01x10 - Suki’s Bone/Brand New Flag

[bunniefuu]

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

♪ Molly of Denali ♪

Let's go!

♪ She's Molly of Denali ♪

(laughing): Whooo!

♪ 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: "Suki's Bone."

(Suki barks)

(leaves rustling)

(sniffing)

(sniffing, panting)

Here's the sail.

Perfect.

Okay, load up.

♪ ♪

Hey! Look at this.

It's a washer or something.

I wonder what it's doing in the woods.

Well, I wonder if this boat realizes a storm is coming.

Ready?

Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

ALL: Hail storm!

(all exclaiming)

Meteor!

♪ ♪

(kids cheering)

What's that, Suki?

(barks) TOOEY: It's a bone.

No.

There's something on it.

Suki, let me see that.

(barks)

Ooh.

You won't get it that way.

Mmm, yum, dried fish.

(whines)

(Suki panting)

♪ ♪

Ooh, beautiful markings.

This belonged to our ancestors.

You found it yesterday?

Uh-huh-- Suki found it.

It's probably a million years old.

(laughing): Not that old.

Oh.

It looks like some sort of tool,

maybe used for scraping hides.

I have a friend who works at the museum.

I'd like to show him.

You may have made a real archaeological discovery.

Can we come, too? Please, please?

Are you sure you want to?

We have to leave early.

Are you kidding?

Yes!

Okay.

(laughing): Actually, it's good for me, too.

I have to buy ten bags of cement,

and you can help me load them into the truck.

Oh, great. Oh...

(evenly): Okay.

♪ ♪

(both snoring)

GRANDPA NAT: Here we are-- we made it.

Wow.

This place

is amazing.

I could spend a week in here.

Yikes!

As long as this strange beaver

doesn't move.

That's doyon, not beaver.

See?

It says wolverine.

These labels have information on them.

"Wolverines live between five and seven years in the wild."

MOLLY: "They are good scavengers

and are known for their great strength."

(laughing): One day, I'll tell you

a good story about doyon.

You kids stick together.

I'm going to find my friend.

I've got a bone to pick with him.

(laughs) Okay.

What's that?

I don't know.

Read the information label.

Oh, right.

It says,

"Athabascan baby cradle.

"This baby cradle was made from birch bark,

"cut from trees, folded, and dried."

"Donated by Mr. Vladamir Raboff."

Look at this!

"Neehiilak, also known as the river ball game."

"A traditional Athabascan children's game

to teach hunting and fishing skills."

How is that a game?

I don't know.

Wait, it says right here.

"The ball was thrown into swift-moving water

and children tried to snag it with barbed sticks."

Whoa! We should make this

when we get home.

Looks like my friend is out for lunch.

No way. Uh-huh.

Now what?

Don't worry.

I left the bone for him with a note.

Now, are you ready to get that cement?

Oh. Aww.

I jokes.

Ready to see the rest of the museum?

Yes!

But first, I want to take a picture

of these neehiilak instructions,

so we'll know how to play.

(phone camera clicks)

Hey, everyone.

Tooey and I are going to show you

how to play neehiilak, a river ball game from long ago.

First, find a stream.

Second, make a ball

out of three hoops of willow tied together.

(softly): Maybe get your grandpa to help.

Third, make a spiky stick like this to throw at the ball.

Four, tie a string to it so you can pull the ball back.

Five,

don't go in the water.

You have to stay on shore-- ready?

Atauciq, malruk, pingayun.

The game is a way to practice hunting and fishing skills.

(Suki whines)

One, two, three...

Oh, come on.

Atauciq,

malruk, pingayun.

Got it!

Tooey!

The string!

Whoa, oops!

(laughs)

(phone buzzing and playing ringtone)

(phone chirps)

Hello?

GRANDPA NAT: Molly?

I got a call from my friend at the museum.

He said that bone is a very interesting artifact.

(Molly cheers)

♪ I knew it! ♪

Wait, what's an artifact?

Grandpa, what's an artifact?

