A Great Lakes Nations Celebration

Putting the Indians back in Indiana is the goal of the National Center for Great Lakes Native American Culture. Join them June 9–10, when the nonprofit educational organization hosts the fourth annual Gathering of Great Lakes Nations at the Jay County Fairgrounds in Portland, Indiana.

“We feel the Gathering is a means of involving the general public in the culture of the region’s Native peoples and helping them come to appreciate the Great Lakes original peoples,” explains Kay Neumayr, board president. “Every year it grows a bit and is truly a lot of fun.”

Some 50 dancers are expected to attend this year. All but the three head dancers will attend at their own expense, just to share their moves with the public. Three drum groups, including host drum Painted Turtle—composed mostly of Indiana state Natives—and Black Swamp—composed of teens and young adults from Ohio—will lay down the beats. Something dance novices will appreciate is the detailed explanations provided by the dance emcee regarding the history and meaning of each dance. Also a tradition here is the Intertribal Dance, when everyone is invited to get up and join in the circle.

More than 20 vendors, artists and craftspeople will also be on hand, selling and some demonstrating their handiwork. “We jury the vendors, so we know the quality of their work,” says Neumayr. “Our preference is toward regional talent, to help promote and develop the culture of the Great Lakes tribes.” Items for sale will include beaded and tanned leather bags, porcupine quillwork, hand-carved wood items, historic and contemporary dance regalia, tanned deer hides, moccasins and silver jewelry.

Hang out in the pre-1840s living-history camp, where you can watch demonstrations in beading, the making of ribbon shirts, quillwork, silversmithing, flint-knapping, steel knife making and more. Or take in a storytelling session, or chow down on some traditional American Indian foods.

The NCGLNAC was formed in 2001. It currently conducts an impressive series of traditional craft and art workshops year-round. Recently, the group was donated 30 acres of land in Portland, Indiana to create a center for its programs. Facilities will eventually include indoor and outdoor classrooms, an art gallery, gift shop, artist-in-residence studio apartments, an ethnobotanical trail and gardens, restored grasslands and woodlands, and a freshwater pond. Work was begun in 2006 on the pond trail, and fundraising continues for the rest. Details: 765/426-3022 or ncglnac.org

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elsewhere
Turn on the telly in May for the HBO premiere of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, starring Adam Beach, Wes Studi and August Schellenberg. The program is based on Dee Brown’s powerful book of the same title.

Drop by the Indian Art Market, May 5–6, Jacobson House Native Art Center, Norman, OK. This outdoor event focuses on local and regional artists and includes performances by dancers and singers (including some this year from Scandinavia), and children’s activities. 405/366-1667 or jacobsonhouse.com

Check out the 3rd annual Southwest Indian Arts Festival, May 5–6, Smoki Museum, Prescott, AZ, with dozens of artists, dancers and musicians who will perform throughout the weekend, scrumptious frybread and Navajo tacos, and a children’s craft area with games, activities and crafts for children of all ages. Featured performers include hoop dancer Brian Hammill (Ho-Chunk) and the Native Spirit Dancers, and flautist Travis Terry (Pima). 928/445-1230 or smokimuseum.org

Support a strong academic commitment to Indian education at the annual Dartmouth Pow-Wow, May 12–13, on The Green, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, with grand entry each day at noon. The event is an opportunity to observe, participate and learn from a broad representation of Native American dances, music, and arts and crafts. Presented by the Native Americans at Dartmouth (NAD) and the college’s Native American program. 603/646-3792 or dartmouth.edu/~nap/powwow/

Make your way to the 24th annual Indian Fair and Market, May 18–20, Museum of Man, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA. Some 60 Southwest Native artists will be on hand selling their handmade works, and visitors will also enjoy musicians, dancers, drummers, storytellers and craft demonstrators. Don’t miss the traditional and contemporary foods and the youth crafts center. Free admission. 619/239-2001 or museumofman.org

