FROM ALL DIRECTIONS
INDIGENOUS AND REGIONAL CULTURES
AND WORLD MARKETS
News from Bronitsky and Associates
Bringing Together Indigenous Peoples and the World Since 1992
Dr Gordon Bronitsky, President, Bronitsky and Associates, Two Park Square, 6565 Americas Parkway NE, Suite 200, Albuquerque, NM 87110, 505-563-5755, cell 505-238-3739; e-mail
Tony Duke, Director of Operations and Development, Bronitsky and Associates, Two Park Square, 6565 Americas Parkway NE, Suite 200, Albuquerque, NM 87110, 505-563-5755, cell 505-238-3739; e-mail
European Office:
Dirk Steitz, Hofackerring 11, 79206 Breisach 3, Germany; Tel: +49
7664-408 972; e-mail
a monthly newsletter from Bronitsky and Associates about events and people from indigenous and regional cultures in the international scene - festivals, funding, conferences, publications and current issues.
Correspondence, subscription/unsubscription, opportunities, talent news, etc. should be directed to the United States office
Circulation: 4292
Our News - what's keeping us busy!
Transjoik concert in Bonn, Germany
ORIGINS: First Nations Theatre from Around The World, London 2009
International Conference on African Culture and Development
Native American Delegation to The Dreaming Festival, Australia
Bringing Indigenous and Regional Artists to the World
For Your Diary
Events
Festivals
Publications
Call for Submissions
News
Sites of Interest
Our News - what's keeping us busy!
Transjoik concert in Bonn, Germany
Transjoik is an exciting contemporary Sami group that creates music that is exciting vital, and powerful. The group consists of four musicians who use the human voice in new and wonderful ways, establishing a mood that is at once modern and timeless.
Dirk Steitz, the head of the Bronitsky and Associates office in Europe, organized a concert for the contemporary Sami group, Transjoik, as a cultural program for the Indigenous delegates to the United Nations Summit on Biodiversity in Bonn May 27 on behalf of the Saami Council. Transjoik fascinated the audience with a very inspiring show.
ORIGINS: First Nations Theatre from Around The World, London 2009
Gordon Bronitsky, Executive Producer, and Michael Walling, Artistic Director, are continuing to bring the best Indigenous theatre from the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to London in 2009 for the first full season of ORIGINS: First Nations Theatre From Around The World. Venues and companies have been penciled in and the fundraising quest is in high gear.
ORIGINS will create a market and showplace for the Indigenous theatre, culminating in the year 2012, the year of the Cultural Olympiad and the London Olympics. Future years will be opened up to Indigenous theatre from non-English speaking countries as well.
ORIGINS will soon have its own e-newsletter to spread the news and begin creating new dialogue among Indigenous theater makers, communities and audiences.
You can learn more about ORIGINS: First Nations Theatre From Around The World at our website, http://www.bronitskyandassociates.com/projects.htm.
International Conference on African Culture and Development
Tony Duke, the Director of Operations and Development at Bronitsky and Associates, just returned from the International Conference on African Culture and Development in Kumasi, Ghana (www.icacd.ccoghana.org). He spoke about "Developing Festivals, Developing Our Communities: the Roles of Community and Regional Festivals in Economic Development."
The conference theme was Cultural Dynamics: Greasing the Wheels of Africa's Development. The goal of the conference was to begin to promote the idea of societal and cultural considerations in drawing and implementing development programs in Africa.
The Conference Proceedings are now out in draft form and we're busy reviewing the draft with the conference organizers. We hope it will available soon - it was an exciting and groundbreaking conference.
Native American Delegation to The Dreaming Festival, Australia
Bronitsky and Associates has brought Cochise Anderson and the Native American Dancers to The Dreaming Festival (www.thedreamingfestival.com), in cooperation with the United States embassy in Canberra. The Dreaming Festival is Australia's largest Aboriginal festival and is taking place June 6-10, 2008.
Cochise Anderson (http://www.cochise-okcha-a.com/)
Cochise Anderson is a member of the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations of
Oklahoma, is an actor, playwright, poet, spoken-word performance
artist, contemporary and traditional storyteller as well as a
traditional and blues musician.
