Arts & Entertainment Archives - Page 55 of 109

‘Alive’ Director: Blackfeet Thought Rez Drug Abuse Story ‘Needed to Be Told”

By Vincent Schilling, Indian Country Today Media Network

The music video for Chase & Status’ dance track “Alive,” directed by Welsh filmmaker Josh Cole, has inspired a tremendous reaction from Indian country. Just read through the comments on the ICTMN facebook page and you’ll get the picture — some viewers have praised the clip for its tale of drug abuse on the rez and spiritual redemption, while others feel it’s exploitative and disrespectful of the ceremonies it depicts. The video, which shows dramatized drug use, crime and ceremony, was shot on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Cole has received considerable attention in Indian Country.

Cole filmed the video on the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana, and worked with Blackfeet tribal members during the course of its creation. On the day of the video release, ICTMN reached out to Cole to get his thoughts on some of the questions and comments coming from the Native community on social media.

Concerned he might be misrepresented, Cole requested that ICTMN could present his words in their entirety. He provided links to some other videos he has made which we have chosen to embed in the text of the story. Cole’s answers to our questions are as follows:

How did you first come up with this concept of using a Native Reservation story for this video?

As a reformed drug addict I follow stories around the world where the worst drug abuse is common. It’s my mission with my career to try to steer people into recovery as a thanks to those that helped me with my own addiction. As such I was shooting a story about a reformed Hispanic gangster turned graffiti artist in LA and I met a Native American rapper who grew up on a reservation.

I was shocked to hear stories about the reservations — in Europe there is no concept generally about contemporary Native Americans. I then started researching and put together a story based on the stuff I was told about. I decided I would really like to tell Europe how difficult it is for Native Americans in modern America because most people have no idea who they are. All my work is about the beauty that comes from hardship and I wanted to tell the story of the spiritual awakening of a drug addict in a Native American community.

How did you explain this concept to the Blackfeet community?

Several members of The Crazy Dogs Society in Browning are reformed alcoholics, I showed them my script and they really connected to it. They explained that it was basically their own story and also that they regularly help those with addictions through ceremony. I told them that I would like to make it something they would be proud of, that told the story properly, so we had a few days discussing my script and changing it to make it more realistic.

During this time I met several community leaders including many people on the Tribal Council including the Cultural Attaché of the Blackfeet Nation. Every time we met anyone we explained what we wanted to do in great detail and then each person was emailed a copy of the script. We explained the story dozens of times and the Tribal Council gave us their blessing and also gave us a shooting permit to shoot anywhere in Blackfeet territory. The community basically backed the project and we were repeatedly told by various people how much they thought this story needed to be told. I feel I could return there any time with my head held high. I’m also told the film has been very well received by people living not only on the Blackfeet Reservation but also on other reservations. You can see this by reading the comments under the video on Youtube. I should also say that this was a very low budget production — we were all working 20+ hour days to make it work and everybody involved really believed in the project. It still moves me when I think how much the people of Browning came together to help with this production.

What were the reactions about filming a “ceremony?”

I was extremely sensitive when talking to the Crazy Dogs about the ceremonies and always said that we could shoot an alternative scene. They spent a day or so discussing it with all members and they decided collectively they wanted the scene to be in the film. They felt like they wanted it to be shown and I gave them many opportunities to make sure they were happy. It meant a lot to me that they wanted to show this to the world. They told me that they wanted to use the video to help to heal the youth of the Blackfeet Nation. I should also say we didn’t film an actual ceremony — both the sweat lodge scene and the Sundance scene were mock ceremonies set up by the Crazy Dogs themselves to their exact specifications. I had no control whatsoever over the look or sequence of the scene, nor did I want it. I also had no interest in filming an actual ceremony — at every step of the process I was led by the advice of the Crazy Dogs and I am ever grateful for that and I feel no guilt in portraying this as I was led by a much greater knowledge than my own as I am with most of my work.

What were the reactions about this young man turning toward good then becoming a “martyr” as you put it?

I felt that the film needed an emotional finish. When people are moved they remember what they have seen. Plus it actually is somewhat of a happy ending because he is reunited with his girlfriend in the afterlife. There’s also a message in there about the way your past follows you — that no matter how much you reform you can’t always avoid who you were before. I have lost many many friends to the illness of addiction and this is often my experience.

What is the song about without the benefit of a video connected to it?

