Cherokee Arts & Humanities Council

Possible Projects of 2012

INDIGITRONIC AGE OF THE CHEROKEE
 

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Book Projects:

INDIGITRONIC Publishing House announced the publication of The Anthology of Cherokee Writers Project 2011. A similiar project may be planned for this year.

"Cherokee Writers From the Flint Hills of Oklahoma" - An Anthology of over 200 years of creative word use, including prose, poetry, short stories, essays, and more.  The first publication from the new tribally minded press INDIGITRONIC is scheduled for a Fall 2011 release.  This unique and one-of-a-kind collection will include art work by Hillary Glass, Roy Boney, Jr., America Meredeth, and others; and, writers such as Robert J. Conley, Sequoyah Guess, Amanda Kay Ray, Debra Grayson, Dan Agent, Karen Coody-Cooper, Candessa Teehee, and many more.  The collection also includes historical works by Cherokee authors such as John Lynch Adair, Rachell Caroline Eaton, Maggie Culver Fry, Narcissa Chisholm Owen, W. Wilson Rawls, R. Lynn Riggs, William Penn Adair Rogers, John Rollin Ridge, William Potter Ross, and more.  To make pre-orders of this book USE THE BUY NOW BUTTON BELOW, but before August 30, 2011. Book cost is $25. per book plus shipping and may be ordered at the CAHC WEBSTORE.

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Another poject 2012:

    Developed and managed by the Cherokee Arts & Humanities Council, in partnership with project director and photographer, Conni Leeds, the aim of this project is “to raise awareness of the Cherokee life experiences to residents and persons all around the United States," and to serve as an archival record of Cherokee lifeways.

An intensive three month consultation process with community groups identified through an idea to “take Art’s rural” touring network, produced unexpected results. While anticipated hard issues, like poverty and poor public communication links in the Nation, were mentioned, the most frequently expressed concerns were much more personal.

"Who lives over there?" and "I don't know my own neighbors anymore"

"The disappearance of language" and "I want more information about Cherokee issues"

    In response to this exercise, The CAHC devised a two year rolling program of an arts and humanities project.  This project may interweave with other ongoing projects.

The breginning of this project, Echoes of Our People, employees’ community artists, a digital image maker/photographer and a storyteller, to work together in Cherokee communities – Kenwood, Bell, Greasy, Cherry Tree, etc.

The first of our briefings was to facilitate community members to identify and photograph elders in their communities that were important to them. These images, the most important part of Cherokee culture, traditional lifeways and community cohesiveness will be made into a collection and published as a book or volume of books. These books would now have pride of place in community buildings, schools and churches throughout the Cherokee Nation and beyond.  Some of the photographs would be blown-up to poster size and given to local Cherokee community buildings.

We would work with communities to research local myths and legends and facilitate the creative writing of their own village/community stories. (Example here)

These stories, together with images from the photographic project, would be made into a book and CD, told and recorded in the distinctive but vanishing (but, preserving is possible) Cherokee dialect of each community, and in English.  Stories of youth, changes in community, legends, people past, geographic name changes or places, issues import to the participants and more would be included with each photograph.

Words and images from the community projects would also be used to enhance and personalize information points, constructed using the photographic images, and designed by artist.

An expected result of this project is a promenade performance in Tahlequah where all the stories are told and the photographs displayed. A large number of people are anticipated attending and with the local media coverage and subsequent PR for the CAHC the project would be significant.

further information

The second stage of this ambitious, rolling program would start in 2012 as part of The Cherokee Lifelines Project, a celebration of the distinctive Cherokee culture among traditionalist.

Community arts projects are a great way to undertake informal consultation. They provide a sociable, relaxed setting for community members to get to know neighbors better and make new friends. Projects normally reflect local issues and priorities and arise out of informal discussion. Throughout these issues are fed back to provide creative and emotional input and response into more formal community management plans.  The CAHC will involve members in community organizations for the purpose of discussion of Cherokee traditional lifeways and their importance to the community, and how they are manifested, taught and lived.

A program of arts activities in a number of communities throughout the Cherokee Nation also presents a great opportunity to make links between communities and raise awareness of the  landscape they inhabit, the values they share, their cohesiveness as a Cherokee people and create opportunities to share their ideas, knowledge or abilities with other communities. This includes promoting greater understanding of the aims and work of the humanities focus of the CAHC.

This would be a second volume of a photography book with essays which are primarily centered on Cherokee communities and traditional life patterns, and the leaders in those communities - focused on what they believe to be the most important components of their community and why they are important to them and their neighbors.

