‘Growing Native’ explores four Native American communities

“Growing Native” is a four-part series that takes you on adventures throughout Indian country Sunday afternoons at 3 p.m. on Arizona PBS.

Through conversations between local guides, enjoy a glimpse of modern and traditional reservation life, and learn how native people pass on their experience and wisdom to others in a positive way.

The miniseries highlights these shared experiences to help bridge a better understanding of our Native Americans. Learn how Native communities are working toward sustainable food sovereignty and renewable energy sources, and how they are adapting to the impact of climate change.

Dec. 9: Coast Salish 

Venture to the Pacific Northwest to capture the stories of ongoing traditions and perseverance of its original inhabitants. For the tribes of this region, water is life. The rivers that crisscross this land were the highways for trade and fresh water grocery stores for thousands of years. Today, tribes celebrate their cultures by participating in a yearly canoe journey, an opportunity for people to gather and travel to all the places their ancestors once inhabited. Through totem poles, language preservation and traditional crafts, host Chris Eyre (Cheyenne Arapaho) discovers the wilds of the North.

Dec. 16: Alaska: People of the North

All across Alaska, Native cultures have depended on the abundant natural resources found there to support their families, cultures and ways of life. Now, however, those resources are growing scarce, and the people who have relied on them for centuries have to find new ways to adapt. Growing Native visits some of the many communities engaged in this familiar struggle – the struggle to maintain their traditions and ways of life, while continuing to thrive in a constantly changing world. Host Chris Eyre (Cheyenne Arapaho) meets Alaska Natives who thrive and survive in this complex environment.

Dec. 23: Great Lakes and Turtle Island

Over the Centuries, the Great Lakes have been home to hundreds tribes and a source of fresh water, food, and health. Indigenous creation stories describe the world came into being on a back of a turtle shell, and today they know the earth as Turtle Island. Growing Native host Stacey Thunder (Red Lake and Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe) guides this journey by engaging tribal voices while touring Indian country with those who still devote their lives to care for the land.

Dec. 30: Oklahoma: Red People

Oklahoma is home to thirty-nine federally recognized tribes. Nowhere in North America will you find such diversity among Native Peoples, and nowhere will you find a more tragic history. Host Moses Brings Plenty (Oglala Lakota) guides this episode of Growing Native, on a journey to Oklahoma’s past and present. What he discovers among the many faces of Oklahoma culture is the determination, values and respect that tribes have brought to this land, once called Indian Territory.