ABOUT THE LENAPE AND POW WOWS
Members of the Lenape community are partnering with Park Avenue Armory to host the first ever Lenape Pow Wow on Manhattan Island, taking place throughout Park Avenue Armory’s Wade Thompson Drill Hall and historic period rooms. This event is the first large-scale Lenape Pow Wow on Manhattan Island, transpiring on land that once belonged to the Lenape and marking the first congregation of dispersed Lenape elders in the area since their forced migrations in the early 1700s. The Pow Wow has been a traditional gathering by Native Americans for centuries as a way to congregate, celebrate, and share cultural traditions and heritage. The Lenape were the original inhabitants who cultivated the land and gave Manhattan island its name, Mannahatta (“hilly island”). The Pow Wow at the Armory will hold deep significance, allowing the Lenape to reclaim their traditions in their original homeland where they thrived centuries ago. One of these traditions was holding meetings once a year with all the bands of Lenape and neighboring Native nations, creating what is now known as a Pow Wow and which became a tradition shared by Native American Nations throughout the area, making this event resonate as participants “give thanks”—in a custom they have done for thousands of years—for those coming together to learn about their culture and recognize their people.
ABOUT THE NEW YORK NEWARK PUBLIC HISTORY PROJECT The convening of Lenape Elders inaugurates the historical reclamation work of the newly formed New York Newark Public History Project (NYN PHP), spearheaded by Jack Tchen (Rutgers-Newark and NYU) with Mabel O. Wilson and Audra Simpson (both of Columbia University), which emerged from their work on the New York City Mayor’s Monuments Commission and supported by a seed grant from Darren Walker at the Ford Foundation. The NYN PHP aims to ground the story of American pluralism, immigration and migration, and inclusion with the histories of dispossession and enslavement of Native American and African American communities. Mapping the uses and abuses of the region’s estuaries and adding to the database of Eric Sanderson’s Mannahatta and Welikia projects, the transformations of one of the worlds great bio-diverse regions will be made visible and will be made accessible for all to see for the first time. The NYN PHO supports the formation of a Lenape archive and documentation center in Lenapehoking, the homeland of this region’s First Nation.
The Lenape, known as the grandparents of Algonquian speaking nations, were forced out in the early 1700s by Dutch and English settlers, exiled from their original home here in Lenapehoking to other parts of the United States and Canada, including Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Kansas, Ohio, and Ontario. The Pow Wow at the Armory will celebrate the vibrant culture of the Lenape and other Native American Nations, and will also explore the fraught history of Lenape forced dispersal, providing a significant moment for the New York City community to recognize the visionary role the Lenape have had in shaping what is known today as Manhattan and the estuarial region, and setting a path to reinvigorate Lenape traditions, culture, and renewal. Pow Wow is anglicized from the Algonquian “pau-wau” or “pauau” and adopted by many Native Nations as a social event to celebrate, honor, and mark significant occasions such as the Lenape’s return. Originally, Pow Wows for the different Native Nations were adopted as a way for them to congregate and to honor, preserve, and share culture. They also served an important role in the conduction of trade of dances, songs, pelts, shells, flints, and other necessities, while making new and cementing existing social and political alliances. Today, they prevail as social and celebratory opportunities to dance, come together, and recognize ancestors and shared histories. As part of the Pow Wow, the Armory and the Lenape will present an engaging symposium, an element not typically customary at Pow Wows, but important for the historic nature of this gathering. Featuring conversations with Lenape Elders about their personal histories and stories of dispersion, scholars discussing the contributions of the Lenape, and activists who continue to fight for equality of indigenous populations, the symposium is intended to catalyze discussion between the Lenape people and the greater New York community. The roster of engaging speakers includes Vincent Mann, Chief of the Turtle Clan of the Ramapough Lunaape Nation; scholar, journalist, and author Steven Newcomb; internationally renowned activists for indigenous people Winona LaDuke and Roberto Mukaro Borrero; award-winning Inuit (Inuk) experimental vocalist, artist, and writer Tanya Tagaq; and others to be announced.
Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory | 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street
THE UNITED LENAPE NATIONS AND PARK AVENUE ARMORY PRESENT
THE FIRST UNITED LENAPE NATIONS POW WOW AND STANDING GROUND SYMPOSIUM Sunday, November 18, 2018, from 1:00pm to 9:00pm Grand Entry at 2:00pm and 6:00pm Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory Presented in partnership with members of the Lenape community, this event provides an opportunity for members of the Lenape to gather, while also inviting the New York City community to learn about the Lenape’s historical and cultural ties to New York in a fun and interactive day of presentations. The Pow Wow features a dance competition for hundreds of dancers of all ages, competing in traditional Native American dress and regalia, with musical accompaniment by drumming and singing groups Red Blanket, Young Blood, and Silver Cloud. In addition, there will be featured performances by dancers Kalpulli Huehutlahtolli, Inuit Throat Singer Tanya Tagaq, and Taino Dancers from the Kasibahagua Taino Cultural Society showcasing the varied traditions of their respective cultures, as well as opportunities to purchase authentic Native jewelry, crafts, clothing, and food from numerous vendors and artisans.
The Standing Ground Symposium will provide an opportunity to meet Lenape elders as well as hear the perspectives of academics and community leaders regarding key issues facing the Native American community, including internationally renowned activists for indigenous people Winona LaDuke and Roberto Mukaro Borrero, and author Steven Newcomb. The Symposium also includes performances and activities for the whole family including Native flute players and theater groups exploring mythic traditions and stories that the community has passed down through generations, a film screening room that explores the complexities of Native life and made by Native filmmakers, and a display of bespoke creations by Native fashion designers.
armoryonpark.org | @ParkAveArmory | #LenapePowWow #StandingGround
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Wade Thompson Drill Hall
Veterans Room
Board of Officers Room
Colonel’s Room
Screening Room: 19K
Schenandoah Deerskin Designz
To Brooklyn and Back: A Mohawk Journey (Written and directed by Reaghan Tarbell, running time: 60 minutes)
1:00PM Food and Artisan Vendors Open for the Day
2:00PM
3:00PM
Mohawk Couture (Native fashion) Grand Entry Dance Competition Duncan Munson (Hoop Dancer)
4:00PM
5:00PM
6:00PM
Kalpulli Huehuetlahtolliz Aztec/Mexica Dance Tanya Tagaq (Inuit Throat Singer)
Roberto Mukaro Borrero (presentation) Roberto Mukaro Borrero and Tanya Tagaq (conversation)
The First Nations Theater Guild
Tchin (Native flute)
Chief Vincent Mann (presentation)
Meet the Lenape Elders
Kasibahagua Taino Cultural Society
Safe Harbors Indigenous Collective (theater)
Frank A. Menusan Jr. (Native flute) Grand Entry
7:00PM
Dance Competition
Winona LaDuke (presentation)
Beedoskah Stonefish (Hoop Dancer)
8:00PM 9:00PM
Dance Competition Winners Announced
Eagle Project (theater) Steven Newcomb (presentation)
Lee Mixashawn Rozie (Jazz and flute)
Lexington Avenue
Food Vendors
Food Vendors
Sly Fox Den Native Soul Native Coffee Traders
Artisan Vendors: North Side
Dining Area
Pow Wow Arena
Artisan Vendors: South Side
Artisan Vendors: North Side
Wade Thompson Drill Hall
Screening Room: 19K
Robert James House Dale Isacs Hey’yas Wampum Fire Thunder Trading Post Piscataway Indian nation Meherrin Outpost Little Trees’s Wampum Moc70 Tayac creations Native Visions Native Arts Native Crafts Feathermoon Needle Busters
Artisan Vendors: South Side Turtle 2 Turtle Traditional Hands T’KarimaTicitl Tchin Tone-Pah-Hote Designs Notah’s Southwest Connection Harry Wallace Woodland Spirit Kelly Indian Jewelry NativeTec Thunderbird Designs Kasibahagua Taino Cultural Society
Colonel’s Room
Board of Officers Room
Veterans Room
Park Avenue
armoryonpark.org | @ParkAveArmory | #LenapePowWow #StandingGround
POW WOW ETIQUETTE At the Pow Wow, the MC runs the events. The MC works with the Arena Director to keep the Pow Wow organized and running smoothly. These two individuals along with the Pow Wow staff work hard to bring people together to dance and fellowship together in the arena or circle. A Pow Wow begins with the Grand Entry. This is when all dancers enter the circle and are led by the veterans and head dancers. An opening prayer is also said. During this time, please stand up, refrain from talking or eating; remove hats unless it has an eagle feather in it. During the Grand Entry, everyone is asked to stand as the flags are brought into the arena. At this Pow Wow, flags will include Tribal Flags, the P.O.W. Flag, and Eagle Staffs of various Native Nations that are present. These are usually carried by veterans and are honored positions. The flag has a dual meaning: it is a way to remember all of the ancestors who fought on behalf of their people or those people who have fought in the military for this country. Following the veterans are other important guests of the Pow Wow including Tribal Chiefs, Princesses, Elders, and Pow Wow organizers. Next in line are the male dancers. The men are followed by the female dancers. Once everyone is in the arena, the song ends and a song is sung to honor the flags. After the prayer, a veteran song is sung while all veterans and first responders are invited in to dance regardless of race. After they acknowledge each other and the circle is cleared, the dancing resumes, with a few intertribal dancing songs which are sung as the Pow Wow begins. Once the Pow Wow starts the different contest categories are run for all age groups. Pow Wows are family events and children are more than welcomed. Please go over Pow Wow etiquette with children old enough to understand. Have smaller children be mindful of the event, too. Children are more than welcome to join in on some of the dances. However, there are times when they shouldn’t join the arena since some dances are a competition between dancers.