Expense BUDGET 2011: (This does not reflect in-kind or donated)

IDC………………......0…..…….$ 645.00

TOTAL Cost   =   $5,945.00

To help support this project and receive a free copy upon publication you may use the handy online donation link below.

We are a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. Contributions to us are tax deductible.

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MUSIC PROJECT:

On-going Proposal to produce the first Cherokee language contemporary music CD

Contact: Roy Hamilton, Matt Mason, Tim Philly

INTRODUCTION

The Making of  “Breaking the Sound Barrier” (Label Indigitronic)

   This is a concept album/website conceived one summer day while listening to a friend singing a metal/rock song he translated to the Cherokee language.  I had been thinking about the concept of internet media and the modes of distribution people have used to get their music “out there”.  I knew that most people who made copyleft content would often release their music on their website or blog, but I had never heard of anyone posting their music as well as doing a local release that not only promoted their album, but the processes by which it was being distributed.  With this information in my head, I called my one musician friend who I knew would totally dig releasing some internet music and would also be excited about breaking into a local market, Matt Mason.  copyleft: /kop'ee-left/ [play on ‘copyright’] n. 1. The copyright notice (‘General Public License’) carried by GNU EMACS and other Free Software Foundation software, granting reuse and reproduction rights to all comers (but see also General Public Virus). 2. By extension, any copyright notice intended to achieve similar aims.

   The CAHC totally bought in and we decided to work with tracks Matt had already created with various software, and others who had original lyrics, lyrics already copyrighted and willing to allow their recording in Cherokee.  I then conveyed the idea to others and we decided we would host a page where listeners could download the album and we would also solicit local record stores to allow us to stock the album.  We arranged a meeting between Matt Mason, Roy Boney, Jr, Joseph Erb, and Robby Robinson in my office where we decided on the specifics of the project such as implementing a shoe-string budget towards the physical goods and who would be in charge of various duties (i.e. producing, album mastering, funding, Art Direction and so forth).

   After more meetings and discussions, here is the list of materials we ended up putting into a budget to purchase and use to make the physical CD, more are included in the budget which follows:

Below is a list of hardware we won’t purchase but will use (We already posses or have access to):

We also will use various software to create the website and design layouts for the CD, while we will use Dreamweaver and Photoshop, it should be noted that we could, and will, also use NVU and GIMP, two opensource programs that provide the same tools as Dreamweaver and Photoshop.

The responsibilities of each position ended up being divided as follows, while there may be tweaks for our project, these would seem to work well for us:

It should also be noted that some people will fill multiple positions. Getting friends who know the position well is always a plus. Another thing to think about when putting our team together is artistic differences and personality traits of each person involved so that we have a "cohesive" group of individuals that when working together exceeded their own capabilities.

Overall the project is anticipated to take two months (2 months), however the result will be the first contemporary Cherokee language CD for and by young people, and everyone seems to like the ability to go to the local store and pick up a copy of the album in its "limited edition" physical form, as well as be able to download the album off the web. It also should bring awareness to the local record stores and the local radio station about Cherokee youth and their unique interest in their own culture and their way of expressing that in modern times and educate many about the new ways in which media is being distributed and released.

A U-Tube presence will be utilized.  The end product will be sold in Cherokee Nation Gift Shops, and CHC Museum Store, on the internet and at local events.  The artist will be photographed for the website, and perhaps a video featuring all artist will be produced to accompany the CD release, the website and for promotional purposes.

Four tips to help stay on track with recording budget:

1) Have Your Songs Finished

Before you even take time to look at a recording studio, to record your next CD, make sure you know exactly which songs you want to record. All of them need to be 100% finished. This not only includes the melodies and lyrics, but the entire arrangement of each song. If you have any alternate ideas, make sure that they are completely planned out. Once they are recorded, these alternate ideas can be edited rather easily in today's hard disk recording formats.  We will utilize Cherokee speakers to insure accurate translations and the use of original songs.  All songs will be primarily in the Cherokee language.  The music tracks may be pre-recorded and produced primarily by Matt Mason.

2) Scratch Tracks

Mr. Mason, in charge of recordings, may want to take some time to make some basic "scratch tracks". If we are able to work in the same recording software environment, to be determined, such as Pro Tools LE, it will be a very simple transition to move into the full recording setup (in this case Pro Tools HD).  Matt has the necessary equipment for full recording.

Start with a click track, to make the future editing process easier. Make note of the tempo. Lay down your guide tracks in time with the click track and listen to them to confirm that everything makes sense. Upon entering the recording studio, be sure to have all of your tracks loaded up as a guide from which to record and construct the final product.

