Wisdom of the Elders

Series 2, Program 4: Arikara*

Introduction

Elder Wisdom Feature: Rodney Howling Wolf and Virgil Chase

Brian Bull introduces us to Arikara elders, Virgil Chase and Rodney Howling Wolf who grew up together, learning oral history, attending ceremonies of their people and watching their home town swallowed up as a result of Missouri River dam construction.

Sacred Landscape

Judy Bluehorse Skelton offers insights into Corn Mother, the significance of this sacred plant, and its cultivation by native peoples along the Missouri riverbanks.

Tribal Rhythms

Nico Wind takes us to meet the Arikara elder, Yvonne Fox, who tells of Mother Corn at the center of Arikara traditional life, and the late Terry Howling Wolf who represented one of the oldest drum groups of the Arikara, the Dead Grass Society.

Contemporary Rhythms

Milt Lee interviews Arikara musician, Leo Lockwood, who picked up his first set of drum sticks at Flandreau Indian Boarding School and tells how the influence of music changed his life.

Turtle Island Storytellers

Journalist Dorreen Yellow Bird tells the story of Corn Maiden and how she is still honored in Sahnish households to this day.

* Segment transcripts and participant biographies can be found on the Wisdom of the Elders Web site.

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