Category: Arts & Entertainment

Dave Chappelle Show of Love For Ojibwe Rapper Tall Paul

dave-chappelle-tall-paulSource: Indian Country Today Media Network

For a hip hop artist, getting noticed by Dave Chappelle is no small thing. The brilliant standup and sketch comedian who’s been more or less M.I.A. since his Comedy Central series finished its run in 2006 has always been an advocate for rap artists he likes, and often featured live hip hop performances on his show. Chappelle is currently performing some gigs in Minneapolis, home turf of rapper Tall Paul, and last Monday he was alerted to the existence of one of Indian country’s most promising rhymers. The exchange occurred after Chappelle had joked with two Native American audience members. Then, as described by Vita.mn:

When one of them told them there’s a Native American rapper in the Twin Cities making a name for himself, Tall Paul, he responded, “Minneapolis be putting out the wildest rap records: Brother Ali, Tall Paul… .” Amazed by the latter’s story, he commented, “If he really can rap, I’ll sign him up for a million dollars. But he better be more than 5’7”, or I’m gonna be pissed. … And he better have better rhymes than just ‘Tall’ and ‘Paul.’”

The following night, Tall Paul showed up at the club, CD in hand to give to Chappelle. But it turned out to be unnecessary. Tall Paul says Chappelle “mentioned that he had downloaded my album. He surprised me when he mentioned ‘Protect Ya Spirit.’ So apparently he got his hands on my music before I could even get a CD to him.”

Paul (born Paul Wenell, Jr.), Leech Lake Ojibwe, said that he’s had trouble getting coverage in the local press, despite having a strong following. Whether Chappelle’s shout-out will raise his profile remains to be seen, but it can’t hurt.

 

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/11/19/comedian-dave-chappelle-checks-out-ojibwe-rapper-tall-paul-152314

Olówaƞ waƞži̇ ahi̇ya yo! Sing a song! Native language learning strategies by Matt Remle

Source: LRInspire

Perhaps one of the fastest, fun and easiest ways to promote Native language learning, comprehension and retention is through the use of songs and singing.

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to attend a Yakama language workshop at the annual Washington State Indian Education Association conference. The presenters were highlighting an after school Yakama language program recently started at one of their elementary schools. Presenting with the program director were several of the students who attended the program. The young students told us they wanted to teach us a song that they sing at the start of every after school session.

The song, sung to Barney’s dreaded by parents everywhere tune, was translated into Yakama and was surprisingly easy to pick up, perhaps because the tune is such a familiar one. As I sat there listening to other adults being taught the Yakama language through song, I got my pencil out and made my attempt to “Lakotaize” the song. Back at the hotel room, later that night, I taught my wakanyeja (children) the song in Lakota and all three had it memorized in a mere matter of a few tries.

Here is our youngest, Čaƞté Tadashi, singing our Lakotaized version of the Barney song (Lakota speakers the song is done with male gender endings).

 

Tonikheca Hwo?
Matanyan yelo
lel u kunpi kin cante mawaste
Toksa akhe

How are you?
I am good
Because we are here my heart is good
See you again

Have fun and be creative coming up with your own Nativized version of the Barney song.

 

Le miye nahan le micinksi e yelo. Matt Remle and son Cante.

Le miye nahan le micinksi e yelo. Matt Remle and son Cante.

Exhibit Opening Day: Elwha: A River Reborn

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Burke Museum
Sat., Nov. 23, 2013 | 10:30 am – 2:30 pm
Included with museum admission; FREE for Burke members or with UW ID

Celebrate the opening of the Elwha: A River Reborn exhibit and the remarkable ecological and cultural restoration unfolding right now in the Olympic Peninsula’s Elwha River Valley. Listen to stories, talks, and attend music and dance performances from members of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. Also attend talks and book signings from Seattle Times reporter Lynda Mapes, whose book inspired the exhibit.

Schedule of Activities:

10:30-11:30 am: Roger Fernandes, storyteller and member of Lower Elwha of the Klallam Tribe, shares a  welcoming song and stories of the Lower Elwha.

11:30 am – 12:30 pm: Lynda Mapes, journalist, author of Elwha: A River Reborn, and close observer of the natural world will tell of writing her articles for the Seattle Times, which then lead  to the book and the exhibit. Lynda will also be available to sign copies of her book.