»Please stand and remove hats during Grand Entry, Invocation, Veterans Honor Dance, Flag Songs, Memorials, and Closing Songs, as well as when flags are raised or lowered. »The Master of Ceremony (MCs) is the program director. Listen to him to get instructions and information. »Please do not enter the dance arena unless invited to do so. »The seats inside the arena are reserved for dancers and singers, so please do not sit in them. Also, please do not walk or run between the drum and any chairs surrounding it. Dancers will also leave blankets on the benches or seats to reserve their place. Do not move the blankets or sit on them. »A dancer’s clothing is a Regalia, not a costume. Not only are the feathers fragile, some of them are eagle feathers and they are sacred. Please do not touch the dancers or their regalia unless asking first. »Many singers and dancers will allow you to take photographs with them. However, it is best if you ask the dancer for permission first as a common courtesy. Group photographs are usually alright to take, but you might want to ask the Pow Wow staff first. Listen to the MC for when recordings are not allowed. »Certain items of religious significance should be worn only by those qualified to do so. Respect the traditions of Native American culture. »Respect your neighbors, and try not to block their view of the dance arena. »Please enjoy yourselves. You’ve come at the invitation of the Lenape Nations for some enjoyable family time and we have worked very hard to assure that everyone has a wonderful and meaningful experience. »If you have any questions or need assistance, members of the Pow Wow staff are available and ready to help you. »If at any time you are uncertain of procedure or etiquette, please check with the MC, Arena Director, or head singer. They will be glad to help you with your questions. »Alcohol, drugs, and weapons of any kind are not permitted at the Pow Wow. Remember that for each Pow Wow you travel to and visit, things can and will be slightly different than your area. Different groups have different customs and methods of doing things. Different is not wrong, just different. Be respectful of the uniqueness of each Pow Wow and always be aware of proper Pow Wow etiquette.
Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory | 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street
ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS GEORGE STONEFISH
George Stonefish is a First Nations activist, traditional dancer & singer and a First Nation member [American Indian] who is 1/2 Delaware; 1/4 Ottawa; 1/8 Ojibwa; 1/16 Pottawatomi; 1/16 Miami from Ontario, Canada. He was raised in NYC and has spent most of his life working for the First Nation [American Indian] community on both a national and local level. He started his activism at an early age when he went to the takeover of Alcatraz by First Nation students in 1969 with his Grandmother and Uncle. Since that time he has participated in the defense of Native Nations as a member of their warrior societies and by promoting their struggles though media, as he had the first weekly radio program on Native issues on WBAI 99.5 FM in NYC from 1978 to 1983.
TAILINH AGOYO
Tailinh is director of We Are the Seeds, a non-profit organization whose mission is to uplift and center Indigenous voices through the arts. Seeds is dedicated to educating the world about art and culture as it relates to understanding Indigenous people, the history of this country, and who we all are as American people today. The organization produces cultural celebrations that feature art, music, dance, literature, and fashion. Additionally, Seeds hosts art programs that focus on empowering the youth. Seeds provides opportunities to share an often underrepresented Indigenous narrative in an effort to bring more light to this world.
CURTIS ZUNIGHA
William Crouse Sr. is a member of the Seneca Nation of Indians of the Hawk Clan. He is a faithkeeper, singer, and speaker of the Coldspring Longhouse. As group leader, singer, lecturer, and dancer of the Allegany River Indian Dancers, Bill has performed all over the U.S. and Canada, and in Rome, Italy, and Wurtzburg, Germany, as well. He has worked with the American Indian Dance Theater as a choreographer and consultant and was featured in their video “Dances of a New Generation.” He has also performed and competed in and been the Master of Ceremonies for many Intertribal Pow Wows across the U.S. and Canada.
