Arts & Entertainment Archives - Page 68 of 109

Salmon Homecoming Celebration, Sept 19-21

The 21st Annual Salmon Homecoming Celebration is scheduled for September 19-21, 2013.

www.salmonhomecoming.org

Salmon Homecoming is all about the people of the Pacific Northwest, whoever they are and whatever they do. That means we’re here for you, because your health, spirit and even your sustainable economy is most certainly about the salmon.

Want to volunteer? Fill out our volunteer form or contact Salmon Homecoming Coordinator, Linda James-Laville, by phone at (206) 999-0532 or email shcacoordinator (a) gmail (dot) com .

The Salmon Homecoming Alliance is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit foundation, established to organize, plan, develop and facilitate programs and events associated with Salmon Homecoming. Board members represent a variety of governments, associations, foundations and industries. Our objectives are to provide opportunities for tribal and non-tribal communities to come together in a positive atmosphere, learn from one another, and explore ways to support cooperative spirit in salmon restoration and protection.

We are happy to continue the tradition by celebrating the 21st annual Salmon Homecoming ceremony. The celebrations have always included cultural presentations, such as Northwest traditional gatherings, Pow Wows and Cedar Canoe events. We’ve sponsored environmental fairs, educational outreach activities, salmon bakes and even salmon runs. We present “Seventh Generation Legacy Awards” every year to people who have made important contributions to natural resources and Indian/non-Indian relations. We have accomplished much, but our Salmon Story has just begun.

“Salmon are the measuring stick of well-being in the Pacific Northwest.”
-Billy Frank, Jr., Chairman, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

Football and Hogans: Super Bowl XLIX Will Feature Large Indian Village

Lee Allen, Indian Country Today Media Network

Seeking to take advantage of a captive audience, all 22 tribes in the state of Arizona are expected to be represented at an American Indian Village as part of the 2015 Super Bowl XLIX in Phoenix. Even though it’s two years out, planning by the Arizona American Indian Tourist Association is already underway.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to get the Indian country message out to the thousands who will attend the football championship,” says Donovan Hanley (Navajo), current Tourist Association president. The Village, one of the association’s largest collaborative efforts, showcases the sights, sounds and flavors of Native dance, music, arts and crafts, and food—a slice of tribal life.

“We set up an Indian Village during the 1996 and 2008 NFL Super Bowls in Phoenix and drew 20,000 attendees,” said past AAITA President Rory Majenty (Yavapai). Another 8,000 visitors enjoyed the experience during the 2012 Centennial.

The Indian Village Returns to Arizona (Centennial Celebration)

Although plans are not yet in place for 2015, much of the color and pageantry of last year’s Centennial should re-appear at the Super Bowl—displays like a replica of a Navajo hogan, a traditional Hopi house, and a Salt River Pima-Maricopa round house; demonstrations of traditional piki bread-making; performances by gourd singers accompanied by aboriginal instruments; dancers performing the Pal’hik Mana (Water Maiden) and the Eagle Dance; artists who will show how pottery is made from the collection of the clay to the finished product—everything is on the table in current discussions.

“This is a great venue to market Indian tourism to a captured audience and to educate visitors of the growth and abilities of Arizona’s native peoples,” said Majenty. “We’re a big part of this state and lay claim to a large part of its history and identity.”

And that includes the sport of football too. “The Indian and the NFL are not separate entities,” says Raphael Bear (Yavapai). “Native American gridiron star Jim Thorpe was one of the first Commissioners when the National Football League was started. We have an opportunity here as a tourist organization for American Indians to let the world know we’ve always been a part of this sports scene. A smart card player plays the strongest cards in his hand and the Thorpe connection is a trump card for us to hold during the Super Bowl.”

“I know people aren’t going to just stop into the Village and then make plans to vacation in Indian Country,” says Hanley. “This kind of focused concentration takes years and years to become truly effective, but an authentic Indian Village can plant a bug to spur further interest in all we have to offer in the state.

“While many out-of-state football fans may just fly in and fly out to count kickoffs and savor the touchdowns, we expect regional attendees to visit the Village both before and after the game and feel if we tantalize all the sensory options with our exhibits and entertainment, it will peak further interest in Arizona’s Indian country.”

