TAAC Bulletin
Volume 18, Number 2
Summer, 2002
National News—Cultural Diversity in the Arts
Call For Native Artists
Important Job Opening at Smithsonian
Vandals Deface Chicano Park Murals
Authorities Treat Incident as Possible Hate Crime,
April 30, 2002
SAN DIEGO—Several murals at Chicano Park were defaced and authorities are treating the incident as a possible hate crime, 10News reported. Sometime over the weekend five of the murals, which celebrate Mexican culture and history, were covered with anti-Hispanic graffiti and streaks of black paint.
Among the slogans spray-painted on the murals were the words "Viva La Miga" and "Abajo Mexico." Police believe "Miga" is a misspelling of "migra," the slang word in Spanish for immigration officer. "Abajo Mexico" is Spanish for "Down with Mexico."
Police officials said that they are treating the vandalism as a hate crime because the graffiti could be viewed as racial, according to 10News. The defaced paintings are part of a group of murals on the concrete pillars that support the San Diego-Coronado Bridge. They were painted shortly after Chicano Park was founded in 1970.
The graffiti attack came less than two weeks after the annual Chicano Park Day celebration in the park south of downtown San Diego—an event that drew hundreds of visitors.
Several artists inspected the damage late Monday and plans are under way to begin repair work on the murals.
Source: 10News
25th Anniversary of the Black Academy of Arts and Letters
After more than two decades of producing and presenting programs in music, theatre, dance, film, television and video, literature and visual arts throughout the United States, TBAAL has continued to create strong ties among many emerging and well known artists and scholars. In the organization’s early history, it established a professional Resident Touring Company called Third World Players. Renowned actress Regina Taylor was a member of that company in 1978 and other artists such as Erykah Badu are a product of the Academy.
The Black Academy of Arts and Letters, Incorporated, TBAAL, founded by Curtis King, is a Dallas, Texas based non-profit tax-exempt organization, which was chartered and incorporated November 23, 1977. In 1997, the Board of Directors, of the Academy, unanimously voted to change the name of the Academy from the Junior Black Academy of Arts and Letters to The Black Academy of Arts and Letters.
Modeled after the American Negro Academy, ANA and the Black Academy of Arts and Letters, BAAL, TBAAL's primary objectives have been:
To stimulate an increased awareness of Black artistic accomplishments rooted in the African culture among the races; To honor those who have made significant and continuing contributions in the arts and letters of the past and present; To identify, encourage and support young, promising talent
Source: The Black Academy of Arts and Letters, www.TBAAL.org/history.htm.
11th Annual International Mariachi Festival,
Mexican Heritage Plaza—San Jose
July 10th–14th, Center For Performing Arts—Mexican Heritage Plaza.
The Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose celebrates its 11th annual International Mariachi Festival. The mariachi tradition began as a rural folk music in the states of Jalisco, Nayarit, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Guanajuato, Michoacán, and Colima.
Early mariachis were instrumental quartets of two violins, accompanied by a harp and guitar, or by a vihuela and guitarrón. These bands were hired to play at weddings and fiestas, but the music was regarded as a quaint, country style, dismissed by city folk as a rural pastime.
Around the turn of the 20th century, politicians began hiring mariachis to attract locals to their speeches, and the music grew in popularity. After the Revolution of 1910, mariachis became a symbol of national pride.
Source: Mexican Heritage Plaza–San Jose, California, www.mhcviva.org
Red Earth—America's Largest
Native American Festival
June 7th–9th, 2002
Red Earth, America's Greatest Native American Cultural Festival, will begin on Friday, June 7th and for three extraordinary days, welcome the descendents of over 100 American Indian tribes as they gather in Downtown Oklahoma City at the Cox Business Services Convention Center to share the richness and diversity of their heritage with visitors from all over the world. June 7-9, 2002.
The Red Earth Auction will kick off the festivities on Sunday evening, June 2nd, at the Oklahoma Indian Art Gallery, 2335 SouthWest 44th Street in Oklahoma City. Those seeking fabulous artwork by nationally acclaimed Native American artists, unique services and goods from local businesses and fabulous get away trips are encouraged to attend. Auction proceeds will benefit the Red Earth Museum and its year-round educational programs.
