bkreimer's blog

During the first week of October, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Cooper Gallery in Morrill Hall opened "A Turning Point: Navajo Weaving in the Late 20th Century," an exhibition showcasing modern Navajo textiles reflecting a culture balancing both tradition and change. The exhibit's opening coincided with the Textile

Society of America's 12th Biennial Symposium in Lincoln. Three Navajo weavers from Arizona were invited to demonstrate the weaving process for exhibition visitors. Martha Schultz, her daughter Lola Cody and granddaughter Melissa Cody, representing three generations of one weaving family, setup their equipment outside the Cooper Gallery and demonstrated for visitors how raw wool is carded, then spun, and subsequently woven.

NAPT Assistant Director Georgiana Lee and Production Assistant Ben Kreimer interviewed the three weavers following their demonstration.

Listen to the Interview | Melissa Cody's Facebook Page

Dr. Arne Vainio, an Ojibwe physician on the Fond du Lac Reservation in northern Minnesota, is about to have his fiftieth birthday. As a doctor, he encourages his patients approaching the age of fifty to come in for a series of health screenings to determine their risk for health conditions such as diabetes and colon cancer that have tendencies to appear at midlife. Despite the life prolonging benefits of obtaining these screenings, many men are reluctant to undergo the tests, including Dr. Vainio.

Dr. Vainio is the main focus of the 2009 Emmy nominated American Indian health documentary Walking into the Unknown. In the film, Dr. Vainio, who is approaching the age of fifty, undergoes the same series of medical screenings he recommends for his patients. In this Native Word presentation, production assistant/reporter Ben Kreimer speaks with Dr. Vainio about his work on Walking into the Unknown.

Listen to the interview | Visit the NAPT Walking into the Unknown press release | Visit the Walking into the Unknown website