GRANDPA NAT: It's something that somebody made.

At the museum, most artifacts were made long ago.

My friend wants to add the bone to an exhibit at the museum.

Should we take a ride back there tomorrow?

Yes!

Basee', Shchada'a.

(phone hangs up)

What if this whole area

turns out to be full of ancient artifacts?

And we just keep finding more and more stuff?

And the museum has to build a whole new wing

just for our discoveries?

What's this?

Oh, I just found an ancient dagger.

Oh, look, an ancient sun hat.

My third one today.

Here, the shin bones of the Tooey-dactyl.

Tooey-dactyl?

If I discover it, it's getting named after me.

(gasps): I wonder if they'll

put our names in the museum exhibit.

What you looking at?

I'm checking the museum website

to see which exhibit they might put the bone in.

Maybe it'll go in the wolverine's mouth.

Wait a minute.

Wait a minute!

Isn't that exactly like

the washer thing Oscar found by the stream?

TOOEY: "Copper beads like these two

"were valuable for the Athabascan peoples

for at least , years."

OSCAR: It does look like it.

You should come with us tomorrow to show it to the museum guy.

It's probably an artifact.

Uh, I don't actually have it anymore.

Where is it?

You tied a super-important artifact to a kite?

I needed a counterbalance.

It was the perfect weight.

How do we get it down?

Hmm, it's too high to climb.

This is why I want a trained falcon.

Maybe we can use this from the neehiilak game.

You're going to fish the kite out of the tree?

Yep.

Stand back!

Atauciq, malruk, pingayun.

♪ ♪

(background music deflates)

This could take a while.

(grunts)

Atauciq, one.

Qula atauciq, .

(sighs): This is taking way too long.

It's faster than training a falcon.

♪ ♪

(grunts)

(gasping)

Come on, come on...

(both cheer)

♪ ♪

Sorry about the kite.

That's okay-- I can fix it.

Here you go.

One artifact.

This is my friend, Olin Benedict.

Nice to meet you.

Hello. Hi.

We learned from elders in your region

that this is a tool

from before your grandfather was born.

It's called Bet'o k'eetlooge.

(chuckling): Quite an important find, I'd say.

See the designs etched into it?

MOLLY: Yeah!

Those kind of look like raven's feet.

What does it do?

It's for stripping bark off trees and making baskets.

If you'll donate it to us,

we'd like to display it right here.

Yes, of course! Yes!

(laughing): Thank you.

You'll also need a place

for the ancient copper bead Oscar found.

Oh, you found something, too?

By the stream, in the same place.

MOLLY: You'll probably want to give it its own display case.

Well...

(phone camera chirps) Actually, Olin Benedict said

it was a piece of metal that fell off a lawnmower.

Whoops.

We're going to put it

in our Denali Trading Post museum, anyway.

"Lawnmower washer-- not a valuable artifact."

But the bone tool is now in the real museum.

See what the label says?

"Athabascan bark stripping tool.

Discovered by Suki Mabray."

They put Suki on the card

because she's the one who found it.

(whines and pants) She's super-excited.

But that's life when you're a famous bark-aeologist.

Get it? (laughs)

Hey, everyone.

Molly here to answer your questions

about life in Alaska.

(taps keyboard): Julian in California asks,

"Are there other Alaska Native games

like neehiilak?"

There are.

ALL: Hi, Molly.

There's a lot of Alaska Native games,

and we're gonna try and learn some today.

GIRL: Right now, we're at Cook Inlet Tribal Council.

"Our Alaska Native ancestors

"developed traditional games

"in order to improve their ability to hunt and fish

for daily survival in the traditional way of life."

BOY: The placards have information

about the photos they are next to.

"The Alaskan High Kick

"was played inside in the winter

"to help develop coordination,

upper body strength, and concentration."

GIRL: This display taught us the history

of how these games were created,

but they didn't teach us how to do the games.

Do you know how we could learn to play the games?