The Artist Dinner and Art Gallery. Opening on the evening of Thursday, June 6th, the Artist Dinner, sponsored by the Chickasaw Foundation and the Red Earth Art Competition Gallery, will kick off Red Earth 2002 by inviting guests to an official sneak preview of the award winning art. Whether you simply enjoy looking at art, would like to meet world class artists or are a serious art collector, you will have the opportunity to purchase the award wining art before the show is opened to the public. For reservations call (580) 421–9030.
Listen to the rhythmic beat as Red Earth's Dance Competition brings together the most gifted and accomplished dancers in the world. Witness the spectacular Grand Entry as over a thousand dancers join the breathtaking processional. Watch the excitement grow as dancers vie for championship status and prize money in the War Dance, Fancy Dance and Grass Dance to name a few.
Youth Art and Activities Continuous performances and artist demonstrations and workshops throughout the weekend will provide a unique experience for both children and adults, but especially children. Tables will be set up in the Youth Arts and Crafts area for children to participate in hands-on demonstrations and workshops on Native American culture, basket weaving, beadwork, face painting and other Native American arts. Storytelling, a Red Earth favorite for children, will be provided throughout the event. At Red Earth you will discover the unique richness of American Indian cultures.
The Art Market provides an opportunity to view and purchase a wide array of authentic Native American work from over 250 artists, chosen as the leading examples of both traditional and contemporary Indian Art, with styles as diverse as the tribes from which they come. Extraordinary examples of traditional and contemporary paintings, sculpture, jewelry, pottery, drawings, cultural items and attire are showcased at Red Earth.
Source: Red Earth www.RedEarth.org
People of Color on National Council on the Arts
Luis Valdez (San Juan Bautista, California)
Luis Valdez is the Founder and Artistic Director of the internationally known El Teatro Campesino. Founded during the Great Delano Grape Strike of 1965, this troupe has performed throughout the United States, Mexico and Europe to critical acclaim. Through his efforts, Chicano culture has been recognized as a vital component of the American experience.
Mr. Valdez' first major critical and popular success, the play Zoot Suit, was originally conceived for the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and funded through a 1977 Rockefeller Foundation Artist-in-Residence grant. It subsequently became the first play by a Chicano produced on Broadway. Other projects include a film version of Zoot Suit, which received the Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Musical Picture, and the film La Bamba, an adaptation of his stage play Corridos: Tales of Passion and Revolution for PBS starring Linda Ronstadt and ballerina Evelyn Cisneros, which received the George Peabody Award for Excellence In Television in 1987. In recognition of his work, Mr. Valdez received the Governor's Award in 1990 and Mexico's prestigious Aguila Azteca Award in 1994.
Luis Valdez is a graduate of San Jose State University. He has honorary doctorate degrees from San Jose State, the University of Santa Clara, Columbia College of Chicago and the California Institute of the Arts. Mr. Valdez is a founding faculty member of the new California State University/Monterey Bay, where he is developing a program that will prepare students for the entertainment industry of the 21st century. He is also a founding member of the California Arts Council. Recent projects include Turner Network Television's The Cisco Kid and a film on the life of Cesar Chavez for Warner Brothers.
Cleo Parker Robinson (Denver, Colorado)
Cleo Parker Robinson is Founder, Executive Artistic Director and Choreographer of Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, a company she has led for the past 28 years. Performing in Denver, nationally, Europe, Africa, East Asia and the Caribbean, the ensemble has been featured at Jacob's Pillow, the American Dance Festival, Lincoln Center, John F Kennedy Center, and the New Jersey Center for the Performing Arts, and most recently completed a tour to Cairo, Egypt. Among acclaimed artists with whom Ms. Robinson and her ensemble have collaborated are world re-known choreographers Donald McKayle, Talley Beatty, Katherine Dunham, Dianne McIntyre, and Eleo Pomare. Additional components of Cleo Parker Robinson dance include a year-round school, a 300-seat theater, and an outreach program for at-risk youth called Project Self-Discovery.