Curtis Zunigha is an enrolled member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians in Oklahoma. He is currently the Cultural Director for his tribe, which he has served for over 30 years including as Chief (1994-98). Mr. Zunigha is a Southern Straight Dancer as well as a leader of Lenape stomp & social dances. Mr. Zunigha is Co-Founder and Co-Director of The Lenape Center, a non-profit corporation based in New York City which promotes the history and culture of the Lenape people (aka Delaware Indians) through the arts, humanities, and environmental advocacy. Mr. Zunigha is a veteran of the US Air Force during the VietNam-era (1972-1976). He served as a crew chief on F-4 and A-7D jet fighter aircraft during that time. He is honored to serve as Head Veteran Dancer at the United Lenape Nations Pow Wow.
WALKER STONEFISH
KEVIN TARRANT
JULIANNE STONEFISH
BEEDOSKAH STONEFISH
WILLIAM CROUSE SR.
Walker Stonefish serves as the Arena Director for this year’s annual Pow-wow. He is from Walpole Island by way of Moraviantown First Nations Ontario Ca. Lenape/Pottawatomi First nations. He served United States Marine Corp. He was born & raised in the Pow Wow circle and also raised his children in this way of life. He is honored to come to the big city and looks forward to seeing old friends, meeting new ones, and sharing this way of life in the big city.
Julianne Stonefish, a full blood: Lenape; Ojibway, has volunteered and worked for the Ingrid El-Issa Washinwatock Flying Eagle Women Fund for Peace, Justice, and Sovereignty and for the American Indian Community House in the New York City. She was raised in the Native Community in New York City and Minneapolis, MN, where her Mother, Aunties, and Uncle were involved with the AIM Patrol and the Moccasin Walk (to get a Native American Day in St Paul). Most recently she has volunteered for the NYN-PHP (New York -Newark Public History Project) and helped to put together this Pow Wow.
Kevin Tarrant is a member of the HoChunk Nation of Wisconsin and the Hopi Tribe of Arizona. He was brought up in the traditional way and has been singing since the age of 9. For the past 27 years he has been the Lead singer of The SilverCloud Singers out of New York City. He most recently performed and served as Musical Director for Don’t Feed the Indians - A Divine Comedy Pageant! and composer of Native songs for Crane On Earth, In Sky.
Beedoskah Stonefish, 21, is from the Ottawa, Chippewa, Delaware, and Potawatomi nations. Beedoskah was born and raised on the Grand Traverse Band Indian Reservation in Peshawbestown, Michigan. She also comes from Bkejwanong First Nations in Walpole Island, Ontario. Beedoskah has been fancy shawl dancing since she could walk, and hoop dancing since age 5. In aspiration of becoming a physician, Beedoskah studies human biology at Michigan State University and is currently completing her senior year. She hopes to one day integrate medical science with native holistic practices to heal our native people.
TAIYIN S. RICHARDSON
Taiyin S. Richardson was born in Providence, RI, and raised in Brooklyn, NY. She is of Narragansett and Blackfeet descent. After graduating from FIT, she started working at a Private Equity Firm in New York, where she has worked for the past 21 years. She currently resides in Central New Jersey with her husband and two daughters. armoryonpark.org | @ParkAveArmory | #LenapePowWow #StandingGround
GEORGE STONEFISH BEARSKIN
George Stonefish Bearskin is a graduate of the University of New Mexico and the Institute of American Indian Arts. He currently works at Jareds Jewelers as a bench jeweler and lives in Sandia Pueblo, New Mexico, with his beautiful wife, Natasha, and handsome son, Christopher. He is a proud member of the Delaware nation and the Pueblo of Sandia. He is honored to be the headman dancer for the 2018 Pow Wow.
RED BLANKET SINGERS
Red Blanket Singers are a southern-style Native American drum group based out of Bridgeton, New Jersey. Comprised mainly of citizens of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Nation, Red Blanket has been singing together since the mid-90s. They have traveled across the United States and Canada sharing their original compositions as well as traditional Nanticoke and Lenape music. Red Blanket released their third album in June of this year entitled Red Blanket Singers - Pow Wow Songs of the Nanticoke Lenape.
YOUNG BLOOD SINGERS
Youngblood singers are a traditional drum group made up of several nations. They have been singing for over 40 years with three generations of singers holding down different communities. Helping people and keeping the tradition going strong is why they sing. The name YOUNGBLOOD refers to teaching the youth and never breaking that chain.
