1984 Festival Ofamerican Folklife

1984 Festival ofAmerican Folklife S .mî^%h ÎM (*f»i ** f/*A m F f Smithsonian Institution National Park Service The Eskimo blanket toss is a popular e\ent at such celebrations as the annual Eskimo Indian Olympics. This scene is only one ofthirt\-two in the repertoire of Eva Heffle, an Inupiaq Eskimo originally from Kolzebue. Her dolls have wooden faces with painted features, seed bead eyes and sheep skin or s>nthetic hair. Their bodies are of cloth; costumes are made from both animal skins and man made fabrics such as corduroy or calico. The blanket is from walrus hide. Photo Courtesy Alaska State Council on the Arts/Photo by Chris Arend A portion of Ethel Mohamed's embroidered tapestry of the 1976 Festival of American FoUdife. Ethel Mohamed is a traditional needleworker from Beb.oni, Mississippi. She learned the art of embroider^' from her motlier when she was a young girl. Her brightly cok)red embroideries recount tlie saga of her own family and commu nity. This particular work represents Mrs. Mohamed's memones C)f the 1976 Festival of American Folklife. Photo by Al Herold 1984 Festival of American Folklife Smithsonian Institution National Park Service June 27-Julyl, July 4-8 This Year at the Festival by Diana Parker and Peter Seitel Festival Co-Directors Each year brint^s talented new panicipants to the Festival ot American Foikiite. It is indeed foitunate for the Smithsonian, but even more fortu- nate f( )r I )Lir Nati( )n as a whc )le. that traditii )nal culture still sunives and e\ en thriv es in places, and that S( )nie ( )f its i-)ractiti< >ners are teener* )us and l~)ra\e en( lu.^h ti > ci )me t( > W'ashingtc )n \o demc )nstrate and perfc )rm their CLiltuial le,L;ac\ bel( )re nati( )nal audiences. E\eiy year these keepers of traditic )n k nnv u ) speak with their own \( )ices under the aegis of our National Museum. We are honored by their presence and grateful to them t( )r maintaining, t )lten in the face of powerful totalizing forces, a cultural ani.1 aesthetic iic hne.ss ( )n ( )ur planet. This yeai" marks a change in Festival administration, noteworthy not because ( >ran\ change in goals or policies, but becau.se the transition gi\es us ( )pp< )rtunit\ t( > remember publicK that it was Ralph Rinzler who began the Festival in I9(r and directed it until la.st year when he became the Institutii )n's /Vssi.stLint Secretarx' for Public .Senice. Ralph devised the m( lelel f( )r seJK )larly research, planning and production that has made the Festival uniciue and vvorthv' of continued support by the histitution and of emulation iiy other folklife festival planners art)und the Nation. He also created an environment in which innovation has been enouraged, and cro.ssdertilization of ideas has led to healthy growth. This .steady devel- ( )pmeni in the cultural ideas presented in our free, outdoor, festive, educational entertainment has happened under Ralph Rinzler's careful supenision and w ith his guidance at important turning points. In future vears, be assured, the same goals will continue to inform the Festival pn jjeci, ik it ( mly because we remain committed to them, but al.sc ) because Mr. Rinzler remains our boss in the Smithsonian admin- istrative structLire. We hope to continue to benefit from his guidance and encouragement. 1 Contents Festival of American Folklife Program Book 2 Tills Year at the Festivalhy Diana Parker and Peter Seitel, Festival Smithsonian Institution © 1984 Co- Directors Editor: Thomas Vennum Designer: Daphne Shuttleworth 4 lloe Value ofCoiitiuuityhy S. Dillon Ripley, Secretan; Smithsonian Assistant Designer: Linda McKnight Institution Coordinator: Arlene Liebenaii Design and Prodtiction: Joan Wolhier 5 OurAmerican Cultural Heritageby Russell E. Dickenson, Director, Typesetter: Harlowe Typography Inc. National Park Service Printer: The .^n Litho Comp;iny 6 Alaska 's Rich Lode ofOccupational Folklife by Peter Seitel, Festi\'al Co-Director lU Adaptatio)! and finioratio?! in llingit a>id Llaida Salmon Fisheriesby Ste\eJ. Langdon 15 S»ioking and Curing Fish in Alaska, Norwegian Stylehy Charles W. Sniythe IS Grandmotherly Knowledge, Grandfathcrly Knowledge: .