Ms. Robinson, a recipient of choreography fellowships from the Colorado Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Lila Wallace Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trust, and the National Dance Repertory Program, has received commissions for collaborations with Dr. Maya Angelou and Marin Alsop, conductor of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Her extensive film and video credits include Gordon Parks' Run Sister Run. Ms. Robinson's many honors include the 1974 Colorado Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts, the 1979 Denver Mayor's Award, selection as one of the Colorado 100, induction into the Blacks in Colorado Hall of Fame, and selection as one of five participants in a project titled Dance Women/Living Legends. She currently serves as First Vice President, International Association of Blacks in Dance, and is a member of the board of trustees for the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, of which Ms. Robinson's dance company is an affiliate.
Ms. Robinson is a graduate of Denver University, where she also received an honorary doctorate. She credits Rita Berger, former dancer with George Balanchine and soloist with the Metropolitan Opera, and legendary choreographer and humanitarian Katherine Dunham as being her most influential mentors.
Hsin-Ming Fung (Los Angeles, California)
Hsin-Ming Fung is an architect and educator. As co-founding partner and Director of Design of the firm Hodgetts+Fung Design Associates, Ms. Fung led the design of projects ranging from the award-winning, temporary Towell Library at UCLA to a master plan for the 50-acre Los Angeles Arts Park to the Egyptian Theater for American Cinematheque. In addition, she helped create an interactive exhibition for Microsoft Corporation and the interactive educational exhibition for the California State Archive Museum.
Currently, she is Professor of Environmental Design at the California State Polytechnic University in Pomona. In addition, she held the Eero Saarinen Visiting Chair at Yale University's Graduate School of Art and Architecture in 1995 and in 2000, and the Herbert Baumer Distinguished Visiting Professorship at Ohio State University in 1996.
In 1991, she was a fellow at the American Academy in Rome; in 1994, she and her partner Craig Hodgetts were awarded the American Academy of Arts and Letters Architecture Award; in 1996, she was recipient of the Chrysler Award for Innovation in Design. She lectured internationally and has been a visiting critic at Rice University, Otis Art Institute, University of Arizona, University of Southern California, University of Pennsylvania, Southern California Institute of Architecture, and the University of California/Los Angeles.
Ms. Fung studied at Oxford College and Miami University in Ohio. She received her BA in Behavioral Sciences from California State University in Dominguez Hills and her Master of Architecture at UCLA.
Joy Harjo (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Born in Tulsa Oklahoma, Ms. Harjo is an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Tribe. A poet, Ms. Harjo's published works include the following books of poetry: She Had Some Horses (Thunder's Mouth Press), In Mad Love and War (Wesleyan University Press), Secrets from the Center of the World (University of Arizona Press), and The Woman Who Fell from the Sky (W W Norton and Company). Also available is The Spiral of Memory, a published collection of interviews with Ms. Harjo by the University of Michigan Press Poets on Poets Series, and Reinventing the Enemy's Language, Contemporary Native Womens Writings of North America, edited by Ms. Harjo and Gloria Bird with Blanco, Cuthand and Martinez.
Ms. Harjo's additional accomplishments include having been narrator for The Native Americans series on TBS, and more recently for National Geographic's Emmy award-winning Navajo Codetalkers. Her awards include a Lila-Wallace Reader's Digest Writers' Award, the 1997 New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts, an Oklahoma Book Arts Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award from Native Writers' Circle of the Americas, the Poetry Award from the Oklahoma Center for the Arts, and the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America.
She is also an accomplished musician and performs nationally and internationally as a saxophone soloist and member of her own band, Joy Harjo and Poetic Justice. The band's first compact disc recording, Letter from the End of the Twentieth Century (Silver Wave Records, 1997), received an award in 1998 for musical achievement from First Americans in the Arts. A graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts (Santa Fe, New Mexico) and the University of New Mexico, she received her Masters of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from the Iowa Writer's Workshop at the University of Iowa, and completed a film-making program at the Anthropology Film Center, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Source: National Endowment for the Arts
Smithsonian Job Opportunity
Closing date is July 23, 2002.
Smithsonian Institution Position Number: 02MA-1202
Office of Human Resources
Vacancy Announcement
24hr Dial-A-Job: (202) 287-3102, an Equal Opportunity Employer.
