Indigenous ways

A University of South Florida professor's multimedia festival focuses on American Indian and Aborigine cultures.

By CHRISTOPHER BLANK

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 14, 2001

[Times photo: Fraser Hale] From left, Ed Wind Dancer, Banula Marika, William Cypress and Matthew Doyle will appear in “Dreamtime, Our Time: The Eternal Circle: Voices of Australian Aboriginal and American Indian Artists” at the University of South Florida.

To understand why a University of South Florida dance professor created a multimedia festival on Australian and American indigenous peoples, you need to know about Edward Curtis.

A photographer in the late 1800s, Curtis captured images that are now revered by historians. Fearing that American Indian culture was changing forever, he dedicated his life to preserving it.

That is pretty much how USF's Gretchen Ward Warren felt when she traveled through the Australian outback as a Fulbright scholar in 1997. She met elderly Aborigines still carrying on their ancient traditions. Yet with few youths wanting to live the old ways, they knew their culture was getting closer to vanishing.

Now Warren is fulfilling her own act of preservation with "Dreamtime, Our Time: The Eternal Circle: Voices of Australian Aboriginal and American Indian Artists." Through January 27, the program combines art, film and dance to raise awareness for indigenous people.

What started as a research project blossomed into a two-year, $70,000 undertaking. Warren said the project became a mission driven by fortunate coincidences and guided by spiritual signposts.

"My Indian friends have told me that I am a hollow bone -- that there is some force working through me to make this project happen," Warren said. "From the beginning I've had a strong inner conviction to do this project."

Her voice has the tone of a converted skeptic when she talks about the "supernatural things" that have kept the project going. She's writing a book about how her work often felt driven by the cultures' ancient forces.

The event is a multimedia collage of indigenous artistry from two continents, spread out across the USF Tampa campus. Visitors can see aboriginal bark paintings from the National Museum of Australia alongside American Indian clothing and objects. Films about the cultures will be shown on three days. Lectures and symposiums take place throughout the week, one featuring Chief James Billie, chairman of the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

The program's highlight is a dance-theater production created by Warren. On a stage where the audience sits in a large, symbolic circle, Australian Aborigines and American Indians perform their dance and their music and speak the words of their leaders. Warren hopes audiences will be affected not only by the spiritual performance but by seeing these groups united in their arts.

The production represents a huge collaboration between local and traditional artists. Elsa Valbuena of the dance company Moving Current choreographed the show. USF dance students and local actors perform beside seven American Indian dancers and two visiting Aborigine artists.

"Culturally, Aborigines and American Indians are very different," Warren said. "But they share the same kind of belief about everything being connected. People will see that they are not dancing and singing to perform. They are doing it because it is connected to their beliefs. It is a deeply spiritual and committed atmosphere."

The project seems to be committed to Warren as well. She said that though putting it together has been "like climbing Mount Everest," she has been energized by odd and frequent "signs." A small one occurred after she attended a lecture by Charlene Teters, an American Indian artist and crusader against using tribal icons for sports mascots.

"The following morning I went out into my garden, which is completely surrounded by a high wooden fence," Warren said. "I saw a pile of cloth, and when I picked it up it was a (Florida State University) Seminole football flag. I have no idea how it could have gotten there. Things like this have happened at least monthly since I started the project."

Warren hopes that the magic will rub off on audiences, and that more folks will understand the reasons for preserving these ancient traditions.

PREVIEW

Schedule of events:

Performance/Dance

Dancing With the Wheel of Ever Returning runs Jan. 18-27 at USF Theatre 2 on the Tampa campus. Times are 7:30 p.m Wednesdays through Saturdays with 2 p.m. matinees January 21 and 27. Tickets are $15 general and $10 students. Call (813) 974-2323 for reservations.

Art

"Australian Aboriginal Bark Paintings & Native American Art and Artifacts" continues through Jan. 27 at the USF Contemporary Art Museum on the Tampa campus. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday. Museum entry is free.

Film

A selection of award-winning film features and shorts by American Indian and Australian Aborigine filmmakers will be shown free to the public: 6:30-9:30 p.m. Jan. 18 in the Music Recital Hall (building FAH 101), 3-6 p.m. Jan. 19 in the Engineering Auditorium (building ENA), and 1-7 p.m., Jan. 20 (a "best of" marathon) at the Engineering Auditorium (building ENA).

Lectures

Symposium on "American Indians Today: Creativity, Community and Courage," featuring American Indian artist James Luna; Chief James Billie of the Seminole Tribe of Florida; Billy Cypress, executive director of the Seminole Tribe Museum Authority; and moderated by anthropology professor Brent Weisman, noon to 2 p.m. Jan. 25 at the Marshall Center Ballroom (building CTR 270). The event is free.

Lecture/performance by James Luna, performance artist. He will speak on his life as an artist and counselor to troubled American Indian youth on the La Jolla, Calif., Indian Reservation where he lives. 3 p.m. Jan. 25 at USF Theatre 2. The event is free.

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