SILVERCLOUD SINGERS
The SilverCloud Singers are an intertribal Native American Drum Group that started with the intention of using traditional methods of Native culture as a means to educate through song and dance. Founded in 1991, SilverCloud takes its name in tribute of Josephine Mofsie Tarrant, the mother of founding members Kevin and Michael Tarrant. In the last 25+ years SilverCloud has become one of the premier singing groups on the east coast, as well as throughout the country. They have appeared at numerous Pow Wows across the United States including the Denver March Pow Wow, The Gathering of Nations Pow-Wow, and the Canadian Aboriginal Festival held in the Sky Dome in Toronto. SilverCloud was proud to open for Midnight Oil and Joan Osborne at the Ritz as part of Earth Day celebrations held in Los Angeles and New York City in March 1993. They have competed and placed at Schemitzun-The World Championship of Native Song and Dance, and served as one of the Host Drums for Schemtizun 1999. SilverCloud has performed at the commemoration ceremonies for the Year of the Indigenous People’s at the United Nations, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, The Public Theater, The Apollo, Roseland, the Theater at Madison Square Garden, Trinity Church, The American Museum of Natural History, The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and the American Indian College Fund Flame of Hope Gala. They worked with Robbie Robertson and Ulali on the soundtrack for the TNT network series “Native Americans.” SilverCloud is happy to announce the release of 25 to Life, their sixth recording available on iTunes and all digital record outlets, as well as from the drum itself.
EAGLE PROJECT
Eagle Project is a Lenape led inter-tribal and multicultural performing arts company dedicated to exploring the American identity through the performing arts and our Native American heritage, so that we as a nation may have a more accurate recollection of our past and a better understanding of our present for a just and more inclusive vision for our future. Eagle Project achieves this through productions and workshops of new plays, poetry and comedy evenings, and special indigenous themed events. Ryan “Opalanietet” Pierce is the founder and is a member of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape tribal nation and an actor and singer in New York City.
FIRST NATIONS THEATER GUILD
First Nations Theater Guild is vital to the thriving and growing community across the nation, both culturally and artistically. They believe that creating and sharing their stories will inspire self-awareness and a sense of responsibility to sustain the cultural fabric of a community at large. They believe that theater and art moves each of us to make a difference, to pass on ancestral knowledge and to simply extend a hand of generosity. The First Nations Theater Guild is needed to provide tools, resources and a voice to First Nations/Indigenous artists who share their inspiration, wisdom, knowledge, and gifts with their communities.
KALPULLI HUEHUETLAHTOLLI
Kalpulli Huehutlahtolli (K.H.) was formed on October 24, 2010. During their first year they worked at attaining traditional recognition from traditional elders in Mexico. In September of 2011, la Mesa Central Chichimeca Queretaro recognized Kalpulli Huehuetlahtolli as representatives of Aztec/Conchero/Mexica dance in the North Eastern USA. The group has worked to preserve and to teach the dance and indigenous traditions to the communities in New York and New Jersey. Along with having participated in various workshops, presentations and symposiums with Rutgers University, Red Hawk Arts Counsel, and many other organizations, K.H. has hosted their annual ceremony the last weekend of June since 2011.
KASIBAHAGUA TAINO CULTURAL SOCIETY
The Kasibahagua Taino Cultural Society is dedicated to the promotion of the music, song, dance, stories, and art of the Indigenous Taino People of the Caribbean. According to Taino oral tradition, Kasibahagua is one of two caves located in a sacred mountain of Cauta, and was the original place of emergence of the Taino People after a great flood that covered the whole earth had subsided. It is from this cave that the Taino went from living in darkness to living in the light. The other cave, called Amayauna, represents the “place of the others”— it is from this cave that Taino people respectfully acknowledged all the other peoples who share their world. Kasibahagua has performed at such notable institutions as the American Museum of Natural History, the United Nations, the Institute for American Indian Studies, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian Heye Center, NY Botanical Gardens, NY Open Center, and the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, as well as many festivals and Native American Pow Wows, schools, and universities.
Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory | 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street
WINONA LADUKE
Winona LaDuke is an internationally renowned activist. She lives and works on the White Earth reservation in northern Minnesota, and is a two-time vice presidential candidate with Ralph Nader for the Green Party. As Program Director of the Honor the Earth, she works nationally and internationally on the issues of climate change, renewable energy, and environmental justice with Indigenous communities. She is also the founder of the White Earth Land Recovery Project, one of the largest reservation based non-profit organizations in the country. She is the author of five books, including Recovering the Sacred, All our Relations, and a novel, Last Standing Woman, and she is widely recognized for her work on environmental and human rights issues.