3) Lead Sheets

It may help the producer and recording engineer, as well as everyone else working on the recordings, if you take the time to prepare lead sheets for each of the songs. Lead sheets will give you an overall perspective of how the songs are going to work and make the recording process faster and easier.

4) Signature Licks and Solos

This is really the only part of the "creative process" that you may want to save for when you are in the recording studio. Having a general idea of what you want, will save you time, but in many cases the best of your ideas may flow while doing the actual recording. Just keep in mind that the more prepared you are the better.

Follow these 4 quick tips and you'll be sure that you any overages in your recording budget will be minimized. Just make sure that no matter how much you spend, that the process remains fun and rewarding! The music that comes out of well prepared and enjoyable sessions can often end up being the greatest recordings of your musical life.  The producer will be the CAHC.  These are our guidelines for recording the CD.

Pro Tools Free

Pro Tools Free is a limited version of Digidesign’s flagship music production software, supplying up to 8 audio tracks and support for included and third party plug-ins. We will investigate the used of PT Free for professional audio editing jobs, including dialog assembly for animation and sound effects creation.  It can also be used just for fun with some music production.

This software offers enough pro-level editing features to make novice to intermediate users happy, but the limits are frustrating enough, once you know what you are doing, to make you want to step up to a full version. Fortunately, PT Free doesn’t require any special hardware to use, and there are both Mac and Windows-compatible versions.

Several audio interfaces are on the market already, and come bundled with software that may work for this project.

BUDGET:

Project Funding w/Video Requested:   $5,312.00

SUMMARY:

Many Cherokee young people between the ages of 15-25, living in the Cherokee Nation, being Cherokee Nation citizens, will participate in new music-making experiences through this program - either as a direct participating artist, musician, or as one who appreciates the opportunity to hear their generation of music in the Cherokee language.  We hope to share this CD, free of charge, with many young people.

When Funded for youth music and produced by a CAHC Performance Company, Breaking the Sound Barrier (or other title) will deliver many different musical opportunities, including workshops, concerts and studio recordings as the CAHC plans to include as many youth as possible in the production.  The final outcome of this project will produce a concert for everyone, a CD for distribution both free of charge and at $10 each, and the experience of studio recording for 10 or more Cherokee youth.

The CD will also be a tool to further the advancement of the preservation, use and expansion of the Cherokee language into this generation or perhaps the next.

This project has the potential to bring together bedroom guitarists, garage bands and classically trained musicians to compose and perform new music, resulting in many new friendships and collaborations as well as increased skills and confidence.

This compilation of musical artist also has the potential to travel to area schools, perform their music, and expand the use and appreciation of the Cherokee langue to a new generation.

Finally the project will deliver training, mentoring and professional development opportunities for staff and volunteers attached to the project.

This project could also be promoted during INDIGITRONIC, the digital media festival.

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We are a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. Contributions to us are tax deductible.

To make a donation dedicated to this project only, a restricted donation, click on the PayPal icon below: Wado!

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FESTIVAL PROJECT:

Proposal for First Annual INDIGITRONIC

Digital Media Event/Festival

Event planners:

From the Cherokee Arts & Humanities Council:
Roy Hamilton, Joseph Erb, Roy Boney, Jr., Matt Mason, Dawni Squirrel-Mackey.

Contact: Roy Hamilton
(918) 696-8334; gwytutsi@yahoo.com; P.O. Box 594, Park Hill, OK  74451  www.cherokeeculture.org

In partnership with:

Overview
The scope of the first annual Indigitronic will be a 1 - 2 day(s) of workshops and subject speakers.  The majority of speakers on multiple subjects will be held through web chatting to keep with the theme/idea of using technology, so we can have experts from various disciplines as it relates to the combination of technology/art/indigenous identity talk about their knowledge, values, projects, etc.

The entire event will be kicked off by a cross cultural/cross continental web streamed presentation.
This could be anything such as a prayer/dance from the Eastern Band or maybe a blessing from a Hawaiian elder, for example.  There could also be an evening event such as a free concert for attendee.   Indigitronic could also be closed in a similar way.

The workshops will be focused on how to use digital technology for educational and artistic expression.

As part of the experience, presenters will hold classes to teach those interested in various digital disciplines such as digital design, animation, video, photography, etc. with a strong focus on Open Source software. 
(A discussion of what Open Source is can be read here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source). 
As such, several pieces of free software will be included on the Flash Drives and freely distributed to workshop attendees.  This will foster and further develop the interest and ability of people to make software after the workshops on their computers at home.

As part of the event, an Indigitronic blog/website will be set up for attendees to blog, video blog, and chat live about the event as it occurs.

