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About this episode

Teens witness Vietnam War flashback as KBIC tribal elder talks about racism, substance abuse and other social issues as part of wild rice project in northern Michigan(Marquette, Michigan) - A Native American who was a helicopter gunner in Vietnam suffered a flashback while speaking to at-risk teens about racism, substance abuse and scrapes with the law including being shot at by police.While the Manoomin Project is restoring wild rice to northern Michigan, another goal is to teach at-risk teens how to cope with today’s world that is increasingly filled with stress and temptations.Keweenaw Bay Indian Community elder Glen Bressette of Harvey Michigan spoke to the Manoomin Project teenagers this summer just before they embarked on a survey of the previous year’s wild rice crop.During the talk - a helicopter flew low and close to the teens as they listened to Bressette while along the shores of Lake Superior in Marquette, Michigan.Bressette grabbed his chest and explain how the chopper was bringing back memories of his days as a U.S. Marine gunner aboard a helicopter in Vietnam.The teens, who get involved in the project as part of juvenile court probation, learned that Bressette overcame many issues that they are currently dealing with - and turned his life around to become a well-known public speaker across northern Michigan.Manoomin Project volunteer media advisor Greg Peterson covered Bressette’s talk and has the story:Editor’s note:Bresette also spoke to the teens about Native American heritage and culture such as eagle feathers, pow-wows, respect for elders and the color (direction) wheel.Future videos will include some of his comments on these an other topics. ---Time: 9:55---

• Release Date

  Dec 21, 2007

• Runtime

  09:56