Grassroots Radio
Gallup’s public station hosts Native American shows

Gloria Ann Begay interviews KGLP studio technician Patrick Burnham, background, for her Native Language and Culture program Friday at the KGLP studio on the UNM-G campus. — © 2008 Gallup Independent / Cable Hoover

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Karen Francis
Diné Bureau

GALLUP — While satellite radio infiltrates the market, one thing it cannot offer is local programming. Gallup’s public radio station KGLP programs shows that are relevant to the community, but it cannot do it for free. As a non-profit, non-commercial radio station, KGLP, 91.7 FM relies on grants and donations to operate. Next week, the station will be fundraising.

The station only has two employees and the rest are volunteers. One volunteer is Gloria Begay who hosts a weekly show called “Iina” to promote Native cultures and languages.

In it, she often interviews people from the community and informs the public about different programs in the area.

“I’ve had some really wonderful people come here,” she said, naming Baje Whitethorne, Irving Toddy, Native Hands Co-op and Gallup-McKinley County Schools teachers and administrators as examples.

The problem is many people don’t get to hear it.

“What I had found out is they didn’t know this program existed,” Begay said. She is hoping to reach more people with the radio show and has been given the charge by the station’s board to bring in even more Native language to the contents, she said.

The main audience is educators, Begay said. “I know a lot of teachers are always tuning in,” she said.

With the program, she hopes to also reach youth, especially since some don’t even know they have tribal governments, she said.

“To me, the problem with the current education system is it’s so mainstream. They forget to teach them Native history,” Begay said.

Begay records on Thursday morning and the program airs at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

“If anyone wants to come on my program I encourage them to come on board,” she said.

The station also plays “Native America Calling,” a live call-in program, daily from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. and a program called “Deer Tracks,” with South and North American music, which airs Monday noon to 3 p.m.

Patrick Burnham, studio technician, runs three programs for the radio station including a new one called “Digging Deep,” with funk, soul, jazz, and psychedelic, on Friday nights 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.

He said that KGLP is one of the only educational stations in the area.

“We meet the needs of a lot of the community that are not being served by other stations,” Burnham said. For example, there are reggae, world music, and underground hip-hop programs on the station.

“We’re trying to fill the niches in and around Gallup that no one else is filling,” he said.

Kim Smith, from the Miss Indigenous Youth Collective, tried to get a youth radio program started on other commercial stations, but nothing ever panned out until she started working with KGLP.

The Miss Indigenous Youth Collective radio program will debut on Nov. 1.

“There’s no other radio station like it. It’s a space for people to come in, do programs that they really care about,” Smith said about public radio. “It really brings the community together.”

The reason for the Miss Indigenous Youth Collective to have a program is simple — to get the voices of the youth heard — and the youth with the Miss Indigenous Youth Collective are very excited about doing their own show.
“Where else could they go to have their radio program to say and play what they want? Public radio is providing it for them,” Smith said.

For students of the college, a radio program that is open for college students interested in radio is aired every Thursday from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Begay said she is also trying to encourage young people to go into radio broadcasting.

The importance in this region for public and educational radio can be underscored by the many listeners. While some on the Navajo Nation, for instance, do not have access to television or Internet, most do have a radio, and if they don’t have electricity, they have batteries for it.

“Being a kind of a rural community, a lot of people listen to radio and it’s my opportunity to bring Native people to the radio station that provide programs and services for the young people,” Begay said.