MICHELLE LOPEZ
Michelle Lopez’s Taino name is Turey Bajoni (Sky Dove). She always knew she was Apache Indian, but she learned she was also Taino Indian from Puerto Rico (Boriken Taino) when she was 46 years old. It is then that she started with her Taino community, which is named Maisiti Yukayeke. She started with dreamcatchers at the age of 10, and began beading only 3 to 4 years ago. She enjoys doing her work and sharing it with others. Being part of the indigenous community is such a heartwarming experience for Lopez. Learning her heritage and traditions is an ongoing process, and as she learns her family learns as well.
CHIEF VINCENT MANN
Chief Mann is the Turtle Clan Chief of the Ramapough Lenape Nation, which encompasses Passaic County NJ, as well as Warwick and surrounding areas in New York. Chief Mann has held the title of Turtle Clan Chief for Approximately 8 years and was awarded the Russ Berry Foundations highest award for being an Unsung Hero for his efforts to bring light to the struggle of his community after the Ford Toxic Medicine dumping. Chief Mann has been working with NYU Environmental Studies in Tuxedo Park, NY for the past 3 years, spending 2 years of that time creating a community health survey to address the health concerns of his community. He continues to work with NYU to date. He has been at the forefront of protecting 4 million people’s drinking water, as well as the greater community in the areas surrounding the Ringwood mines superfund site. He is on the Legacy Council of the Highlands Coalition, and a former member of the Ringwood mines superfund site’s Citizen Advisory Group (CAG). Chief Mann often speaks at esteemed universities on pipelines and environmental justice and the effects of toxic dumping on his people. As an advocate for cultural and environmental issues he continues to offer up prayers for humanity and for our natural environment.
ROBERTO MUKARO BORRERO
A cultural consultant, advisor, human rights advocate, writer, historian, artist, and musician, Roberto Mukaro Borrero offers particular expertise in Caribbean and other Indigenous Peoples issues. His unique perspective draws from multiple sources including his indigenous Taíno heritage, mentorship from indigenous leaders and elders from around the world, and real-time experience in the arts, as well as human rights and environmental advocacy. With over twenty years of experience in the non-profit/non-governmental sector, over a decade of experience as Senior Programs Coordinator for Public Programs in the Education Department of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and as a former radio host and producer for WBAI Pacifica Radio’s “Circle of Red Nations,” Roberto maintains a diverse resource network locally, nationally, and internationally in the civil, business, and governmental sectors. Roberto has shared his expertise in various capacities within the United Nations system, as well as with non-profit and for-profit entities such as PBS, BBC, the Institute for American Indian Studies, El Museo de Barrio, Tribal Link Foundation, the International Indian Treaty Council, Aveda Corporation, Natural Resources Stewardship Circle, and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, among others
DUNCAN MUNSON
Duncan Munson is a member of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribe out of Bridgeton, New Jersey. He sings on his family drum called Red Blanket Singers. Duncan began hoop dancing at the age of 8, but you can also find him grass dancing. He spends his free time working as an EMT and firefighter. He loves teaching and showing his culture and musical talents to people all over the world.
STEVEN NEWCOMB
Steven Newcomb (Shawnee-Lenape) is a legal scholar and advocate for Indigenous nations. He has carried on a global campaign since 1992 when he and Birgil Kills Straight, a Traditional Headman and Elder of the Oglala Lakota Nation, founded the Indigenous Law Institute and began challenging imperial Vatican documents from the fifteenth century. Those documents resulted in the decimation and domination of the Original Nations and Peoples of Mother Earth and thereby deprived the planet of life-ways, sustainable ecosystems, and Sacred Teachings. Newcomb’s book Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery was published in 2008 and provides a powerful context for the documentary “The Doctrine of Discovery: Unmasking the Domination Code,” Directed by Sheldon Wolfchild (Dakota), and Co-Produced by Newcomb. The movie also features theologian Dr. Luis Rivera-Pagán, and his book A Violent Evangelism: The Political and Religious Conquest of the Americas, and Mr. Birgil Kills Straight.
FRANK A. MENUSAN JR.
