It’s here! The trailer for the exciting animated and live-action film, “Iroquois Creation Story” is making the rounds. The full 17-minute version is being screened for entry into film festivals, and will be shown at the new Orientation Theater of the Seneca Art and Culture Center at Ganondagan Historic Site in Victor NY, this October 2015. On permanent exhibit there, “Iroquois Creation Story” will be shown to thousands of visitors at the Historic Site, the location of a 17th century Seneca village. And it’s being entered into several film festivals as well. I hear that in about a year’s time, a commercial DVD or Blu-ray may become available for purchase by the general public. I can hardly wait!

Film Description

Helping to tell the cinematic story are traditional Iroquois Social Dancers, Garth Fagan Dancers with narration by Grammy winning singer-songwriter Joanne Shenandoah, voice overs by Haudenosaunee actors, and original artwork by G. Peter Jemison. The music combines traditional Haudenosaunee singers and original music by composer Brent Michael Davids. The animation team was lead by Cathleen Ashworth of Rochester Institute of Technology.

This film's story is based on Seneca Chief John Arthur Gibson’s account, later annotated by Seneca John Mohawk. According to oral tradition, far above earth in Sky World, the Great Celestial Tree providing light and food for the Sky World inhabitants begins to fade. The keeper of the tree dreams that the people uproot the Great Tree, renewing their world. When the Great Tree is uprooted, a large hole is produced through which a young pregnant woman falls, landing on the back of a turtle. A new world, Turtle Island, is created. Eventually, Sky Woman's grandsons, twins Flint and Sky Holder, create everything on the earth and then battle for control.

“Zuni Sunrise Song” is the third movement of my suite Native American Suite published by earthsongs, that features an SATB chorus, with flute, and birds. If available, I sometimes perform the flute part on my quartz crystal flute, and I bring along my self-made “bird roars” for the chorus to spin in the air. The twirling devices imitate the chirping sound of birds. The 3rd movement, especially, has been making the rounds at several choral convensions and festivals, but it’s never been performed at this special venue — the King Oscar’s church in Sweden!

If you, by chance, happen to be in Sweden later this month, you might be able to catch talented conductor Rebecca Kenneally leading the chorus on Sunday, September 27, at 4 PM in their rendition of “Zuni Sunrise Song” inside Oscar’s church in Stockholm. The musical director of Oscar’s church, Pär Olofsson, emailed to say how much the chorus has enjoyed singing the work. Thank you to maestros Kenneally and Olofsson, and the chorus, for bringing the Sunrise Song to life in Sweden!

I have some cool and unexpected news!  A "Lifetime Achievement Award" is being given to me by the Indian Summer Music Awards!

Thank you to the Indian Summer Festival for honoring me with an ISMA 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award, this Saturday (Sep. 12) in Milwaukee. And I especially thank the many friends, relatives, and colleagues supporting me throughout the years! To you I offer a very, very big Thank you!

By chance, if you happen to be at the festival for the 3 PM Award Presentation on Saturday, please come by and say hello! I'm doing a solo presentation, and probably performing a bit on my flutes, the following afternoon at 2 PM (Sunday, Sep. 13) as well. Do come by if you're around!

When Dorothy Winona Davids, affectionately known as “Dot,” passed away at the age of 91, she left behind a huge hole in the lives of everyone who knew her. An amazing person, a consummate teacher, a caring friend, Dot was a fighter for justice, and was often driving to one protest or another. In her travels, as well as inside her home “retreat center,” Dot recorded and collected all sorts of our Mohican history. On her cassette and reel-to-reel recorders, she captured for posterity a number of special tribal council meetings, American Indian radio programs, the voices of Mohican elders, and community renditions of vocal and instrumental music. And, I never imagined I’d be the one going through her collection, but I am!

I’m proud to announce that the Doodlebug Music Studio has won a bid to digitize her entire collection. Her collection contains almost 50 recordings, and once digitized will be available to all, beginning in October 2015, at our Arvid E. Miller Library Museum! Although I’m only 7 recordings into preparing the full collection, I’ve already experienced some interesting parts of our tribal history.

We still miss Dot, those of us who knew her. But perhaps some of who she was, some of her legacy, will be available to everyone in the form of these recordings. I still remember her typical email sign-off to me (below), and am proud to be working now, in my own small way, to digitally unwrap the lifelong gift of her audio collection for all to experience.