12:30-1:30 pm: The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe’s river restoration director Robert Elofson offers his perspective on the history of the Elwha Dams and the ongoing restoration.

1:30-2:30 pm: The Elwha Drum Group,  made up of young and adult members of the Lower Elwha Tribe, will share songs and drumming in the Burke Room.

Western Folklife Center in Production of Television Documentary Exploring Native American Healing Traditions for War Veterans

Source: Western Folklife Center

Producer Wins National Award for Related Radio Program

Salt Lake City, Utah— The Western Folklife Center is in production of a public television documentary that examines the emotional trauma of war through the prism of Native American tradition and ceremony. Healing the Warrior’s Heart reveals the central role that military service plays in Native life and explores the spiritual traditions that help returning American Indian soldiers reintegrate into society. The Folklife Center’s Media Producer, Taki Telonidis, is producing the documentary in collaboration with Gary Robinson of Tribal Eye Productions, and KUED Channel 7, Salt Lake City’s PBS affiliate.

For centuries, tribal cultures have used healing songs and ceremonies to cleanse their warriors of war, and despite the loss of language and culture among many tribes, these traditions remain vital on several reservations in the West, and they hold lessons for our nation as it struggles to bring comfort to the latest generation of warriors suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Despite great efforts by medical and military professionals to treat PTSD, many veterans continue to suffer from it, and there is a small but growing community of psychologists, counselors and clergy who are looking toward Native American traditions to bring healing to our suffering soldiers.

Much of the documentary focuses on members of the Blackfeet tribe in northern Montana. The Blackfeet Nation is a place where warrior identity is very much alive in our time, even though many current soldiers have lost the connection with the healing traditions that were practiced by their ancestors. Yet there are others for whom those traditions remain relevant, both during their deployment as well as in their re-entry to society. The documentary will include interviews and scenes with spiritual leaders, veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as elder veterans, family members and tribal leaders.

In September, Taki Telonidis was honored for a radio program that grew out of his research on the film. “Veteran’s Find Healing in Native American Tradition,” aired on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered on Memorial Day in 2012, and documents how veterans at the Salt Lake City VA Hospital were benefitting from traditional healing ceremonies conducted in a sweat lodge on the hospital grounds. The Religion Newswriters Association (RNA) awarded Taki first place in the category for Radio or Podcast Religion Report of the Year for the show. RNA is a charitable, literary and educational organization whose purpose is to promote excellence in media coverage and in public discourse about religion.

Healing the Warrior’s Heart is supported by the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, the Interculture Foundation, the Kalliopeia Foundation, the R. Harold Burton Foundation, the Palladium Foundation, the Utah Humanities Council, and by Western Folklife Center stakeholders.

 

The Western Folklife Center is dedicated to exploring, presenting and preserving the diverse and dynamic cultural heritage of the American West. We celebrate the wisdom, artistry and ingenuity of western folkways through exhibitions, educational programs, national radio and television programs, research and preservation projects, our website, and our premier event, the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. We nurture connections among rural and ranching cultures globally, exploring universal themes in working traditions and artistic expression, which we believe are vital links to the past, present and future of the American West.

Book, Tani’s Search for the Heart

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Looking to buy cool kids’ books for Christmas gifts? Check out this one by local Lummi talent Keith and Chenoa Egawa.

Hey Friends – Anyone Christmas shopping yet? How about our picture book, Tani’s Search for the Heart? A great gift for the kids in your life (and the really big kids) who enjoy a Coast Salish Native American adventure with both traditional and unusual local creatures.
Join Tani in an affirming tale of a child overcoming adult challenges, on her journey to make the world a better place for all. Timeless lessons that’ll get you thinking and feeling.
We hope you will take a glance at our website for purchasing info and additional detail about the story, author and artists: http://tanissearchfortheheart.com/

Also available on Kindle

Video: Going Home, Return of the Chinook

From John Gussman, Vimeo

Going Home from John Gussman on Vimeo.

