Day 1

Racism in Border Towns In 1996, KNAU produced the initial Edge of the Rez documentary.  At that time, every Native America interview told a story of discrimination.  A decade later, stories of discrimination are still commonplace.  What's new is the approach taken by the Navajo Nation.  The tribal council has created a Human Rights Commission to hear complaints, the first of its kind in Indian Country.  Also, hundreds of Navajos marched into the border town of Farmington to protest two racially charged incidents, and they've threatened to take action in other border towns as well.  But both Native and non-Native people still ask the question: Could Native Americans just be over-sensitive? Winslow Mayor Allan Affeldt The major obstacle (then) Winslow Mayor Allan Affeldt faced was the problem of intoxicated street people, mostly Native American.  Affeldt says downtown Winslow consisted mainly of drunk bars, "whose principal job was to take money those native Americans and turn them back on the streets when they had no more money."  While Mayor, Affeldt convinced the Winslow City Council to establish a Detox center, which, in partnership with the city of Holbrook now serves northeastern Arizona. Intoxicants at FMC - Everyday, the emergency room at the Flagstaff Medical Center lines its hallways with gurneys set up specifically for intoxicated patients.  Doctors say nearly eighty percent of those patients are young, Native American men, who come into Flagstaff from the “dry” reservation.  Many of them visit the ER daily.  And some, doctors say, come in several times a day for acute alcohol poisoning.  Officials say past attempts at successful public detox programs have failed because of a lack of follow-up care. In the winter of 2006, the city, with help from the Navajo Nation, opened a new Detox center. Officials hope it can offer a chance for sobriety through culturally sensitive programs and Navajo-speaking counselors. Ecotones NAU Professor Nancy Johnson says most of the diversity in life occurs in "ecotones," where two different ecosystems border one another.  She describes border towns like Flagstaff as "cultural ecotones".

Day 2

Mona Seamon and Lita Scott - From Navajo to Winslow Mona Seamon (left) is a Program Assistant with the Winslow Indian Health Care Center diabetes program.  Lita Scott is the program's Community Health Nurse.  Both women relocated to Winslow with their families in 1984, when they were teenagers.  They were forced to move because of the Navajo/Hopi Land Dispute.  Radmilla Cody - Racism On the Rez Singer, and former Miss Navajo, Radmilla Cody (right) grew up a bi-racial child on the Navajo reservation.  She is half Navajo, half African-American.  She experienced racism from her own family members and other children.  When she moved to Flagstaff to finish high school, the racism, she says, was no different.

Days 3 and 4

Joe, Janice and Jonathan Day - Growing up on and off the Rez Joe Day grew up in Kansas, but came to Flagstaff in 1970 to run the city's Head Start program.  He was invited to a Hopi kachina dance, and he kept coming back to the Hopi reservation on weekends.  That's how he met his wife Janice.  They have been selling Indian arts out of their store on Second Mesa for more than two decades. Jonathan (pictured right), Joe's son from a previous marriage, lived with his mother in the Boston area, but spent his summers on the Hopi Reservation.  He says, "They were the happiest memories of every year."  However, he has no romantic illusions about life on the reservation.  As his father says, "He knows it's a real place where real people live with real problems." Native Students - From the Rez to Northern Arizona University Many Native American students attending Northern Arizona University have to straddle two worlds.  They return to the reservation for tribal commitments while keeping up their schoolwork.  It's difficult, which may be why forty percent of Native students drop out after one year. In 2006, NAU enrolled more than a thousand Native students.  Until recently, odds were slim they would graduate at all.  Now, 30% of of Native students will graduate with a bachelor's degree in six years.  That's almost double the rate of 10 years ago, but there are still many challenges In this segment, we visit with one Navajo student who is planning to beat the odds.  We'll hear from NAU Junior Colleen Cooley (left with her parents) and the great sacrifices her entire family is making for her education. Jack Doggett - Doing Business on the Rez Flagstaff businessman Jack Doggett (right) spent three years negotiating with Navajo officials to allow wireless companies to build more cellphone towers on the Navajo Nation.  In 2006, the reservation - at 27,000 square miles large - has the lowest telephone connectivity in the U.S.  Doggett talks about his personal experiences as one of the "belaganas" (white men) at the back of the hall, waiting to make proposals to Navajo officials. Navajo artist Shonto Begay The word for cell phone in Navajo means "little thing that spins you around," because finding a cell signal on the reservation isn't easy.  In this segment Shonto Begay (left) describes one of his paintings of a Navajo elder, dressed traditionally, adorned in Navajo jewelry, intently trying to program is cell phone.  Begay often portrays scenes of life on and off the reservation.

Days 5 & 6

Snowbowl History No issue in northern Arizona's border towns has been more contentious in recent years than the proposal to make artificial snow on the San Francisco Peaks using reclaimed wastewater.  The Arizona Snowbowl ski area has argued it needs consistent snow to survive.  Many Flagstaff officials and businesses support the plan.  But environmentalists have questioned the safety of the reclaimed water, and 13 Indian tribes say it would desecrate mountains they hold sacred. The Coconino National Forest completed an environmental impact study of the plan, and approved it. Opponents appealed it all the way to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in September.  Both sides of the legal battle say they'll appeal all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. The Benally Family The Benally family, in many ways, lives on the edge of the rez. Jones Benally grew up on the Navajo Reservation. His wife, Berta, grew up in New York, the only child of Jewish parents. But, Hollywood, activism and love brought them together in a twist of fate. Now, their three children, Jeneda, Klee and Clayson, are carrying on the lessons of their parents, with their unique style of music and political awareness. The Benally's family history includes the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show, the Native American Relocation Act, artificial snowmaking, and punk rock with the band Blackfire (right, with Clayson, Jeneda and Klee Benally). Indian Health Services Dr. Frank Armao has been an Indian Health Service doctor in Winslow longer than anyone.  He met his wife Fena in 1979, the first year he arrived.  Fena Lewis Armao moved off the Navajo Nation when she was six.  That's when she learned English.  They have been married for over 20 years and have raised their family in Winslow.  Listen to the Armaos talk about their courtship, how they're raising their children, and what Dr. Armao discovered in the hospital room shortly after Fena gave birth to their first child. The Navajo Language Lola Riggs is from Page, Arizona.  She grew up on the Navajo reservation, as did her husband.  Riggs regrets that her children never learned the Navajo language.  She tells us about an incident that made her children realize they are disconnected from their culture.

Day 7

Ramson Lomatewama Ramson Lomatewama (right) moved to Flagstaff with his mother and brothers when he was 7 years old.  For many years, his mother supported family working as a maid at the Monte Vista hotel.  She met a lot of famous movie stars working there; however, she, "didn't have a clue as to who they were," according to Lomatewama.  Listen to Ramson Lomatewama read his poetry and talk about how he changes his mindset when he leaves Flagstaff and returns to the Hopi reservation. Non-Native Americans Non-Native Americans have been fascinated with Native American spirituality and culture for centuries.  Whether they adopt a Navajo way of thinking or take part in a Hopi ritual, when it's not our own heritage, at what point do we cross the line and become "Indian wannabes"?  In this segment, we meet Sharon Lee Harris (left), who leads tours of sacred sites in the Sedona area.  We also find out why people are so drawn to American Indian ways. Scott Thybony Scott Thybony (right) is a Flagstaff writer.  His work has appeared in National Geographic, and other major publications, and he's been a commentator for National Public Radio.  Thybony wrote an essay about his Edge of the Rez experience, which includes handing off tobacco to a Hopi tribal judge in a hotel parking lot.  Thybony says, "I felt like the middle man in some drug smuggling scheme."