♪ Hello and welcome to Northwest P I'm your host, Lynn Veltrie.

And let me be the first to say Happy New Year given this show launches a brand new season.

Our 37th for those keeping tabs It's a heady achievement, particularly in the world of local television.

But as they say, time flies when you're having fun.

Over the years, this show has afforded us the op to tell hundreds of stories, introducing you to incredibly ta and inspirational people, but also to explore and experien amazing places and events that make the Inland Northwest i Canada a wonderful place to call And of course, we couldn't do it without you.

For our first story, and in deference to the latest Ken Burns PBS documentary about the American Buffalo, we thought it apropos to tell th of a local tribe who, with the help of the nation based Intertribal Bison Co-op, is doing their part to grow, man ultimately help re-establish the A majestic animal whose history it is said includes freedom and Extinction and salvation.

Along the eastern banks of the Pend Oreille River near Usk, Washington, The Kalispel tribe of Indians Reservation has many treasures.

Home to the Camas Center and powwow grounds, hundreds of members from many tribes from across the area annually make their way to the Kalispels powwow grounds to celebrate their heritage.

The smell of fry bread and the sounds of gambling, chanting and drums permeate the grounds.

Next to all this, the smell of barbecue wafts in the air.

>>The Buffalo barbecue.

Every powwow on Saturday, we provide around 70 roasts.

We cook underground.

We start the fire on Thursday, and that burns down for a day.

And then Friday we put the meat in, cook that for a day, and then we feed probably about 1500 people.

>>Jared Finley knows much about the barbecue.

He is the Kalispel tribe's agricultural field supervisor and is in charge of the operation.

He is also head of a core group of overseers of the tribe's prized bison herd.

With over 200 acres allotted to the bison and over 200 more in the offing, the tribe is doing its part in the conservation of the species.

>>We have 140 bison here on the reservation.

The way it happened I mean, tribal council, they got a letter from Teddy Roosevelt National Park that they were going to be bringing a surplus buffalo here in 1973.

And it started from there and it just grew.

So every so often we just get buffalo from another part of the country.

And that's that's pretty much how it started.

We're in the ITBC, The Intertribal Bison Co-op.

There's a lot of member tribes in there.

I'm not quite sure how many, but I think around 90 tribes.

They just kind of provide us with the resources and surplus buffalo to keep a herd like this and keep the bloodlines good >>For the health of the animals, keeping and growing a bison herd the size of the Kalispels takes manpower and good planning.

In the future.

Some of these animals will be shared with other tribes for their own future.

Bison herds.

>>During the summertime we hay about 800 acres of timothy grass.

We bail that up and that's what we feed over the winter mineral blocks, salt licks, things like that, just to keep the nutrients kind of balanced.

We vaccinate them every fall.

So that's the other challenge, is trying to keep trying to keep it balanced with ratio buffalo.

We have the land, we have the ratio is one buffalo per acre.

And this field right here is 250 acres.

The other side that we're going to be getting is it's roughly the same size.

So we plan on expanding.

We're working with the Colvilles and hopefully we work with the Spokanes.

And there's other tribes that we will probably be working with in the future, like the Warm Springs tribe.

They're going to be getting some soon, some buffalo from us, wherever the need is.

If we can help, we will Front and center.

The bison herd is an important resource, and as a whole, the sustainability of the herd is a feather in the headdress of the Kalispell tribe, as members do their part in honoring an animal that has played such an importan If the story of the Kalispels bison herd has peaked your inter we encourage you to watch Ken Bu American Buffalo Film.

It's a compelling documentary av now for you to enjoy on PBS Passport.

While you're there, check out the episode guide, which includes interviews and a behind the scenes look at the making of this thoug provoking documentary.

Up next, we leave the open range and blast off to a galaxy Well, no, actually, it's right here in our own backy The Jedi Alliance is a Spokane a that offers up a universe of nostalgia and a little something for every My name's Tyler Arnold.

I'm the owner operator, founding member of Jedi Alliance.

Really stems from my love of film, love of characters.

I view myself as kind of like Indiana Jones.

You know, you're kind of out there.

Raiders of the Lost Arcade trying to find, what did people forget about that I think they would like to see again?