This is not a Federal Position
Opening Date: May 28th, 2002, Closing Date: July 23rd, 2002
Position Title/Organization Announcement Series and Grade Number
Deputy Director Smithsonian Center for Number: 02MA-1202
IS-301-15 Latino Initiatives (SCLI)
$92,060–$119,682 per annum
Duty Location: Washington, DC
Area of Consideration: All qualified candidates including qualified candidates with a disability. The Smithsonian provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for the application/hiring process, please call (202) 275-1102 (voice) or (202) 275-1110 (TTY).
Duties: Together with the Director, SCLI, the incumbent provides leadership and oversight in the planning, development, and management of programs, activities, and initiatives. Assists the Director in formulating program goals and objectives; drafts and issues policies and procedures to guide the operations. The Deputy represents the Director at meetings, conferences, etc., both internal and external. Acts on behalf of the Director with full authority to make decisions on issues, including budget, personnel, and financial management. Serves as the first-line supervisor for all program and administrative staff. Performs the full range of supervisory personnel management duties, including performance management, leave administration, and oversight of career development. Takes appropriate action in cases of poor performance or conduct. Practices and enforces the principles of equal employment opportunity. Develops and implements a strategic plan. Devises a corresponding plan with criteria for evaluating programs on a periodic and annual basis. Follows up evaluation of strategic plan by making recommendations for improving existing programs or terminating unsuccessful initiatives. Evaluates proposals for new programs and makes recommendations to the Director, SCLI, and the Under Secretary for American Museums and National Programs. Assists the Director in fund—raising initiatives to support Latino programs, including exhibitions and other forms of public outreach.
Qualifications: All candidates must provide evidence of one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position as defined above.
Note: You must address the following Selective and Quality Ranking Factors separately. Please write a paragraph or up to one page explaining your knowledge or skill as it relates to your experience or educational background for each of the factors. Failure to address the Selective and Quality Ranking Factors will eliminate you from further consideration.
Selective Factors: (Applicants must meet all of these mandatory requirements in order to be considered qualified to compete for a position.)
- Knowledge of the US national Latino community
and its current issues and priorities. - Skill in speaking and writing fluently
in English and Spanish. - Knowledge of strategic planning and program
analysis and evaluation.
Quality Ranking Factors: (These factors are not mandatory to be considered for a position, but will be used to determine who are the highest qualified candidates among those who meet the selective factors.)
- Skill in managing a program and supervising a staff.
- Skill in written communications (e.g., policies, procedures, reports).
- Skill in oral communications. (e.g., to persuade or to advocate a point of view).
Note: Relocation Expenses May Be Paid
How to Apply:
- The Smithsonian Institution does not require a standard application form, but we need certain information to evaluate your qualifications. You may apply using a resume, the Optional Application for Federal Employment, or any other written application form you choose, including an SF-171, Application for Federal Employment. (Note: If you use an SF-171, do not answer questions 38-47. Job finalists will be asked to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment. The information on this form will be used to determine suitability for Trust Fund employment and to authorize a background investigation, if required.)
- Clearly describe in your resume or application your work experience, education and/or training as it relates to this vacancy. It is very important that you fully address how your work experience and education/training meet both the specialized experience requirement and the selective factors. This information will be used to determine whether or not you are qualified for this vacancy. Selective factors establish qualifications to be eligible to compete for the position. Quality Ranking Factors are not mandatory but are used to determine who are the highest qualified candidates among those eligible to compete for the position. Therefore, it is to your benefit to provide a full description of your experience, education/training relative to the job requirements of this vacancy.
- The attached Background Survey Questionnaire should be completed by all candidates, except Smithsonian Institution employees, and returned with the application. This form is for gathering statistical data and will not be a part of the application. Applications must be received by the closing date and submitted in one of the following ways:
Mail:
Smithsonian Institution
Office of Human Resources
PO Box 50638
Washington, DC 20091.
Fax: (202) 275-1114
Hand Deliver or FedEx: 750 Ninth Street NorthWest, Suite 6100, Washington, DC 20560.