The Native American Dancers consist of:
Naomi Bebo (http://www.americanindianstudies.ucla.edu/studentinfo/studentsinfo-nbebo.htm)
Naomi Bebo is a Second Year Joint Degree student working to obtain
her MA in American Indian Studies and her JD in Indian
Law. Currently, Naomi is President of the Native American Law
Student Association (NALSA) at UCLA. Naomi enjoys powwow
dancing and performing with American Indian Dance Theatre (http://www.americanindiandancetheatre.com/)
whenever she gets the chance.
Dallin Maybee (http://www.swaia.org/featArtist.php?id=18)
Dallin Maybee is a member of the Seneca Nation but he also has
family on the Wind River Indian Reservation in central Wyoming. He
is an accomplished dancer and has traveled extensively throughout
the world as both a performer and choreographer. His tours have
taken him to locations such as: China, Mongolia, South Korea, Qatar,
most of Europe, Mexico and South America, as well as throughout the
United States.
We'll bring you a full report in next month's issue.
Bringing Indigenous and Regional Artists to the World
Bronitsky and Associates is negotiating with festivals in Ireland, Russia (Siberia) and Malaysia to bring Indigenous artists within the coming year. We'll keep you posted!
For Your Diary
If you would like to list an event, activity or publication with us, please forward details to before the 28th of each month to ensure its inclusion in the next FROM ALL DIRECTIONS newsletter.
Events
Cherokee Language Short Film Premiered at the 61st Cannes Film Festival, May 2008
Cherokee Producer K.A.Gilliland and Director Andrew Sikora's short
film, "Stories of the Cherokees" was selected to compete at the 2008
Cannes Film Festival in France May 14th-24th - the first
time a Cherokee language film has made its European premier at
the festival.
"Stories of the Cherokees" is a fusion of animation and live-action. This 15-minute HD film draws its inspirations from the traditions of Cherokee oral history. The subject is a glimpse the pre-European world on the continent as seen through the eyes of the Cherokees. This novel tale is artfully photographed in High Definition. Shot entirely on location in the Cherokee Nation, the film captures the sacred beauty of the Cherokee Nation's lands. "Stories of the Cherokees" is a pioneering film produced in the native Cherokee Language.
Awards:
29th Annual Telly Award - Bronze Winner 2008 Statuette
Best Cultural Film 2007 -International Cherokee Film Festival
Filmmaker and Cultural Warrior Alanis
Obomsawin honored by retrospective a the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston, May 2008
Filmmaker and cultural warrior Alanis Obomsawin was honored
by a retrospective at The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in May.
Alanis Obomsawin is one of Canada's most distinguished documentary
filmmakers. A member of the Abenaki Nation, whose territory
originally extended from New England to Quebec, Obamsawin was born
in New Hampshire in 1932 and raised on the Odanak reservation
northeast of Montreal. Deeply absorbed in the history, traditional
stories, and songs of her ancestors, she began her career as a
singer, writer, and storyteller. She has worked with the National
Film Board of Canada to make over thirty documentaries on issues
affecting First Nations peoples. In May 2008, Obomsawin received the
Governor General's Performing Arts Award, one of Canada's highest
honors. All films are from Canada and are written and directed by
Obomsawin.
Boston Globe Article:
http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2008/05/25/contrasting-happy-days-hard-times/
Lowanna Emergence by Wayne Quilliam -
Aboriginal Art Exhibition opening at Art Centre Berlin, Germany
Friday 28th June 2008
`Lowanna Emergence` will radically alter the perception of
Australian Indigenous art as Aboriginal photographer Wayne Quilliam
emotionalises the bond between mother earth and her children.
Quilliam's world and iconography is replete with irreverent metaphor
exploring spirituality and sublime nature with a profane point of
view. By manipulating the human form with abstract images he
seemingly impregnates his photographs with an essence of life and
spirituality.
Wayne Quilliam is one of Australia's most prominent Aboriginal photographic artists with more than 100 solo and group exhibitions in Australia, Europe, Asia and the USA. Born in Hobart, Tasmania Quilliam divides his time between his studio in Melbourne and touring to the most remote locations in Australia and abroad working with Indigenous cultures. He continues to forge new expressions and dimensions in photographs through his culture and is transforming `Lowanna' into a short film and stage play.
