Sekon!
Let me first say that I am honored to be a part of the Two Row Times inaugural edition. While I hope this publication maintains a high level of responsibility in its reporting, I hope it doesn’t play this so safe that it loses its purpose.
As I make a commitment to contribute to the Two Row Times, it makes sense for my initial offering to be an introduction.
I am a Kanienkehaka from Kahnawake. I am married to an Onyota aka and I live in the territory of the Onondowaka; Cattaraugus to be more specific.
My column will bear the same name as my weekly radio show that airs and streams live each Sunday night 9-11 from WWKB 1520 AM in Buffalo, NY.
Streaming can be caught on the station’s website at www.kb1520.com on the TuneIn app for smart phones, atwww.tunein.com and on the blog I have been writing since 2008: www.letstalknativepride.blogspot.com. My “Let’s Talk Native…” radio show is entering its fourth year and has not only earned me the spot as the go-to guy to weigh in on Native issues in the region but has gotten me radio airtime in Albany, New York, DC and Minneapolis as a guest and even host.
Television interviews include a dozen appearances on WGRZ’s 2 Sides, WCNY’s Capitol Report, Time Warner Cable’s YNN and Al Jazeera. I also have a “Let’s Talk Native…” Facebook group page. Join the group and find links to shows, articles, sites, videos and, of course The Two Row Times.
I don’t bring “buffalo speeches” to radio or television and I certainly won’t to The Two Row Times. I offer opinions that are often provocative at first glance but oddly familiar and embraceable even if never quite heard my way before.
While plenty of people, Ohnkwe Ohnwe or otherwise, will certainly not always agree with my views, conversion is not my goal; conversation is. Allow my words and much of what you’ll find here in the pages of Two Row Times to start or grow a conversation in your home, in your family, in your community and beyond.
At conversation affect the changes desire. Share your own thoughts with The Two Row Times, on Facebook, on my radio show and my blog. Got a topic, a suggestion, praise, criticism or just a different thought on a current topic; share it and let the conversation build.
My contributions here to Two Row Times will never be more than a few paragraphs. I’ll make my point boldly and quickly, and reading my column will never feel like a homework reading assignment.
I’ll dig for seldom heard and rarely reported items associated with our daily lives and the world we live in. Reading the LTN column will arm readers with confidence to speak up and speak out.
Look for my “Let’s Talk Native…” contribution each week here in The Two Row Times.
Niaweh,
Karhiio – John Kane
