On April 10th, KBOO's Native program, Rose City Native Radio turns 1 year! Congratulations Jackie!
About a year ago, I met Jackie Malstrom in an Intro to Audio Production class I was teaching. I offered to help her and Paul Rolland to get a Native program rolling and on April 10th this year we will be celebrating the 1st Anniversary of Rose City Native Radio, hosted, produced and engineered by Jackie Malstrom! The show stands on a strong legacy of Native programing and community building at KBOO, but is offering a new perspective, that of Native youth.
On March 18th 2015 I sat with Jackie to ask her to reflect on 1 year of Rose City Native Radio. LISTEN TO THE AUDIO HERE or read the edited transcript bellow.
Delphine: So Jackie, it’s been a year of Rose City Native Radio! How does that feel?
Jackie: (chuckle) I don’t know, time goes by really fast! Really, really fast!
Delphine: So take us back to a year ago, when you first walk into KBOO. Why did you come here?
Jackie: I guess I had what some might call, and laugh at, a quarter life crisis! I was freshly 25 and I had no real direction. I had been complimented multiple times on my voice. I used to do call center work and both my callers and my trainees would comment on my voice… and over the years this has happened a lot, so I thought “people tell me I have a pretty okay voice, I can talk for a while, let’s look into radio!” It was kind of spin the globe, put your finger somewhere to find out where you’re going to go. So, me and my boyfriend David started Googling radio stations… and KBOO kept popping up and I loved the layout for the website…I loved the idea of KBOO, but it is volunteer thing and I needed money, but the most David and I looked into it, the more we liked what KBOO was about and agreed with what they were saying! So we decided this will count as my college. I never went to college and so we thought this could count as my training, I would go there, go to board-oping and other classes just for a few months until I get the hang of the board, then I will apply for board-oping job at other radio stations that would pay me to do board op-ing. That was the plan!
Delphine: Wow, we could not be further from that plan! You are board-oping though!
Jackie: I am board-oping! …So, I came in and I started with the volunteer orientation. Just seeing the outside of the building and then coming in here and seeing all the types of people that I saw, instantly, I knew this was the place for me. It’s so creative, and so bright and colorful with bright and colorful people! I had mentioned that I was Native American and that I would be interested in helping with a Native show. I figured I got to get out there in the community and this is one way to do that, I can help with the Native show and meet more Natives. Ani or Jenka approached me after I had taken the volunteer orientation and asked me if I would be interested in taking over the Native timeslot to do my own show! I was intimidated. I had only been here for a week so I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Ani said, we will put you through all the classes you need to go on air and do a show. I had 3 weeks to get a pilot together. Jenka introduced me to Paul (Rolland) who was interested in helping and then I met you Delphine at my Intro to Audio Production class and Christopher Francisco who does a Dine’ podcast on KBOO called Human Beings With 5 Fingers. Paul and You (Delphine) became kind of my training wheels on how to put together a show, how to run the board, etc…
I wasn’t sure at first, but I had some ideas for the show. I feel that there is stuff out there for younger kids and there is stuff for elders but there is nothing for people in between, there is nothing for teenagers or people my age even. So what do you do for the people in between like me that are still trying to connect with the culture. I wanted to make a show for those people, teenagers, young adults, or people in their 30s. At the time I had just discovered a Tribe Called Red and I was obsessed. I became very interested in the blending, evolving of the culture into something like that. Also the 1491s were a huge influence on me. I want to pull our image out of the past and into the present where we are doing comedy, we are doing techno music, Native Hip Hop…there are all these different things and they are all scattered and I wanted to bring them all to one place.
Delphine: Tell us what has happened in a year.
Jackie: So when I started off I had a list of people I wanted to interview… I cut that list by half by now and then some. I have met amazing people through the show. It has opened up so many doors for me. It completely changed my life. People who I thought were on mount Olympus are suddenly just on the hill over there and all I have to do is walk over and say hi. This is mind boggling to me and still intimidating. Also through the show, I have met a lot of people and have become more involved with the Native community which is what I want, and also I have learnt in life where I want to go. Direction wise, I want to stay here and do broadcasting, live radio and podcasting or whatever I can do. I am very interested in that. And at the same time I want to work with my local Native community. I want to help my people in some ways and give voices to people my age. Our voices need to be heard too because our experiences matter and are important. So this is why, I have started a mentoring program through NAYA (Native America Youth and Family Center) and I have 2 students and I am hoping to get more. We mentor them in audio production, broadcasting, board-oping, anything they are interested in! Our first student, Ender, has gone leaps and bounds. He already has his own segment on my show and he is now writing, recording and editing it himself and getting it done in time every week!