Well, CITC has videos to show you how to play them,

and you guys can borrow my laptop, if you want.

KIDS: Yeah!

So, which video do you want to watch?

BOY: The Alaskan High Kick.

This is the Alaskan High Kick-- an athlete will start

by sitting on the floor with two hands behind him.

With one hand, he'll reach across

and grab his opposite foot.

From here, leaning back on his other hand,

he'll take his other foot and plant it on the floor.

Not only is Andrew pulling up on the foot he is holding onto,

he is also kicking that foot up.

You can watch the video and follow along, like this.

Kick!

♪ ♪

This is my dad, and he used to play.

You guys want to try it with a ball?

Yeah!

(grunting)

(woman cheering)

Now let's see how high you can kick it.

GIRL : Ready, set, go.

Whoa!

Yay, yay.

ALL: See you later, Molly.

Mahsi'choo.

Thanks for asking, and see you next time.

MOLLY: "Molly's Got a Brand New Flag."

MOLLY: When I see the flag of Alaska,

it makes me feel happy,

because it reminds me I live in a beautiful state.

But back in , we didn't even have a flag.

So the people of Alaska said, "Hey, let's have a contest

to decide what our flag should look like."

Benny Benson, an Alaska Native who was only years old,

looked up at the sky for inspiration.

Benny's flag shows the seven stars

that make up the constellation Ursa Major,

which means "the great bear," an animal found

all over Alaska.

(kids exclaim)

And he added Polaris,

the North Star,

a twinkling tribute to our great land in the north.

It was a simple, perfect design

that totally makes you think about Alaska.

Cool.

Benny won the contest,

and this became the official flag

we all know and love.

And it just makes me go, "Wow,

"if a kid like us can make history,

we could do anything."

The end.

Excellent job, Molly.

Thank you.

The captions on your poster were very informative.

Mahsi'choo. (kids cheering)

Thank you. (cheering continues)

Yeah! Woo-hoo !

Mahsi.

Good job, Molly!

Thank you, everyone.

CHILD: Awesome.

Molly!

You know there's still

minutes of school left, right?

Sorry.

Got caught up in the moment.

I really liked your project, Molly.

Yeah.

When you said you were gonna give a report

about flag history,

I figured it would be...

Incredibly interesting?

Uh, no.

But it was.

I just think it's really cool the way a kid like Benny

came up with such a great flag.

(sighing): I wish I could do something like that.

(gasps): Maybe I can.

Molly, there are paint cans missing from the store room.

Do you know where they are?

(chuckles)

Mystery solved.

Mom, did you know we don't have

an official flag for the trading post?

I never thought about it.

Well, don't worry, because I'm making

the best trading post flag ever.

As soon as I figure out

what to paint. (Suki whining)

MOLLY: No, Suki, those are people paints.

(whimpering)

Coming up with a good flag is harder than I thought.

Mm-hmm.

I need a Benny Benson to help me.

(gasps): That's it!

Thanks, Mom.

Hmm?

I'm going to have a flag contest

like the one Benny Benson won.

Cool.

(breathlessly): The flag has to show

what makes the trading post so special.

Sounds awesome.

♪ ♪

Anybody in town can turn in a design.

See how these captions explain stuff?

You should add some, so we understand the meaning.

I'll announce the winner next Saturday

at the trading post.

Any questions?

Scrambled or over easy?

I meant, do you have any questions

about the flag contest?

Oh!

(chuckling): No.

Okay, then.

Scrambled, please.

♪ ♪

Mm-hmm.

(snoring, sighs)

(panting)

(whimpers)

(yelps)

It's morning already?

Come on.

Let's see if we got any flags.

(barks)

Whoa, we're gonna need a bigger basket.

(barks)

(door opening, bell rings)

Hey, Molly!

Just dropping by to see

if you opened my flag design.

Um, sorry, not yet, Trini.

You know what? I'll open it for you.

See? This caption says the red is for the warm feelings

you feel when you walk in to the trading post.

