Old Traditions Still New?
2010 Oklahoma Folklife Festival

The 2010 Oklahoma Folklife Festival was held Saturday, June 19, at the Oklahoma History Center. The Folklife Festival is a great family activity with live music, traditional dance performances, craft demonstrations and more.

Festival Schedule
Performers

10:00 - John Imes

The highland bagpipes are often called the Highland pipes. A player of the pipes is a piper. The instrument is difficult to play and requires concentration on the part of the player. John holds to tradition and wears kilts and other traditional Highlanders dress clothing. John is in demand for weddings, funerals, and also performs in pubs and for festivals.

10:25 - Interview with Peggy Brennan

Peggy's tireless efforts to promote basket weaving among all tribes in Oklahoma and elsewhere is well known coast to coast. She assists and facilitates other tribes to interest new weavers as well as conducts basket weaving workshops.

10:35 - Steve Brainerd

Steve is the Master of Ceremonies for the Festival and performs at 10:35 and at 3:30. Steve will be interviewed at 10:55. A singer and player of banjos, guitars, and other instruments, Steve is retired and lives in Guthrie, OK.

Steve and his father operated the Buddhi Coffee House in downtown Oklahoma City in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The Buddhi was a favorite of many Oklahomans and featured many nationally-known performers.

11:00 - Hutchee Chuppa Indian Baptist Church

Presented by Dr. Hugh Foley, member of Hutchee Chuppa Indian Baptist Church, which has led him to intensive study of, and extreme reverence for, Muscogee (Creek) hymns. Hugh is also the President of the Oklahoma Folklife Council.

The style of hymn singing is "line singing" or Psalm singing. The tradition goes back to the Hebrides Islands of Scotland. In America it was used in chanting in New England hundreds of years ago. Mostly it is found among African-American churches in the American South.

11:45 - Ballet Flamenco Español / Los Niños De España y Mexico

Ballet Flamenco Espanol Folklorico Co. is based in Norman, Oklahoma, under the artistic direction of Pandora Tadefa-Everett, M.A. Pandora was born in London, her mother was from Spain and her father was a member of the US Air Force. She has studied in Mexico and Spain.

The dancers do many of the traditional dances of Mexico as well as Flameco and Gallician dancing from Spain.

12:10 - Amber Vallee

Amber plays an unusual musical instrument: the Anglo concertina. The Anglo concertina plays a different note pushing and pulling. It is a little like a small accordian but most accordians play the same note pushing and pulling on the bellows. Amber learned much of her technique from other traditional players in County Clare while living in Ireland. The instrument is well suited to Celtic dance tunes.

12:30 - Ballet Flamenco Español / Los Niños De España y Mexico

 

12:50 - Russell Cook

Russell has been playing and building hammer dulcimers for more than 30 years. His shop in Bennington, Oklahoma, builds hammer dulcimers, bowed psalteries, and zithers. His instuments are of exceptional high quality in appearance and tone.

Russell is also an exceptional player of the dulcimer. He can be credited with helping the revival of interest in the old instrument which is found around the world.

1:20 - Amber Vallee

1:50 - Victoria Sixkiller Mitchell

Victoria is a Cherokee and daughter of Anna Sixkiller Mitchell. Victoria learned traditional Cherokee coil pottery from her mother.

The clay for the many of Anna's and Victoria's pots came from Anna's yard. This tradition had faded in the early part of the 20th century. Anna deserves credit for helping revive the old way, and Victoria continues to do the same in the 21st century.

2:05 - Long Ben

Lion or Dragon Dancing is an ancient Asian tradition still enjoyed in China, Vietnam, Korea and other places in Asia as well as in most larger cities in America. It is meant to be fun and to bring good luck. Children of all ages laugh and smile at the Lions' dancing. When the whistle blows a fresh group of dancers take over the lion costume. One of the performers will dress in a clown-like suit and wear a mask. He is the "Happy Buddha" who tries to keep the Lions under control using his fan.

Long Ben is the President of the Lion Dance Club of St. Andrews.

2:50 - Kevin Conneywerty

Kevin Conneywerty, Kiowa and Comanche, will perform and explain several styles of traditional dance. Johnny Kimbell, Ponca, will play the hand drum and sing.

PowWow dancing and singing is common in most of America and also in Canada. Most of the traditions associated with the PowWow evolved in the 20th century as American Indian people shared each others' dance and song traditions.

It is the most active and vibrant oral tradition found in Oklahoma. It celebrates each participant, each tribe represented, and welcomes all to enjoy and participate. The "drum" is held in high regard and singers at the drum do their best to sing the old and new songs like they learned them. The PowWow also celebrates patriotism, respect for elders, and young people.

3:50 - Steve Brainerd closes the festival

Craft Demonstrations

Demonstrations will be held throughout the day.

Russell Cook

Russell has been building hammer dulcimers for more than 30 years. His shop is in Bennington, Oklahoma. He builds hammer dulcimers, bowed psalteries, and zithers. His instuments are of exceptional high quality in appearance and tone. He can be credited with helping the revival of interest in the old instrument which is found around the world.

Nick Richardson

Nick has been making mandolins in his garage in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for more than 25 years. Nick is also a woodcarver who makes dancing dolls or limber jacks.

Don Romine

Don Romine has been building guitars for more than 30 years. He also builds plucked dulcimers, ukeleles, and other instruments. He does his own inlay of mother of pearl and abalone. Shown here is the "Tree of Life" style inlay.

Peggy Brennan and the Oklahoma Native American Basketweavers Association

Peggy's tireless efforts to promote basket weaving among all tribes in Oklahoma and elsewhere is well known coast to coast. She assists and facilitates other tribes to interest new weavers and conducts basket weaving workshops.

Members of the Association represent several tribes in Oklahoma. They use buck brush and other traditional materials to make the baskets according to the tradition of their tribal heritage.

Victor Wildcat, Feather Smith, Tracy Settlemeyer, Perry Ummerteskee and Matt Settlemeyer

Demonstrations include: cane flute making, stickball stick making, corn husk or shuck dolls, beadwork, dreamcatchers, and more. Shown in this photo is Hugh Foley, President of the Oklahoma Folklife Council, and Matt Wilson discussing stickball sticks.

Victoria Sixkiller Mitchell, Cherokee Coil Potter

Victoria learned to make coil pots from her mother, Anna Sixkiller Mitchell. She prefers to use traditional designs of the Cherokee and other eastern American natives. Victoria is from Welch, Oklahoma.

Central Oklahoma Woodturners

The members of the group use both modern power tools and some old ways of working wood to make the items shown in the image. Every woodworker would tell you that there is something beautiful inside every tree.

La Puerta de Oro Mexican Paper Crafts

La Puerta de Oro includes: Conception Terrones, Graciela Lopez, Bernadette Martinez, Cheva Guzman, Marilyn Chambers and Anita Martinez. Stop by and make a paper flower to take home with you.

Chester Cowen and Carol Pate

Chester and Carol will demonstrate beading. This is a craft associated with many American Indian tribes. Chester is making some earrings in the image. Both do traditional work but Chester has begun to bead baseball cap bills with colors and designs of his tribal heritage, Choctaw, as well as several others.

Walt and Harriet LaGrone and Steven Brant

All three are very experienced carvers and make a wide variety of wooden objects. Like most other traditions in the 21st century, the carvers have adopted new approaches and held on to many of the old ways, too.

Like the old-timer said, "The horse's head was already in the wood; I just had to cut away the part that didn't belong with it."