Bumbershoot’s 2013 Lineup

Bumbershoot 2013, August 31 – September 2, 2013 at Seattle Center

Source: Bumbershoot.org

Now in its 43rd year, Bumbershoot has consistently drawn artists representing the best in music, film, comedy, spoken word, dance, theatre, performance, and visual arts to Seattle every Labor Day weekend.

North America’s largest urban arts festival, Bumbershoot takes place in the heart of the city at the 74-acre Seattle Center.

Over 100,000 visitors from near and far spend the weekend experiencing groundbreaking local, national, and international artists in all arts disciplines and musical genres at venues large and small, indoor and outdoor.

Bumbershoot also features a variety of food, merchandise, and urban craft vendors throughout Bumbershoot grounds—there’s plenty to eat, see, and do all weekend long.

Check out the full lineup here.

34th Annual Puyallup Tribal Pow Wow, Aug 30-Sept 1

34th Annual Puyallup Tribal Pow Wow, August 30, 31 and September 1, 2013

Grand Entry Friday 7 PM sharp! Dance & Drum Competitions, Puyallup Tribal Royalty Contest, Native American Arts & Crafts, Native American Food Booths. Salmon Bake: Saturday 5-7 PM

Location: Chief Leschi Schools 5625 52nd St. E. Puyallup WA 98371

Information: Puyallup Tribe, 253.680.5730 or 253.405.2962 Mon-Fri 9am-4:30 PM

Injunuity signs CD pact with record company

Tony Choate, Director, Chickasaw Nation Media Relations

ADA, Okla. – Musicians Brad Clonch and Jeff Carpenter, better known as the Native American band Injunuity, have inked a record deal with an Arizona company.

Phoenix-based Canyon Records and Injunuity came to agreement almost a year ago. Canyon will release the band’s independently produced third compact disc Fight For Survival. The 2010 release won the band Songwriters of the Year honors at the Native American Music Awards or “Nammy.” Nammy awards are the equivalent to mainstream music’s Grammy Awards.

“They (Canyon) are one of the largest distributors of Native American music nationally and internationally,” Clonch said. “They took the album and are redesigning the artwork. They are reproducing the recording tracks to give it more of a flare that they are accustomed to in terms of the Native flute. We signed on with them a year ago in October and they’ve been reworking Fight For Survival over the last year,” he added.

“Instead of Jeff and me selling CDs out of the trunks of our cars, it will be released to stores. Our music will be available in many locations. People will know ‘hey, here’s this new sound, this new band,’ ” Clonch said.

The musicians are expecting release of Canyon’s version of Fight For Survival soon and with it they expect to become busier performing at Native American festivals and venues nationally and internationally.

Not that they aren’t already busy.

In fact, Clonch, who plays Native flute and is an accomplished pianist, and Carpenter, a multi-talented guitarist and saxophone player, recently ventured to Switzerland for a Native American concert known as Apache Moon. They departed Oklahoma in July and returned home about a week later.

Each raves about the experience, the welcome they received and how they were able to do radio and television interviews to inform people about their music, Chickasaw history and culture.

The festival’s organizer, Davide Buzzi, is interested in Native American music and culture. He organized the festival in Semione, Switzerland, approximately 10 years ago. Both musicians said the opportunity to visit with Europeans and share what it means to be Native American was exciting. Both work for the Chickasaw Nation. Carpenter is Chickasaw and Clonch is Mississippi Choctaw.

“There are still a lot of stereotypes about Native Americans, especially (in Europe),” Clonch said. “A lot of them think we still live on reservations, ride horses, and live in teepees. It’s actually very cool. Instead of them coming to America, we traveled to Europe to share our culture with them.” The pair explained to European media while some tribes did live in teepees, the Chickasaws lived in villages comprised of a summer home and winter home made of mud huts with a thatch roof.

“We were able to educate them on that and show them it’s not always what Hollywood portrays,” Clonch explained. “We were able to teach them some Chickasaws words and we sat down for many interviews where we talked about the Chickasaw Nation, how it was removed from the ancestral home lands and how it has thrived and continues to thrive in Oklahoma.”