And this big smile, that's what everybody does

when they think about the trading post.

I'll just leave this right over here.

So you can see it-- you know, really take it in.

♪ ♪

Hi, Molly.

MOLLY: Hi, Jake.

I turned in my flag design.

You see it yet?

Oh, not yet, Jake.

Mine's the one with all the snowflakes.

, to be exact.

That's a lot of snowflakes.

The first snowflake represents friendliness.

The second one is also for friendliness.

And the third snowflake...

♪ ♪

Wanna see my flag?

The big circle stands for Qyah.

The little heart is the trading post, because...

the trading post is the heart of the town.

(sighs)

Hey, Molly! (yelps)

I wrote a new song called

"All the Reasons Why You Should Pick My Flag."

(playing)

(sighs)

(fiddle playing in distance)

(sighs)

(kids clamoring)

I got you a pine cone!

CHILD: Wanna see my flag?

CHILD : Should I explain my design?

CHILD : Think you'll pick a winner today?

TRINI: Pine cone?

Um, uh, gotta run!

You forgot your pine cone!

(sniffing)

(Molly grunting)

Auntie Midge?

I can't decide which flag to pick,

and tomorrow's the deadline.

So can you decide?

Please.

Since you're our tribal leader and all.

I can't decide, but I can help.

(sets cup down)

Close your eyes.

(sighs)

Now, think about the trading post.

Jidii nah'in?

What do you see?

I see...

(gasps): People!

I see that night everybody came over,

when we all watched the Northern Lights together.

What else?

Nature, the nin, the animals.

Every morning when I look out the window,

I see a bird or a moose, or some caribou, vadzaih.

The feelings you have when you think of those things,

that's how you should feel when you look at your flag.

But what if I hurt somebody's feelings

because I don't pick their flag?

Not everyone can win, Molly.

Your friends will understand.

Mahsi, Auntie Midge.

(door opens and closes)

♪ ♪

Oh, how's it going?

Well, I've narrowed it down to two.

The caption on this one says,

"There are nearly , moose in Alaska."

I like this one

because it reminds me of the nature outside.

And I like this

because it makes me think of all the people in town.

"Qyah is home to many diverse cultures."

(sighs): This is hard, Mom.

I know.

You have a tough decision to make.

But it's bedtime.

Just a few more minutes?

I can't sleep until I've decided.

(kisses): Okay, Mol.

Good luck.

And don't forget to pick up

all those paints in the living room.

(yawns): I won't.

(snoring)

(yells): I fell asleep!

(footsteps approaching)

Mom, Dad,

I still haven't picked a winner,

and people are going to start showing up,

like, any minute.

(knocking)

TRINI: Hey, Molly!

Think you'll pick a winner today?

Oh, no-- can you stall them?

(chuckling): We'll try.

Oh, here, Molly-- you forgot one.

(gasps): Where'd this come from?

It's amazing!

Huh, there's no name.

(people talking softly)

Yours is cool, too.

(clears throat)

I finally picked a winner.

And while all of your flags were really good,

the one I picked feels most like the trading post, to me.

(crowd exclaims)

Whoever made this didn't include any captions,

but that's okay, because I did them for you.

These colors stand for the Northern Lights,

which we all watched together at the trading post.

And these animal prints remind us

of the beautiful nature all around.

(gasping)

That's a really good flag.

I like it.

(crowd murmuring agreement)

So, who made it?

(murmuring denials)

Come on, come on up.

(panting)

Hang on, Suki, we're trying to figure something out.

Wait a minute...

It's Suki!

(whimpering)

Suki made the flag.

(crowd murmuring)

I left my paints out in the living room.

Sorry, Mom.

Mmm.

Suki must have gotten paint on her paws and tail,

and then walked and wagged all over the paper.

And it's kinda perfect, because Suki loves the trading post.

Don't you, girl, don't you?

♪ ♪

It really does look great up there.

Uh-huh, it sure does.

Ana'basee, Suki.

And thank you, Benny Benson.

♪ ♪