Contact:
Jodie Bujok
Mr. Thomas Tyllak
or the artist - Wayne Quilliam
Native American Celebration with the
Buffalo Philharmonic, New York, July 20
Native American Celebration with Carlos Nakai and the Blacklodge
drum group with the Buffalo Philharmonic
July 20, 2008
Artpark in Lewiston, NY near Niagara Falls, NY
Concert starts at 3 pm
call 716 603-4546 for more information
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Tuesday May 13th 2008
918 207 6911
http://www.cherokee.tv
Kimberlie Gilliland:
Contemporary Laguna/Zuni Pueblo artist
DeHaven Solimon to exhibit work in South Dakota, August 31-October
29, 2008
Contemporary Laguna/Zuni Pueblo artist, De Haven Solimon will be
exhibiting paintings, drawings, and mixed media at the Journey
Museum, in Rapid City South Dakota. The exhibition will open on
August 31, 2008 through October 29, 2008.Her imagery can be seen at
her website, www.SkyHunterArts.com. In addition to this upcoming
exhibition, Ms. Chaffins will also be busy creating the awards
for the 2008 New Mexico Center for Nursing Excellence Awards. Prints
for this year's award image can be seen and purchased at
www.nmnursingexcellence.org.
Festivals
MATARIKI FESTIVAL - A Celebration of the
Maori New Year and New Zealand's Indigenous Culture - June 18-21,
New York City
Matariki is the Maori name for the star constellation, Pleiades,
which appears in the Southern skies in June each year and heralds
the start of a new Polynesian year. Join us as we celebrate the
Maori New Year and New Zealand's Indigenous Culture. This event is
kindly supported by Simon Leeming in memory of Mrs June Leeming and
the New Zealand Consulate General in New York.
Exhibition and Ta Moko demonstrations daily through 21 June
American Indian Community House Gallery(2nd floor
11 Broadway
New York, NY 10004
Wednesday 18 June,
6.00pm - 9.00 pm
Opening reception
RSVP required by 13 June to
Thursday, June 19,
7.00 pm - 8.30 pm
Celebration of New Zealand music &Specialty Maori cuisine*
RSVP required by 13 June to
*Suggested donation of $5 for this event
Friday, June 20,
7.00 - 9.00 pm
Pacific Sounds of Indian Summer*
*Suggested donation of $10 for adults for this event; Presented in
conjunction with the American Indian Community House Indian Summer
Series
Saturday, June 21,
10.00 am - 9.00 pm
Ta moko demonstrations & Maori art exhibition continue
1.00 pm - 3.00 pm - Children's activities: Titi Torea and Taonga
making
3.30 pm - Film screenings
5.30 pm - Presentation about Matariki and panel discussion
7.00 pm - Festival closes
FESTIVAL OF PACIFIC ARTS - July
20-August 2, 2008, Tutuila, Pago, Pago, American Samoa.
The Festival of Pacific Arts was created in 1972 in
response to the threat of the erosion of traditional art forms. This
remains the primary objective of the festival. The festival enables
the 27 Pacific countries and territories to come together and
exchange ideas, knowledge, skills and techniques. It is a
celebration of our sameness and differences. The aho (strand) that
weaves everything together is the art, culture, language and artists
from each country.
Please visit
www.festival-pacific-arts.org.
THE WORLD OF MELODY FESTIVAL- Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia -
2008 dates to be confirmed. Since 2004, the World of Melody
International Folk Art Festival has been successfully organized in
Mongolia by the Mongolian Association of IOV. The main purpose of
this festival is to advertise national art throughout the world with
its specific nature and tradition.
Please visit
www.iovmongolia.com.
RIDDU RIDDU - The Riddu Riu festival was started by the
sami associations in Kåfjord in 1991, as a sea-sami culture
festival. The festival has become one of the largest sami festivals
and primary yearly festival for international indigenous peoples.
The festival programme encompasses music, performing arts, courses,
seminars, movies, children's festival and youth camp. The dates are
July 9-13, 2008.