I was born in 1978, the year after Star Wars came out, kind of born into a Star Wars world, born perfectly at the time to be repeat viewing of pop culture media.

I was collecting arcades and pinballs and toys and posters and all this stuff and the mid to late 2000s, you start watching video rental stores are going out of business.

They announce Hastings is going to close.

As time progressed, I thought, Well, if we can find a building in a space to do it, then why not start something?

In 2015, I found a building that had been used as a church, since the 1950s.

City zoning changed.

It was really the only affordable space that was big enough.

I already knew about the Jedi movement.

Jedi-ism growing since the early 2000s.

Use the force Luke Really when you come here, all we expect is that you're nice to everybody in the building.

We get along and we have good time together.

There's a common bond through the love of pop culture and it transcends everybody, transcends generations.

A lot takes place behind the scenes, the history of these arcades and pinball is vendors think that these games are going to last a year, maybe two years.

They'll make their money on them and then they throw them away.

So that's been a big challenge, is things that were made to be consumed and then gotten rid of trying to keep them running and keep them functioning and keep them entertaining people.

You know, when I was a little kid in the 80s I collected it, but it was from a different point of view.

I wasn't collecting is thinking on as collectibles.

I was collecting them because I wanted a variety of toys.

And then as a teenager in about 1994 is when I actually started collecting.

The key in the collector's world is you have to be ten years ahead of the trend so you can get it when nobody else wants it and then hope one day people want and then that drives the value.

But you don't want to be buying it when the value is already there.

So you have to kind of be ahead of the trend.

Eventually, one day my goal was to own something from one of the first three Star Wars films, but its going to take me a minute to get there.

So what's next for Jedi Alliance is we're going to pivot a little bit.

We're going to move ten years into the future of games.

We're going to start adding some new displays to the museum.

I have a huge Lego collection from the last 20 years, really trying to start catering to the generation that's in front of my generation.

I feel it's important for our survival because if we don't start showcasing some things that I don't necessarily love in the same way that I do the stuff I grew up with, I see how other people want to see that.

That's the next evolution for us.

Our motto at Jedi Alliance has taken from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and it's Be excellent to each other.

So that's really the main message we're trying to get out to people is if all of us were just a little better, the world would be that much of a better place.

Now that looks like some out of this worl And if you would like to learn m about the Jedi Arcade, you can visit their Facebook pag or go online to Spokane Arcade d Now for our next story, it's tim our attention from the intergala fantasy world to the real life star power on a local stage.

The Northern Quest outdoor summe venue started small, but has quickly become the place to perform in our area for large Now, of course, getting the venu every summer isn't easy.

Find out what it takes to stage a large show and how the casino' Department makes it all happen.

We started the outdoor summer concert series back in 2010.

We thought it would be a good idea to use this space back behind the casino.

They've always been very entertainment heavy.

The tribe has.

And we had a big grass lot out here.

Let's put a concert on.

And we've never looked back.

It's just gotten bigger and bigger and better and better.

So we have a lovely venue here, but it does take a lot of maintenance and a lot of prep.

We usually start out sometime in May.

planning out our summer.

But yeah, we have to build a stage hang some lights get our speakers up in the air and just general upkeep of the venue.

So technically speaking, some shows are more difficult than others, but it comes down to three basic things, you need sound, you need lights, you need video.

The sound is always the most important because nobody goes home humming the light show.

the video we have really nice video system here so that the people in the back can feel like they're in the front row.

I'm the stage manager also known as the crew chief, and I support and manage about 40 plus people and assign them to different areas.

Audio, video and lighting.

So there are lots of crew positions we can start with video.

So we have an LED wall team which usually stands in the back theyre just in charge of the walls.

that you see, then we have the TD at front of house.

He is controlled of what is put on the content on the screens and then we have the camera operators either there in the pit or front of house.

And then we have lighting which we have the LD and the spots, And then you have audio.

we have a team for front of house and it's basically what the audience hears.

And then we have a monitor tech and a monitor team on stage for the change over, for hooking up the monitors, all of that.

And they are what the tour hears right, inside of their in-ears their mixes on stage.