With a newly-released fourth CD titled Spirits, a recording contract, and interest in the group spreading globally, Injunuity hits the road again in September.

A two-day festival celebrating Native Americans is held annually in Tuscumbia, Ala. Injunuity will make its sixth appearance there in as many years.

“That festival is probably one of the biggest reasons we still exist,” Carpenter notes with a big smile. “The reception we get out there was just unbelievable.”

“When you go to an area where people don’t experience (Native music) every day, they are just in awe of it,” Clonch said.

To learn more about the band and performance dates, visit www.injunuity.net.

UA will celebrate a cultural exhibition, “Drums, Tomahawks and the Horse”

Akron, Ohio, Aug. 27, 2013— Native American cultural artifacts rarely seen in this region will be on display at the University of Akron’s Center of the History of Psychology. The objects are part of the Jim and Vanita Oelschlager Collection.

The exhibition, “Drums, Tomahawks and the Horse: Native American Cultural Tools,” will be introduced with an opening reception on Saturday, Sept. 7 from noon to 4 p.m. at the University of Akron Center for the History of Psychology.

The exhibit will feature drums, tomahawks, shields, headdresses and other tools related to Native American life and the use of the horse. It will highlight artistic expression in objects such as beaded moccasins, painted buffalo robes, decorations with porcupine quills and ledger drawings.

These cultural artifacts represent tools used during the late 1700s to the early 1900s and will be placed in an historical context with maps and timelines of selected events of change in the lives of Native Americans.

“The opening celebration will begin with a traditional Lakota blessing and song by Joey Tiger,” said Dr. Lynn Metzger, research associate of the Department of Anthropology and Classical Studies, “Native American Lakota traditional dancers will perform with regalia and drums in order to remind us the sacred traditions are still alive. Demonstrations of atlatl throwing and flint knapping will connect us back to prehistoric tools.”

UA’s Center for the History of Psychology is located at 73 College St. in Akron. Running through Feb. 15, 2014, the exhibition is open Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. For more information, call 330-972-7285 or visit uakron.edu/chp.

Cherokee Nation Youth Choir in Thanksgiving Parade

2013 Cherokee National Youth Choir (L to R): Front row: Sean Sikora, Austin Jones, Jessalyn McCarter, Brandon Doyle and Seif Drywater. Second row: Saundra Downey, Tabitha Fishinghawk, Skylar Glass, Bailey Justice, Cierra Fields and Chloe Martinez. Third row: Shay Downey, Lacie Melton, Alayna Harkreader, Makayla Hernandez, Marissa Williams, Madison Shoemaker, Garrett Million, Caidlen Dunham, Kaleigh Christie, Natalie Gibson, Roxanna Seay and Zakry Fine. Not pictured: Dalyn Patterson, Mariah O’Field, Jaycee Jackson and Diamond Rock.

Source: Grand Lake News

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. —The Cherokee National Youth Choir will trade their traditional Thanksgiving turkey and dressing meal to travel to New York City and sing in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

It’s the second time the Cherokee National Youth Choir has been invited to the parade. The choir participated in 2007.

“We are thrilled to be invited back to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” said Cherokee National Youth Choir Director Mary Kay Henderson. “It is very humbling, and our students take the opportunity very seriously. They know they are representing the Cherokee Nation on the parade route.”

Henderson said the 2 ½-mile parade, with more than 4 million people in attendance and viewers watching nationally, is mind boggling and something the 28 choir members will never forget.

The group is practicing weekly and held numerous fundraisers. The tribe will underwrite the majority of the trip.

The Cherokee National Youth Choir was founded in 2000 to keep youth interested in the culture and involved with speaking the Cherokee language. The choir has produced 11 albums, with the most recent being “Cherokee America” in 2012. The song choice for the Macy’s Day Parade won’t be revealed until on the parade route.

The public can hear the Cherokee National Youth Choir during several concerts at the Cherokee National Holiday. The choir will perform during the art show at the Tahlequah Armory Municipal Center at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30. They also perform at Principal Chief Bill John Baker’s State of the Nation address about 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 31, at the Court House Square, and 2 p.m. at the Tahlequah Armory Municipal Center. Admission is free.