Delphine: And the segment is called “Roar of the Earth” grrrrrrrrrr.
Jackie: (laughter) and it have been getting very positive reviews. People love it and he is 16 and Thad is 17 and a musician and we are showing him how to set up for Live music and things like that. We want to get more youth interested in producing a segment. I would love to have a music segment, an entertainment segment, Ender is our spirituality segment so maybe an environmental segment but through the eyes of the current generation, commenting on the present and how things affect them currently. So I hope the show can be more of a platform for that and bring more attention to the importance of listening to the new generation.
You know there is a big problem in Indian country and youth are not really interested in learning their culture anymore and we have to stop and ask why that is. What happens that causes them to be disinterested in it and then figure out ways to get them interested in it through pop culture and new technologies. There are apps to learn Navajo now; there are video games in the Native language with English subtitles and not the other way around. There are Native comic books written by Native people, Native rap, Native punk, Native folk, Native dubstep, things you would never think would be. But they exist and no one knows about them, no one talks about them, no one shows this because it is a brand new territory that has never been done before.
Delphine: Or you should say, no one used to do it because now there is Rose City Native Radio where you can tune in and listen to all of that, because you have covered all of these topics!
Jackie: I try! My goal overall for the show is no only to be a platform for the current generation, but also to use it as an education tool for maybe people like me who don’t know or did not grow up in the culture and have that disconnect, to find a way to reconnect with your culture. But also use it as a tool for non-Natives. I really want this to be a safe environment to learn for both Natives and non-Natives.
Delphine: And tell us about the prison partnership.
Jackie: So Oregon State Penitentiary has the Lakota Oyate Ki Club, run by Natives inmates inside the prison. Gary Eagle Thunder emailed me and asked if we would do a presentation at the prison about the show and KBOO and what we do. So we went to a meeting and it was amazing. The guys there are awesome and supportive and very interested in what we are doing and interested in helping in any ways they can which is amazing to try to help your community from behind bars. So we are trying to set up another mentoring program for the prisoners who will get out soon and are interested in learning radio and maybe helping out with the show.
So now we have a partnership with NAYA and with OSP Lakota Club and I want to build as many partnerships as possible and also let people know, please use us a platform to get the word out about your powwow, about your fried bread cook off, about your organization. That’s what we are here for!
Delphine: So what’s next? What is your vision for the show? Where do you see the show 1 year from now?
Jackie: I want to evolve it into a podcast. I want to do different versions. I want to do the on air version, 1 hour a week and hopefully one day it will be extended. But for now, do our FCC okay broadcast regular show every Thursday and then for people who want more, we do a longer podcast with the full version of the interviews and songs. We can cover more ground that way and play some things which are not okay to play on the radio but are totally fine on the internet. So that’s where I would like to be and also be more connected and have many more partnerships. Personally, I also want to be a catalyst for people who want to start their own podcast, or radio show. I want to be of service to the Native community and of anyone who is interested to create their own media. I will support it as much as I can. I want to support Native made media and get it out there!
Delphine: Share some words of wisdom for young people out there, for young Native people who are looking for a way to be creative.
Jackie: Keep an open mind and don’t be intimidated! I came in here not expecting to do a show, especially not a weekly show, I was going to be here for 4 months tops. And it’s been a year, all because I decided to go with it, to go with the flow. So definitely keep an open mind to new experiences. I never, in a million years thought that I would be interested in radio. In fact, when I was 18 and graduated high school, I was certain I was going to be a club DJ. I was going to this DJ school in Portland, Spun Academy to learn to do music production. I was going to be a club DJ. And anytime I told an old person that they’d say “oh, I’ll listen on the air for you!” “NOOO, not that kind of DJ awwrrrr!” And now, here I am as that kind of DJ! So keep an open mind! And technically I have achieved my dream of being a DJ!
