Fort Belknap hears it first on KGVA (fwd)

[phil cash cash]

Fort Belknap hears it first on KGVA
A fresh start

By JARED MILLER Tribune Regional Reporter
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040521/localnews/470964.html

[TRIBUNE PHOTO BY JARED MILLER - Radio announcer Brian Hammett, known on
air as "B.J. the D.J.," is a state certified Native language
instructor. He teaches a daily language lesson for radio listeners.]

As word of the tribal president's unprecedented resignation swept over
the Fort Belknap Reservation last week, residents tuned their radios to
88.1 FM.

Behind the microphone, KGVA station manager Will Gray Jr. broadcast live
from tribal headquarters, and studio announcers discussed the
resignation on the air.

"A lot of people really didn't know what was going on," Gray said.
"That's where we come in."

The live coverage is one example of how KGVA -- part of a national
network of Native American-owned radio stations -- has become more than
just a signal on the radio dial.

Just minutes after Gray announced that the Fort Belknap Indian Community
Council had ended discussions about the resignation, the doors to
tribal headquarters swung open.

People poured inside to talk about what they'd heard on the radio.

Tune to 88.1 on any given day and you'll hear the steady beat of powwow
music, contemporary tunes selected by local DJs and free Indian
language lessons.

High school basketball games air on the weekends, and homebound elders
get their only access to powwows through a remote radio feed.

KGVA also carries programs like National Native News by National Public
Radio and Native America Calling by American Indian Radio On Satellite.

What you won't hear on the 24-hour station is commercials.

KGVA has been on the air since 1996 and broadcasts from Fort Belknap
College, which holds the license and provides most of the funding.

Ultimately, the Fort Belknap Indian Community Council has control of the
station and its content.

The Fort Belknap Reservation, home to Montana's Gros Ventre and
Assinibione tribes, is 35 miles east of Havre on the Hi-Line.

It wasn't until 2001 that KGVA became a centerpiece for news,
information and entertainment.

The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks helped sharpen the station's focus
as a news source.

For two days after the attacks, the station broadcast nothing but NPR.

Then Gray decided to turn the microphone to the reservation.

He interviewed members of the Fort Belknap Indian Community Council, and
he asked locals what they had to say about the attacks.

"I wanted to give them a voice," Gray said. "This is their radio
station."

Tuning in

When a crippling blizzard hit in December 2003, the reservation again
tuned to KGVA.

With police dispatch inundated with calls, radio announcers relayed
message from stranded travelers and families that needed help.

The reservation eventually was declared a disaster area, and the station
got the word out immediately.

"They try to keep the people involved and informed," said Fort Belknap
resident Gene Brockie, who first tuned in after moving back to the
reservation in January. "I think they do a good job."

Tribal President Darrell Martin said the station helps get information
to the reservation elders who may not have television.

"It's very important that people know what's going on the reservation,"
Martin said. "It's a great tool."

A strong signal

During the last 30 years, radio has found a special place on America's
reservations, said Susan Braine, an operating chief for Koahnic
Broadcast Corp., the native-owned media center in Anchorage, Alaska.

All together, there are 32 commercial-free reservation radio stations.

Most are linked by the American Indian Radio On Satellite and most are
National Public Radio affiliates.

"I think it's cool that you don't have to go the IHS (Indian Health
Service) clinic or the post office to read the bulletin board to find
out what's going on anymore," Braine said. "All you have to do is tune
in to your tribal radio station.

"I would say that every one of them is the community center," she said.

The oldest reservation stations -- in Alaska, North Carolina and New
Mexico -- have been on the air for at least three decades.

Some stations, including the NPR station in Pine Hill, N.M., KTDB, are
bilingual. That station translates all NPR programs into the Navajo
language, Braine said.

Learning curve

Gray and the KGVA staff all got their start as station volunteers, and
none had broadcast experience.

But their talents blended with the station goals, and eventually they
got permanent jobs.

Announcer Brian Hammett, known on air as "B.J. the DJ," is certified by
the state of Montana to teach the White Clay language and gives a daily
language lesson.

Both Hammett and announcer Dean Snow, known on air as "Luke Warm Water,"
rely heavily on humor to drive their programming.

Unlike a lot of contemporary stations today, Hammett and Snow pick their
own tunes; nothing is prerecorded.

Room to grow

Under Grays' leadership, the station continues to sharpen its focus on
news and local voice.

There's still plenty of room to grow, he said.

In fact, the station is in the process of hiring a third announcer and
will soon extend its reach well beyond the reservation.

KGVA will be on the Internet in about two months.

Miller can be reached by e-mail at jarmille at greatfal.gannett.com, or by
phone at (406) 791-6573 or (800) 438-6600.