For more information on the Cherokee National Youth Choir, contact Mary Kay Henderson at 918-772-4172 or marykay-henderson@cherokee.org.

After Offensive Fiasco, Paul Frank Collaborates With Native Designers

Kate Crowley, Jezebel.com

Imagine this: After producing an event offensive to Native Americans, Paul Frank is now working with Native American artists and designers — going from cultural appropriation to cultural appreciation.

This time of year about 150,000 people descend on Santa Fe, New Mexico for Indian Market and it’s a pretty big deal as leaders and artists from the United States and Canada get together for an extreme exchange of creative thoughts. This past Friday evening before the official start of Indian Market, about 200 fashion-forward folks gathered at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts to celebrate the release of the “Paul Frank Presents” collection, featuring work by four Native designers.

Unlike previous get togethers, this one didn’t include tomahawks, “war paint,” or cocktails with tacky neo-native names. Instead it celebrated a high profile “win” for all who challenge cultural appropriation.

The event launched the collection and included a panel discussion and receptions with some of the movers and shakers involved in the Paul Frank/Beyond Buckskin/Native Appropriations saga proved that sometimes social change can be an outcome of fashion design, blogging, and community action. Whoa. The event centered on a dynamite panel with the collection’s designers (Candace Halcro, Plains Cree/Metis, Louie Gong, Nooksack, Autumn Dawn Gomez, Comanche/Taos and Dustin Quinn Martin, Navajo), powerful female writers and bloggers Adrienne Keene, Cherokee, and Jessica Metcalfe, Turtle Mountain Chippewa, and VP of Design for Paul Frank, Tracy Bunkoczy.

Part academic, part celebration, the atmosphere at the beginning of the event was serious: a quick 10-minute rehash of previous events, including the party Paul Frank held where Native appropriation was flaunted, in front a mostly Native crowd was likely the source of Bunkoczy’s cautious nervousness. “It must be hard to sit here and listen to this over and over again,” Keene playfully said of the rehash to the group in attendance from Paul Frank. However Keene also noted that the ladies from Paul Frank really spent extra time working with Metcalf, Keene and the artists to make the collaboration line a reality.

“This happened because of people in the Native American community and our allies who want us to be represented properly in popular culture,” said Dr. Metcalfe.

“I’m not used to there being any sort of response back to me….I was just blown away, ” says Keene of Paul Frank’s large-scale action, which included facilitating a licensing webinar for those in the industry as well as extensive action on items that had already been licensed.

After a recap of the previous transgressions, the artists spoke to the audience about their work for the collaboration inspiring laughter and head-nodding from the audience. Gomez, wearing a crown from her Paul Frank line, stressed a duty to her community while Gong said his work for the line was directly inspired by the situation that led to the collaboration including “sustainable relationships.” Canadian designer Candace Halcro, with a hairstyle that likely was the inspiration for Miley’s new ‘do, said she loves looking “crazy and cool and trendy.” She’s known as the “sunglasses girl,” and experimented with how to incorporate Julius, the Paul Frank mascot before deciding to stay true to her brand’s most well known look. Dustin Quinn Martin, the first designer to speak ended his portion with this thought: “I hope especially the Native people in the crowd are proud of what we came up with, and feel like there’s a little bit of us in every single one of these designs and that we didn’t sell out to the man.”

Indeed, you might be wondering what the deal with profits is here, since it was earlier noted that the designers “consulted” for free. At the event it was revealed that the designers themselves will receive the profits from the new line, but also that much of the work concerning the manufacturing and creation of the items was left to the artists. This wasn’t out of the norm for the female designers, since none of their work can easily be mass-produced. Still, the items showcasing the graphics that the male designers created essentially needed to be outsourced for mass production. “Normal” Paul Frank collaborations involve a split of the profits between the company and the other designer. This time around Paul Frank will not profit from the sales and all of the profits from the collection will go to each of the designers. The items are sold through the Beyond Buckskin Boutique and the Paul Frank items at the MoCNA seemed to be selling well and attracting attention this weekend.

