Events at CU examine Native American identity in the performing arts

With Native American representation continuing to be a nationwide controversial topic, departments and programs at Cornell are collaborating on a yearlong examination of Indian identity through the creative and performing arts. Beginning with events in September, this program, titled "Indians' Indians: (Re)Presentation of Native American People in the Arts," will explore through events and symposia the contemporary representation of Native American culture. The program is sponsored in part by the Cornell Council for the Arts.

The "Indians' Indians" program was initiated after the Cornell Department of Theatre, Film and Dance decided to produce the play "The Rez Sisters" by First Nations playwright Tomson Highway (Cree) in the fall 2001 season. "We wanted to bring the work of a Native American playwright to our program and, in the process, bring to the forefront issues of Native American portrayal in literature, art, theatre, etc., both historically and in the contemporary," said David Feldshuh, artistic director of the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. "The Rez Sisters" portrays seven present-day Native American women on a reservation. Playwright Highway will be visiting the department for discussion of this play and his other award-winning works. Cornell alumnus Randy Reinholz, MFA'88, will bring his Choctaw heritage into play as director of the production. The Rez Sisters will be performed Oct. 24-Nov. 4.

The "Indians' Indians" program will kick off with a "Traditional Opening" Sept. 6 at noon on Ho Plaza on campus. A "Thanksgiving Address" will be given by Jason Corwin '02 (Seneca) and remarks will be made by Feldshuh and Daniel Usner, director of the American Indian Program at Cornell. An "Honor Song" will be performed by the drum group Thunder Lizard Singers.

More events will continue throughout the 2001-2002 academic year -- all either performed by Native Americans or related to Native American representation.

Here is a schedule of events for the rest of this semester:

Sept. 6: Traditional Opening, noon, Ho Plaza (Rain location: Memorial Room, Willard Straight Hall). Opening remarks by David Feldshuh and Daniel Usner.

Sept. 25: Truman Lowe, 5:30 p.m., Tjaden Gallery, Olive Tjaden Hall. Lecture by Lowe, sculptor and curator of contemporary art at the National Museum of the American Indian. Sponsored by the Department of Art.

The American Indian Dance Theatre will perform Oct. 4 in the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. Don Perdue

Oct. 4: American Indian Dance Theatre, 8 p.m., Kiplinger Theatre, Schwartz Center. An integrated company of dancers, singers and musicians from various tribes, the American Indian Dance Theatre is an internationally acclaimed touring dance company. Sponsored by the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance.

Week of Oct. 8: Native American Heritage Week, Akwe:kon, Triphammer Road. Exploring myths of discovery. Sponsored the by American Indian Program.

Oct. 18: James Luna, 5:15 p.m., Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. Lecture/performance by Native American performance artist Luna. His performance art examines Indian/white relations with irreverent wit and an unconventional viewpoint. Sponsored by the Johnson Museum.

Oct. 18-19: Tomson Highway, Schwartz Center artist-in-residency. Lecture and staged reading scheduled by playwright Highway. Sponsored by the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance.

Oct. 18-19: "The Doe Boy," Willard Straight Theatre. Filmmaker Randy Redroad presents a program of his award-winning short films and his feature film debut, "The Doe Boy," winner of the Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. Sponsored by Cornell Cinema.

Oct. 24-Nov. 4: "The Rez Sisters," Class of '56 Flexible Theatre, Schwartz Center. "The Rez Sisters," an award-winning play by Tomson Highway. Sponsored by the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance.

Early November: "The Truth of El Dorado: Indigenous Peoples and Anthropologists," a conference which will discuss Patrick Tierney's book, Darkness in El Dorado, which sparked an explosive discussion of research ethics and methods used by anthropologists to interpret Indian societies. Sponsored by the American Indian Program.

Early November: Design and Culture, 11:15 a.m., Warren Hall B45. Special lecturer on design and culture. Sponsored by the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis.

November: "Coming to Light," Willard Straight Theatre. Documentary filmmaker Anne Makepeace presents "Coming to Light: Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indians." Sponsored by Cornell Cinema.

Nov. 14: Jim Welch, 4:30 p.m., Goldwin Smith Hall, Room D. Lecture by Welch (Blackfeet), fiction writer, author of The Heartsong of Charging Elk, Winter in the Blood and Fools Crow. Sponsored by the Creative Writing Program.

Late November: "In the Light of Reverence: Symposium on Sacred Sites, Religious Freedom, and Indigenous Environments." A screening of the documentary film "In the Light of Reverence" will be the occasion for a panel discussion on the significance of sacred sites in American Indians' relationship to the land and to the United States. Sponsored by the Department of Rural Sociology.

Additional events may be added later. For the complete current listings see: www.arts.cornell.edu/cca/indiansindians or call the Schwartz Center box office at 254-ARTS.