It’s a gospel track I’m told. You’d have to ask the artist but I interpreted them as lyrics about recovery. Check them out here: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/chasestatus/alive.html

What was the message you hoped to share?

It’s a very simple message about the dangers of drugs. I nearly died myself through drug abuse and most of my narrative work contains these themes. It’s also a call to addicts to reform before it’s too late and to lead a more spiritual life.

Many native people are concerned about using Native Americans in a romantic way as a form of poverty porn or sensationalism, what is your response?

I strive against this type of imagery myself and I don’t think my work inspires pity at all. Everywhere I shoot I work very closely with the actual community to tell their story in the most authentic and meaningful way possible. Everywhere I’ve ever shot I can go back to and work again. I’m about to return to Ethiopia in January to work with the same community I shot with 2 years ago to produce a similar piece highlighting the plight of prostitutes in the capital and the beauty of the Rastafarian religion there. My extensive work in Africa generally shows very positive images and the energy of the slums:

The same with my film in the Philippines which shows positivity despite hardship- the true spirit of the country:

My work with the gypsy communities in the UK and Eastern Europe spans 10 years and tries to offer more positive images of this misunderstood people:

I also believe that my portrayal of Browning is not negative. It is ultimately a story of redemption and shows the elders of the community coming around the boy to heal him. If you don’t show the darkness in a realistic way the young people I’m trying to reach will not take it seriously. However, there is an element of drama to all my work as I want all my work to reach the masses – but it is always subverted as I believe I have done here. You have to remember that in the States the concept of Native Americans living in severe poverty is old news but in Europe people have no idea. None! I think this is something people here should know about. So this video serves a dual purpose – to show Europeans some of the conditions on reservations and also to give a Native community an opportunity to show both its darkness and its beauty.

There were social media interactions between yourself and others regarding the cavalry – what happened there?

I had been staying in Browning for a week or so meeting members of the community and my crew who are mainly from Wales arrived to shoot. I posted a picture on Instagram and stupidly wrote “The Welsh Cavalry arrive in Montana” which is a common phrase in the UK similar to “reinforcements have arrived”. When I was attacked on twitter by a number of activists somebody found the tweet and tried to spread the word that I was being racist. A shame really but I understand — in hindsight I should have realized the implications of using the word “cavalry” but it certainly wasn’t meant in a negative or humorous way at all.

Any last remarks?

Just want to thank again the Blackfeet Nation and the Crazy Dogs Society for all the love we were shown.

Sacajawea: If Not For Her, We Could Be Saluting the British Flag

By Jack McNeel, Indian Country Today Media Network

Few women in U.S. history have had more influence on the nation’s history than the young Lemhi Shoshone woman, Sacajawea. It’s very likely that Lewis and Clark would never have reached the Pacific Ocean had it not been for her help. White settlement would have been different. Indian wars throughout the western half of the country would have been altered. We might even be saluting the British flag rather than the American flag. Sacajawea’s role was gigantic.

The gold dollar coin bears Sacajawea’s image.

Innumerable statues have been created of her, she has graced postage stamps and the copy gold coin bears her resemblance. Despite that, there is great confusion and disagreement about this remarkable woman. No photos exist of her, so images and statues reflect what their creator thinks she would have looked like. There is disagreement about the spelling and pronunciation of her name, even where she was born and certainly where she died. But there is no disagreement as to her role in U.S. history. The Lemhi Shoshone people claim her, but others disagree.

Sacajawea was 11 or 12 when she was captured by the Hidatsa. A couple years later she married Charbonneau. When he was hired by Lewis and Clark as an interpreter she was included because they thought she might prove helpful when they reached her homelands in what is now Montana and Idaho. Four years had elapsed since her capture so she was probably 16 when she joined the expedition.

Dr. Orlan Svingen, a historian, and professor at Washington State University, has worked with the descendents of Sacajawea, the Agai Dika people, since 1991. “Sacajawea, carrying a child, speaking Shoshone, talking to a Frenchman… She disarmed anybody because she was a woman with a child,” he said. “On top of that, when she came to this country (western Montana) she knew people and could speak with them.”