To obtain information on the Trust Fund Hiring Process, hear about other Smithsonian vacancies, or request vacancy announcements, an Optional Application for Federal Employment (OF-612), or an SF-171 (may be used for Trust Fund positions), call our automated Jobline on (202) 287-3102 (accessible 24 hours, 7 days a week). For further information please call (202) 275-1053 (voice) or (202) 275-1110 (TTY). 02MA-1202 130,150,300
Indian Arts and Crafts Association
Announces the 2002 Artist of the Year:
Mary Small, Potter
Each year the Indian Arts and Crafts Association selects one Artist of the Year from a field of candidates who represent the best of Native American potters, carvers, sculptors, jewelers, and two-dimensional artists. The winner is announced at a banquet following IACA's October wholesale market and receives both a monetary prize and exposure through IACA's publicity.
This year Mary Small was named IACA Artist of the Year 2001. She is a pottery maker from Jemez Pueblo whose work and reputation as a serious artist precede her new title. Mary has been honored for her work at Santa Fe Indian Market, Eight Northern Pueblos Indian Arts Show, the Heard Museum, Powhattan Lenape Nation Juried Indian Arts Festival in New Jersey, and many other arts and crafts venues.
Mary learned her skill from her mother, Perfectita Toya, who is also a well-known potter. She uses local clay and natural paints as well as traditional yucca brushes and a smoothing tool made from gourd. She fires her pottery outdoors over cottonwood coals using no mechanical aids to determine temperature or timing. The pot becomes light red when it is fired, and is likely to bear her trademark design colors, white and a matte blue-gray made from white clay mixed with bee plant pigment. Intricately figured wedding vases, storytellers, bowls, seed pots, and other forms grow from clay in her hands.
Source: Indian Arts and Crafts Association
East West Players Celebrate 36th Anniversary!
On April 22nd, East West Players celebrated its 36th Anniversary with a black tie gala at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel with over 800 corporate executives, community leaders, celebrities and supporters. It was an evening of camaraderie, class and comedy honoring international martial artist and film star Jet Li, international recording star and Tony Award-winning actress Lea Salonga, the philanthropic organization The Ralph M Parsons Foundation and volunteer extraordinary Irma Escamilla. The honorees are recognized for helping to raise the visibility of the Asian Pacific Islander community through their craft in the arts and media.
East West Players, the premiere Asian Pacific American theatre in the country displayed its caliber of powerhouse talent with the comic charm of Amy Hill and Alec Mapa, mistress and master of ceremonies. A 13-piece orchestra conducted by musical director Nathan Wang impressed the audience with classic melodies from Broadway. The evening opened with a warm welcome by the Honorary Co-Chairs Gareth C.C. Chang (Corporate Co-Chair), Councilwoman Jan Perry (Community Co-Chair) and Scott Sassa (Entertainment/Media Co-Chair). In addition, an extended ovation was given to honoree Lea Salonga who sang What I Did For Love from America's most celebrated musical, A Chorus Line. Gedde Watanabe, with a back-up trio of geisha singers, delighted the audience with his own rendition of a song commemorating all the honorees achievements.
The evening came to a poignant end as Broadway veteran, Michael K Lee belted out Let Them Hear You from Ragtime, the theme of the celebratory evening. The presenters John Woo, Terence Chang, John Cho, Michael Paul Chan, Chris Tashima, Fritz Friedman, EWP Board Co-Presidents Daniel M Mayeda and Wendy Anderson, recognized the honorees with charm, grace and delightful anecdotes. Other special moments included a salute to Asian Pacific Tales, EWP's theater for Youth, demonstrating a medley of kabuki, Chinese dance and hula by artists Kurt Kuniyoshi, Alice Lo and Casey Kono. Special guest George Takei encouraged the audience to sponsor a performance of Asian Pacific Tales for neighborhood schools.
Jet Li was greeted with a thunderous ovation as he took to the stage. Parsons' Foundation President Joseph Hurley brought his daughter, Lea onstage to accept the award with him as he remarked how children and cultural appreciation was so important for him and her. The party-like atmosphere was everywhere from the VIP Reception to the incredible Silent Auction and the dessert buffet in the lobby. The event raised over $190,000, the most successful fundraising event in EWP history, to benefit East West Players programs.
