Culture and Coexistence into the Great Unknown
For more than 12,000 years, the Intermountain West’s Native peoples have called the lands known as Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks “home.” This program explores modern Indigenous perspectives on these great wilderness areas and explores the cultural divide that separates modern times from the not-so-distant past.
After centuries of fear and superstition, research has given the wolf a new image as a social creature with an indispensible role in ecosystems. Unfortunately, wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains have been removed from the endangered species list. The Druid Pack of Yellowstone National Park symbolizes the rise and fall of this much maligned predator.
Lakota spiritual leaders speak about dealing with a world out of balance, life after death, and overcoming drugs, money and emptiness. Lakota history and the Seven Sacred Rites are discussed.
The supernatural appearance of White Buffalo Calf Woman tells of her divine revelations to the Lakota people regarding the Seven Sacred Rites to bring about spiritual rebirth and world harmony.
The environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” as a method for natural gas drilling investigated recently by ProPublica and displayed in the documentary film Gasland, have led to a nationwide backlash against this dangerous fossil fuel touted as a “clean burning alternative to oil.”
Fifteen years have passed since wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park and the results are in. The controversial experiment has been a stellar success. Essay by Chip Ward.