HISTORIC RETURN
Native American festival resumes after year break
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.» The Saratoga Native American Festival returned Sunday after a one-year break, this time through a partnership with the National Museum of Dance.
“This venue is absolutely beautiful,” said Joe Bruchac, who helped organize the event. “Having it indoors is important because, in previous years, we’ve sometimes lost an entire day with torrential rain or cold weather, so we’d have 5,000 people come one day and 400 come the next. It really give us an opportunity to, rain or shine, have a very successful event.”
The festival was full of different activities, ranging from storytelling to songs performed in the Mohawk language.
“The Saratoga Native American Festival is an opportunity to share with the community native culture in a positive and sort of friendly way,” said Bruchac, “giving people a chance to share in traditional foods, to see people involved in crafts and arts, to see dance and music and to really have an opportunity to share that which is part of our very old heritage on this continent.”
Mohawk elder and historic interpreter Tom Porter provided the Opening Address, a custom to commence Native American festival. Porter explained his grandmother always said everybody should smile at least three times a day, drawing plenty of smiles from the crowd during his nearly 40-minute presentation.
Al Cleveland performed using a variety of flutes throughout the day, while dancers and singers offered their own interpretations of their native culture. There were also performances in the Black Box Theater, including a screening of a recently completed documentary about the Standoff at Standing Rock created by Oscar-nominated director Fidel Moreno.
Perry Ground provided Iroquois storytelling, while Kay Olan offered Mohawk storytelling, and the Onondaga Dancers and Black Hawk Singers entertained guests throughout the afternoon.