Source: East West Players www.EastWestPlayers.com
Museo del Barrio Exhibit
Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Twentieth-Century Mexican Art:
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection
April 28th—September 8th, 2002, The Gelman Collection, widely regarded as the most significant private holding of twentieth-century Mexican art, was assembled by the late cinematic mogul Jacques Gelman and his wife Natasha. The superb collection features works by Kahlo, Rivera, and other masters of modern Mexican art, including Gunther Gerzso, Maria Izquierdo, Carlos Mérida, José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siquieros, and Rufino Tamayo.
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection is a nationally traveling exhibition whose only East Coast presentation will be at New York's El Museo del Barrio. Encompassing more than 100 works of art drawn from one of the world's finest and most significant collections of its kind, the exhibition offers a comprehensive survey of paintings, drawings and photographs created by masters of Mexican Modernism. The exhibition traces the development of Mexican modern art between the 1910s and 1950s, offering a glimpse into pre- and post-revolutionary Mexican life and culture. Rarely viewed works by painter Frida Kahlo and muralist Diego Rivera are featured. El Museo del Barrio is New York's and the nation's premiere institution for the presentation of exhibitions and programs that explore and celebrate the diversity and richness of Latin American and Caribbean art and culture.
Source: El museo del barrio www.elmuseo.org
National Black Arts Festival Kicks Off 8th Festival in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia—The National Black Arts Festival kicks off its 15th season on July 19th-28th, 2002 in Atlanta, Georgia. The 10 day annual festival includes dance, music, art, theatre and film. Since the National Black Arts Festival's inception in 1988, NBAF has featured over 25,000 artists of African descent. Recently made into an annual event, over 5 million people have come from all over the world to enjoy the 10 day marketplace of arts and entertainment.
Founding Artistic Director Stephanie Hughley says, "I'm so proud that The National Black Arts Festival has become a National Cultural Treasure. During the past 15 years, this event has celebrated and presented a unique array of internationally recognized artists and filmmakers such as Harry Belafonte, Spike Lee, Maya Angelou, Meshell Ndegeocello, Jessica Care More, Cicely Tyson, Danny Glover, Kevin Powell, Ashford and Simpson, Jacob Lawrence, Varnette Honeywood, Faith Ringgold.
The theme of the festival is to connect, inspire and transform. We at NBAF believe that art has the power to bring diverse cultures together, providing an environment in which artistic expression can connect, inspire, and transform us all. The arts offer an environment in which all people can freely use culture and creativity to solve social, political and educational issues."
Source: National Black Arts Festival www.nbaf.org.
6th Annual Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival,
July 19th–28th, 2002
Edward James Olmos invites you to view over a hundred of the finest feature films, documentaries and shorts from Latino filmmakers in America. In its commitment to present the premiere Latino films to the largest audience, the Fith Annual Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, LALIFF, July 19th-28th, 2002, has become a Summer event.
Now in its fifth year, LALIFF holds fast to its mission: "To bring quality, diverse films to US audiences—beginning with a premiere launching forum—LALIFF—for Latino/Ibero films."
This year, more than 35,000 cinema lovers are expected to pass through the regal doors of the newly renovated Egyptian Theater, located in the heart of Hollywood. LALIFF will present over 70 feature films, documentaries, and shorts from the United States, the rest of the Americas, Spain, and the Caribbean. All films are subtitled in English for everyone to enjoy. Thanks to increasing audience attendance and supporters of the Festival, LALIFF now stands as an institution for showcasing the Latino films that capture the voices, the styles, the music, the vision, the diversity, the creativity, and the passion of Latino culture.
Highlights of this year's Festival:
- A lifetime achievement award
- Opening and closing night ceremonies
- Gala events Workshops, symposiums, and lectures
- Nightly receptions
- Awards ceremony
Please join us this year as we again bring you great films and entertainment. Community support has made LALIFF one of the most prestigious film festivals in Los Angeles.
Source: The Latino Film Festival Site, www.LatinoFilm.org
Corporations Lend an Ear to Indian Issues
By Laurent Belsie
Staff Writer, The Christian Science Monitor
Everybody knows native American activists want to rename certain pro sports teams, such as the Atlanta Braves. But what about Chief Shooting Star? The image—found inside some Tootsie Roll wrappers—and the legend dreamed up about the fictional figure so offended some American Indians that they've launched a campaign to stop it.
