We’re listening to the music of an Iroquois social dance — a sound that will fill the air in coming days at the annual Iroquois Festival in upstate New York. I’m Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by DuPont. Jim Sky was a faith keeper of the Onondaga longhouse at Six Nations in Southern Ontario, the largest community of Iroquois people. Jim led a group of dancers who performed throughout the world. He devoted his life to preserving Iroquois traditions and helping non-Native people understand them.
“Our dances go back a long, long time, prior to the time of what the white man calls the coming of Jesus. We have ceremonies that tell us about that time and beyond. It just tells us that we’re native people and this is our land. And we are supposed to be able to roam free on it. And we knew that the white man was coming. Before he ever got here we knew the white man was coming.”
For Jim Sky, events such as the Iroquois Festival are a chance to correct common misconceptions about Native Americans.
“Like an example — (makes whooping sound). And I’ve never heard a native person do that at a ceremony or any of our dances in the longhouse. But where did that come from? I don’t know.”
“Our people feel that we must understand each other. The native and the non-natives understand one another and accept each other and that way we can get along a whole lot better and not to force one or the other into anything they don’t really want.”
Jim Sky passed away this year. His life’s work will be honored at the Iroquois Festival, held Labor Day weekend at the Iroquois Indian Museum in Howes Cave, New York. Pulse of the Planet is presented by DuPont, bringing you the miracles of science, with additional support provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Iroquois: Jim Sky
This weekend's Iroquois Festival in upstate New York will commemorate Jim Sky, a man who devoted his life to preserving Native American traditions.
Air Date:08/30/2000
Scientist:
Transcript:
music: Friendship Dance
We're listening to the music of an Iroquois social dance -- a sound that will fill the air in coming days at the annual Iroquois Festival in upstate New York. I'm Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by DuPont. Jim Sky was a faith keeper of the Onondaga longhouse at Six Nations in Southern Ontario, the largest community of Iroquois people. Jim led a group of dancers who performed throughout the world. He devoted his life to preserving Iroquois traditions and helping non-Native people understand them.
"Our dances go back a long, long time, prior to the time of what the white man calls the coming of Jesus. We have ceremonies that tell us about that time and beyond. It just tells us that we're native people and this is our land. And we are supposed to be able to roam free on it. And we knew that the white man was coming. Before he ever got here we knew the white man was coming."
For Jim Sky, events such as the Iroquois Festival are a chance to correct common misconceptions about Native Americans.
"Like an example -- (makes whooping sound). And I've never heard a native person do that at a ceremony or any of our dances in the longhouse. But where did that come from? I don't know."
"Our people feel that we must understand each other. The native and the non-natives understand one another and accept each other and that way we can get along a whole lot better and not to force one or the other into anything they don't really want."
Jim Sky passed away this year. His life's work will be honored at the Iroquois Festival, held Labor Day weekend at the Iroquois Indian Museum in Howes Cave, New York. Pulse of the Planet is presented by DuPont, bringing you the miracles of science, with additional support provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities.