Helping hands...

Besides spending a lot of money on both the silent and live auction at the recent Duwamish Tribe Dinner & Gala myself, I was able to help out a little along the way as well. Find a short article and slideshow about the event on the West Seattle Herald website here.

Joe Feddersen - Vital Signs

Today I had the great pleasure off viewing a new exhibit at the Tacoma Art Museum, a retrospective of Joe Fedderson's work. I was at the Museum with Patty, a fellow member of the Carver Camp Canoe Family from the past two years of Tribal Journey. Patty was a student of Joe's at Evergreen so she thought it would be fun to view the exhibit before we headed to the Chehalis Tribe where we would help Phil Red Eagle with a Copper Ring Ceremony at their Tribal Journey potlatch. The exhibit was absolutely amazing, one could very quickly pick up on the 'Urban Indian' vibe of Joe's work along with his sense of humor. Below is the Culture Icon entry I posted on my other blog, The Smart Set:

"Joe Feddersen's internationally renowned artistry comes in many forms...prints, collage, glass, and weaving. But across these media, several themes stand out: Urban Indian, a sense of place, a keen eye for pattern, and a bit of humor. His works are quintessentially Native yet thoroughly modern as they chronicle human relationships with place. His geometric prints echo the landscape of the Plateau area where he grew up and his glass and weaving pieces capture both the traditional Plateau culture and key features of the changing urban landscape such as tire treads, parking lots, and power lines. Born in 1953 in Omak, Washington of Okanogan and Lakes ancestry, Feddersen spent his early days on the Colville Indian Reservation. Later, he received a BFA from the University of Washington in Seattle and received his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1989. In 2009, Feddersen retired from Evergreen State College after twenty years. A retrospective of Feddersen's work, Vital Signs, is on exhibit at the Tacoma Art Museum through January 10, 2009."

An evening with Melanie Cheung

9/19/09. This evening I had the great honor of attending a lecture by Maori neuroscientist Melanie Cheung on her research into Huntington's disease, her efforts to apply Tikanga Maori (Maori ways of thinking, being, doing) to her work with human brain tissue in a culturally safe and sensitive way, and her experience in both Indigenous and Western science. Cheung's lecture was part of the Indigenous Wellness Research Institutes annual celebration and having just finished Gregory Cajete's book, Native Science, and then finding a fantastic article by Cheung on Indigenous science, I was very much looking forward to hearing Cheung in person.

The results...she was FABULOUS!. Her research is fascinating and her journey to apply Tikanga Maori to her work is nothing less than inspiring as it invites a deep respect and sensitivity for people, protocol, and life back into science, something that has been lacking in Western science...well for centuries. As opposed to the Western worldview in which science and spirituality don't get along so well, in Indigenous Science science and spirituality are often one and the same. In fact, Cheung considers her ability to bridge the two worldviews as a benefit as it allows for more open-mindedness and more diverse perspectives in both asking and answering research questions. Add to all this a great sense of humor and fantastic storytelling skills and you've got one really fun, really inspiring evening.

Willie K...Hawaiian tenor

I had the awesome opportunity to hear Hawaiian musician and entertainer Willie K strum tonight at the Seattle Live Aloha Festival. I knew he was an awesome musician from hearing him on KBCS's Hawaii Radio Connection but WOW...I was even more impressed with Willie K in person. Hawaiian, jazz, rock, opera...you name it, Willie can do it. Apparently, Willie K's been spending a lot of time in Germany opening for Simply Red and one of the things he's picked up is a love for opera...with a touch of Hawaiian. That's right...check out "O Sole Mio" with ukulele below...



or how about "Nessun Dorma" with guitar opening the 2009 Hawaii Legislative session...



Willie K...you da man!

Alaska Native Ariel Tweto kicks butt on Wipeout

Ariel Tweto, from the Native Village of Unalakleet in Alaska, kicked butt on the first season of ABC's show Wipeout. Although I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I'm a HUGE fan of Wipeout, I really was out of my seat cheering on Ariel throughout the show. Not only did she kick butt throughout the first rounds, she was awesome in the finals!!! I think her attitude and personality were the best part though, you just want to give her a big hug. She not only represented Alaskans, she represented her fellow Eskimo people and Indigenous people around the world...and she had a blast doing it! From what I've found Googling Ms. Ariel, she's a cross country star and has her sights on a journalism and /or fitness-nutrition career. She was fantastic on the show so I bet we'll see more of her.

From NPR to Native Research Celebration

Wow, I had a busy day today...but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I started out by sitting down with KUOW's Weekday host, Steve Scher, to discuss sustainable style...can you be stylish and sustainable at the same time. It was my first time on radio so I was pretty nervous leading up to the show. Once I was in the booth though, it went great. I've been a fan of Weekday and Steve Scher for a long time so was pretty familiar with the format, a quick back and forth with Steve and then listener questions. Steve was right on it as far a touch questions. And the listeners were right on as well with great examples or suggestions themselves. Afterward, I got lots of text messages, emails, and voicemails from all sorts of folks, friends, family, and I guess I'd have to say brand new friends. In the end, I just hope I did well by SSFand everyone out there trying to live a bit more on the sustainable side.


So that was the start of my day. The end of my day was spent at the launch of a new institute at UW called the Indigenous Wellness Research Institute (IWRI). It is an incredible new effort that will do incredible things and produce incredible results. But speaking of incredible. The evening blew me away. The ceremonies and lectures were inspiring and the performances were out of this world. Two performers in particular really left me breathless. Pura Fe completely amazed me. This woman should have shelves full of Grammies. Not that you can really describe her voice or style, but if you crossed Janice Joplin, Aretha Franklin, and Bonnie Raitt...you'd be close. The other great surprise was Kinnie Star, a young female performing artist from Vancouver. She started with some awesome poetry, did a couple more Top 40 type songs, and then ended with some Rap/Hip Hop that ROCKED!!! Now Don't get me wrong, the Black Lodge Singers and Keith Knight (a six string guitar player) were outstanding too, but the women really stole the show I must say. One of the final acts was Ulali, a trio of Native women (including Pura Fe) that I think could have easily, literally set the house on fire. They combine some traditional native sounds with etherial melodies that were food for the soul. Wow, what an amazing day!

NASAA Native Scholars

I attended the 2nd day of the annual Native American Students in Advanced Academia (NASAA) Symposium today. The audience was educated, informed, and inspired throughout and it made me decide I wanted to quit working and just attend conferences for the rest of my life. I wish! The students that presented were doing incredible work and the keynote speakers, Dr. Robert Warrior and Dr. Taiaiake Alfred were amazing as well. Best of all, I got to hear my friend Deborah Guerrero sing one of the opening blessings.