As the nation commemorates the 100th anniversary of historic Route 66, some historians, scholars, and curators are offering a different perspective of the famed Mother Road. An exhibition just opened at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City, Okla. that gives the public a view of the people, culture, and influence arising from the tribal land the road cuts through. A Diné culture educator is giving live presentations of research into the detrimental effects on Native people that the highway brought with it. And the American Indigenous Tourism Association’s Route 66 campaign encourages visitors to look beyond the neon and 1950s pop culture that is synonymous with Route 66, and take time to learn about the ways it transformed Native Americans connection to the rest of the country for the first time.

GUESTS

Shawn Price (Diné), historian and director of the Dinétah Navajo Cultural Program

Gail Chehak (Klamath Tribe), community and partner relations director for the American Indigenous Tourism Association

Adrienne Lalli Hills (Wyandotte Nation), learning and community engagement director for the First Americans Museum

Danyelle Means (Oglala Lakota), executive director of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture

Break 1 Music: Brown Eyed Handsome Man (song) The Wingate Valley Boys (artist) Navajoland U.S.A. Country Happening (album)

Break 2 Music: Trick Song (song) Battle River (artist) Hard Times (album)