25 September 2004

Music, Dance, Storytelling Central to First Americans Festival

Performances help visitors learn about first Americans' traditions

 

Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, in Washington

Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, in Washington

By Kathryn McConnell
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Music, dance and storytelling have helped tens of thousands of visitors to the First Americans Festival in Washington learn about the proud traditions and cultures of the first peoples of the Americas.

The September 21-26 festival coincided with the September 21 opening of the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), the newest museum of the Smithsonian Institution.

The museum opened with a colorful procession of an estimated 17,000 American Indians from nearly 500 Indian tribes and nations, most dressed in ceremonial regalia, from the Smithsonian Castle, the Smithsonian oldest building, to the NMAI.

The festival drew some of the most talented artists and performers from various indigenous communities throughout the Western Hemisphere. Some of the musicians have in the past earned Grammy awards, the U.S. music industry's highest honor.

Music is an important element in Native American cultures. Songs performed at the festival told stories; many incorporated ancient cultural beliefs such as the interrelation of nature and humans and the concept that life is ongoing, even after death on Earth.

The musical performances presented on three stages highlighted traditional sounds through a variety of music styles from chants and hymns to pop to what one musician called "alter-Native," a blend of blues, folk, country, rock, reggae and world beat genres. Songs were performed in native languages as well as in the current common languages of the Western Hemisphere.

An Oneida group from Wisconsin who performed at the festival said hymns must be remembered and sung to preserve their language. Chants are also believed to have curative powers, according to a group from Brazil.

Describing the importance of song and dance to Native American cultures, NMAI Director W. Richard West said: "The sounds of drumming and singing, the sight of people dancing in the soft autumn grass, the joy and laughter that proclaim so clearly that we endure and thrive, that the day ahead is bright with new promise."

West is a member of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe tribes. He was speaking of the injustices indigenous people have suffered over the centuries by some of the continent's non-Native peoples.

Stories and songs also proclaim tribal family values, according to storytellers Donna Couteau Cross and Joe Cross of the Caddo and Potawatomi tribes.

Examples of the dances performed at the festival include a traditional conch shell ceremony calling to the powers of the "four points" -- North, South, East and West -- that was performed by Native Hawaiians.

Dancers from Alaska whose name translates into "People of the Salmon" used masks to sign and dance their stories.

A dance troupe from Manitoba Canada performed square dancing, which is influenced by Irish and Scottish step dancing.

When asked about the timing of the museum opening and the associated festivities, West explained that September 21, the beginning of the fall equinox season, is "traditionally a time of paying homage to the earth and her many gifts to us."

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)