“Mending the Hoop” brings the story of the Plains Indian Wars to life through audio-rich storytelling in this season of the award-winning Modern West podcast, with re-enactment by Indigenous actors and scoring by Northern Arapaho musician Christian Wallowing Bull. Host Melodie Edwards brings her longtime experience covering tribal issues to bear as she travels the region, speaking with history keepers, activists and leaders, working alongside story editor and Ojibwe playwright Marty Stenczewilk. With guidance each episode from Ogalala Lakota historian Dr. Jeff Means, listeners learn how, for tribes, this history isn’t distant or forgotten. In fact, it’s history in the making.
Indigenous history keepers observe a straight line can be drawn from Sand Creek to decades of war afterwards. But they also trace it to problems we are witnessing to this day, including the high rates of missing and murdered Indigenous people, and mental and physical health disparities in Indian Country. Yet now, many Plains tribes are leading the charge to face this past. From droughts on the Colorado River, to the release of wild bison on reservations and reclaiming museum artifacts, tribes are now engaging in important issues.
Listen to the trailer for the #MendingtheHoop upcoming season - wherever you get your podcasts or at themodernwest.org! The Modern West is supported by the Wyoming Humanities Council.
To arrange an interview with The Modern West podcast producer Melodie Edwards, please email modernwestpod@gmail.com or call 307.760.7106.
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Wyoming Public Media (WPM) is Wyoming's public radio/media statewide network operating four FM channels and online services. Its Wyoming Public Radio (WPR) FM signal alone reaches approximately 95 percent of the state and is heard by over 70,000 Wyomingites. Online content is accessed by over 1.2 million unique visitors annually. It is the NPR affiliate for Wyoming and licensed to the University of Wyoming as a statewide public service.
WPM's mission is to connect Wyoming through programming that informs, inspires, and educates. Its objectives are to 1) encourage lifelong learning, 2) foster interest and participation in community, national, and world affairs, and 3) reflect Wyoming's and America's culture and heritage.
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