Iroquois

8th Contemporary Iroquois Art Biennial Opening

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The Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York will host the 8th Contemporary Iroquois Art Biennial: 4 Artists Under 30 – opening Saturday, August 27. The exhibition will feature the work of four young women from the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois, Confederacy: Lauren Jimerson (Seneca)- Awenheeyoh Powless (Onondaga)- Leah Shenandoah (Oneida)- and Natasha Smoke Santiago (Mohawk). The exhibition was organized by guest curator G. Peter Jemison and will be on view through December 31, 2011.

These four young women are influenced by their heritage as Haudenosaunee but have also sought unique ways to express their individual vision &#8211 incorporating music, three dimensional objects, castings, as well as traditional methods to bring their work to life.

Awenheeyoh Powless, a recent graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology, has incorporated Iroquois music and traditional dance steps to create paintings with her feet on un-stretched canvas &#8211 using foot movements to apply the acrylic colors.

Leah Shenandoah, another recent graduate of RIT, has focused on three dimensional objects that are across between sculpture and painting. The objects are made of stretched fabric on a wire frame to which paint has been applied as a stain. They are exhibited hung from the gallery’s ceiling in a grouping.

Lauren Jimerson, currently in her final year at RIT, uses pastel on paper to create portraiture.

Natasha Smoke Santiago, a self-taught artist who has been actively exhibiting her art since she was a teenager, casts the bellies of pregnant women and then forms the casts into sculptural objects incorporating traditional Haudenosaunee craft techniques. The bellies are turned into pottery or elaborate baskets with materials resembling splints.

Image: Pastel on paper by Haudenosaunee artist Lauren Jimerson.

Social Dance Saturdays at Iroquois Museum

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The Iroquois Indian Museum in Howes Cave, NY has announced the second in a series of three “Social Dance Saturdays” featuring Iroquois social dance groups. On Saturday, July 23, the HAUDENOSAUNEE DANCERS from Onondaga will perform three sets at approximately 11, 1, and 3. Visitors are encouraged and welcomed to join in with the dancers.

Led by Sherri Waterman Hopper, the Haudenosaunee Dancers will perform Iroquois social dances as practiced in their small traditional community near Syracuse. Sherri Waterman-Hopper has traveled internationally as an artist and cultural speaker. The Dancers feature a core group of seasoned singer/musicians and talented and dedicated young adults. Pride in the culture and adherence to the traditions are the hallmarks of this troupe. Hopper is also a designer and seamstress who incorporates her knowledge of the construction and significance of traditional outfits into her presentations.

For more information contact the Museum at 518-296-8949, [email protected] or visit their website.

Photo: Haudenosaunee Dancer from 2010 (provided).

Iroquois Indian Museum Early Technology Day

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The Iroquois Indian Museum in Howes Cave, NY has announced their 2nd Early Technology Day on Saturday April 30 from 10 am to 4 pm. Put on your warm clothes and waterproof boots and head to the museum for flint knapping demonstrations, atl-atl shoot with Mike Tarbell, Mohawk educator and various demonstrations of early technology. We will have demonstrations of the brain-tanning and smoke curing of deer hides, dog bane rope making, and various 18th century crafts, as well as hunting, trapping and fishing displays. There will be plenty of show and tell and crafts. The archaeology department will have a staffed display of local finds and information and will be on hand to help identify your artifacts.

For more information contact the Iroquois Indian Museum, 324 Caverns Rd., Howes Cave, NY at (518) 296-8949, [email protected] or www.iroquoismuseum.org

Artistic Visions Exhibit at Iroquois Museum

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“Iroquois Artistic Visions: From Sky World to Turtle Island” is an exhibition featuring new works by contemporary Iroquois artists in addition to art from the Museum’s permanent collection that will run from April 1 through December 31, 2011 at the Iroquois Indian Museum in Howe’s Cave, NY.

Paintings, sculpture, pottery, beadwork, textiles and other media in the exhibition will focus on the important symbols in the Iroquois Creation Story, which is fundamental to understanding Iroquois culture and society because it expresses what is valuable in Iroquois culture.

The story contains ideas that define the Iroquois role relative to the universe and confirms their attachment to a land on which their ancestors have lived for at least ten thousand years. It helps to explain their survival as a distinct ethnic group participating in a multicultural world. This exhibition takes a concept that was traditionally oral and translates it by using a number of exciting and contemporary visual forms.

Many of the artists featured in the exhibition are expected to attend the Gallery Opening . A full color companion book for the exhibition will also be available for sale in the Museum Shop.

Lecture: Red Jacket, Role of Six Nations in War of 1812

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Dr. Alan S. Taylor, a renowned and award-winning author and historian, will be at the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society&#8216-s history museum this Saturday, November 13, 2010, at 1:30 p.m., for a talk entitled &#8220Red Jacket and the Role of the Six Nations in the War of 1812.&#8221 Local interest is mounting for the 2012 bicentennial of the War of 1812. In addition, the museum currently has an exhibit exploring Red Jacket in the context of John Mix Stanley’s monumental painting &#8220The Trial of Red Jacket.&#8221


Taylor is the author of six American history books, and has won the Pulitzer, Beveridge, and Bancroft prizes for his scholarly writing. His newest release is titled The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies (Random House). The book is available at the museum gift shop, and the author will be available to sign copies of it after the lecture.