Leo Ariwite, a Lemhi cultural person, and Dr. Orlan Svingen talk in the Lemhi Valley of Idaho. (Jack McNeel)

Perhaps her first major influence on the expedition came in early May when the pirogue (boat) she was in with Charbonneau at the helm capsized. Lewis describes Charbonneau, writing, “Charbono cannot swim and is perhaps the most timid waterman in the world.” The boat contained instruments, books, medicine, much merchandise, “in short almost every article indispensably necessary to further the views, or insure the success of the enterprise,” Captain Lewis wrote.

Sacajawea was calm despite having her newborn son with her and was able to retrieve many scientific instruments and books. Their medical supplies were lost but they were able to continue westward. Without her help, at that point, the expedition would have been much more difficult and less successful.

According to Svingen, well before they reached what is now Idaho, Sacajawea said, “This is the home of my people.” It was August 8, 1805. They soon met some of her own, the Lemhi Shoshone people. The expedition was in desperate need of horses, winter was approaching and a massive mountain range separated them from the Columbia River and the Pacific coast. With the aid of Sacajawea as both an interpreter and friend to both the expedition and the tribe, horses were obtained and a guide, an elder they called Toby, was provided to lead them over the mountains. Without the tribe’s help and Sacajawea’s assistance, this likely would have ended Lewis and Clark’s exploration.

2. A highway in eastern Idaho is designated as the Sacajawea Historic Byway. (Jack McNeel)

“This was huge!” Svingen said about Sacajawea and the tribe’s help. “This was like atomic energy! This was enormous!” Had Lewis and Clark not reached the Pacific, they would not have been able to claim the land for the United States.

Many questions will likely remain unanswered but few will argue the importance of Sacajawea to the Lewis and Clark expedition or to her impact on U.S. history.

Hibulb Poetry Series features Paul Rowley

Paul Rowley introducing himself and his collective works
*Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News*

Article and photos by Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News

Tulalip − Paul Rowley, widely known for his contemporary cedar woven hat designs, was the featured indigenous poet for December’s poetry session at Hibulb Cultural Center. An open-mic forum for other poets to share followed Rowley’s reading.

Paul Rowley presented his poetry as a narrative of his Indian Experience. His most recent work is inspired by his reflections on Indian Country over the course of the month of November, Native American Heritage Month. Rowley attempts to highlight the perpetual mistreatment and apathy towards Native peoples, using stereotypes to identify the issues.

Hosted in the museum library, the poetry sessions are quite intimate. The small audience is familiar with each other, and gets to know the poet of the evening. The open-mic forum is used for artist Q&A and for other poets to share; for December, Chad Charlie was another indigenous poet who shared a poem inspired his experience growing up in the generational trauma and disconnect that exists on every reservation.

Rowley, who is of Haida, Tlingit, Blackfoot, and Cree descent, was born and raised in SeattleWashington. Moving to Portland to attend PortlandStateUniversity, Rowley has completed his undergraduate degree in Political Science, finishing with a Masters of Fine Arts from PacificUniversity. He currently lives between Portland and Tulalip.

For more information on this and other programs contact the HibulbCulturalCenter and Natural History Preserve by phone at (360) 716-2600, or online at http://www.hibulbculturalcenter.org/.

Controversial Video Set on Rez Depicts Drug Use, Violence and Sundance

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

A music video (below) for the tune “Alive,” by UK drum-n-bass artists Chase & Status and directed by Josh Cole is attracting attention in Indian country for its subject matter. The clip depicts young Natives living on a reservation who struggle with crack addiction and commit crimes to fund their habits. After an epiphany, the young man who is the main character of the video is seen in a sweat lodge and participating in a sundance ceremony.

Now, Cole is under fire from critics on Twitter who feel that the video exploits the usual media narrative about reservation life (“poverty porn,” as it’s sometimes been called) or cheapens the sundance ceremony by depicting it. Cole argues that the video was made with the consent and help of Blackfeet Natives on the rez in Browning, Montana, where it was filmed.

The video’s YouTube page includes a note expressing “thanks to the whole Blackfoot Nation and The Crazy Dogs Society for making us feel at home” as well as credits for the cast, which appears to consist largely (if not fully) of Native actors.

Make a Holiday Wreath or Centerpiece, Hibulb, Dec 13

Judge approves auction of sacred Hopi masks

By THOMAS ADAMSON, Associated Press

December 6, 2013

PARIS (AP) — A judge has ruled that the controversial sale of 32 Native American Hopi masks can go ahead next week.

The Hopi tribe had taken a Paris auction house to court Tuesday to try to block the sale, arguing that they are “bitterly opposed” to the use as commercial art of sacred masks that represent their ancestor’s spirits.

