05x01 - Big Gust to a River Rush

[bunniefuu]

Hey, everyone-- it's me, Molly!

♪ Molly of Denali ♪

Let's go!

♪ She's Molly of Denali

[laughing]: Whoo!

♪ By plane or sled or snowshoe ♪

♪ She is ready to explore ♪

♪ From Kaktovik down to Juneau ♪

♪ Always wanting to learn more ♪

Yeah!

♪ Together with her best friend Tooey ♪

♪ Always by her side And Trini!

♪ Discovering the outdoors

♪ On adventures day and night

♪ Come along with Molly ♪

♪ Molly ♪

♪ Through fields of fireweed ♪

♪ Come along with Molly

♪ Molly

♪ From tundra to the sea ♪

Mahsi'choo-- let's go!

♪ Molly of Denali ♪

Yeah!

♪ She's Molly of Denali ♪

♪ Come on ♪ Let's go! ♪

♪ Molly of Denali ♪

♪ She's Molly of Denali ♪

MOLLY: "Big Gust to a River Rush."

MOLLY: You know how sometimes when you go to someplace new,

you don't know what to expect?

Well, let's just say this trip

has blown me away...

It started with a normal plane ride.

Hey everyone! It's me, Molly,

coming to you from , feet in the sky.

That's right, I'm in an airplane!

Because I'm on my very first trip

outside of Alaska!

It's just me and my Grandpa Nat.

Say "hi" Shchada'a!

Hi, Shchada'a! [chuckles]

[both laugh]

Grandpa Nat is making a documentary about volcanoes--

because he's a volcanologist.

So we're flying to five different volcanic sites.

I can't wait to see them!

Grandpa's documentary is called:

Indigenous Ways of Knowing Volcanoes.

It's gonna be all about... um.

[clears throat]

Shchada'a? Ooh!

It will tell the story of different tribes' beliefs

about volcanic sites.

Cool, right?

We're also bringing a bunch of different gifts.

Like this fireweed tea.

Um, why do we bring presents when we visit people, Shchada'a?

It's a way to honor our hosts

and thank them for welcoming us onto their homeland.

Our first stop is Rutan Hill in New Jersey.

And we're meeting someone named Phillip, right?

That's right.

He is a member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community.

They're one of six Lenape sister nations

in the U.S. and Canada.

And this land is the ancestral homeland of the Lenape peoples.

GRANDPA NAT: Phillip is an expert on the area...

and on volcanoes.

And this fireweed tea will be the perfect gift,

because it has "fire" in the name.

Very volcano-y.

[phone chirps] I'll be back soon.

with more adventure and volcanoes!

[phone chirps]

[goat bleating]

♪ ♪

[goat bleats in distance]

♪ ♪

Koolamalsii! You must be Nat.

Drin gwiinzii! Nice to meet you, Phillip.

Mahsi'choofor your help.

My pleasure.

Ruthie, come say hi.

RUTHIE: Koolamalsii.

It'ee nik'yaljik geenjitshoo ihlii.

I'm Molly.

I'm Ruthie.

We brought you some fireweed tea.

Very volcano-y!

Did you hear that, Dad?

This tea is volcano-y.

Kablooey!

[chuckles]: I see.

Xwat-Anushiik!

Speaking of volcanoes,

ready to go see Rutan Hill?

[giggles]: Yeah!

Uh-huh.

♪ ♪

[bleats]

New Jersey has so much stuff!

Tall buildings, lots of cars...

And now-- goats!

What's it like where you live?

A lot different.

Qyah doesn't even have people living in it.

Whoa.

[sighs] It's fun to see new places,

but I kinda miss home.

Me, too.

I'm from a really small town in Wisconsin.

My mom and dad are here doing some research for our tribe.

This is our friends' farm!

GRANDPA NAT: Molly, look!

Volcanic Hill Road.

Ooh! We must be close to the volcano!

Really close.

There she is:

Rutan Hill...

But... where's the volcano?

That is the volcano, Molly.

But...

volcanoes look like this.

It did look like that.

A long time ago.

But then it became dormant-- it stopped erupting.

The landscape changed and...

now it looks like this.

How long ago was it a big volcano?

About million years back.

So..

I guess we're a little late?

[chuckles]: Why don't you call home

and let them know we made it,

while I get some footage of this volcano?