With the lower Elwha Dam gone, and the Glines Canyon Dam scheduled to be gone in early 2014, the chinook salmon are coming back to their ancestral spawning grounds unreachable for the last 100 years. I spent a week in early September filming them in the Elwha River and one of it’s tributaries, Indian Creek. These are a few of the outtakes from that shoot, some of the final footage will be used in the film “Return of the River”, Learn more at elwhafilm.com/

NW books | Growing up on Tulalip Reservation; ‘Pig War’

Books of Seattle-area interest: “Tulalip, From My Heart,” “The Pig War” in paperback, “Larry Gets Lost in Prehistoric Times” and “Why Do I Sing.”

Source: Seattle Times

“Tulalip, From My Heart” by Harriette Shelton Dover (University of Washington Press, $50). In this hardcover book, Dover describes her life growing up on the Tulalip Reservation. She highlights the troubles the Tulalip Tribes encountered as they resettled, moving from their villages to the bayside reservation. Once there, the tribes faced hunger, poverty and persecution. Dover, born on the reservation in 1904, was the first Indian woman to serve on the Tulalip Board of Directors.

“The Pig War” by Mike Vouri (Discover Your Northwest, $18.95). New in paperback: Vouri tells the story of a sequence of events in the San Juans during 1859, when a shot pig almost led to war between Great Britain and the U.S. This new edition includes additional photos, maps and illustrations. Vouri is the chief of interpretation and a historian for the San Juan Island National Historic Park. He lives on San Juan Island.

“Larry Gets Lost in Prehistoric Times: From Dinosaurs to the Stone Age” by Andrew Fox and John Skewes, illustrated by Skewes (Sasquatch, $16.99). For ages 4-9: Larry, a dog who famously got lost in Seattle, now time-travels to learn about dinosaurs, woolly mammoths and Homo sapiens in this picture book. Both authors live in Seattle.

“Why Do I Sing: Animal Songs of the Pacific Northwest” by Jennifer Blomgren, illustrated by Andrea Gabriel (Sasquatch, $16.99). For ages 4-8: With rhyming verse and beautiful paintings, the book celebrates the Northwest’s noisy natural inhabitants, from the “long, low voices” of fin whales to the bugles of a Roosevelt bull elk. Blomgren lives in Port Townsend and Gabriel lives in Bellingham.

Marysville YMCA hosts ‘Military Family Night’ Nov. 16

By Kirk Boxleitner, Marysville Globe

MARYSVILLE — The Marysville Family YMCA is extending Veterans Day into the weekend following Nov. 11, by hosting its “Military Family Night” from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16, as part of the YMCA of Snohomish County’s “Military Family Month” in November.

Allison Hoot, youth and family coordinator for the Marysville Family YMCA, explained that the Y building will be open to military families only during those two hours, and that military identification will be required to enter.

“We’ll be hosting a sit-down dinner, where families will be waited on and pampered,” said Hoot, who touted the door prizes and other games offered by the event. “After dinner, the Y will be open for family swimming, dodgeball and basketball.”

Hoot added that area Girl Scouts will be providing crafts for families to do together as well, while community businesses have donated gift cards and baskets for door prizes.

“The Marysville, Arlington and Lake Stevens area houses so many service members, and a lot of those families have at least one parent deployed,” Hoot said. “This annual event gives all of our local military families time to enjoy just being together.”

“The Y encourages everyone to recognize the sacrifices that military members and their families make in service to our country,” said Scott Washburn, president and CEO of the YMCA of Snohomish County. “Residents of Snohomish County can also show support for military personnel by getting involved with their local YMCA or other organizations that help military families here in our community.”

Military Family Month was first established by the Armed Services YMCA and recognized by former First Lady Nancy Reagan in 1993, before President Barack Obama proclaimed November as Military Family Month on Oct. 30, 2009, calling on “all Americans to honor military families, through private actions and public service, for the tremendous contributions they make in the support of our service members and our nation.”

For more information on the Marysville Family YMCA’s Military Family Night, call Hoot at 360-651-1607.

 

Tulalip Husky and Cougar fans show their colors

Photos by Monica Brown

TULALIP Wash. – Fridays are usually reserved for Seahawks Blue Friday but this Friday, Tulalip Admin employees decided to sport their Husky or Cougar attire instead.

Click photos to view larger image.