Corinne Matouk, a lawyer who represented the Drouot auction house said the law was on their side.

“In French law there is nothing stopping the sale of Hopi artifacts.”

Pierre Servan-Schreiber, the Hopi’s French lawyer, said it is “very disappointing” and said he would explore options including seeking help from U.N. cultural organization UNESCO.

The “Katsinam” masks are being put on sale by a private collector on Dec. 9 and 11, alongside an altar from the Zuni tribe that used to belong to late Hollywood star Vincent Price, and other Native American frescoes and dolls.

The tribe has said it believes the masks, which date back to the late 19th and early 20th century, were taken from a northern Arizona reservation in the early 20th century.

In April, a Paris court ruled that such sales are legal, and Drouot sold off around 70 Hopi masks for some 880,000 euros ($1.2 million) despite vocal protests and criticism from actor Robert Redford and the U.S. government.

___

Thomas Adamson can be followed at Twitter.com/ThomasAdamsonAP

Muckleshoot Tribal College Holiday Bazaar, Dec 18

Festivities will include medicine making classes, ornamental decorating workshops, gingerbread house workshops, local vendors, food and beverages and much more!

Muckleshoot Tribal College

39811 Auburn-Enumclaw Rd SE, Auburn WA 98092

Bits ‘n’ Pieces: Nonprofit supports Native arts

December 6, 2013 By Scott Hewitt

The Columbian social issues & neighborhoods reporter

T. Lulani Arquette believes that the original, nature-based values of Native American peoples still have a lot to teach a Western culture that she said is teetering on the edge of suicide.

She’s wary of “noble savage” stereotypes, she said, but when she looks around at the degradation of our planet, she can’t help but conclude that our drive to conquer and use nature is misguided at best. “There is a more sacred view of the circle of life,” she said. For all their diversity, the original nations of North America did share that essential view.

Arquette is president and CEO of the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, a nonprofit agency founded in 2007 as a sort of “Native National Endowment for the Arts,” she said. Originally seeded with Ford Foundation money, the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation meant to make its home in Portland, Arquette said, but somebody advised her to check out Vancouver. The Historic Reserve area was so full of relevant history that the foundation seemed a perfect fit there, she said, and set up shop on Officers Row until a combination of rising rent and organizational growth spurred it to move to a bigger, more practical space on Northeast 112th Avenue.

Native Arts and Cultures Foundation “traditional arts” fellow Israel Shotridge and one of his creations.

The Native Arts and Cultures Foundation aims to take on difficult problems — environmental, economic, cultural — through great artworks created by Native Americans. Since 2010, the foundation has supported 85 artists nationwide with $1.6 million in grants. Poetry and painting, film and dance, traditional and edgily post-modern — all sorts of artworks by all sorts of American Indian, Alaskan and Hawaiian artists have been produced thanks to the support of the Vancouver-based foundation.

The foundation just announced its fellowships for 2014: a total of $220,000 for 16 artists, including Israel Shotridge, a totem pole restoration artist and Tlingit Indian based in Vashon, to Brooke Swaney, a Blackfeet/Salish filmmaker from Poison, Mont.

Perhaps because there are so few Native Americans in Clark County (less than 1 percent of the population), the foundation has found precious few local artists to support. It is an ongoing supporter of downtown Vancouver’s Ke Kukui Foundation (kekukuifoundation.org), which presents an annual Hawaiian Festival in Esther Short Park the third weekend of every July. It helped Ke Kukui bring an independent Hawaiian film event to the Kiggins Theatre in November. And it has sponsored summer workshops for young people.

Arquette — a native Hawaiian with degrees in both political science and theater — said she’d love to connect more with Clark County Native American artists and cultural institutions. The foundation’s fellowships aren’t for beginners, however — they’re for developed artists who have produced a “substantial body of work” and are at the top of their game, Arquette said.

Learn more about the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation at nativeartsandcultures.org.

Bits ‘n’ Pieces appears Fridays and Saturdays. If you have a story you’d like to share, email bits@columbian.com.

Longboard businesses gain popularity with Native American designs

December 4, 2013
By: Ashley McElroy, KOB Eyewitness News 4

Two Four Corners start-up businesses are getting international attention, and they haven’t even opened their doors.