[goat bleats]

[sighs]

[mumbling softly]

[goat bleats]

♪ ♪

Ruthie, I'm worried about Grandpa Nat.

Why?

I think he might be sad that the volcano

isn't very volcano-y.

Who knew they could shrink?

Well, he doesn't look sad.

He's probably not showing it

because he doesn't want me to be sad.

But, I bet he wishes

we were seeing a bigger volcano instead.

Hmm...

Maybe there's a way to make it seem like a big volcano.

I just need to get some stuff out of our car.

Come on!

MOLLY: Shchada'a! Shchada'a!

Ruthie and I have a surprise for you!

A surprise? What sort of surprise?

We call it:

Molly and Ruthie's Super Realistic Volcano Experience!

♪ Dun-da-dadaa! ♪

Ooh.

Volcano Experience, huh?

[quietly]: Close your eyes.

♪ ♪

[rattles]

[quietly]: Now open your ears...

What's that?

The volcano is rumbling!

[imitating eruption]

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Pow! It's about to erupt!

Can you feel the ground shaking?

[chuckling]: Ooh, I feel it!

[laughing]

Here comes the lava!

Look out!

[whispering]: Open your eyes now.

[imitating eruption]

The end.

That was quite the volcano experience.

[laughs]

Hopefully you don't feel as disappointed now.

Why would I be disappointed, Shgguya?

Because you didn't get to see a big booming volcano.

MOLLY: Yeah.

Instead it turned out to be

a small, shrink-y one.

I'm not disappointed at all.

In fact, I loveseeing that volcano.

Even though it's shrink-y?

Especially because it's shrink-y.

You see, when I look over there,

I don't see a small hill.

I see volcano science.

I see the Earth changing in motion.

I find it fascinating that landforms are always changing.

Landforms like mountains, valleys...

And volcanos?

And volcanos.

Sometimes the change happens really fast.

Like when a volcano erupts!

But sometimes change happens very slowly.

Like erosion, where a landform slowly breaks down.

The Rutan Hill volcano didn't even leave behind a crater

because it eroded so much.

It took a very long time

for Rutan Hill to look the way it does.

And that's something I respect.

Does that make sense?

Kind of...

I'm glad you're happy about seeing Rutan Hill, Shchada'a.

But I'm still not sure I see it the way you do.

Well, maybe you'll see it differently

when you see the surprise

Phillip has planned for us.

♪ ♪

[crow caws] [cheering]

Koolamalsii.

Hello, Mr. Crow.

[crow caws] [giggles]

I can't believe we get to ride in a hot air balloon!

I wanted some footage looking down at the volcano.

Oh. What's this for?

That's a tether to keep us tied to the ground

so we don't blow away.

[goat bleats]

GRANDPA NAT: Now that you're up here,

what do you see when you look down at Rutan Hill?

I see... [sigh]

a little hill.

Only now it looks even smaller.

All right.

But imagine we've traveled back million years.

Whoa... That's a lot of years.

There weren't any buildings.

Or cars. Or roads.

There weren't any people either.

No land animals.

And right here,

on this very spot,

was a great volcano.

[lava exploding]

MOLLY: Whoa!

Wow, I can see it,Shchada'a!

Scientists believe the Rutan Hill volcano

was connected to a complex series

of magma tubes underground.

What's that mean?

GRANDPA NAT: That this volcano

might have been connected underground

to other volcanoes, as well.

So...

now you see what I see

when I take a look at that "little hill."

Yeah.

It's pretty hard to be disappointed by all of that.

Thanks for showing me

Grandpa Nat's Super Realistic Volcano Experience.

It was a lot better than sitting in a shaky folding chair.

[goat bleats]

[sniffs]

[chomping]

[chewing]

I think I've got everything I need for the documentary.

Does that mean the balloon ride is over?

Afraid so.

I'm giving a talk at the university

and need to get back on the ground.

[grunts] No problem.

I'll just wind up the tether. [grunting]

[all grunting]

Uh-oh.

♪ ♪

Of all the fields to park a balloon in,

I had to pick one with goats.

Well, Ruthie... [chuckles]

Looks like you get your wish... [ignition flaring]

...to stay in the balloon a little longer.

[giggling, squealing]

[gasps]

MOLLY: Look out, look out, look out!

♪ ♪

[ignition flaring]

[trees scraping]

[Grandpa Nat and Molly sigh]

That was a close one, Dad. Oh!