Ever heard of Crazy Horse clothing? Descendants of the legendary Lakota warrior are lobbying Liz Claiborne to drop the name—just as they have convinced other companies to stop using it.
Using their growing leverage in financial circles and ties with socially responsible investing groups, some American Indians are aiming to reform corporate America's use of names, mascots, and imagery they find offensive. They've targeted AOL Time Warner for its portrayal of native Americans. They are pressing Federated Stores to stop selling Washington Redskins football gear. Meanwhile, they are putting increasing pressure on how companies use Indian land. As a result, corporate America is beginning to listen to old grievances.
"The social-responsibility investing movement is making real inroads in Indian country now," says Gelvin Stevenson, investment consultant for the Oneida Trust Committee, which oversees several investment funds of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. "Several tribes are awakening to the strategy, and that will only increase." So far, they have posted mixed results.
Take the Crazy Horse controversy. BP had planned to use the name for its new oil find in the Gulf of Mexico. But according to Lakota tradition, it is sacrilegious to say the name of a dead person in public, much less use it as a corporate name. When representatives of the Crazy Horse estate complained, the oil company immediately reversed course and announced earlier this year it would change the name.
"I really have to take my hat off to them," says Gary Brouse, director of equality and indigenous issues for the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, based in New York. After negotiations between the group and the company, "we came out with much greater respect for each other." Similarly, SBC Holdings (formerly Stroh Brewing Company) agreed last year to stop selling Crazy Horse malt liquor. And in a unique ceremony, the company delivered culturally appropriate damages, including seven race horses, 32 blankets, and sweet grass.
The estate continues its suit against another brewer using the Crazy Horse name, and negotiations with Liz Claiborne, which owns the Crazy Horse fashion line, have proved unsuccessful so far. "We have never used native American imagery or iconography, and we never will," the New York-based designer company said in a statement. Although it offered to make changes to the line—and remains open to modifications—it has refused to drop the name completely. "Lack of response to our good-faith efforts was highly discouraging," the company's statement said.
The American Indian movement into corporate America has gained momentum in recent years. For one thing, tribes are beginning to join forces in causes, even if they are not directly affected. "We will support other tribes when we learn of harmful behavior that's occurring to their land, their air, or their water," says Susan White, director of the Oneida Trust Department. One example: the Wisconsin-based tribe is paying close attention to the Hopi fight with Peabody Energy over water use on its reservation. Under its agreement with the Hopi and the Navajo, Peabody withdraws 3.3 million gallons of water a day from the reservation aquifer to run a coal slurry. The Hopi claim the withdrawals are drying up traditional springs and streams. The company claims environmental factors have caused the dryness. Native and other groups have met with Peabody and majority shareowner Lehman Brothers to force a change in the agreement.
Meanwhile, non-Indian social-responsibility groups are beginning to apply pressure as well. For example, the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi in Milwaukee filed a shareholder resolution requesting a report from media giant AOL Time Warner on how it would disassociate itself from offensive imagery of American Indians in its broadcasts and through its ownership of the Atlanta Braves. "We're trying to get them to be attentive… to the way American Indians are portrayed," says Irene Senn, director of the congregation's office of justice, peace, and integrity of creation. The sisters withdrew their resolution after a productive meeting with various company executives and have plans for more dialogue.
It is hard to gauge how deeply feelings run in the native American community itself. The movement's crowning achievement so far—convincing high schools and colleges to drop offensive nicknames and mascots—has met with mixed enthusiasm.
"We have the Watertown Arrows; we have the Braves; we've got a lot of Warriors, Chiefs, Chieftains, and Redmen," says Betty Ann Gross, a member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux tribe and volunteer director of the Minority Resource Center in Watertown, South Dakota. "I would say eighty percent of the American Indians here in South Dakota want those schools to retain those nicknames."
Sports Illustrated earlier this year found much the same thing: eighty-one percent of native Americans surveyed said high school and college teams should not stop using Indian nicknames. A slightly higher percentage (eighty-three percent) agreed that professional teams should not stop using Indian nicknames, mascots, characters, and symbols. On reservations, support was more measured but still garnered a two-thirds majority.