Spend a day at the 3rd annual Native Treasures: Indian Arts Festival, May 26–27, at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture in Santa Fe. This is an intimate, relaxed affair held outdoors on the charming Milner Plaza. It will include artist demonstrations, live music and delicious foods, and more than 130 leading artists working in jewelry, pottery, sculpture, painting/drawing, textiles, carving, basketry and even glass and birchbark biting. Featured artist this year is jeweler Mike Bird-Romero (San Juan Pueblo). Some 175 Navajo weavers will be represented by the Toadlena Trading Post. It kicks off with a special artist reception (tickets $75) and pre-sale auction on Friday evening, May 25. Admission: early-bird tickets $10; after 10 a.m. $5; Sunday free. nativetreasuressantafe.org

Dance to the 25th annual Selma Walker Memorial Powwow, May 26–28, Franklin County Fairgrounds, Hilliard, OH, with singing, dancing, music (including award-winning flautist Douglas Blue Feather), arts and crafts, foods and raffles. Sponsored by the Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio. Admission: $7 adults; $3 seniors and students. 614/443-6120 or e-mail naicco@aol.com

Motor over to Red Earth, June 1–3, Cox Convention Center, Oklahoma City, OK, for this popular event launched in 1987. This year it hosts a powwow with $75,000 in prize money, a large arts and crafts market, a juried art competition with $35,000 in prize money and a parade (on June 1, 10:30 a.m., downtown). The show opens with a special awards reception for prize-winning artists on the evening of May 31. Educational displays, live music and children’s activities round out the program. Details and reception tickets at 405/427-5228 or redearth.org

Head west for the 35th annual Spring Indian Market, June 2–3, Pacific Western Traders, Folsom, CA, featuring artists from California and other western states working in a great range of media. 916/985-3851 or pacwesttraders.com

Visit a Cultural Survival Bazaar, June 3–Aug. 12 in five locations in New England, featuring art, crafts, music and dance of world Indigenous peoples. June 2–3: Amherst Common, Amherst, MA; July 7–8: Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, Lenox, MA; July 28–29: Tiverton Four Corners, Tiverton, RI; Aug. 4–5: Maine State Pier, Portland, ME; Aug. 11–12, Provincetown Pier, P-town, MA. Sponsored by the nonprofit magazine Cultural Survival Quarterly. 617/441-5400 or culturalsurvival.org

Fast-break to the 5th annual Native American Basketball Invitational, June 9–14, Phoenix, AZ, presented by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. This year the tourney will include a record 80 teams and be certified by the NCAA, allowing top scouts to attend. The final two games will be played at the U.S. Airways Center downtown from 7 to 10 p.m. Admission is $10; children under 6 free. 602/265-2770 or nabihoops.com

Savor the delightful First Peoples’ Festival, Montréal, Canada, June 11–21, a major event featuring the 17th annual Présence Autochtone Film & Video Showcase (with awards presentation and entertainment on the evening of June 16); a Native “encampment” and arts and crafts fair in a downtown park, June 15–17; plus art exhibitions, music, dance and other happenings. Presented by the nonprofit group Terres en vues/Land InSights. 514/278-4224 or nativelynx.qc.ca

Take in the 10th annual Native Contemporary Arts Festival, June 17, noon-3 p.m., Yerba Buena Gardens (Fourth and Mission streets), San Francisco, CA, where hundreds of artists will gather, as well as musicians and dancers. Free craft activities for kids including making dreamcatchers, baskets and bracelets. Co-sponsored by American Indian Contemporary Arts. 415/978-2787 or ybgf.org

Experience the sights and sounds of the Northwest Coast at the 61st annual Lummi Stommish War Canoe Races and Water Festival, June 22–24, Lummi Reservation, near Bellingham, WA, with war canoe races, powwow dancing, bone games, a carnival, arts and crafts sales, a concert, beauty pageant and feasting on smoked salmon. 360/384-2312 or stommish.com

Escape the summer heat among the pines at the 74th annual Hopi Marketplace, June 30–July 1, Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, with jewelers, potters, quilters, wood carvers, basketmakers and other artists, as well as demonstrations, piki bread making and guided walks with a Hopi medicine woman through the museum gardens. Admission: $7 adults, $6 seniors, $5 students, $4 all Native Americans. 928/774-5213 or musnaz.org