Frank A. Menusan, Jr., Nokoosi Hihlomee (Generous Bear) from Muskogee Nation, is a Native flute player. His path is to follow the precepts of his ancestors “Anogetchga Imontalida” (Above All Else Is Unconditional Love) and “Yee Yas Geeda” (To Be Humble), while being a healing presence in the Circle of Life and Exchanges of Energies. armoryonpark.org | @ParkAveArmory | #LenapePowWow #StandingGround
MOHAWK COUTURE
Iakowi:he’ne’ Oakes, Founer & Designer of Mohawk Couture, is Snipe Clan, a Kanien’kéha/Mohawk woman of Akwesasne. She is an athlete, designer, maker, organizer, coach, fundraiser, philanthropist, activist, teacher, and program director at The American Indian Community House of New York City. Her main focus is reuniting and reviving Onkwehonwe culture in a de-colonial way through art, dance, theater, community gatherings, ceremonies, and conferences, empowering not only the Onkwehonwe people but also their allies. Her initiatives are set upon creating better relations with First Nations communities, AllySettlers, the Land, and the environment.
LEE MIXASHAWN ROZIE
Lee Mixashawn Rozie is a Wave Artist, Jazz practitioner, and educator of Maheekanew, Mohawk, and Cherokee descent from the Windsor Indian community, Connecticut River Valley. Mixashawn is an original member of the Young Blood Singers and saxophonist who has performed with artists such as Bobby McFerrin, Rashid Ali, Ronald Shannon Jackson, Don Pullen, Ravi Coltrane, Ntozoke Shange and many others, as well as his own group the original Afro Algonguin. He has played throughout Europe and the US at jazz concerts, universities, and Pow Wows where his extensive experience in traditional and contemporary music transcends notions of time, space, race, and the boundaries that constrict. Utilizing Flute, voice, reeds, and percussion he creates “soulfully acrobatic, groove-friendly, stimulating, and nutritious data for the heart and mind.” His new book is entitled Indigenous Roots of Social Evolution.
SAFE HARBORS INDIGENOUS COLLECTIVE
Safe Harbors Indigenous Collective (SHIC) is founded by Artistic Director Murielle Borst-Tarrant. Cultivated as a program at (Tony Award-winning) La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club with the support of Artistic Director Mia Yoo, Safe Harbors is an Arts Initiative that focuses on the development and production of Indigenous/Native Theater and Performing Arts. The collective seeks to build an understanding of Indigenous methodologies and cosmologies that in turn will function as a cultural liaison to non-Native theater artists in New York City. The more successful we are in engaging these populations, the closer we become to creating cross-cultural lines of communication.
SCHENANDOAH DEERSKIN DESIGN In the spirit of traditional Eastern Woodland Native American culture, the Schenandoah family create handmade traditional and contemporary deerskin clothing and accessories, including bags, moccasins and jewelry. With over 30 years of experience and being part of the Native community, the Schenandoahs have been relied upon to serve as Native American Art Show Consultants. They are award-winning artists, and their arts, crafts, and clothing are on display in several museums, featured in several films, and have been a favorite of celebrities.
TANYA TAGAQ
Tanya Tagaq’s music isn’t like anything you’ve heard before. Unnerving and exquisite, Tanya’s unique vocal expression may be rooted in Inuit throat singing but her music has as much to do with electronica, industrial and metal influences as it does with traditional culture. This Inuk punk is known for delivering fearsome, elemental performances that are visceral and physical—heaving and breathing and alive. Her shows draw incredulous response from worldwide audiences, and Tanya’s tours tend to jump back and forth over the map of the world. From a Mexican EDM festival to Carnegie Hall, her music and performances transcend language. Tanya makes musical friends and collaborators with an array of like-minded talents: opera singers, avant-garde violin composers and experimental DJs, all cutting edge and challenging. Tanya’s albums make for complex listening, but her string of international awards and accolades attest to her ability to make music that speaks a universal tongue.
JOHN KUO WEI TCHEN
John Kuo Wei Tchen is the Clement A. Price Chair of Public History & Humanities at Rutgers University – Newark, beginning Fall 2018. He is founding director of the Asian/Pacific/American Studies Program and Institute and co-founded the Museum of Chinese in America. He has been the senior advisor for the PBS documentary with Ric Burns and Lishin Yu on the “Chinese Exclusion Act.” His Below the Grid Project is pioneering creative historical storytelling with smart, location-sensitive wearable tech. Currently he is grappling with foundational histories of dispossession and enslavement and trade for our estuarial region with the newly formed New York Newark Public History Project (NYN PHP), supported by a seed grant from Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation. The convening of Lenape Elders, whom are also participating at the United Lenape Pow Wow, has been the first priority of the PHP planning process. Elder George Stonefish has been the PHP organizer of the Lenape convening and of the United Lenape Pow Wow.