Chief on a board the Ignacio Colorado startup company is hoping to break into the longboard business.

The company combines their Southern Ute culture with the growing demand for becoming active.

They hope their line longboards motivate people to get moving.

“We want to get a generation of kids off the couch playing video games to go outside and go enjoy some fresh air,” said Co-owner Diamond Morgan.

Their designs are inspired by their Native American background.

They hope to create a positive image of their culture.

“Some native Americans designs are misleading and therefore we want to capitalize on that we are still here we want to move forward,” said Anthony Porambo.

Chief on a board and another Farmington based company, Rincón brewery— just one a local competition at the Four Corners Startup Weekend.

“I think we have a good quality product I’m an award winning home brewer and everybody like my beer,” said Steve Haney of Rincon Brewery.

Now both teams will compete in worldwide competition online called the Global Startup Battle.

Even if the teams don’t win the global startup, they’ll both still get a boost.

They’ll get their own space like this one rent free at San Juan College for six months.

In order for the two teams to get to the second round, they have to get enough votes. To vote for the teams, head over to the Four Corners Economic Development page and a link is under the team’s pictures.

Holiday Festivals and Light Shows:

Warm Beach Lights of Christmas

5:00pm to 10:00 pm All Ages
Dec. 5^th-8^th, 12^th-15^th, 18^th-23^rd, 26^th-29^thTulalip night Dec. 23^rd. Be sure to bring your Tribal ID
www.warmbeach.com/lights-of-christmas

Snowflake Lane at Bellevue Square

7:00pm nightly from Nov. 29^th-Dec. 31^stAll Ages
www.bellevuecollection.com/SnowflakeLane

Woodland Park Zoo Wild Lights

5:30pm to 8:30pm All Ages
Nov.29^th-Jan.4^thwww.zoo.org/wildlights

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium Zoo Lights

5:00pm to 9:00pm All Ages
Nov.29th-Jan.5^thwww.pdza.org/zoolights

Wild Waves Theme Park Holiday with Lights

All Ages
See website for Schedule

Leavenworth Christmas Lighting Festival

12:00pm to 7:00pm All Ages
Dec.6^th, 13^th, and 20^thwww.leavenworth.org/event/2436

Seattle Center Winterfest

All Ages
See website for schedule and events

Issaquah Reindeer Festival

10:00am to 4:30pm All Ages
Dec.1^st-23^rdwww.cougarmountainzoo.org

Everett Children’s Museum Night of the Elves

5:30pm to 8:30pm Ages 4-12
Saturday Dec.14^thwww.imaginecm.org/nightofelves.html

Swanson’s Reindeer Festival

9:00am to 6:00pm All Ages
Nov.9^th-Dec.24^thwww.swnasonsnursery.com/Events/Reindeer/Reindeer.shtml

Live Nativity

4:00pm and 4:30pm All Ages
Friday Dec.6^th12509 27^th Ave NE
Seattle, WA

Mill Creek Santa’s Coming to Town Parade and Tree Lighting Event

3:30pm to 5:00pm All Ages
Saturday Dec.7^thwww.snohomish.org/events-calendar/detail/mill-creek-santas-coming-to-town-parade-tree-lighting-event/2013-12-07

Arlington Hometown Holidays

Saturday Dec.7^thAll Ages
Along Olympic Avenue
www.snohomish.org/events-calendar/detail/arlington-hometown-holidays/2013-12-07

Bothell Spectacular Lights at Bothell Country Village

Dec.7^th-31^stAll Ages
www.countryvillagebothell.com/

A Christmas Carol

Music Hall Theater Everett Mall
2:00pm to 4:30pm All Ages
Dec.15^thwww.snohomish.org/events-calendar/detail/everett-our-christmas-gift-to-you-…-a-christmas-carol/2013-12-15

Cedarcrest Golf Course Holiday Tour of Lights

5:00pm to 9:00pm All Ages
Thurdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, Dec.1^st to Dec.30^thwww.cedarcrestgc.com

Everett Holiday on the Bay

12:00pm to 8:00pm All Ages
Saturday Dec.7^thwww.snohomish.org/events-calendar/detail/everett-holiday-on-the-bay/2013-12-07

Merrysville for the Holidays

Saturday Dec.7^th All Ages
Parade at 6:30pm

Santa Train at the Northwest Railway Museum

9:00am to 3:00pm All Ages
See website for tickets and schedules