I should film this for my vlog! [phone chirps]

Look, everybody!

I'm in a runaway hot air balloon!

How cool is that?

Mmm, sorry about this, Nat.

Who knew the tether would get chewed through?

I'll call the university

and let them know I won't make it today.

Really? Why?

Well, I need to be there in about minutes.

The wind is blowing us this way,

and the university is about an hour that way.

Oh, hold on, Nat.

I think I may have just landed on a good idea.

[ignition flaring]

Or at least I will have in a minute or two.

Hey...

I know where we are.

You do?Uh-huh.

[shouting]: Hi, Mom!

MOLLY: Mom?

[Evelyn chuckling]

Well, this is a nice surprise.

Mom? Guess what?

We rode in a balloon and went back million years

and saw volcanoes erupt!

And I thought my day was exciting.

PHILLIP: Nat, Molly,

this is my wife and Ruthie's mom, Evelyn.

Hello! Neenjit dôonchy'aa?

Koolamalsii.

I knew you were going up in a balloon,

but I didn't expect you to come see me.

[chuckles] I didn't either.

But the balloon tether broke.

[laughing]: It got eaten by a goat!

[all laugh]

MOLLY: Ooh, what's that?

I'll show you.

Cool.

This is the wiikiiyun my mom's been building!

Some people call them "wigwams."

These domed huts

were the traditional homes of our ancestors.

You made this?

[chuckling]: Eh, I had lots of help from friends.

We designed it to look exactly like

the kind of dwelling our Lenape ancestors would have built,

back when they still lived in this area.

Still lived in this area?

New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York:

these lands were all the ancestral home

of the Lenape peoples.

Many of our ancestors were divided

and separated from one another.

EVELYN: Some went to Oklahoma, others Canada...

RUTHIE: And our ancestors wound up in Wisconsin.

In the Lenape culture, we pass down our traditions orally

through speaking and telling stories.

[gasps] We do, too.

But with the Lenape people scattered,

that made it harder to share our history with one another.

Which is why our leaders sent us here:

to learn more about our homelands,

so that we can share what we learned with our community.

We also teach our history and who we are today,

so that everyone knows we are still here.

I'm so sorry that happened.

I can't imagine being told I couldn't live in Qyah anymore.

Mahsi'choo for telling me about it.

Yes, Mahsi'choo.

I'm glad we were blown off-course,

so I could see your hard work.

Even if it does mean missing my speech at the university.

That's why I landed here.

He needs to be there in minutes.

Think you can get him there on time?

EVELYN: We can make it...

...if we travel the way our ancestors did.

A canoe!

It's an amoxool-- that's what our people call

our traditional, dugout canoes.

It's another project we've been working on.

The most fun one.

We used the same methods and materials

as our ancestors did when they lived here.

First, a balloon ride, and now a canoe adventure?

Why did we wait so long to come to New Jersey?

Both good for the environment, too.

No gas needed. [chuckles]

Mahsi'choo,Phillip.

Thanks for all your help on our adventure.

You'll be in good hands with Evelyn and Ruthie.

I'll see you later.

Laapii uch keneewal.

Woo-hoo!

Whoa! [giggles]

[laughing]

The Lenape people sure know how to travel!

[gasps] Rock, rock, rock!

♪ ♪

Nice one, Mom!

You good back there, shchada'a?

I'm good.

Just making sure we don't lose

all this great volcano footage.

[canoe bumps hard, Nat exclaims]

[chuckles]

EVELYN:This stretch of the river still looks very much

like it would have looked to our Lenape ancestors

around years ago.

It was very important to them.

What did they use the river for?

To travel quickly.

Like we're doing right now.

The river was also a source of drinking water.

And it was an excellent place to spearfish.

We also teach our history and who we are today

so that everyone knows we are still here.

Which is why so many Lenape peoples are trying to come home

to our ancestral homeland

to reconnect with the land

and preserve our culture.

Like you, Mom.

Okay, the waters are about to get choppy again.

Hang on, everybody!

♪ Woo-hoo ♪

We're really moving now, Shchada'a! [phone ringing]

Uh, Molly?

I think you're ringing.

[phone beeps]

Trini! Tooey!

Hey, Molly. We--

uh, why are you bobbing around like that?

See for yourselves.

TOOEY and TRINI: Whoa!

