Post by blackcrowheart on Oct 17, 2006 14:08:11 GMT -5
[http://www.eurekareporter.com/Pictures/200610130318.jpg]
Submitted
photo/
April Lea Go Forth Thoz Womenz, a Native American women's
drum group. Pictured from left are Christi Schmidt, Kandi
Maxwell-Powell, Lisa Craig-Villarreal and April Lea Go Forth.
Laughing, listening to culture by Wendy Butler, 10/13/2006
You've got to be able to laugh.
So says Seminole/Menominee Indian comedian Mitch Factor.
"It was a way of healing for me because we grew up real poor in
Oklahoma," he said during a phone interview from his Seattle, Wash.,
home. "The way we dealt with things was in humor."
Factor is one of several performers who will take the stage for the
Wiyot Sacred Site Fund's fifth annual Native American Performance.
Other performers will be Anishinabe singer-songwriter Keith Secola; the
Hoopa-based Merv George Band; Bartow and the Stray Dogs, featuring Wiyot
tribal member and mixed-media artist Rick Bartow; and women's drum
group Thoz Womenz.
The Sacred Site Fund is a nonprofit organization created by the Wiyot
Tribe to reacquire and environmentally and culturally restore Wiyot
sacred sites. One such place is Indian Island in Humboldt Bay.
Factor said that he shared a penchant for humor with others, while
growing up in "Indian country."
"It's a daily way of life," he said. "I think
there's a time that we are serious, when we deal with issues;
outside of that, everything is humorous."
Factor said he recalls a pivotal moment in his life that led him to want
to perform.
He was watching television and comedians Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
were on.
"Everyone looked happy and I thought, man, I knew that's what I
wanted to do," Factor said. "Regardless of what I have done, I
(have) had that focus on humor."
Factor said that he performs what he refers to as "Indian
comedy." He said that means he has an understanding of the daily
life, rather than someone attempting to look into another culture
without a true connection to it, such as a non-native attempting to
write Indian comedy.
Factor has three children. He also has a background in Indian Head
Start, serving as a teacher and education manager for the program.
He said he wasn't raised with a focused understanding of his
cultural roots, but he was given "strength," which is what he
wants to impart to youth.
"I wanted to give them so much strength to live their lives on the
reservation and off the reservation," he said.
April Lea Go Forth, eastern-band Cherokee � A Ni Yv Wi Ya � also
shares a goal of being a mentor to young people. She does so through her
women's drum group Thoz Womenz.
She said that she hopes to demonstrate by example, "and through the
values of the drum, a healthy lifestyle."
"It's important that our young people have a way to demonstrate
healthy practices and for them to see those healthy choices
modeled," Go Forth said during a phone interview from her home in
Alturas.
Thoz Womenz formed in 2003. She said the inspiration was that she was an
adviser at the Resources for Indian Student Education and
"carried" a youth drum "Rising Nationals" for the youth
of her center.
Several women knew the songs that the youth were singing, and so they
decided they would like to sing with them.
"Yes, we do want to have women's drum � to mentor our youth
and to sing the songs for communities and family," Go Forth said.
Thoz Womenz members include Kandi Maxwell-Powell, Lisa Craig-Villarreal,
Christi Schmidt and newcomer, 14-year-old Victoria Gardner.
"We do not compete," Go Forth said. "Our songs are
language-based. We sing only songs that have been gifted to us or that
are original.
"They are called `catching' songs."
Go Forth composes the drum rhythms and words for her ensemble. The songs
are sung in her nation's language.
"Our songs have always come to me at the same place, traveling on
the road," she said. "Really, the goal of our songs is language
preservation."
One song example is "Four Directions." The melody, she said, was
"gifted" by Ken Billingsley.
"A four-direction road means balance, so you can't be all
emotion or you can't be all spiritual or you're no earthly
good," Go Forth said.
Submitted
photo/
April Lea Go Forth Thoz Womenz, a Native American women's
drum group. Pictured from left are Christi Schmidt, Kandi
Maxwell-Powell, Lisa Craig-Villarreal and April Lea Go Forth.
Laughing, listening to culture by Wendy Butler, 10/13/2006
You've got to be able to laugh.
So says Seminole/Menominee Indian comedian Mitch Factor.
"It was a way of healing for me because we grew up real poor in
Oklahoma," he said during a phone interview from his Seattle, Wash.,
home. "The way we dealt with things was in humor."
Factor is one of several performers who will take the stage for the
Wiyot Sacred Site Fund's fifth annual Native American Performance.
Other performers will be Anishinabe singer-songwriter Keith Secola; the
Hoopa-based Merv George Band; Bartow and the Stray Dogs, featuring Wiyot
tribal member and mixed-media artist Rick Bartow; and women's drum
group Thoz Womenz.
The Sacred Site Fund is a nonprofit organization created by the Wiyot
Tribe to reacquire and environmentally and culturally restore Wiyot
sacred sites. One such place is Indian Island in Humboldt Bay.
Factor said that he shared a penchant for humor with others, while
growing up in "Indian country."
"It's a daily way of life," he said. "I think
there's a time that we are serious, when we deal with issues;
outside of that, everything is humorous."
Factor said he recalls a pivotal moment in his life that led him to want
to perform.
He was watching television and comedians Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
were on.
"Everyone looked happy and I thought, man, I knew that's what I
wanted to do," Factor said. "Regardless of what I have done, I
(have) had that focus on humor."
Factor said that he performs what he refers to as "Indian
comedy." He said that means he has an understanding of the daily
life, rather than someone attempting to look into another culture
without a true connection to it, such as a non-native attempting to
write Indian comedy.
Factor has three children. He also has a background in Indian Head
Start, serving as a teacher and education manager for the program.
He said he wasn't raised with a focused understanding of his
cultural roots, but he was given "strength," which is what he
wants to impart to youth.
"I wanted to give them so much strength to live their lives on the
reservation and off the reservation," he said.
April Lea Go Forth, eastern-band Cherokee � A Ni Yv Wi Ya � also
shares a goal of being a mentor to young people. She does so through her
women's drum group Thoz Womenz.
She said that she hopes to demonstrate by example, "and through the
values of the drum, a healthy lifestyle."
"It's important that our young people have a way to demonstrate
healthy practices and for them to see those healthy choices
modeled," Go Forth said during a phone interview from her home in
Alturas.
Thoz Womenz formed in 2003. She said the inspiration was that she was an
adviser at the Resources for Indian Student Education and
"carried" a youth drum "Rising Nationals" for the youth
of her center.
Several women knew the songs that the youth were singing, and so they
decided they would like to sing with them.
"Yes, we do want to have women's drum � to mentor our youth
and to sing the songs for communities and family," Go Forth said.
Thoz Womenz members include Kandi Maxwell-Powell, Lisa Craig-Villarreal,
Christi Schmidt and newcomer, 14-year-old Victoria Gardner.
"We do not compete," Go Forth said. "Our songs are
language-based. We sing only songs that have been gifted to us or that
are original.
"They are called `catching' songs."
Go Forth composes the drum rhythms and words for her ensemble. The songs
are sung in her nation's language.
"Our songs have always come to me at the same place, traveling on
the road," she said. "Really, the goal of our songs is language
preservation."
One song example is "Four Directions." The melody, she said, was
"gifted" by Ken Billingsley.
"A four-direction road means balance, so you can't be all
emotion or you can't be all spiritual or you're no earthly
good," Go Forth said.