News Release

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June 10, 2005

Boise State Public Radio Program Commemorates "The Legacy and Lessons of Lewis & Clark"

Clark interpreter Ritchie Doyle with Native re-enactors

Boise State Radio premiers a series of stories commemorating the 200^th anniversary of the journeys of Lewis & Clark. “The Legacy and Lessons of Lewis & Clark” will air locally and is being made available to public radio stations nationally. The program was produced by Boise State Radio’s Jyl Hoyt and made possible by a grant from the Idaho Governor’s Lewis & Clark Trail Committee.

The program includes four different segments, each looking at the history of the expedition and its effect on native tribes and the land they lived in for thousands of years.

In the first segment, titled “The River Brought Them,” President Thomas Jefferson sends Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the new lands of the Louisiana Purchase, find the headwaters of the Missouri River and hopefully discover a waterway to the Pacific. In many ways, the expedition marked the beginning of the America we know today.

“Lewis & Clark in Indian Country” examines the role native peoples played. The late historian Stephen E. Ambrose chastised Lewis and Clark for not giving credit to the many tribes who helped them on their journey; without the help of native tribes, the expedition would not have made it. Today, many Indians still resent the explorers and the exploitation that followed them. Others are more forgiving of the memory of the men whose expedition marked the beginning of the end of thousands of years of native culture in the American West.

In “Beyond the Beginning of the End,” Hoyt looks at the “Opening of the West” begun by the Lewis and Clark expedition. The result was the near-destruction of the hundreds of native cultures that stood in the way of American expansion. Today, many natives are using the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition as an opportunity to commemorate what was lost and celebrate what has survived.

Concluding the series, “Reclaiming Sacajawea” examines the memory of one of the most famous Native American women. For the past two centuries many Indians called Sacajawea a traitor, blaming her both for bringing Lewis and Clark to their ancient lands and the exploitation that followed. The new Sacajawea Interpretive, Cultural and Educational Center in Idaho works to redefine the young Lemhi Shoshone mother and heal past wounds for both Indians and whites.

Each of the four segments will air alone during the week of June 13-16 during the 3 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. hours of All Things Considered. A full-hour containing all four segments will air at 9 a.m. Sunday and Monday, June 19 and 20, on NPR News 91.

A Web site, including photos, audio samples of the program and information, is at http://radio.boisestate.edu.

“The Legacy and Lessons of Lewis & Clark” was produced and written by Hoyt and edited by Peter Thomson. Ron Bernthal, professor of American history at State University of New York, was associate producer.

NPR News 91 is heard on KBSX, Boise at 91.5 FM; KBSY, Burley at 88.5 FM; KBSJ, Jackpot at 91.3 FM; KBSQ, McCall at 90.7 FM and KBSS, Sun Valley at 91.1 FM.

Boise State Radio operates twenty broadcast facilities in Idaho and northern Nevada. Additional information is available at http://radio.boisestate.edu.

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Contact: Jim East, Associate General Manager, Network Programming, Boise State Radio, (208) 947-5659, jeast@boisestate.edu

Media Contact: Kathleen Craven, communications and marketing, (208) 426-3275, kraven@boisestate.edu

The Office of Communications and Marketing - Boise State University
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Last reviewed on Thursday, December 22, 2005