-Maska's Tradi lio)ial Natit v Arts by Suzi Jc )nes 22 )upik Den icinghy Ann Fienup Riordan 2S Alaska Native Oral Tradition by Nora and Richard Dauenhauer 28 FolkAris and the Flderlyhy Bess U )m;L\ 1 lawes 32 All ofLife's a Stage: Tlx Aesthetics ofLife Ret 'ieirhy Maiy Huff< ird 56 Life Not Death in \ enice: Tl.ie Israel Let in Center Project b\' Barbara M\'erhort 39 Black American Urban Culturehy Bernice Reagon ^43 Street Dancing Rapping" a?id DJ Mixing: Traditional African- American Performance and Contemporar)> Urban Culture by LeeEllen Friedland 46 Black Philadelphia A Photo Essay by Roland Freeman 48 Foodivays in a Festival Settingby Charles Camp S Co)iti)}uity a)}d Tradition in Foodivaysby yrAn Nathan S-( Fi 'olution of the Southern Potting Tradition b\- Nanc)' Sweez\' The Value of Continuity by S. DlUon Ripley Secretary, Smithsonian Institution The 1984 Festi\-al of American Folklit'e is especially significant for the Smithsonian and, I might aeld, pleasing to me, hecairse it brings \ibrant representatixes of cnltiires with which the Institution has a special affinity. From Alaska come natixe pec )ples whi )se rich traditions have been our concern even before the founding of the Bureau ofAmerican Ethnology in 1879. For more than a centur\', the Institution has de\'Oted a large part of its scholarly effon to the documentation and preser\'ation of the deep aiul varied cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. To the keepers ( )f these imp( )nant traditic )ns I bid welcome and extend our gratitude for shiiring with us your skills and knowledge. Also from Alaska come representati\'es of occupations whose labor and cultural expression ha\e shaped that State in a profound way. Smithsonian in\ ( )l\ement with occupatii )nal culture goes hack to the mar\-elous accom- plishments of industn- exhibited in i )ur mu.seums, bulk by workers whose minels, hands and e\es inherited a cultural legacy from their fellow craftsmen. More direct inxoKement with the histcMA- and culture of work came with the Institution's Festi\'al of American Folklife, which since 1967 has presented folklife demonstrations and performances from over 60 ( Kcupatic )nal gn )ups. The Nati( )nal Museum of American Hfstoiy has also recently taken direct steps to include the hist( )r\- ( >f W( )rking people among its .steely monuments of their indu.stn-. That .Museum is als( > h( )me f( )r a research unit which documents aiK )ther .\merican cultural gn )up represented at this year's Festival. The Festival presentation (^f Black American expressive culture from Philadel- phia is reflected in the Program in Black American Culture in the National .Museum of.\merican Histt)r\-. The evanescent Festival presentations, which have featured Black American folklife since 1967, tc\gether with the permanent Museum program, attest to the importance the Smith.sonian attatiies to this a.spect of American culture. The abiding Institutional c( )mmitmcnt i< > participants of the Festival pyt )gram "The Grand Generation: Folklore and Aging" is, in a sense, phil( ),s( )phical in nature. 'VCe honor these elder craftsmen, performers, (.( )( )ks and st( )r\tellers W ir maintaining the traditi< ms that keep us in touch with our CLiltural foundations. This core of aesthetic and moral values helps to order and give meaning to our lives. "^X'e feel the conseivation u lie < )f these elders — the preserving and passing down of our heritage — is much the same as that of the Smitlrsc >nian. We welcome and < iffer ( )ur respect ti ) these elder keepers of tradition, and al.sc > to Alaskans and Philadelphians, as one conseivaticMi organization It ) aiK )ther. ) Our American Cultural Heritage by Russell E. Dickenson, Director, National Park Service The Nati( )nal Park Scnice \\elc( Jincs y( )U tc ) the annual Festival of American Fc^lklite. We are pleased to co-sponsor \\'ith the Smithsonian Institution this celebration of otir nation's heritage. The Festival site is the National Mall, which is administered b\- the National Park Senice. The Mall is administered by the Natii )nal Park Serxice; it is particularly significant that the Festixal is held on such lands, as National Parks are set aside to pro\-ide a full representatic )n ( )f the American stoiy and to relate the achie\'ements, customs and cultures of its people. The Festi\-al ser\-es this puipose, telling the American st( )1a thn )i.igh music, crafts and celebrations. The National Mall was set aside m 1~90 under the L'Enfant Plan for the cit\ ofWashington. Extending from the Capitol lo the Washington Monu- ment, the Mall compnses l-rb acres aiul is b( )rdered by dynamic monuments, memorials and magnificent museums and art galleries which pay tribute to /unerica's place in the arts, sciences and histon-, and reflect the cumulatiw genius of its people. Among the more than 330 areas in the National Park system, the Alaska parks include .some of the newest and the oldest and certainly .some of the most spectacular parks. In additi( )n t( > presening their natural beauU', the Alaska parks also con.sene much of the.\laskan natixe lifest\1e related to fishing and other sub.sistence occupations. Many of these traditions from tile state i if Alaska and the c( )ntributi( )ns its nati\e peoples ha\e made t( America will be .seen (Mi the Nati( inal .Mall as you \isit this year's Festix'al. We liope\()ur\i.sit will be enji )\able aiul will include a tew moments to lârtake ( A tlie natural beaiitx fi luixl in the park.s ( il ( lur Nati( )n's Capital.

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