TCHIN
Tchin (pronounced ‘chin) is a nationally known, award-winning, multitalented artist. He was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and lived in rural Virginia and Rhode Island. He attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and graduated from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) with a BFA. He is an accomplished metalsmith, author, flutemaker, educator, lecturer, folklorist, musician, entertainer, and clothes maker. He is a great father to his four beautiful daughters. Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory | 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street
SCREENING ROOM FILM CREDITS To Brooklyn and Back: A Mohawk Journey Running timne: 60 minutes
While Mohawk high steel workers were building Manhattan’s iconic skyscrapers, Mohawk women kept their feet firmly on the ground, sustaining a vibrant community in the heart of Brooklyn. Filmmaker Reaghan Tarbell evokes the neighborhoods heyday from the 1920s to the 1960s and salutes the resilient spirit of her fellow Mohawks. The Kahnawake Mohawks, of Quebec, Canada, occupied a 10-squareblock area in the north Gowanus section of Brooklyn, which became known as Little Caughnawa. The men, skilled ironworkers, came to New York in search of work and brought their wives, children, and often, extended family with them. The story of the Mohawk ironworkers is an important one, and is one that has been told and continues to be told through documentaries, newspaper, and magazine articles. Yet the stories of Kahnawake Mohawk women who lived in Brooklyn have gone untold. Written and directed by Reaghan Tarbell Produced by Paul M. Rickard, George Hargrave, Germaine Ying-Gee Wong, Kat Baulu Executive Producer: Ravida Din Editor: Mei Yen Chan Distributed by Vision Maker Video, a service of Native American Public Telecommunications, Inc. visionmaker.org Screened with the kind permission of the filmmaker and producers
armoryonpark.org | @ParkAveArmory | #LenapePowWow #StandingGround
ABOUT PARK AVENUE ARMORY
Part American palace, part industrial shed, Park Avenue Armory is dedicated to supporting unconventional works in the visual and performing arts that need non-traditional spaces for their full realization, enabling artists to create, students to explore, and audiences to consume epic and adventurous presentations that can not be mounted elsewhere in New York City. Since its first production in September 2007, the Armory has organized and commissioned immersive performances, installations, and cross-disciplinary collaborations by visionary artists, directors, and impresarios in its vast drill hall that defy traditional categorization and push the boundaries of their practice. In its historic period rooms, the Armory presents small-scale performances and programs, including its acclaimed Recital Series in the intimate salon setting of the Board of Officers Room; the Artists Studio series curated by Jason Moran in the newly restored Veterans Room; and Interrogations of Form, a series of conversations and performances which feature artists, scholars, activists, and cultural trailblazers encouraging audiences to think beyond conventional interpretations of and perspectives on art. The Armory also offers robust arts education programs at no cost to underserved New York City public school students, engaging them with the institution’s artistic programming and the building’s history and architecture.
ABOUT INTERROGATIONS OF FORM
Held in the Armory’s historic period rooms, these insightful series of conversations and salons bring together artists, scholars, community leaders, and social trailblazers from across the cultural spectrum to offer unique points of view on a range of themes and relevant topics and encourage audiences to think beyond conventional interpretations and perspectives of art. This year’s series offers day-long symposia, artist talks, keynotes, installations, performances, and salons that cover a range of relevant topics in multifaceted explorations of issues of our time.
Upcoming Events: Artist Talk: The Head & the Load Thursday, December 6 at 6:30pm Artist William Kentridge and his fellow collaborators Philip Miller and Thuthuka Sibisi discuss the political context of their latest work and the process behind mounting it in an unconventional space with Dr. Gus Casely-Hayford, Director of the Smithsonian, National Museum of African Art.
Built between 1877 and 1881, Park Avenue Armory has been hailed as containing “the single most important collection of nineteenth century interiors to survive intact in one building” by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The 55,000-square-foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall, with an 80-foot-high barrel vaulted roof, is one of the largest unobstructed spaces in New York City. The Armory’s magnificent reception rooms were designed by leaders of the American Aesthetic Movement, among them Louis Comfort Tiffany, Stanford White, Candace Wheeler, and Herter Brothers. The building is currently undergoing a $215-million renovation designed by Herzog & de Meuron and Platt Byard Dovell White Architects as Executive Architects.
SEASON SPONSORS
Support for Park Avenue Armory’s artistic season has been generously provided by the Charina Endowment Fund, the Altman Foundation, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Foundation, the Marc Haas Foundation, The Kaplen Brothers Fund, the Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation, the Leon Levy Foundation, the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, the Richenthal Foundation, and the Isak and Rose Weinman Foundation. Additional support has been provided by the Armory’s Artistic Council. Cover photo courtesy of the performer
Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory | 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street