Gourd Dance at NMAI

[WhoMe]

MEMORIAL DAY GOURD DANCE

Saturday, May 24, 2008, 12 to 5 p.m.

Potomac Atrium, National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C.

Hosted by the Black Creek Gourd Society, Window Rock, Arizona.

Host Drum: Intertribal Veterans Association (IVA), Paul Bemore


All gourd dancers invited!

[TacO5000]

you gonna go sing whome?

[Josiah]

I have traveled pretty far for a Gourd Dance but wow!
All the way to DC to dance whew!!

Hey Whome you gonna sing with them?

[WhoMe]

No I am not going to sing. I got talked into co-emceeing along with Leonard Anthony and T.J. Anderson who are both Dine'.

In between gourd dance sessions I am going to share the origin story of the gourd dance. I am also collaborating with Arlie Neskahi in Seattle, to research how the Dine' received the gourd dance during it's spread throughout the southern powwow circuit. I will share this research with the audience during the gourd dance.

The morning of the gourd dance there will be a Sunrise Wreath Laying at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

[Josiah]

No I am not going to sing. I got talked into co-emceeing along with Leonard Anthony and T.J. Anderson who are both Dine'.

In between gourd dance sessions I am going to share the origin story of the gourd dance. I am also collaborating with Arlie Neskahi in Seattle, to research how the Dine' received the gourd dance during it's spread throughout the southern powwow circuit. I will share this research with the audience during the gourd dance.

The morning of the gourd dance there will be a Sunrise Wreath Laying at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

I would be interested what you find out!

[CHEROSAGE]

Good luck getting a word in edge wise, you know how them Dine`like to tell stories/talk.

For real have fun and share your info.

[Mr Bo Jangles]

...

[principaldog2]

Amen! Mr. Bojangles. You'd think that an institution, like the NMAI, that promotes authenticity would schedule a gourd dance event without Kiowas. After all, it is a Kiowa dance. If they schedule a jingle dress dance, maybe they'll have Oklahoma Choctaws or Alabama Coshattas to to sponsor it. I hope they don't have Whome on the headstaff to make people think it's a Kiowa authorized event Keep them real, Whome.

[WhoMe]

Amen! Mr. Bojangles. You'd think that an institution, like the NMAI, that promotes authenticity would schedule a gourd dance event without Kiowas. After all, it is a Kiowa dance. If they schedule a jingle dress dance, maybe they'll have Oklahoma Choctaws or Alabama Coshattas to to sponsor it. I hope they don't have Whome on the headstaff to make people think it's a Kiowa authorized event Keep them real, Whome.

principal,

In 2005 the Institution invited headsmen from the Kiowa Gourd Clan to the National Powwow.At this same powwow the origins of each of the 8 major powwow dances was explained and interpreted by equally knowledgable people.

Anything that is done by the Institution is meant to be educational. Part of this education is to show that culture evolves. I don't think the public audience at the Memorial Day Gourd Dance will even know what kind of dance this is. Therefore, they will not even know to think if it is tribal authorized, or not.

While it is true that the modern gourd dance as we know it was revived by the Kiowa, it is also true that many tribes and communities also gourd dance at this point in time. Even in Oklahoma, there are many gourd dances each weekend where no Kiowa are present. This is just where we are at this point in time.

I know the origins of this dance and would also like to share how it was introduced into other areas.

[Mr Bo Jangles]

...

[WhoMe]

For those who are concerned....

The Navajo group was already coming to Washington DC to pay their respects to their fallen comrades at the Vietnam Memorial. Since they would already be here, they asked if it would be possible for the group to gourd dance at the museum. As a courtesy, the museum agreed.

- This message has been forwarded to leadership of the Kiowa Gourd Clan.

[WhoMe]

...

Mr. Bo,

I see where you have erased your earlier comments.

Too bad.

Some of your insightful warnings .... are coming to pass.