Delphine: Thank you for your wisdom Jackie!
Jackie: uh gag, wisdom? I am not that old Delphine!
On March 18th 2015 I sat with Jackie to ask her to reflect on 1 year of Rose City Native Radio. LISTEN TO THE AUDIO HERE or read the edited transcript bellow.
Delphine: So Jackie, it’s been a year of Rose City Native Radio! How does that feel?
Jackie: (chuckle) I don’t know, time goes by really fast! Really, really fast!
Delphine: So take us back to a year ago, when you first walk into KBOO. Why did you come here?
Jackie: I guess I had what some might call, and laugh at, a quarter life crisis! I was freshly 25 and I had no real direction. I had been complimented multiple times on my voice. I used to do call center work and both my callers and my trainees would comment on my voice… and over the years this has happened a lot, so I thought “people tell me I have a pretty okay voice, I can talk for a while, let’s look into radio!” It was kind of spin the globe, put your finger somewhere to find out where you’re going to go. So, me and my boyfriend David started Googling radio stations… and KBOO kept popping up and I loved the layout for the website…I loved the idea of KBOO, but it is volunteer thing and I needed money, but the most David and I looked into it, the more we liked what KBOO was about and agreed with what they were saying! So we decided this will count as my college. I never went to college and so we thought this could count as my training, I would go there, go to board-oping and other classes just for a few months until I get the hang of the board, then I will apply for board-oping job at other radio stations that would pay me to do board op-ing. That was the plan!
Delphine: Wow, we could not be further from that plan! You are board-oping though!
Jackie: I am board-oping! …So, I came in and I started with the volunteer orientation. Just seeing the outside of the building and then coming in here and seeing all the types of people that I saw, instantly, I knew this was the place for me. It’s so creative, and so bright and colorful with bright and colorful people! I had mentioned that I was Native American and that I would be interested in helping with a Native show. I figured I got to get out there in the community and this is one way to do that, I can help with the Native show and meet more Natives. Ani or Jenka approached me after I had taken the volunteer orientation and asked me if I would be interested in taking over the Native timeslot to do my own show! I was intimidated. I had only been here for a week so I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Ani said, we will put you through all the classes you need to go on air and do a show. I had 3 weeks to get a pilot together. Jenka introduced me to Paul (Rolland) who was interested in helping and then I met you Delphine at my Intro to Audio Production class and Christopher Francisco who does a Dine’ podcast on KBOO called Human Beings With 5 Fingers. Paul and You (Delphine) became kind of my training wheels on how to put together a show, how to run the board, etc…
I wasn’t sure at first, but I had some ideas for the show. I feel that there is stuff out there for younger kids and there is stuff for elders but there is nothing for people in between, there is nothing for teenagers or people my age even. So what do you do for the people in between like me that are still trying to connect with the culture. I wanted to make a show for those people, teenagers, young adults, or people in their 30s. At the time I had just discovered a Tribe Called Red and I was obsessed. I became very interested in the blending, evolving of the culture into something like that. Also the 1491s were a huge influence on me. I want to pull our image out of the past and into the present where we are doing comedy, we are doing techno music, Native Hip Hop…there are all these different things and they are all scattered and I wanted to bring them all to one place.
Delphine: Tell us what has happened in a year.
Jackie: So when I started off I had a list of people I wanted to interview… I cut that list by half by now and then some. I have met amazing people through the show. It has opened up so many doors for me. It completely changed my life. People who I thought were on mount Olympus are suddenly just on the hill over there and all I have to do is walk over and say hi. This is mind boggling to me and still intimidating. Also through the show, I have met a lot of people and have become more involved with the Native community which is what I want, and also I have learnt in life where I want to go. Direction wise, I want to stay here and do broadcasting, live radio and podcasting or whatever I can do. I am very interested in that. And at the same time I want to work with my local Native community. I want to help my people in some ways and give voices to people my age. Our voices need to be heard too because our experiences matter and are important. So this is why, I have started a mentoring program through NAYA (Native America Youth and Family Center) and I have 2 students and I am hoping to get more. We mentor them in audio production, broadcasting, board-oping, anything they are interested in! Our first student, Ender, has gone leaps and bounds. He already has his own segment on my show and he is now writing, recording and editing it himself and getting it done in time every week!