That's basically the stage mix So a typical production starts pretty early in the morning.

The trucks are usually here first thing in the morning.

We get them situated ready to start our day.

I meet up with the the tour stage manager, and we have a little meeting in the beginning, and we talk about what the day is going to look like.

And we try to organize a little bit of how it's going to flow, what truck is going to be unloaded first.

Where I need my team.

the order of the day is the same, but every show is different whether they bring their own equipment or we provide with our equipment.

Every show is different.

Rosie youre good there?

Typical day can be anywhere from 12 to We've been out here 20 hours before.

It just really depends on the show The biggest obstacle we had to deal with was, when we get a big, I call it the arena tours, when they have heavy set carts or they have 8 to 11 trucks and we've got to find room for them.

where we're going to put in house all of their equipment.

That's all set up on stage.

How are we going to make room for multiple acts when they have multiple openers?

It creates a challenge.

We've done quite a few big shows here.

This year in particular, we had a band called Ghost.

I didn't really know who they were at first, but, you know, once I looked into it, it was basically a theater production of heavy metal.

It was awesome.

Lots of pyro, lots of effects, stage makeup, the whole thing, dancers.

It was unbelievable what we were able to do on the stage Oh.

Damn!

The weather for an outdoor show is very unpredictable.

they don't call it airway heights because there's an airport out here.

It's because it's almost always windy that can play havoc on you.

We've only had to shut one show down in my 13 years and it's basically lightning and weather.

We call it the Chaka Kahn storm.

It happened in 2019 where a massive storm came in.

It destroyed all of our tents, most of our equipment.

We had cymbals flying by.

It was crazy.

So the production day is all about the loadout.

It's about getting these guys loaded back up so they can go to their next show because they've got a next show the next day.

So everything has to go back in the way it came and it's all about the out.

So we have to break down everything that the concert viewer got to see.

It goes back in the trucks and goes down the road.

Even if it's our show and we're producing it, everything comes down and we build it for the next show when they get here.

You know, the venue, even though we started off small, it didn't take us long to grow and be nationally recognized.

We have a lot of tours that love coming back here.

They love the hotel, they love the property, they love my crew.

We've even won some awards.

So our venue hasn't necessarily reached its capacity yet.

We're always growing out here.

There are, you know, talk of making it bigger and better all the time.

The Northern Quest summer concer series is always improving, and their plans for next summer promise to be even bigger.

Now for our final story.

And just in time for Halloween, we leave the entertainment scene to enter the world of the Spokan Paranormal Society co-founder Mark Porter and his uniquely talented crew t the Pacific Northwest, helping p both the living and those who ha by aiding spirits stuck in this realm to move on.

We met them in a Spokane antique shop this summer to see how they As far as demons go, there are a lot of shows that want to tell you there are a lot of demons out there.

And ever episode is a demon or multiple demons or you come out of there a demon.

Ive done this for eight years, I can legitimately say I have found four, what I would call low-level demons.

Im Mark Porter, Im the cofounder of The Spokane Paranormal Society.

We started in February of 2015.

Many people have had difficulties with spirits.

That didnt want them in their home.

Or just negative entities.

Things like that.

And weve gotten to the point where weve got a system to be able to get rid of them.

[Mark: Randall, are you going to be nice to my people now?]

Mostly I come in as the spearhead.

Im the one that kinda takes control.

Amy is our psychic.

So, Ill look to her and ask her where she want to go first.

Uh, Connie Couch, another empath, along with myself will walk through.

[Mark: What are you getting?]

[Connie: I still get the peaking hiding around this corner.]

And pick up on things and well put them in if we get them, but we dont get things like Amy does.

Its mostly with me, its feeling.

[Mark: Walking in here, I felt suffocated right there.]

I can get a little sight.

I can get a little audio in my head.

But mostly what I get is feeling.

Amy can see and hear.

And she can look right at a spirit and well put a K2 meter or a flashlight and yeah, theyll set it off.

Theyre right there where she was looking.

Thats the difference between a psychic and an empath, They can really see and hear.

We just get snippets.

When we pass a spirit.

There is two different ways.

The spirits that want to go, that are asking us to come and help them.