Autumn Dawn Gomez; Dustin Martin; Candace Halcro.

The crowd was a who’s who of creatives in Indian Country and Santa Fe. Just like any other fashion party, guests were anxious to mingle, meet the designers and try on items from the line. This time though, everyone in attendance was appreciative of the work and aware of what can happen when a community challenges appropriation.

The artists and panelists pose with the Paul Frank crew.

Kate Crowley is a blogger in the Southwest who writes for New Times’ Chow Bella and Jackalope Ranch blogs. Follow her on Twitter: @KateCrowley.

Tribal Journeys: Canoe Trips to Our Native Past, and Future

Gyasi Ross, Indian Country Today Media Network

Television, Edward Curtis photographs and romance novel covers have collectively painted the accepted images of Native people.

As a result of these images, a lot of peoples’ image of a Native person is that of a person who rides horses, comes from one of the Dakotas or Montana, and dances with wolves at pow-wows. Heck, even many Native people have the Dances With Wolves image embedded in our own heads (thus why the Hollywood Indian-complex consists of guys walking around LA and Santa Fe with their hair flying about, John Redcorn-style, because presumably that’s what casting agents/hippie chicks are looking for. NOTE: Skins on the Plains do not wear their hair like that!! It’s too damn windy!), and so the default “Native” image is that of a pow-wow dancer, Plains Indian-style.

I grew up at pow-wows; they are beautiful, important and fun (oh the stories I could tell!).

Yet, if you don’t have that look or participate in those pow-wows, folks question your credibility as a Native person. And pow-wow dancing/Plains-style phenotype is definitely a very valid expression of pan-Native culture (I submit that almost every Skin who was raised in a Native family has been to a pow-wow at some point!), yet it is not the only expression of pan-Native culture.

Random White Guy At Pow-wow to His Wife: “Gee honey, that doesn’t look like any Indian I’ve ever seen.”

Random White Guy’s Wife: *thinking* Yes, you’re right. Because if he looked like any of the ones that I’ve seen on my romance novels, he would be big and brown and muscular and on a big ol’ horse…and he’d pull me away and hold me captive! “No, he doesn’t honey.”

One such pan-Native event that has been growing in popularity and is redefining what it means to be, look, and celebrate being Native is something called “Tribal Journeys” on the Pacific Northwest Coast. Like pow-wows, Tribal Journeys blends many Northwest coastal, New Zealand, Canadian and Alaska Native tribes, tribal practices, songs, dances and foods into a pretty amazing stew and makes something beautiful out of it. The Journey began in 1989 as equal parts political protest, but also an attempt to recapture parts of the Coastal Native way of life that have been overlooked and/or forgotten for a long time. Also, like pow-wows, Tribal Journeys had very modest beginnings, and has steadily gotten bigger and more structured every single year; the host Tribe incurs a lot of expense putting this huge event together that attracts over 15,000 people a day to the host community. Whereas the original “Paddle to Seattle” had 18 canoes, now there are over 100 canoes that make the trek.

It’s grown. And is growing.

Like most truly unique events, words don’t do Tribal Journeys justice. Yet, here’s the basic idea behind it: Tribal Journeys retraces the paths, practices, and protocols of those that went before us, seeing through the eyes of our ancestors. As Chief Si’ahl (commonly referred to as “Seattle”) said, “Our religion is the traditions of our ancestors.” This happens by individual families canoeing from one Native homeland to the next, asking permission to enter those homelands. Historically, it was very important to ask permission and to state whether you were friend or foe—if not, there could be very serious consequences. There are many canoe families on Tribal Journeys—this is historically correct since one tribe could have many different canoe families, since many Native communities were not simply one community. Instead, most “tribes” had many villages and smaller sub-groups that usually spoke a common language.

