NEWS

Native American view of U.S. history to be part of Johnston Center programs

By L.J. TOLER
UNC News Services

CHAPEL HILL -- A Native American view of U.S. history -- quite a different story than the one told by a current local exhibit of American art -- will be explored in free public programs now through February at the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill center will sponsor the programs in conjunction with -- and as a counterpoint to -- the exhibit, "Young America: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum," on view through Feb. 17 at UNC's Ackland Art Museum.

"Young America" traces the building of the nation from colonial times through its 1876 centennial, as portrayed in paintings and sculptures. Meanwhile at the center, Native Americans and experts on their history and culture will discuss tribal languages, social problems and history; author Robert Conley, a member of the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame, will read from his work, which focuses on Cherokee history, tradition and folklore.

With the Ackland, the Johnston Center also will host discussions of American traditions, art and history related to the art exhibit and the times that it illustrates.

Included will be a UNC Wind Ensemble performance of the indigenous American music called shape note singing; a symposium on American art and life on Feb. 1-2; a display, on view now through January, of Native American art and artifacts from the N.C. Research Laboratories of Archaeology; and a fiddler-poet's tales of the American frontier.

" 'Young America' is a wonderful exhibit, but one of the first things one notices is that Native Americans are under-represented in the story that is told," said Dr. Randi Davenport, the center's associate director. "Therefore, we sought to augment the exhibit with the perspectives of Native Americans."

Following is a list of the center programs. For more information, call 966-5110 or visit www.unc.edu/depts/jcue.

Jan. 25, 3:30 p.m., Johnston Center's Kresge Commons Room (039): "Cherokee Language and Meaning: Bringing Balance to a Chaotic World: Native Cherokee language speakers Thomas Belt and Myrtle Driver will converse in Cherokee, then analyze their dialogue to illustrate the relationship of language to the construction of Cherokee world views, philosophy, and social relations. Linguist Margaret Bender, an assistant professor of anthropology at Wake Forest University, will discuss how Cherokee grammar and syntax relate to native philosophy and understanding of a natural order.

Belt grew up in a Cherokee-speaking home in eastern Oklahoma and attended the universities of Oklahoma and Colorado. In Oklahoma, he has been Community Liaison Specialist for the Cherokee Nation and vice president of the Original Cherokee Communities Organization, a grassroots consortium of traditional communities striving to maintain their way of rural life in Indian country. Belt has lived with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in Western North Carolina for the past decade and taught Cherokee language in tribal schools for seven years. He counsels native youth about issues of substance abuse and violence.

Driver grew up in a Cherokee-speaking home in Big Cove, one of the most traditional communities among the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. She studied at the University of Chicago and was an intern in Native American History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. In Chicago, Driver taught arts, crafts and language at the Little Bighorn Indian High School and the O/waya/wah Indian Way School. She is now cultural traditionalist for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Indian clerk-interpreter for the band's tribal council.

Jan. 25, 7:30 p.m., Johnston Center's Kresge Commons Room (039): "The Real People: Truth and Fiction from a Cherokee Perspective." Cherokee author Robert Conley, a member of the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame, will read excerpts from his works and discuss how the Cherokee world view informs his writings in English. Reception afterward.

Conley has written more than 30 books of fiction and non-fiction, most with Indian themes, settings and topics. They include "The Dark Island," Western stories of the Cherokee (Doubleday, 1995); "Geronimo: An American Legend" (Pocket Books , 1993); and "Cherokee Dragon: A Novel of the Real People" (St. Martin's Press, 2000). A native Oklahoman, Conley won the 1991 Ozark Creative Writers Award. He has worked for the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and taught English and Indian studies at colleges and universities including Northern Illinois University and Eastern Montana College.

Jan. 26, 10 a.m.-noon, Johnston Center's Kresge Commons Room (039): "Whose Past, Whose History? American Indian and Western Academic Perspectives on Native History, Art, and Archaeology": Cherokee, Cree and Lumbee tribe members will discuss these topics with representatives of the North Carolina Indian Commission. Participants will include author Robert Conley, artist Kimowan McClain, Cherokee language speakers Tom Belt and Myrtle Driver and Erin Locklear, president of the Native American Student Association in Law.

Feb. 1-2: American Art and American Life Symposium, sponsored by the center, the Ackland and UNC's art department and American studies curriculum and funded by UNC's Frey Fund for American Art.

Feb. 1, 3:30 p.m., 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., beginning in the Graham Memorial Building lounge: Before a 5 p.m. slide lecture by art professor David Lubin of Wake Forest University, participants may gather at Graham Memorial at 3:30 p.m., then view "Young Americans" together at the Ackland beginning at 4 p.m.. Lubin's lecture, at 5 p.m. in the Hanes Art Center Auditorium, will be titled "The Color of Landscape: Painting Race Into and Out of the North American Wilderness."

Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-noon, 2-4 p.m., Johnston Center's Kresge Commons Room (039): Symposium on American Art and Culture: Speakers at this symposium visiting art historians Alexander Nemerov from Yale University; Angela Miller from Washington University in St. Louis; and Martin Berger from the State University of New York, Buffalo. Also speaking: UNC faculty members Philip Gura and Joy Kasson, Duke University professor Richard Powell, other faculty members and graduate students. For a detailed schedule and further information, please contact Debbie Simmons-Cahan, American Studies Curriculum, 962-4062.

Feb. 12, 7:30 p.m., Graham Memorial lounge: "Ken Waldman, Alaska’s Fiddler-Poet; Tales of the American Frontier": Waldman has performed his poetry and original fiddle music in schools, coffeehouses, theaters, festivals and bars across the American West. He tells gripping stories, plays old-time Appalachian fiddle tunes and reads enticing poems from his many chapbooks. A former English professor, Waldman earned a master's degree in fine arts from the University of Alaska and has received grants from the Alaska State Arts Council and the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council.

Feb. 14, 7 p.m., Hill Hall: "A Tribute to ‘Young America" by the UNC Wind Ensemble: The ensemble will perform early Americas music, including a piece titled "Southern Harmony " by Donald Grantham. This group of tunes from the early American hymnal of the same name is characterized by an indigenous American style of music known as shape note singing. Jeannette Fresne, a UNC assistant professor of music, will introduce the piece. The second half of the concert will feature works by contemporary American composers Mark Kuss and Frank Ticheli. A reception will follow.

Feb. 7, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., Ackland Art Museum: "Brushes with History: An Undergraduate Perspective on 'Young America' ": While viewing the exhibit, students and faculty members from UNC's American studies curriculum and history department will discuss topics including: How art becomes a window on our past; why some paintings are more memorable than others; and what subjects most interested artists in the early years of this nation. A reception will follow.

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