We’re at the Iroquois Festival, an annual celebration of music and art , held in upstate New York. I’m Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by DuPont. We’re listening to a group of singers and dancers from the Six Nations Iroquois reserve in southern Ontario — they travel to Howes Cave, New York, every Labor Day weekend to perform in the festival at the Iroquois Indian Museum. Trustee John Ferguson says this is the only museum devoted entirely to the creative traditions of the Iroquois.
“We’re saying, here’s something beautiful. Here’s what Iroquois people who are creative do. They dance, they sing, they create visual arts, they tell stories. ”
The design of the museum itself is true to Iroquois tradition — it’s shaped like the communal building called a longhouse, and its outdoor amphitheater was constructed especially for Iroquois dances.
“The reverberation of the sound, when you stomp your foot out there, that’s created by the architect to have that sound underneath it, that was important when we designed it. It’s circular, so it is a building that celebrates Iroquois culture. ”
The weekend festival is a way for non-Native people to connect with true Iroquois customs.
“You may have a vision of an Indian that’s frozen back in the 1600’s somewhere, they’re dressed in deerskin and so forth. We have a hope that you will meet a modern person, a human being today, you’ll see their art, and you’ll watch their dance and get up and talk with them. You’ll come away a little different then you came. And that’s what it’s all about.”
The Festival takes place this 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. I’m Jim Metzner.
Iroquois: Festival
The annual Iroquois Festival takes place this weekend in upstate New York, at the only museum devoted entirely to Iroquois arts.
Air Date:08/31/2000
Scientist:
Transcript:
music: Alligator Dance
We're at the Iroquois Festival, an annual celebration of music and art , held in upstate New York. I'm Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by DuPont. We're listening to a group of singers and dancers from the Six Nations Iroquois reserve in southern Ontario -- they travel to Howes Cave, New York, every Labor Day weekend to perform in the festival at the Iroquois Indian Museum. Trustee John Ferguson says this is the only museum devoted entirely to the creative traditions of the Iroquois.
"We're saying, here's something beautiful. Here's what Iroquois people who are creative do. They dance, they sing, they create visual arts, they tell stories. "
The design of the museum itself is true to Iroquois tradition -- it's shaped like the communal building called a longhouse, and its outdoor amphitheater was constructed especially for Iroquois dances.
"The reverberation of the sound, when you stomp your foot out there, that's created by the architect to have that sound underneath it, that was important when we designed it. It's circular, so it is a building that celebrates Iroquois culture. "
The weekend festival is a way for non-Native people to connect with true Iroquois customs.
"You may have a vision of an Indian that's frozen back in the 1600's somewhere, they're dressed in deerskin and so forth. We have a hope that you will meet a modern person, a human being today, you'll see their art, and you'll watch their dance and get up and talk with them. You'll come away a little different then you came. And that's what it's all about."
The Festival takes place this 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. I'm Jim Metzner.