A special effort will be made to inform, include, and bring area students to the one to two day event through special invitations to schools through the Education department of the Cherokee Heritage Center, Tonia Hogner-Weavel’s contacts.  She has an average of about 900 students attend her annual Cherokee Days.

We would also like to incorporate the Cherokee Artist Association (CAA) by asking one of their officers or members to present a discussion on Cherokee art during this event (America Meredith recently finished a fellowship on history of Cherokee art with the Smithsonian, Museum of the American Indian. If not in person as a guest speaker we could stream this as a live event from AIAI, Santa Fe, as per out theme).

Budget:

Funding notes/narrative:

Keynote Speaker – Apple Representative
Web design/development
Video Camera

Matt Mason, Roy Boney, Jr., and Joseph Erb think they can get a better deal
Flash Drives (for example of what this, http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=1500341)

We are a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. Contributions to us are tax deductible.

For this project only donate here:

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THEATER:

Cherokee National Theatre Company

Proposal One:

Goals:

Minimal production cost.

Is mobile and can be performed anywhere, anytime.  The script will be written in venues and can be performed in scenes.

Likely source for arts and humanities funding.

A collaboration, partnering with the CAHC, furthering both organizations missions to promote, preserve and educate.

The possibility to move away from contracting others to produce the Summer Performance.

Suggested Shows

Thursday evenings from June to mid-August
Receptions
Special Events
Schools
Cherokee Holiday

Summer
Draft Planning Budget

Set Production:

· Rear Projection screen $1,000

· Rear Projection screen frame     $500

· Media consult and B roll     $1,000

· Cordless microphones   $600

Contracted Fees:

Actors fees 12 shows @ $150 x 2 actors   $3,600.00

Tech services 12 shows @ $150   $1,800.00

Show Staff:

· House Manager

o   12 shows @ 3 hours @ $15    $540.00

· Box Office

o   12 shows @ 4 hours @ $10 x 2    $960.00

Costuming and Set:
Costuming     $300.00

Stools (2 @ $150) $300.00

Planning Dinners/writers/script building:  $100 x 4 = $400.00

Staff Costs:

(CAHC will work as volunteers w/no charge)

· Pre-production planning     $1,600.00

   (Ed. Director 80 hours @ $20)

· Maintenance 12 shows @ 3 hours @$15.00   =    $540.00*

· Reservations/Tickets    Cost unknown*

· Marketing Cost =   Executive Director’s Discretion*

Total Budget Cost =     $13,140.00

Show Cost minus cost share/staff time $11,000

IDC at 15 %---------------------------------------   $1,650

Total Request For Funding= ………............  $12,650.00

(*Shared cost)

We are a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. Contributions to us are tax deductible.

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Proposal Two:

Didahnesesgi

A Rock/Techno Musical in the Cherokee language.... The summer of 1965, Raincrow is 13, living in the most remote, rural Cherokee Nation.

  The Didahnesesgi [ a techno/rock song arranged by Matt Mason, sung by Tim Philley]

Summary:  It's about a boy, 12 or 13, who lives in the rural Cherokee Nation in about 1965, and one day a peddler comes through named Mr. Thunder.  Thunder is evil, a Ravenmocker, taking lives in the small Cherokee village before they should have ended.  The Cherokee boy, to be named, but thinking Raincrow or Snowbird (bird clan) has to use conjuring he learns from an old Cherokee Woman, The Conjurer or Didahnesgi, and together they save the Nation and the world- In an hour and 15 minutes.

Cast:

Raincrow

Mr. Thunder

DiDidahnesgi

Feather

Eji

Chours

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We are a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. Contributions to us are tax deductible.

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Project -
Art In This Nation:

   A collaboration in multimedia arts & humanities. The empowerment of any Nation should include the children of that Nation. That empowerment must present the possibilites of life, of balance and place of belonging among our people and in the world, and the realization that one is an important number. One, just one individual, must take that first step, whatever it might be, to begin a process of cultural survival, and to know for certain that it is each of us, every individual, that makes the Cherokee Nation the Great Nation it is and has been for thousands of years. It is NOT a governement without people, it is a people with government. In 2012 the INDIGITROIC process will include a multimedia installation that introduces the participant, not just a viewer of art, to their importance in the Cherokee world. This is the story of our lives, our Cherokee lives, the value, the worth, the faith and the knowledge that our people are important, and the most important person is that child looking at us, listening to us, and being born the Cherokee of a new generation:

This is the Age of GaduWaGi!

Welcome to the most dynamic, interactive, sensory experience ever presented to the public, in the Cherokee Nation, by Cherokee people.