

by Maddi Frick

If you didn't hear, KAXE has new merchandise!

Perfect for those KAXE lovers and listeners, all at affordable prices.  We have new KAXE t-shirts (dark grey/green, heather red, and black), new sports page t-shirts (grey and red) along with the purple sports page tees, and a new brown dancing fox tee.  

We have new blue long sleeves in a pale blue, along with darker blue long sleeves.  There's also the yellow dancing turtle long sleeves.

We've got new baseball hats in brown and dark blue, and fleece hats in orange, red, black, dark blue, baby blue, and pink.

We have new black mugs and clear pint glasses.

So many options!  Drop by KAXE during the day and we can help you pick out your final holiday gifts. 

Merry Christmahanukkwanzica!

Like a Snowy Owl Sitting on a Telephone Pole

We have all kinds of pix to share :) Check out this picture of a Snowy Owl in our Online Photo Album. Got pictures to share? Email them to photo@kaxe.org, please include your name and where the picture was taken.

The Precious Pet of the Week

Hi there! My name is Precious. I'm a 1 1/2 year old sweetheart who's been waiting at the shelter for my forever home. Just like my name implies I'm a very dear little friend that would love to steal your heart. Please come down to the shelter to meet me. My adoption fee includes my spaying, up to date vaccinations, bordetella and deworming. If you are interested in adopting me, please submit an application via e-mail from our website www.starnorth.org (under forms). If you would like to visit me at the shelter please e-mail adoptions@starnorth.org or call 218-245-3732 Our adoption hours are Mon/Thur 5-7pm and Wed/Sat/Sun 12-3pm

What do Bellchoir, Jazz, Gay Men's Chorus & Metal Music Have In Common?

by Doug MacRostie.

All of it will be featured on a special holiday edition of Centerstage MN.

KAXE Producer Jennifer Poenix produced an excellent piece about her love of hand bells - it's a lush, intimate view of what bellchoir is all about it.

Also, our sister AMPERS station KFAI produced a piece about the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus, which has grown to be the fourth largest gay men's chorus in the country. As an organization they celebrate diversity and use music as a way to transform, educate and heal.

We'll also hear selections from a Xmas jazz concert by the Mr. Pumpkinhead Quartet, recorded live on KAXE last year featuring Sam Miltich on Guitar, Don Vidal on Sax, Pat Downing on Bass and Tim Wick on Keyboard.

And the icing on the cake? MN metalheads My My Misfire know it's better to give than receive, and are debuting/releasing a song from their forthcoming CD for download on Christmas Eve as a gift to their fans.

Plus there will be some non-traditional holiday tunes from Paul Metsa and Eliza Blue. And what MN holiday special would be complete without Bob Dylan's "Must Be Santa".

Metal to Polka this week on Centerstage MN.

Centerstage MN is Thursday evenings at 6, streaming live online at www.KAXE.org; or 91.7 Grand Rapids, 89.9 Brainerd and 105.3 Bemidji and can be heard again Sunday mornings at 6. All interviews are archived at www.KAXE.org. Centerstage MN is also heard on KSRQ in Thief River Falls Saturday nights at 11 & Wednesdays at Noon, and on WTIP in Grand Marais Thursday afternoons at 4. Often featured on MNartists.org.

Video: Wahwahtay Rapping on Centerstage MN

[Producers note: our videographer regrets cutting off Wahwaytay's shirt, it says, "Defend The Rez."]

Wahwahtay Benais: The Thunderbird Within the Northern Lights
By Doug MacRostie
The oppression, hardship and discrimination that Native Americans have lived for the last 500 years is something that is very difficult to put into words. The same pain and struggle they continue to face today while fighting to maintain who they are as a people.

Using music, Wahwahtay Benais has captured and expressed that plight in a very powerful way. From the Leech Lake Rez, living in Ball Club, his name references the Thunderbird that comes from within the Northern Lights. Wahwahtay is a hip-hop/rap artist with an intense and emotional message, and it is a true honor to have him join me in-studio this week on Centerstage MN.

I first heard him thanks to a video for his song Indigenous Holocaust (included below). It took my breath away. It brought tears to my eyes. It made me want to change the world. In a time of dumbed-down raps and wearing riches as robes, Wahwahtay is a much needed breath of fresh air working to empower youth and preserve Annishinaabe traditions and language. Do NOT miss this.

Read More: http://kaxeblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/...

Wahwahtay's Website: http://www.myspace.com/wahwahtaybenais 

Hear the full conversation with Wahwahtay at our website, http://www.kaxe.org and click on Centerstage MN.

