Growing Up Native American in Modern America

Guests: Chrystal Begay, Miss Indian Tribe of Many Feathers 2017-2018, BYU; Andrew Benally, President, BYU’s Tribe of Many Feathers; Jay Begaye, 2010 NAMMY Male Artist of the Year for the album “Horses Are Our Journey” The historical record of how the Pilgrims and the Wampanaog ended up feasting together at the first Thanksgiving is scant. There’s no evidence the native residents of the region were actually invited to the harvest festival, for example. But the historical record is very clear about the centuries that followed when Native Americans died in massive numbers from European diseases, were killed, enslaved and forced from their lands. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Native American youth often taken from their communities and placed in government-sponsored boarding schools meant to make them more “civilized.” They were forced to dress in European clothing and forbidden to speak their native languages. Today, many of the children and grandchildren of those boarding school students are finding a way back to their Native American heritage. Special thanks to Jay Begaye for permission to use the music in this converastion. All of the songs come from Begaye's album "Horses Are Our Journey," which won the 2010 Native American Music Award for Male Artist of the Year.