Please visit
http://www.riddu.no
INTERNATIONAL FOLKLORE FESTIVAL "OP ROAKELDAIS" WARFFUM"-
The Op Roakeldais site, the Folkdance Festival of Warffum, in a
small corner of the Netherlands, five kilometers from the Waddenzee,
once a year the epic centre of a big cultural shock. Folk dancing
groups from every corner of the world present themselves.
Zandeweer, The Netherlands from June 25-29, 2008.
Please visit:
http://www.oproakeldais.nl.
ALANAIT ARTS FESTIVAL, NUNAVUT
Only four short years ago, the Alianait Arts Festival was just an
idea. Today, the Alianait Arts Coalition is pleased to announce its
2008 schedule of events, which includes over twenty events with
line-up of performers from as far away as Mexico, Russia and New
Zealand. The theme of Alianait 2008 is “String Games” and will
feature string musicians from across the north and around the world.
String Games is an ancient Inuit tradition and was chosen this year
to symbolize the connectivity of cultures around the world. The
Festival will also feature the Nunavut Arts & Crafts Festival,
films, and much more.
Festival dates are June 21-July 1, 2008.
For more information, visit
http://www.alianait.ca/home-2007.html
FESTIVAL OF WORLD CULTURES, DUBLIN
Indigenous to classical, traditional, folk, eclectic and tribal, the
Festival of World Cultures offers a kaleidoscopic program of
concerts & club nights, fairs & markets, dance, street events,
workshops and so much more. A gigantic feast of arts and culture!
With over 250,000 people attending last year’s event, the Festival
of World Cultures is firmly established as one of Ireland’s largest
annual events. Most importantly however, it is proud to be an event
that celebrates and nurtures the culturally diverse demographic of
Ireland
Festival dates are August 22-24, 2008.
For more information, visit
http://www.festivalofworldcultures.com/
Publications
Promoting Inuit Culture Abroad: Two
Arviat Throat Singers to Perform on Live TV in England.
Nunavut News/North, May 12, 2008,
pp 22-23.
Not available on the web, unfortunately, but for our readers in
Nunavut, an excellent article about the recent performance in
England by Lois Suluk-Locke and Maria Illungiayok, Inuit throat
singers from Arviat. Bravo!
Nigeria: Cultural Diversity, Weapon
Against Poverty - Unesco
The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(UNESCO) has emphasised that cultural diversity is a good weapon in
the fight against poverty.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200805230513.html
Music Transforms Kids and Towns in
Remote Area of Bolivia
Inspired by a biannual baroque festival and the legacy of
missionaries, young people join choirs and take up the violin and
Vivaldi in parishes across the country's eastern lowlands.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0512/p20s01-woam.html?page=1
Creative economies have long-term
development potential
From Bollywood in India to Nollywood in Nigeria, Brazilian soap
operas to Ghanaian talismanic jewelry, creative industries are
creating jobs and generating income in developing countries. With
the potential to strengthen cultural identities and promote
innovation, the creative economy is increasingly recognized as one
of the world's most dynamic emerging economic forces - and as a
development imperative.
http://mediaglobal.org/index.php/2008/05/03/creative-economies-have-long-term-development-potential/
Call for Submissions
Indianer Inuit: The North America Film
Festival
March 18 -22, 2009
Stuttgart, Germany
Deadline October 31, 2008
SUBMITTING FILMS:
The following films can be submitted to the festival (no form
necessary): Feature films, live short subjects, documentary films
(long and short), music videos, and animated films
Please send two DVDs accompanied by information on the film to:
Media Arts Cultural Events
Gunter Lange, Artistic Director
Goethestrasse 35
D-78467 Konstanz
Germany
A FORUM FOR FILMS AND ENCOUNTERS
INDIANER INUIT: Das Nordamerika Film Festival is unique in Europe
offering a platform for North American Natives and First Nations as
screenwriters, directors and actors to present works depicting their
culture, their past and their present in fascinating films full of
humor and rich content.
Please visit their website
www.nordamerika-filmfestival.com/en/index.html or email
.
News
Japan's Ainu hope new identity leads to
more rights
Japan's parliament identified the group as the country's indigenous
people on Friday.