MOLLY [on tablet]: Yeah.

We're in a hurry to get Grandpa Nat to the university on time.

EVELYN [on tablet]: Here comes a sharp turn.

Everybody lean left!

♪ ♪

Now lean right!

♪ ♪

Brace yourselves!

Here comes a bumpy part!

[groans]

♪ ♪

EVELYN: We made it! [laughs]

GRANDPA NAT: Yay!

[laughing] MOLLY: Yay!

[cheering]

We made it, Trini!

We made it!

[cheering, laughing]

Thanks for the ride, Molly.

Good luck on the rest of your adventure.

MOLLY: Mahsi'choo, Trini!

Nenahall'yaa,Tooey!

Bye, Molly. Good luck!

Look!

It's the university!

We made it, Shchada'a!

Mom, you did it!

Almost.

We're not across the finish line yet.

[sighs]

Can you girls help me pull the canoe to shore?

Sure. On it.

[canoe drags on ground]

Hey.

What's that in the river?

That, Molly, is Nepheline syenite.

What-a-what what-what?

GRANDPA NAT: Nepheline syenite,

an igneous rock created by a volcano.

So did this rock come all the way here from Rutan Hill?

It certainly seems like it.

And it will make a perfect visual aid

to bring to my volcano talk!

But Mom?

Aren't we supposed to leave rocks in the river?

Oh, really?

Mm-hmm. In our culture, rocks are considered special teachers.

And a rock in flowing water is still gaining its wisdom.

Whoa...

I see.

Then we shouldn't take it.

It would be better to learn from a rock that's on land.

Mahsi'choofor telling us.

Well, if there's one volcanic rock here in the river,

there's bound to be more on the shore.

Who wants to hunt for rocks?

Me! Me, me, me! Oh, I do! Me!

[Molly giggles]

[Molly gasps] Is this one?

Is this...

Nephe-- nephe--

Nepheline syenite.

It's speckled with sharp edges,

just like the one we saw in the river.

Good eye, Molly.

Mahsi'for finding it.

Just one more thing before you take the rock.

It would be best if you left behind a gift,

a thank-you for taking it from the land.

Too bad we don't have more fireweed tea.

You don't think I'd leave Alaska without bringing extra, do you?

You do the honors.

Mahsi'choofor this rock.

[bell tolling]

[gasps] Shchada'a!

We've got to go!

Oh, right![laughs]

Thanks to Evelyn's amoxool,

Grandpa Nat made it to the university on time,

even if we did get blown away in a balloon.

Oh! And everybody loved the volcanic rock we found.

Best of all, I made a new friend.

So many amazing things have happened on our epic adventure.

And that was just our first stop.

[chuckling] [giggling]

I can't wait to find out what happens next.

See you soon.

Hey, everyone. Molly here to answer your questions

about life outside of Alaska.

Sylvia from California asks,

"How do Lenape kids reconnect with their homelands today?"

My Lenape friends can show you.

Hi, Molly. Hi, Molly.

My name's Erika.

And my name's Leilah.

ERIKA: We're on the Stockbridge-Munsee Reservation

in Wisconsin, home of one of the three

Lenape Sister Nations.

And we're going to be making the clay bead bracelets

from our homeland back east.

Today we're making beads with Monique,

someone who educates others

on Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans.

With this clay, do you remember where this came from?

New York, right?

MONIQUE: New York.

It came from our homelands in New York.

So, then, we're gonna roll this out,

and we're gonna kinda make a snake.

LEILAH: We make the beads by taking

little chunks of the snake,

and we form it into a little ball.

ERIKA: Then we take a stick and poke a hole in the bead.

MONIQUE: Now that you have your clay bead done,

if you want to decorate it,

there's different tools that you could use.

This one's a happy face and a sad face.

Sometimes shells are used

to leave imprints into the clay.

LEILAH: When you're done with the beads,

you let them dry in the sun.

And then you put them in the fire to bake.

Make sure you have an adult to help you with the fire.

After minutes, the beads come out and cool.

Once they're cool, you could string 'em into a bracelet.

I like my bracelet because it's handmade.

This is my new jewelry for class.

One thing that's really nice about making a bracelet

with these clay beads is that

we can carry a piece of our homeland with us wherever we go.

Bye, Molly. Bye, Molly.

Mahsi'choo.

Thanks for asking,

and see you on our next epic adventure.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