Taylor is currently serving as a visiting professor, holding the prestigious Douglas Southall Freeman Chair in History at the University of Richmond, Virginia- he has been a professor of American History at University of California at Davis since 1994.

The lecture program is in support of the History Museum’s current exhibit, &#8220Fact, Fiction and Spectacle: The Trial of Red Jacket,&#8221 which uses as its starting point the huge canvas by John Mix Stanley. Attendees to the lecture are encourage to view the exhibit, which is in the Museum’s lower floor gallery, when they are here for the lecture.

Iroquois Stories for Thanksgiving Season

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The Iroquois Indian Museum in Howes Cave, NY will present “Iroquois Stories for the Season of Thanksgiving” with writer and storyteller Susan Fantl Spivack on Sunday, October 24th at 2 p.m. Museum visitors will enjoy traditional Iroquois stories such as “The Brave Woman and the Flying Head” and “The Talking Stone.”

Ms. Spivack teaches poetry writing workshops to children and adults, and since 1991, has brought her program, &#8220Tricks of the Trade: Stories to Take Home, to libraries and scouting groups. Ms. Spivack conducted The Community Library Story Hour in Cobleskill, NY for thirty years, and has told Iroquois myths and tales at the Iroquois Indian Museum of Schoharie County where she has served as an adjunct educator.

For more information visit the Iroquois Indian Museum online at www.iroquoismuseum.org, e-mail [email protected], or call 518-296-8949.

29th Annual Iroquois Indian Festival

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The Iroquois Indian Museum of Howes Cave, New York, has announced the 29th Annual Iroquois Indian Festival will be held on Labor Day weekend, Saturday, September 4 through Sunday, September 5. The two-day festival’s goal is to foster a greater appreciation and deeper understanding of Iroquois culture through presentations of Iroquois music and social dance, traditional stories, artwork, games and food. This year’s master of ceremonies will be Museum Educator, Mike “Rohrha:re” Tarbell, a member of the Turtle Clan from the Ahkwesahsne Mohawk Nation.

The annual festival centers on the celebration of Iroquois creativity and self-expression by featuring an all Iroquois Indian Art Market open to Iroquois artists by special invitation only. Both traditional and contemporary arts are showcased.

The Sky Dancers from Six Nations Reserve in Ontario will perform traditional Iroquois social dances, and may invite the public out onto the dance floor to participate, as well. The Children’s Tent will feature arts & crafts activities including beadwork and cornhusk doll making. Local wildlife rehabilitator Kelly Martin will be available to discuss wildlife conservation in our bioregion and will present a variety of wild animals including birds of prey. Pamela Brown “Wolf Teacher” returns to promote understanding and awareness of wolves and the importance of their survival with a display of educational and informational materials and fundraising items. The Museum’s archeology department will be available to help identify archeological finds.

NEW THIS YEAR: Mohawk educator Amanda Tarbell will give a presentation of Iroquois stories each day. Wilderness survival teacher and mentor, Barry Keegan will share his expertise with a daily presentation on flinknapping and other early survival skills.

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND: Nature Walk with Mike Tarbell in the Museum’s 45 acre Nature Park.

Food is an important part of any culture, and a full array of Native foods will be available for purchase provided by Frank and Pam Ramsey from Onondaga. Delicious traditional entrees include buffalo burgers, Indian tacos, venison sausage, roasted corn soup and frybread.

The Festival will be held at the Iroquois Indian Museum on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM each day, rain or shine. Performances will take place in the Museum’s outdoor covered amphitheater and the artists participating in the art-market will be set up in adjacent tents. Visit the Museum’s web site at www.iroquoismuseum.org for a performance schedule.

The Festival is supported in part through grants from The New York State Council on the Arts, and donations from members and friends of the Museum.

The Iroquois Indian Museum is located just 35 miles west of Albany New York, near the intersection of highways 7 and 145. Take exit 22 from Interstate 88 and follow the signs. There is a fee for entrance to the Festival grounds. For more information call the Museum at (518) 296-8949, or go to the Museum’s website at www.iroquoismuseum.org.

Photo: Iroquois Sky Dancer at the 2007 Iroquois Indian Festival.

Haudenosaunee Dancers at Iroquois Museum

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The Iroquois Indian Museum in Howes Cave, NY has announced the second in a series of three “Summer Dance Saturdays” featuring Iroquois social dance groups. This Saturday, July 31, will feature the Haudenosaunee Dancers from Onondaga. The group will perform three sets at approximately 11, 1, and 3. Visitors are encouraged and welcomed to join in with the dancers.