By Takehiko Kambayashi | Correspondent of The Christian Science
Monitor
from the June 9, 2008 edition
URAKAWA, JAPAN - While Friday's parliamentary decision to recognize the ethnic Ainu as Japan's indigenous people is a major step for a country long proud of being ethnically homogeneous, for many members of the long-discriminated-against minority it's not enough. "I'm glad to learn the resolution," says Saki Toyoma, an 80-year-old Ainu woman who lives in Urakawa, a serene outpost in Hokkaido, the northern island that the ethnic group had dominated for centuries. "But I'd also like the government to apologize and make way for the sake of the Ainu people."
The Japanese government established a development commission on the island in 1869, which led to the migration of Japanese and the island's acquisition. That was followed by the forced assimilation and relocation of the group. The Ainu were also banned from practicing certain traditions, including men wearing earrings and women getting tattooed, and they were forced to learn the Japanese language and adopt a Japanese name. "When I think of having been treated like trash and discriminated against because of our ethnicity, I feel like screaming at the sky," says Ms. Toyama.
The government's assimilation policy made even many Ainu
themselves ignorant of their culture and history, say Ainu leaders.
But they hope the resolution, as well as the Indigenous Peoples
Summit, could change that. "We are at a turning point," says Mr.
Yuki, who is also an Ainu printmaker. "Whether we are proud of being
Ainu or we hide our identity makes a huge difference to our
children."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0609/p04s01-woap.html
`Maori Pompeii' yields treasures
A New Zealand archaeologist has uncovered an untouched "time
capsule" of Maori life almost 200 years ago.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c-id=252&objectid=10512676
Sorry Day in Australia
Hundreds of events were held around Australia May 26 to commemorate
the tenth anniversary of National Sorry Day and celebrate the
national apology to the Stolen Generations. Not surprisingly, it was
a day of mixed emotions. Tears were shed as Stolen Generations
members and their families grieved over the impact of past
government policies and practices that saw thousands of Indigenous
children forcibly removed from their families. There were
remembrance ceremonials for those have passed on, many without being
reunited. However, it was clear that the February 13 national
apology had fueled a new sense of energy and hope for Stolen
Generations justice.
http://www.koorimail.com/index.php?page=GeneralNews
Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr
meets with Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama
Vice President Ben Shelly met May 31 with Sen. Barack Obama at a
town hall meeting in Rapid City, S.D., saying he is not endorsing
the Democratic Party candidate but is seeking support for Navajo
Nation priorities. Shelly also met recently with Sen. John McCain,
the presumptive Republican Party candidate for president.
http://www.navajotimes.com
Sites of Interest
For more information please contact:
Ainu, the Indigenous People of Japan
The Ainu Museum on Hokkaido presents a very comprehensive website -
food, culture, music, and history.
http://www.ainu-museum.or.jp/english/english.html
Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People
An excellent on-line exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution in
Washington, DC
http://www.mnh.si.edu/arctic/features/ainu/
Website Connects Social Entrepreneurs
Social Edge is a global online community where social entrepreneurs
and other practitioners in the social benefit sector can network,
learn, inspire, and share resources. The website offers online
discussions moderated by experts in the field and a variety of
blogs, videos, and podcasts, as well as a resources wiki and access
to current jobs and opportunities. Social Edge is particularly
targeted at social entrepreneurs with limited access to other local
resources and practitioners due to the nature of their work (e.g.,
international development) or their location (e.g., developing
countries or rural areas). Social Edge is a program of the Skoll
Foundation, whose mission is to advance systemic change to benefit
communities around the world by investing in, connecting, and
celebrating social entrepreneurs. Access to Social Edge is available
free of charge, and registered members can receive a weekly
newsletter highlighting news on social entrepreneurship.
Please visit http://www.socialedge.org/
Miao (Vietnam) live music performance
For a fascinating view of music by the Miao people of Vietnam,
please visit:
http://youtube.com/kinkgongmusic
If you would like to contribute an item to FROM ALL DIRECTIONS, the monthly e-newsletter of Bronitsky and Associates, please forward your listing before the 28th of each month to .