Delphine: And the segment is called “Roar of the Earth” grrrrrrrrrr.
Jackie: (laughter) and it have been getting very positive reviews. People love it and he is 16 and Thad is 17 and a musician and we are showing him how to set up for Live music and things like that. We want to get more youth interested in producing a segment. I would love to have a music segment, an entertainment segment, Ender is our spirituality segment so maybe an environmental segment but through the eyes of the current generation, commenting on the present and how things affect them currently. So I hope the show can be more of a platform for that and bring more attention to the importance of listening to the new generation.
You know there is a big problem in Indian country and youth are not really interested in learning their culture anymore and we have to stop and ask why that is. What happens that causes them to be disinterested in it and then figure out ways to get them interested in it through pop culture and new technologies. There are apps to learn Navajo now; there are video games in the Native language with English subtitles and not the other way around. There are Native comic books written by Native people, Native rap, Native punk, Native folk, Native dubstep, things you would never think would be. But they exist and no one knows about them, no one talks about them, no one shows this because it is a brand new territory that has never been done before.
Delphine: Or you should say, no one used to do it because now there is Rose City Native Radio where you can tune in and listen to all of that, because you have covered all of these topics!
Jackie: I try! My goal overall for the show is no only to be a platform for the current generation, but also to use it as an education tool for maybe people like me who don’t know or did not grow up in the culture and have that disconnect, to find a way to reconnect with your culture. But also use it as a tool for non-Natives. I really want this to be a safe environment to learn for both Natives and non-Natives.
Delphine: And tell us about the prison partnership.
Jackie: So Oregon State Penitentiary has the Lakota Oyate Ki Club, run by Natives inmates inside the prison. Gary Eagle Thunder emailed me and asked if we would do a presentation at the prison about the show and KBOO and what we do. So we went to a meeting and it was amazing. The guys there are awesome and supportive and very interested in what we are doing and interested in helping in any ways they can which is amazing to try to help your community from behind bars. So we are trying to set up another mentoring program for the prisoners who will get out soon and are interested in learning radio and maybe helping out with the show.
So now we have a partnership with NAYA and with OSP Lakota Club and I want to build as many partnerships as possible and also let people know, please use us a platform to get the word out about your powwow, about your fried bread cook off, about your organization. That’s what we are here for!
Delphine: So what’s next? What is your vision for the show? Where do you see the show 1 year from now?
Jackie: I want to evolve it into a podcast. I want to do different versions. I want to do the on air version, 1 hour a week and hopefully one day it will be extended. But for now, do our FCC okay broadcast regular show every Thursday and then for people who want more, we do a longer podcast with the full version of the interviews and songs. We can cover more ground that way and play some things which are not okay to play on the radio but are totally fine on the internet. So that’s where I would like to be and also be more connected and have many more partnerships. Personally, I also want to be a catalyst for people who want to start their own podcast, or radio show. I want to be of service to the Native community and of anyone who is interested to create their own media. I will support it as much as I can. I want to support Native made media and get it out there!
Delphine: Share some words of wisdom for young people out there, for young Native people who are looking for a way to be creative.
Jackie: Keep an open mind and don’t be intimidated! I came in here not expecting to do a show, especially not a weekly show, I was going to be here for 4 months tops. And it’s been a year, all because I decided to go with it, to go with the flow. So definitely keep an open mind to new experiences. I never, in a million years thought that I would be interested in radio. In fact, when I was 18 and graduated high school, I was certain I was going to be a club DJ. I was going to this DJ school in Portland, Spun Academy to learn to do music production. I was going to be a club DJ. And anytime I told an old person that they’d say “oh, I’ll listen on the air for you!” “NOOO, not that kind of DJ awwrrrr!” And now, here I am as that kind of DJ! So keep an open mind! And technically I have achieved my dream of being a DJ!
Delphine: Thank you for your wisdom Jackie!
Jackie: uh gag, wisdom? I am not that old Delphine!