this style of dance coming to us from the north. one of the most competitive styles of dance. all right, one more time, our men's and boys' grass dancers.

good dancing. all right. calling into the arena, our jingle dress dancers, make your way into the arena. all ages. michele, hi. gina. charlene harrison. all right. when you are ready, make them dance. all right, doubled the -- double beat. this style of dance once again coming to us from the north. the ojibwa, lakota, dancing throughout indian countries.

again, one of our most competitive styles of dance. ♪

alright, one more time, give it out -- up for our jingle time dancers. [applause] coming into the arena, our women's fancy shawl dancers. make your way into the arena.

when you are ready, make them dance.

all right, one more time. good singing, dancing. all right. [applause] how are we looking over there, robert? good? all right, calling out our double bustle fancy dancer, mr. edgar santiago. all right. [applause]

edgar, are you tired from last night? all right. when you are ready. make them dance. ♪

all right. [applause] thank you, mr. edgar santiago. [applause] all right, calling all our dancers into the arena one more time. a round dance. dancers, come on out. how about another hand for our

dancers, singers? all right. rocket, city hall. here we go. all right, when you are ready, make them dance. ♪ all right. back in oklahoma, we have this round dance. [inaudible] we've got northern style of round dance. one of our social dances, friendship dances.

[inaudible] michael durant, come on out. join our dancers. aurora, come on out and then joined our dancers. nathan, come on out. those four honorees, joined our dancers. and good to see all these dancers out here rocking.

san francisco, looking good. go, dancing good singers. oh, yeah.

♪ all right, one more time, put it together for our dancers and our

singers. coming to you live. all right. have our dancers get ready for their exit, so we will have larry harrison, will you lead our dancers out? robert leroy will be the last one to exit. and we do that because after our dancers leave, as they are making their way out, a veteran should be the last one to leave that arena.

when you are ready. please stand if you are able as our dancers make their exit. i want to thank each and every one of these dances for coming out, helping us to honor our

own. no. traditional dancers, string dancers, grass dancers, no. -- northern traditional, southern coif, gene will dancers, seven traditional as well. our bets the war dancer. thank you. good singing, good dancing, all right, one more time. let's hear it for our singers and our dancers. looking good.

all right, good job. all right. we are calling all our veterans to come up. veterans, you do not need to be native american. all our veterans, come on up. randy surely, where are you at? lead them out. -- randy shirley. i had someone asked me why we honor our veterans. one of the dumbest question is i have ever heard. i was offended when i heard it.

i'm still offended. you wonder why native people honor our veterans. because my elders said so. before r.e.m. men, our young women go off to serve in the military, back home, we have ceremony to protect them, to make share -- make sure that they return home safe to their family, to be a round their friends, to be able to sing and dance when they come back. we did the same period this

arena represents a place of healing. they leave with their culture, their traditions, their language. they learn about these things. they meet new people. it expands their horizons. it also gives them the opportunity to pursue higher education, go out and find a job with veterans preference. so why do we honor our veterans? because we are told to. that is the way it was done before my great, great

grandfather, my great grandfather, my grandfather, my dad, and now me. if you still do not understand it, see me after. i will be in the parking lot. hey, i'm kidding. [laughter] i will have margin havemartin with me. -- i will have martin wiht me. any more veterans? come up. native people, we have always honored our veterans. an upper. better in song -- and up for free at -- an appropriate veterans song.

are you veterans? go ahead and dance around. ♪

all right, once again, put your hand together for our native american veterans. good job. [applause] almost 6:00. i do not get paid until 6:00, right? once again, thank you, veterans. let's get down to business, why we are here. i would say honoring our own, thanks to kqed, san francisco's

native american health center, the mayor's office of neighborhood services, and the native american aids project. our hosts probably do not realize the impact that this event has on the native american community. but it is something we look forward to every year. these four honorees -- i have had the pleasure, the privilege of working with them on a professional level. i do not know if i have an unprofessional level, but as

well as in any powwow irina, so it gives me great pride and pleasure as well toemcee -- to emcee this event. how many native americans in the san francisco bay area? let's see -- one, two -- [laughter] over 60,000. how many in oakland? 29,000. it is just really need for the san francisco bay area, northern california, california -- it is really neat to recognize native

american heritage month with these four that we on this day. again, i know them well. and i can call them my friends, even though one of them is lakota. at this time, i would like to turn the microphone over to john of kqed. >> thanks, carol -- banks, ea --

thanks, earl. i'm president of kqed media. i'm glad you are all here, and we are glad you are all here, and kqed is proud to be joining in partnership with the san francisco mayor's office of neighborhood services and the san francisco native american health center and the native american aids project in celebrating american indian heritage month. we proudly celebrates the diversity out northern california by commemorating american indian heritage with more than 60 programs this year -- this month, in fact. these programs are highlighted in a guide along with listings of community resources and local events, and you can find that

actkqed.org/ -- at kq ed.org/heritage. i wanted to point out a couple of films we have coming up on our films series. one is called "real injun" and it is an interesting trip through the history of north american native people as they have been portrayed in the history of movies from silent did today. the second explores the life and death of fred martina's and the spiritual nature and gender. two spirits is going to come on kqed television in june of 2011, but we are also sponsoring the american indian film festival this year, and that will be premiering at the festival i think next week. then, just this past month in october, helped dialogue with a special theory from kqed public

radio did a report on the current condition of native american health with interviews from health care providers, community leaders, and experts in the gaming industry in california, that if you would like more information or to receive a free copy of that report, you can pick it up right over here in the north like court at the kqed table. it is my honor to introduce our first artery, nathan costello. [applause] nathan is omaha, lakota, northern cheyenne, and was born in winnebago, nebraska. he participates in the sun dance in south dakota and assists with ceremonies in california. nathan is respectful to elders and those who struggle with the digit -- addiction and other health issues. the path he found through

recovery is called the good, read have, at half that requires one to give back and take care of the community. he has chosen to walk the good red road with support from friendship house and native american health center staff. after graduating from friendship house in 1996, nathan joint sober spirits, a support group of friendship house alumni. they provide security at powwows and other community events, and they are role models for a clean and sober life style, reaching out to community members who are struggling with addiction. nathan has volunteered for the san francisco and oakland tribal tanf program and has been a motivational speaker at schools throughout the area. he is a strong advocate for embracing native cultural arts, activities, and athletics. in 1998, nathan received the

native american new millennium award from hollywood and the stars, a lifetime achievement award. in 1999, the southern california motion-picture council gave nathan an award of special merit for his outstanding contribution to the native american motion picture community. in 2006, nathan also for dissipated in the sacred run from alcatraz to washington, d.c., and in 2008, the longest walk, which sought to bring attention to the desecration of sites and to reaffirm the mission of the longest walk of 1978. nathan credits martin as a role model for helping him stay on his behalf, and martin would like to say a few words. [applause]

>> thank you. first of all, i would just like to say to the community and the bay area how proud i am of all that we have accomplished despite governmental efforts to tear us away from our culture and tradition. we were too strong. our blood spread too strong, and they could not take that away from us, so just give yourselves a round of applause. we are american indians. we are at city hall, and they are going to listen to us. [applause] i am deeply honored to be asked to say a few