Led by Sherri Waterman Hopper, the Haudenosaunee Dancers will perform Iroquois social dances as practiced in their small traditional community near Syracuse. Waterman-Hopper has traveled internationally as an artist and cultural speaker.

The Dancers feature a core group of seasoned singer/musicians and young adults. Pride in the culture and adherence to the traditions are the hallmarks of this troupe. Hopper is also a respected designer and seamstress who incorporates her knowledge of the construction and significance of traditional outfits into her presentations.

For more information contact the Museum at: Iroquois Indian Museum, P.O. Box 7, 324 Caverns Road, Howes Cave, NY 12092, 518-296-8949, [email protected] or visit their web site at www.iroquoismuseum.org.

Iroquois Indian Museum Offers Early Technology Day

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The Iroquois Indian Museum in Howes Cave, NY kicks off a celebration of our 30th Anniversary on Saturday, April 10 with the 1st Annual Early Technology Day, their annual Spring Party and a special screening of a new documentary on the museum’s history.

Early Technology Day highlights include: demonstrations of the process of flint knapping, fire making, atl-atl spear throwing, early archery and show-and-tell, and displays and demonstrations from the nearby Old Stone Fort Museum Complex. Flint knapping is the ancient art of making chipped stone tools. Activities take place on the Museum grounds from 10 to 3.

At 4 p.m. there will be a premier of “A Museum Is Born” a 40 minute documentary produced, videotaped, and edited by Dennis Shaw, Shaw Video Productions, of Richmondville. The DVD tells the museum’s history through interviews with the founding Director and current Trustee &#8211 Christina Johannsen Hanks, Curator &#8211 Stephanie Shultes, Native American Educator &#8211 Mike Tarbell, and Director &#8211 Erynne Ansel-McCabe. Native American artworks featured at the museum, old photographs, and past exhibits are also featured. The Documentary was made possible in part with public funds from the Decentralization Program of the New York State Council on the Arts, administered through the Tri-County Arts Council.

The celebration of Native American performers continues with an opening reception from 3 to 6 p.m. for the 2010 exhibition “Native Americans in the Performing Arts: From Broadway to Hollywood”. Countless Native actors have contributed to the success of stage and screen productions for well over a century. The 2010 exhibit presents the histories of the early Wild West performers, the Silent Movie Stars, the talented character actors, and today’s hot new prospects. Highlighted actors include, Jay Silverheels of “Tonto and the Lone Ranger” fame- Cherokee humorist Will Rogers- Alex Meraz who plays Paul in “New Moon” and “Eclipse”, and Elaine Miles who portrayed Marilyn on the popular television show “Northern Exposure”. The exhibition runs from April 1 to December 31.

For more information contact the Museum at: Iroquois Indian Museum, P.O. Box 7, 324 Caverns Road, Howes Cave, NY 12092, 518-296-8949, [email protected] or visit their web site at www.iroquoismuseum.org

Epic Stories of the Iroquois at the Adirondack Museum

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The Iroquois people are the original residents of what is now New York State. There were five tribes in the first Confederacy: the Mohawk, Seneca, Oneida, Onondaga, and the Cayuga. Eventually, a sixth nation, the Tuscarora tribe, joined the confederation.

On Sunday, March 14, 2010, Mohawk storyteller Darren Bonaparte will share stories and recount the great legends of the Rotinonhsion:ni (Iroquois) Confederacy including &#8220The Creation Story&#8221 and &#8220The Great Peacemaker&#8221 at the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake, New York. The program, &#8220Epic Stories of the Iroquois,&#8221 is part of the popular Cabin Fever Sunday series.

Darren Bonaparte is a storyteller, Mohawk historian, artist, teacher, and maker of wampum belts from Akwesasne. He is the author of Creation and Confederation: The Living History of the Iroquois as well as A Lily Among Thorns: The Mohawk Repatriation of Kateri Tekahkwi:tha.

Bonaparte is a former elected chief of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne. His articles have been published in Aboriginal Voices, Winds of Change, The Nation, and Native American magazine. He is also the creator of &#8220The Wampum Chronicles: Mohawk Territory on the Internet&#8221 at www.wampumchronicles.com.

The presentation will be held in the Auditorium, and will begin promptly at 1:30 p.m. Cabin Fever Sunday programs are offered at no charge to museum members. The fee for non-members is $5.00. There is no charge for children of elementary school age or younger. Refreshments will be served. For additional information, please call the Education Department at (518) 352-7311, ext. 128 or visit the museum’s web site at
www.adirondackmuseum.org .

Also on March 14, the Adirondack Museum Education Department will hold an Open House for Educators from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. Area teachers are invited to visit the Mark W. Potter Education Center to discover the variety of hands-on programs available for students in Pre-K through grade 12. All are designed to meet curricular needs. Educators can learn about the museum’s School Membership program and enter to win a day of free outreach classes for their school. For more information, contact Christine Campeau at (518) 352-7311, ext. 116 or [email protected].

Photo: Darren Bonaparte with wampum.