Realgoodfood

by Heidi Holtan

This week is the debut of the audio documentary I put together in the last few months as part of the class some of the staff at KAXE participated in put on by Milt and Jamie Lee. I was honored to participate in this workshop and learned some amazing things about telling a story through radio.  Thanks to the MN Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund as well as the Blandin Foundation for making this possible.

So what is Realgoodfood all about then?  Sometime last year, I started thinking more about food....finding interesting, good food when you live in a rural, northern place.  Food coops have been expanding throughout northern Minnesota - farmer's markets are growing in popularity -more and more people are subscribing to CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture).  All of this interested me, but I didn't know what story I wanted to tell.

So I grabbed the recording kit and got in my car and visited a farm in Bovey, Virginia (Natural Harvest Food Coop), Bemidji (Harmony Natural Food Coop)  and Brainerd (Crow Wing Food Coop) in search of people making and selling good food.  Hope you enjoy my audio story!

Wahwahtay Benais: The Thunderbird Within the Northern Lights

by Doug MacRostie

The oppression, hardship and discrimination that Native Americans have lived for the last 500 years is something that is very difficult to put into words. The same pain and struggle they continue to face today while fighting to maintain who they are as a people.

Using music, Wahwahtay Benais has captured and expressed that plight in a very powerful way. From the Leech Lake Rez, living in Ball Club, his name references the Thunderbird that comes from within the Northern Lights. Wahwahtay is a hip-hop/rap artist with an intense and emotional message, and it is a true honor to have him join me in-studio this week on Centerstage MN.

I first heard him thanks to a video for his song Indigenous Holocaust (included below). It took my breath away. It brought tears to my eyes. It made me want to change the world. In a time of dumbed-down raps and wearing riches as robes, Wahwahtay is a much needed breath of fresh air working to empower youth and preserve Annishinaabe traditions and language. Do NOT miss this.

Defend the Rez

To set the mood right for the interview, we'll hear from Brother Ali - MN's premiere hip-hop artist, and More Than Lights; all of which have socially conscious lyrics and try to bring a voice to the voiceless.

Centerstage MN is Thursday evenings at 6, streaming live online at www.KAXE.org; or 91.7 Grand Rapids, 89.9 Brainerd and 105.3 Bemidji and can be heard again Sunday mornings at 6. All interviews are archived at www.KAXE.org. Centerstage MN is also heard on KSRQ in Thief River Falls Saturday nights at 11 & Wednesdays at Noon, and on WTIP in Grand Marais Thursday afternoons at 4. Often featured on MNartists.org.

Culturology 12-16: Log Church and Good Food

by Travis Ryder

 This edition of 'Culturology' features a piece by Justin Cook on the beautiful, 102-year old Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in the west Range town of Coleraine.  The city's founder/designer and Oliver Mining superintendent John C. Greenway was a charter member.  By 1987, the congregation could no longer maintain the landmark.  The City took ownership and a local group took action to preserve the sturdy structure and make it available for special events.  The 'Christmas in the Country' concert, held in the church each December, benefits the preservation fund.

Also featured this week, Heidi Holtan's documentary takes us to the garlic fields of Itasca County and several co-operative grocery stores in our region. 'RealGoodFood' is another in the series of documentary pieces produced by KAXE staff as part of a recent training course.

Also, the Culture Calendar and a look back in this week's Minnesota history moments.

Culturology airs select Thursdays at 8:10 am, and is supported by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Please Join 170 Million Americans for Public Broadcasting

If you love 91.7 KAXE and Northern Community Radio, keep reading!

Public broadcasting is the subject of a critical debate in Washington. The question under consideration is whether to keep funding public television and radio to ensure quality news and cultural programming for our communities–or not! 170 Million Americans listen to public radio stations like KAXE, or watch public TV, or use other kinds of public media every month.  If you are reading this blog, you’re one of that 170 million, and we’re asking you to add your voice to this debate. To do that, go to 170MillionAmericans.org and sign up for the 170 Million Americans campaign. When you register you will receive email updates about the status of this situation, and an occasional request to take action.

• More than half of all Americans use some form of public media every month.
  170 million Americans connect through 368 public television stations, 934 public radio stations, hundreds of online services, and in-person events and activities.
• Public broadcasting is one of the most effective public/private partnerships in America.
  Annual federal funding amounts to only $1.35 per American and is leveraged by local stations to raise six times that amount from other sources.
• Public broadcasting supports lifelong learning for all Americans.
  Investments in children’s educational, cultural, public affairs and news programming, digital classroom resources, teacher training, and distance learning have made public broadcasting a leader in lifelong learning.
• Public broadcasting strengthens our democracy. The free flow of ideas and debate helps us participate in the political process as informed citizens.
  

