First Nation Native American Dance
FIRST NATION AMERICAN INDIAN BOOK
0 HOME 1 Where did they come from? 2 HISTORY, 3 Slaves/ACTIVISTS, 4 Language,
5
Music, 6 Dance, 7 Literature, 8 Stories, 9 Law, 10 Code Talkers,
11 Images, 12 Tiglit, 13 Totem Poles, 14 Lacross, 15 Alaska, 16 Canada, 17 Activities, 18 Resources
Native American Dance
Yup'ik diva dances once more
Alaska: The Egan Center was packed for the drumming and dance
showcase during the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention. Many -- perhaps hundreds -- were turned away at
the door. Performers representing Alutiiq, Inupiat, Yup'ik and Southeast Indian traditions took their
turns, and then a surprise: 87-year-old Mary Ann Sundown planned to dance. As the beloved "Dance
Diva" from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta hobbled onto the stage, bent and slow, cheers and whistles from a
thousand or more fans shook the roof. She donned her fur headpiece and gripped her dance fans, sitting in a
chair to perform. Mary Ann's coordination, grace, charm, and humor showed through, and at the end of
each song, she struggled to her feet for the final choruses. Her performance included two comic numbers
associated with Sundown: the "Mosquito Song," which includes hilarious swatting and itching
pantomimes; and the "Cigarette Song," in which the performers try to imitate the elegant puffing
of
movie stars and wind up coughing. Sundown's set closed with a tribute piece to her grandchildren, her
trademark laugh and an expression of wondering love as she looked back at her family -- some in diapers --
in
front of the stage. Before leaving, Mary Ann told the crowd in Yup'ik, through a translator, how happy
she
was to be here. How she had lost her ability to walk for a while but it had returned. How she had fallen off
a
four-wheeler while berry-picking but been unharmed. "She says someone's looking out for
her,"
the interpreter said, "and that's God."
Chief Illiniwek makes his last dance February 21, 2007 Chicago Tribune - The debate about mascots - of any type - is a great opportunity for teaching, and for getting students (and others) to think and feel deeply about issues of representation. Chief Illiniwek has been part of a climate of intense racial antagonism for his 81 years, including official segregation and a KKK chapter here on campus in the late 1920s. Some of this is excellently documented in Jim Loewen's book, Sundown Towns.
Chief
Illiniwek
Facts
CHAMPAIGN -- As cameras flashed and students cried, University of Illinois' controversial mascot Chief
Illiniwek burst onto the basketball court Wednesday night for his final, 3-minute dance.He left, then
returned
for a solemn curtain call, standing tall as he raised his arms and turned to each section. Then he gave one
final kick and left Assembly Hall, the end to an 81-year-old tradition. Here's Tim Giago's
commentary,
from yesterday's Hartford Courant. Giago is an Oglala Lakota journalist. The PBS program POV broadcast
an
excellent documentary on the mascot controversy in 1997
Slideshow of 87-year old Yupik elder, Mary Ann Sundown, dancing at AFN Convention. http://www.adn.com/photos/multimedia/afn
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/afn/story/8348845p-8243555c.html