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Native Americans

Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

Object Details

Introduction
Beginning with the first Festival in 1967, Native American presentations demonstrated the vitality of craft traditions, culinary arts, song and dance, and folklore. The 1974 Native American program marked the fifth year in a series of regional programs, to culminate in the Bicentennial Festival in 1976 with a comprehensive national program. More than 90 participants joined the Festival, primarily from the Western States of California, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, and Colorado; special programs on sports and games brought tribal members from elsewhere in the country. Among the tribes participating in the 1974 Festival were (from California) the Tolowa, Pomo, Hoopa, Yurok, Karok, Luiseno, Maidu, Cahuilla, as well as (from the Basin and Plateau States) Paiute, Shoshone, Kaibab, Northern Ute, Ute Mountain, Southern Ute, and Nez Perce. Sports and games were presented by Creek, Cherokee, Eskimo, Acoma, Athabaskan, Jemez, and Laguna participants. Pomo basket makers, Karok netmakers, Yurok canoe carvers, a Tolowa reed boat weaver, and cooks from Yurok, Hoopa, Karok and Cahuilla tribes of California demonstrated crafts and foodways. Performances took place in a California plank house and a Basin/Plateau tipi, with workshops and discussions in a Learning Center, and sports and games in a dedicated area. The Learning Center was a multimedia venue designed as an introduction to contemporary Indian communities and their traditional backgrounds. Such topics as the Indian Family, Native Community, and Contributions to America were discussed by participants, while Festival visitors could attend language classes, learn Indian songs, and view photographs of contemporary and historic Native Americans. Carole Parker served as program coordinator, assisted by Thomas Kavanagh; the California program was coordinated by Joy Sundberg (Yurok); the Basin/Plateau program, by Jim Jefferson (Southern Ute); and the sports and games, by Matt Waconda and Ethan Bigpond. The multi-year program was shaped by the Native Americans Advisory Group, including Louis Bruce, Clydia Nahwooksy, Dell Hymes, William Sturtevant, Samuel Stanley, Herman Viola, Carnes Burson, and Robert Byington. Major sponsors for the 1974 program included the Public Information Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Department of the Army, the Coalition of Eastern Native Americans and the Louisiana Pacific Redwood Corporation. The following year (1975) saw the last regional Native American program, with the Bicentennial Festival providing a national overview, including some participants who returned from previous years.
Participants
California Tolowa Sheryl Bommelyn, dancer Loren Bommelyn, dancer Kara Brundin, dancer Brenda Green, dancer John Green, dancer, singer Carl James, dancer Samuel Lopez, 1886-1977, singer Billy Richards, dancer Mark Richards, dancer Marvin Richards, dancer, singer Nicole Richards, dancer, cook Don Stunrick, dancer Pomo Elsie Allen, 1899-1990, basket maker Dewey Barnes, 1932-2006, fishtrap maker Rose Barnes, 1929-, dancer Elvina Brown, dancer James Brown II, dancer James Brown III, dancer Kenneth Fred, 1929-, singer, dancer Bernadine Hopper, 1918-1999, dancer Nelson Hopper, Pomo, shell jeweler, Finley, California Hoopa Eleanor Abbott, basket maker Warren Abbott, dancer Anthony Risling, 1912-2004, fishnet maker Yurok George Blake, bow maker, Eureka, California Ella Johnson, basket maker Sam Jones, 1913-1996, salmon cook Walter Lara, Yurok, canoe carver, Eureka, California Ella Norris, 1892-1982, Wiyot-Yurok, salmon cook, Crescent City, California Josephine Peters, 1923-2011, jeweler Pamela Peters, dancer Mark Sundberg, dancer Lisa Sundberg, cook, dancer Tom Williams, canoe carver Karok Francis Davis, Sr., 1929-, fishnet maker Luiseno Villiana Hyde, 1903-1994, discussant Maidu Gladys Mankins, 1912-1985, bead worker, dancer Seymore Smith, 1891-, singer Cahuilla Katherine Saubel, cook Basin/Plateau Paiute Marie Brown, bead worker, cook Stannard Frank, 1923-1989, discussant Lily George, 1911-1977, Paiute, tule boat maker, Ely, Nevada Madaline Kaamasee, doll maker Lena Murphy, dancer Marjorie Stark, Paiute, 1911-2001, basket maker, Ely, Nevada Shoshone Ella Bear, 1907-1983, hide tanner Jimmy Dan, dancer, singer Agnes Gould, 1925-1991, dancer Audrey Gould, bead worker Austin Gould, dancer, singer Vincent Ponzo, buckskin worker Kaibab Dan Bullets, 1906-1990, Kaibab, hide tanner, Fredonia, Arizona Alva Drye, Kaibab, basket maker, Fredonia, Arizona Lucille Jake, 1920-1997, Kaibab, bead worker, basket maker, Fredonia, Arizona Lita Sigmiller, Kaibab, basket maker, Fredonia, Arizona Northern Ute Irene Coch, bead worker, dancer Loya Gardner, 1913-2004, dancer Maxine Natchez, dancer Ute Mountain Cliff Duncan, pow wow MC Bonnie Hatch, Ute Mountain, dancer, Towaoc, Colorado Sarah Hatch, Ute Mountain, dancer, potter, Towaoc, Colorado Danny Tallbird, 1926-1996, Cheyenne, dancer, Towaoc, Colorado Ruby Tallbird, 1934-2004, Ute Mountain, buckskin worker, Towaoc, Colorado Tony Tallbird, Ute Mountain, dancer, Towaoc, Colorado Southern Ute Ramona Eagle, Southern Ute, dancer, Ignacio, Colorado Dan Jefferson, dancer Tim Jefferson, dancer Bonnie Kent, 1918-1989, Southern Ute, dancer, Ignacio, Colorado Elsie Kent, dancer Nez Perce Randall Ellenwood, dancer Wilfred Halfmoon, dancer Owen Slickapoo, dancer Allen Slickpoo, discussant Sports and Games Creek Paul Culley, 1931-1993, Creek, stickball, Wetumka, Oklahoma Paula Culley, 1963-, Creek-Seminole, stickball, Wetumka, Oklahoma Jeannie Fixico, 1953-, Creek, stickball, Seminole, Oklahoma Emma Lowe, 1942-, Creek, stickball, Holdenville, Oklahoma Larry Soweka, 1945-, Creek, stickball, Henryetta, Oklahoma Cherokee George Dixon, 1946-, Cherokee, archer, Muskogee, Oklahoma Larry Rackliff, 1952-, Cherokee, archer, Tahlequa, Oklahoma Lyman Vann, 1907-1985, Cherokee, archer, Tulsa, Oklahoma Pete Vann, 1948-, archer Eskimo Laura Bergt, sports Les Bodfish, sports Reggie Joule, sports Roger Kunayak, sports Acoma Gordon Joe, 1955-, Acoma, track runner, Paraje, New Mexico Athabaskan Fred Titus, sports Jemez Steven Gachupin, 1942-, Jemez, track coach, Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico Laguna Emmet Hunt, 1948-, Laguna-Acoma, cross country coach, Albuquerque, New Mexico Bruce Allen Romero, 1959-, track, Paguate, New Mexico Meldon R. Sanchez, 1959-, runner, San Fidel, New Mexico
Collection Creator
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
See more items in
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1974 Festival of American Folklife
Archival Repository
Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
Identifier
CFCH.SFF.1974, Series 6
Type
Archival materials
Collection Citation
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1974 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Restrictions
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1503510202147-1503510202211-7
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/bk5f59ccba9-abe4-47b0-9617-7edbbf544066

Related Content

  • Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1974 Festival of American Folklife

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