There are many stops during this Journey. The travelling time of the journey is anywhere from a week to two-and-a-half weeks. Every single tribal homeland you pass, you ask permission and come ashore. Once ashore, that particular Native community takes care of you, feeds you and gives you someplace to sleep (camping style!!). That night, there’s an exchange of songs, dances and stories in a time called “protocol.” Of course, this isn’t the traditional name for this time or practice, yet this English name is appropriate because it implies a time of order, to pay attention and give thanks. While the Tribal Journeys itself was created in 1989, the protocol portion of the event is a variation of the ancient coastal tradition of potlatching.

There is a goal, a final destination. Ultimately, all the canoe families will gather at a place (the host Tribe) where a whole bunch of Natives gather together and party (in a safe, respectful and drug and alcohol free way) for a week or so…exchange songs, dances, speeches, and generally have a good time. During the immediately past Tribal Journey, the host Tribe—the Quinault—took the Journey back to its potlatch roots and let the protocol go around the clock. Also, like the ancient potlatches, the Quinault gifted individuals with some pretty spectacular gifts—tons of stuff, but they also gave away ten hand-carved canoes, which took about 9 months to carve.

Pretty powerful stuff.

Speaking for myself, honestly after two weeks of camping, I’m pretty darn happy to get back to the conveniences of home and watch some River Monsters or Ancient Aliens. Our ancestors lived a life with a lot less distractions. Still, it’s a beautiful event…and not only because of the songs and the dances and the opportunity to see through the eyes of our ancestors. While those reasons are certainly important and are surely enough to attend Tribal Journeys all by themselves, there is more to it than that. That is, I think it’s also important for folks—non-Natives AND Natives alike—to understand that not all Natives look alike, or have the same stories or practices.

That’s only in Hollywood.

Please check out this link for information on the next Tribal Journey, the Paddle to Bella Bella (Canada): thecnsc.org/CNSC_Site/Bella_Bella.html

Photo by Miranda Belarde-Lewis

Swәdx’ali, Huckleberry Hill

Traditional berry picking basket filled with black huckleberries and mountain blueberries.Photo/Ross Fenton — Traditional berry picking basket filled with black huckleberries and mountain blueberries.
Photo/Ross Fenton

Co-stewardship areas yield bountiful harvests

By Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News, with photo contributions from Ross Fenton

Tulalip − The Tulalip Forestry Department took their summer youth workers huckleberry picking in S^wәdx’ali on Harlan Ridge for the Hibulb Cultural Center on Wednesday, the 21^st.

The berry patch is one of many co-stewardship areas throughout the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest where tribes are collaborating with the Washington Forest Service to preserve and maintain natural flora. Along with gathering berries for the museum, the Tribes’ Forestry Department wants to make the tribal membership aware of S^wәdx’ali, and sites like it, where our people can go and harvest traditional plants and foods.

Staining their hands purple and red, the day was also intended as a fun and meaningful way to bring the youths’ time with the department to an end.

“Every year, we look for ways to take the youth out of the office, away from the reservation, and show them what we do, while having a little fun,” said Jason Gobin, Tulalip Forestry Manager. “And the museum will get a nice surprise because they don’t know they’re getting berries today,” he added.

Philip Solomon teaches his daughter, Sugar, what berries to pick and how to pick them.Photo/Andrew Gobin — Philip Solomon teaches his daughter, Sugar, what berries to pick and how to pick them.
Photo/Andrew Gobin

S^wәdx’ali, meaning the place of the mountain huckleberry, is on Harlan Ridge and is covered with berry bushes; the common huckleberry bush with the small red berries, the mountain blueberry bush, and the big leaf huckleberry bush that has the larger black berries. S^wәdx’ali is so named because of cultural and biological significance of the area, as the big leaf huckleberry naturally grows in the mountains, above 3,000 feet.

This area is one example of how the Tulalip Tribes is working to reclaim traditional areas. The co-stewardship with the state stems directly from the Point Elliot Treaty, which secured claims to usual and accustomed places, and the privilege of “gathering roots and berries in all open and unclaimed land.”

Reiterating the need to bring awareness to the people, Gobin explained, “These places of co-stewardship are open to all of Tulalip, but there aren’t many who know how to access them, or that we even have these resources available to us.”

For those who would like to access these sites, contact Tulalip Natural Resources at 360-716-4640 or Tulalip Forestry at 360-716-4371.