HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1965-11-04, Page 9TNS : OD RI H, GNA .STARS : U:R$
War Paint Touch -Up
ostume Adjustments For Dancers
An Appreciation, Of Culture
Eagle Falls To Ground
Indians have finally managed
to push the cowboys from the
top of the youngsters' popularity
polls around . here—and it is all
due to a . .. woman.
Tonto has at last gained a
form of equality with the. Lone
Ranger instead of being relegat-
ed to the minor role of the side-
kick in what were only "B"
class features in the first place.
"Ugh" is the in -word for at
least ten pub]ic students who
can stand up proudfy in tfie coifl-
munity as the first youngsters
here to have learned an auth-
entic Indian. tribal dance.
,,The Goderich Home and
School Association -was the first
group to witness the finished
product as the ten whooping,
howling "red•devils" thrashed
'their way through the "Eagle
Dance" in front of tutor Mrs.
William Craven.
A former worker among the
northern tribes,,Mrs. Craven was
quick to point out she had' a
motive behind her efforts.
"I wanted to give these young-
sters a different perspective a
far as these Irdians were , con-
cerned," she said. "I wanted to
• show them that these people had
a definite culture,"
Better Understanding
She added: ,"I felt that by
introducing these authentic darn
ces it would bring them closer
to a better understanding of the
Indian peoples."
It tpok slightly more than 10
hours of rehearsals before the
Eagle Dance was ready for stag-
ing.
"The boys were tremendously
enthusiastic about the whole
project," said Mrs. Craven, "and
this made it ,so much easier for
all of The
The i ostumei; look as though
they have been torn `directly
from the shoulders of Chief Sit
–tilt-BtrIt lris--bravtes--after-
they demolished Custer.'
In fact they are reality - dowr
to the last feather thanks tc
Mrs.. Craven's knowledge of In-
dian ceremonial costume. Shy
made each individual item, toil-
ing for hours ever the smallest -
details. .
"Getting' turkey feathers was
a problem in itself" said Mrs
Craven. "Wc, had to really as-
senibie all the costumes not tot
long before the show."
The superb eagle costume.
worn by Peter Willis, is a tri-
umph of design and craftsman-
ship.. It took Mrs. Crave/1'a total
if 18 hours to complete this on^
costume.
. Classic• Dance
,The eagle dance its a classic
ceremonial dance which was per-
formed by the. Chippewa tribe
and by others, including the
Crees, with modifications.
"It was a q testion of dancing
after the feast until they drop-
ped from exhaustion," said Mrs.
Craven. "I first saw this done
when, before I was married, 1
worked for one summer at the
Thunder Child Indian reserva-
tion in Saskatchewan." .
She „added: 'The braves kept
up the dancing for literally ,days
as a :demonstration of .their man •
-
hood. It was concluded only
when the last brave collapsed ex-
hausted on the ground."
iia
under Mrs. ' Craven's direction
are now getting ready to per
form the Madonna Dance for a
Christmas show. This dance:was
introduced by the Jesuif Fath-
ers -shortly arter they first
brought Ch,cistianity,to the In.
dians.
"I Vas incorporated with the
eagle dance in an attempt t:i
give the Indians a better under
standing of the Jesuits' work,"
said Mrs. Craven.
Taking part in'this new dance
form are: Kim Arber, Keith .Wil-
liams, David Nephew, Andrew
Harper, Ste lien Williams, Wil-
liam Royal, Peter Willis, Terry.
Kuenzie and Donald'Stovle. Jef-
fery Russell is the "chief" of the
tribe,
Asked how they- felt about
their new roles, they replied:
"Ugh mn, this: is .great."
"But mother, do I Always have
to ,play ,the cowboy?"
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