KAXE is proud to participate in the 170 Million Americans campaign. It’s an unprecedented collaboration of public radio and television stations, public broadcasting organizations, and listeners and viewers throughout the country, all in favor of strong public media in the United States. KAXE receives more than 1/4 of its $700,000 total budget through the combined investment of many citizens at the federal and state levels. KAXE relies more on federal and state support than most public broadcasting organizations do because we are a rural station. For any one person, this investment is very small, but when it's all put together it does a lot. Taking the "public" out of public broadcasting is a serious issue with many potential consequences. To help ensure the continued health of small stations like KAXE, and of large news and cultural organizations like NPR and PBS, go to 170MillionAmericans.org now and join the campaign. Thank you very much!

Peruse Pictures from Northern MN

We've added another round of pictures to our Online Photo Album, including the KBXE Float in the Night We Light parade in Bemidji, musicians in-studio like Katie Corning from Bagley, and parties at the KAXE Studios in Grand Rapids.

Got pictures to share? Email them to photo@kaxe.org, please include your name and where the picture was taken.

Did You Miss It? Never Fear, Our Archive is Here!

Check out some of these recent highlights from Northern Community Radio, like Winona LaDuke talking about Natural Harvest and her work at White Earth, the rich and uplifting feature on Hand Bells by Jennifer Poenix, the intimate and burning music of Sela Oveson from Orr and Anton Treuer about the dynamic and controversial 19th century Ojibwe leade Hole in the Day. Click to listen on your computer, or "right click" and "save as" to download the files and then load them onto your mp3 player. Enjoy!

Will Weaver and "The Last Hunter"
"The Last Hunter - An American Family Album" by MN Author Will Weaver. Check out more author interviews on the RealGoodArchive.

 

 

 

 

Aaron Brown on Christmas Trees
Christmas reminds us that we've survived another year and still have some semblance of a family and a haphazard network of friends... we made it! To honor this melancholy truth we cut down trees and put them in our houses. Get more contributions and stories at the Between You and Me page.

Guido on Christmas Trees
You have to actually see this Christmas tree to fully appreciate it: it's black and upside down. Get more contributions and stories at the Between You and Me page.

 

Sela Oveson and "Rogue Lightning"
I am very excited to welcome Sela Oveson back to Centerstage MN to talk about her debut album "Rogue Lightning." It's powerful stuff. As a solo artist her music is already commanding, but she invited many of her favorite Iron Range musicians to join her on this CD. When a song starts with her delicate guitar and then a bass note slides in, a drum pounds and you hear the pull of a violin the music wraps around you, inviting your mind to sail through the great unknown. Sela has captured Rogue Lightning in a bottle. Read More...

Ring Them Bells: One Woman's Hand Bell Story
Jennifer Poenix has been around hand bells since she was a youngster. The bells even rang at her wedding ceremony. Now she's in the bell choir at Community Presbyterian Church in Grand Rapids. She tells us about the history of the bells and what they mean to her. Read More...

"The Assassination of Hole In The Day:"

“The Assassination of Hole In The Day”: Author and Professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State, Anton Treuer, talks about his new book about the dynamic and controversial 19th century Ojibwe leader, Bagone-ghiizhig (a.k.a. Hole In The Day the Younger.  Get more stories from Our History here.

Winona LaDuke
Winona LaDuke talked with us about Native Harvest, local food, reviving traditional strains of corn and other goals of the White Earth Land Recovery Project. Get more Local Food stories here.

Video: Frost on the Banks of the Mississippi

John Latimer, Phenologist for Northern Community Radio, takes us to the banks of the Mississippi River next to the KAXE Studios in downtown Grand Rapids, MN and talks about the different types of frost that can form on these cold mornings when you're near open water.

Check out more MN nature news, pix, and vids on the Phenology Page at http://www.kaxe.org

Jada the Pet of the Week

Hi! My name is Jada. I am a wonderful dog! I was left to fend for myself and could really use some good walks. I even get along well with other dogs. Could you be my new walking partner? My adoption fee includes my spaying, up to date vaccinations, bordetella and deworming. If you are interested in adopting me, please submit an application via e-mail from our website www.starnorth.org (under forms). If you would like to visit me at the shelter please e-mail adoptions@starnorth.org or call 218-245-3732 to make an appointment. Our adoption hours are Mon/Thur 5-7pm and Wed/Sat/Sun 12-3pm.