Other issues may strike a deeper chord, however, especially the use of Indian land. Local activists periodically take on retail chains that, in breaking ground for a new store, disturb native burying grounds. Calvert Group, a social responsibility investment company, is targeting energy and technology conglomerate Idacorp after it settled a contentious court battle over dams and native fishing rights. Actually, the settlement has improved relations between the company and the Nez Perce. The tribe got $11.5 million over five years and now holds quarterly meetings with the company. But Calvert wants Idacorp to formally agree to negotiate with all native populations before undertaking future energy projects.
The conglomerate wants to retain its flexibility. "The company learned much more about the depth of the tribal concern," says Idacorp spokesman Jeff Beaman. But "the best way to deal with issues in disagreement is to address them on a case-by-case basis." Perhaps the toughest challenge for American Indians revolves around sacred lands. Indians regard them as places of prayer, even if no structures or remains mark these areas.
"We're back to the last few remaining sacred places—all else has been destroyed," says Chris Peters, executive director for the Seventh Generation Fund, a native-American foundation based in Arcata, California. "We are not in a position of compromising at this stage of the game." But "it's a slow process of changing the minds of corporations," he adds. "The sacredness of American soil is not given any consideration."
Source: www.NativeWeb.org
Call for Native American Artists
The Eiteljorg Fellowship for Native American Fine Art, 2003
2002-06-12 until 2002-07-15
Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art
Indianapolis, Indiana.
For the third time, the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis will award $120,000 in fellowships to today’s best Native American artists. Five Fellows and a distinguished artist who has made a lifetime contribution to Native American fine art each will receive $20,000 in a program designed to identify, reward and showcase Native American fine artists in the United States and Canada. The museum is now accepting nominations through July 15th, 2002.
The Eiteljorg Fellowship for Native American Fine Art, inaugurated in 1999, includes a major exhibition of work by the selected artists and a master artist named by the Eiteljorg Museum, purchases of their art for the Eiteljorg’s permanent collection, and a benchmark publication for international distribution.
The program is funded in part by a $490,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Incorporated, and occurs every two years.
In a time when fellowships and grants for artists are dwindling, the Eiteljorg Fellowship is competitive with virtually all awards for mainstream artists, and certainly it is now "the gold standard in Native American art," said author and art historian W Jackson Rushing III.
"[T]he charge of the Eiteljorg Fellowship is to build an awareness and appreciation for the finest and most compelling of contemporary art being produced by artists of Native American heritage: In this they have succeeded, possibly beyond their, or anyone else’s, expectations," wrote arts reviewer Julia Pratt-McQuiston, NUVO Newsweekly, Indianapolis.
As part of the program, Eiteljorg Museum staff will recognize a Native American master artist for his or her lifetime contribution to contemporary fine art. The inaugural master artist (in 1999) was George Morrison (Chippewa). The 2001 master artist was Allan Houser (Chiricahua Apache).
An exhibition of works by the Fellows and the master artist opens at the Eiteljorg on Nov. 8th, 2003. The exhibition, from which the museum will purchase works of art for its permanent contemporary collection, will open with a gala and surrounding educational programs and networking opportunities. The Eiteljorg is in negotiations to bring Sherman Alexie (Spokane/Coeur d’Alene), award-winning poet, author (Indian Killer), editor, screenwriter (Smoke Signals) and director, as the gala keynote speaker.
Artists may enter their own work, or artists can be nominated by someone else. All applications and nominations must be delivered to the Eiteljorg Museum by mail by July 15th, 2002. For more information on eligibility requirements or for a complete application, call Jennifer Complo McNutt at the Eiteljorg Museum at (317) 636-9378, extension 162, or e-mail her at jcomplo@eiteljorg.com.
The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art opened June 24th, 1989. Harrison Eiteljorg (1903-1997), an Indianapolis businessman and philanthropist, worked with officials of the city of Indianapolis and of Lilly Endowment to build a museum to house his collection of Native American objects and Western paintings and sculptures. To his collection were added the holdings of the now-defunct Museum of Indian Heritage. The Eiteljorg Museum is the only museum in the Midwest to combine Western art and Native American art and artifacts.
Lilly Endowment is an Indianapolis-based foundation that supports the causes of community development, education and religion.
Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art
500 West Washington Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
(317) 636-9378
Source: AbsoluteArt.com