[Mark: Tell Amy who you are.]

[Amy: His name is Michael.]

[Mark: Michael.

Okay.]

We ask them who they want to meet them.

Its usually a mother or a father or a grandmother.

[Mark: And who you would like to have greet you at the door.]

[When you crossover.]

[Amy: Mother.

His mother] [Mark: Mother.]

[Mark: That's the who Id choose.]

We will then create a door.

[Mark: All right, let's start the door.]

[Amy, what kind of door do you want?]

[Amy: Its going to be a white wooden door.]

[Mark: A white wooden door.]

[Amy: With a brass handle.]

[Mark: Brass handle.

Okay.]

[Start with the door being just a pin prick.]

Amy will open the door.

The person will go through.

Well close the door.

Well get rid of the door.

And then we will bring the light down.

[Mark: Amy, go ahead and open it.]

[Amy: Kay.]

[Mark: Do you see his mother?]

[Amy: Oh, yeah, he's running.]

[Mark: Oh, okay, good.]

[Amy: He's ready.]

[Mark: All right.

Is he through?]

[Amy: Oh, yeah.]

[Mark: Go ahead and close the door.]

[Amy: He says, Thank you.]

[Mark: You're very welcome, Michael.]

Now, when you are crossing a negative entity, we do that with, uh since Most of us are Christian based in our group, we do that with the help of St. Michael, the archangel.

[Mark: In the name of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.]

[I command the Archangel Michael to sweep through this bubble] [and just remove that negative entity.]

[Body, mind and soul.]

And to take away the negative spirit.

And we have had quite a bit of success with that.

A lot of places that we did years ago, are still clean.

That have been having problems for years before we came in.

[Mark: In the name of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.]

[Amen, Amen and Amen.]

We will get the skeptics and they have not walked a mile in my shoes and seen what Ive seen and done what Ive done and have had happen to me, what has happened to me.

[Mark: I'm getting real tight,] [and pulled in right at my lower ribs.]

[Like somethings trying to squeeze me.]

Ive been punched, scratched, had my ears boxed in.

Ive gone to the ground.

Ive been pushed down stairs.

All five of my sense tested, and believe me, Taste is the worst.

[Mark: You're not going to scare the wits out of any of us.]

[We all know what coming.]

But they will do things to you, just to make you back off and go away and it just makes me want to get them out of here even quicker.

[Mark: Randall,] [You're getting very close to having me do something about it] This is our passion.

This is what we do.

We want to help people.

The living people, the past people.

[Mark: Would she like to pass?]

[Would she like to cross over?]

[Amy: I dont know.

She is just so scared right now.]

[Mark: If we cross you over, they can never touch you again.]

If there is a spirit that wants to go to heaven, or to go to the other side, or whatever you want to call it.

Thats where we can come in and we can help.

Because what gets people to call you is the negative.

People dont call you if, Oh, I felt a nice warm feeling.

I think its my grandma.

You know?

They dont call us for that.

We get, I got pushed on my stairs or I woke up with scratches or I feel like someone is watching me in the shower.

You know, ugly stuff.

And then we go in and we look for it.

Weve never charged anybody anything.

Wouldnt be right.

And soon as you add money to something, then you get the skeptics come in and say, Well, their just doing it for the money.

And were not.

Were doing this for the people.

Both the living and the past.

[Mark: If you let us cross you over,] [your hearing will come back.]

[Everything's restored once you cross over.]

[You only have it on this plane.

Not on the other one.]

Probably the greatest hobby I think anyone could ever have But you definitely have to have, I wont say, what it takes.

But Ill say, you have to have the right mind set to do this.

Its a gift if you use it right, its a curse if you dont.

If you think you may have encountered a in your own home and you want he you can find the Spokane Paranormal Society on Facebook.

And on that note, the spirits here are telling me our time is up and shows end is But this is just the beginning o what is shaping up to be another fabulous season of story So be sure to join us again next time on Northwest Profiles.

Until then, this is Lynn Veltrie saying, So long.

And keep in mind, living here in the Inland Northw and western Canada, there is alw to explore and experience.

So make plans and get out there.

And when you do, make sure you take time to enjoy