FALL 2011/WINTER 2012

ESSAYS

The Returning-the-Gift Festival by Andy Hope

The Returning-the-Gift Festival of North American Native Writers was three years in the planning process, though it had been a popular discussion item in the Native writing community for years. Joe Bruchach (Mohawk) and Maurice Kenney (Mohawk) were the key organizers. A Steering Committee comprised of writers from throughout the continent met four times in the last two years to plan the festival.

The stated purpose of the project was “…to create opportunities for (American Indian) writers to share work and educate Native youth, the Native community and the general public about contemporary Native literature…through formation of a North American Native Writers Association, publication of a Directory of North American Native writers, Outreach Programs in Education and a major festival of Native writers to be held in Norman, Oklahoma in July 1992.” More than 350 Native writers participated in the festival.

Sister Goodwin (my wife) and I flew into Oklahoma City on the evening of July 7. We caught the airport shuttle to Norman and arrived at the University of Oklahoma at 7 PM. We missed the opening banquet and the group picture. Participation in the first two days of the four day conference was by invitation only. We checked into the Sooner House and walked to the Forum Building to take in the first evening festivities.

We listened to Leslie Silko speak in the main auditorium, and like 75% of the audience, left when she finished. I understand the Leslie doesn’t read nowadays; she delivers eco-spiritual, pep-talk sermons. We moved on to readings in the side rooms and met Joy Harjo (Creek), a member of the steering committee, and Simon Ortiz (Acona Pueblo).

On Wednesday afternoon I sat on a Native publishing panel with William Oandasan (Yuki), Greg Young-Ing (Cree), Anna Lee Walters (Navajo), Jose Barreiro (Guajiro). In the evening I participated in the reading at P.O.E.T.S. Café. The M.C. for the reading was a young Okanagan gentleman by the name of Duane Edward Marchand. Duane Edward is editor of the Okanagan tribal newsletter and a former student of Maurice Kenney’s. Duane Edward opened the proceedings with, “Ladies and gentleman, get ready to rumble.” Not original, but appropriate. In the midst of an early morning “informal” workshop session and a propos of nothing, I read Duane Edward excerpts from the journal of Etienne Marchand, the French sea captain that visited Sitka and Southeast Alaska in 1971.

It was an honor to read on the same program with Linda Hogan (Chickasaw), Wend Rose (Hopi-Miwok), Ron Welburn (Conoy) and Alootook Ipellie (Inuit). Rose spoke of the town in which she lives, Coarsegold, California, “just down from Finegold.” This reminded me of an Alaskan throwaway goldrush story. A seven man party was searching for gold on the south side of Turnagin Arm in the Cook Inlet of southcentral Alaska at the turn of the century. They founded a small mining town and named it Hope for my great-grandfather Percy Hope—not to honor his gold-finding abilities, but because he was the youngest member of the crew.

On Thursday I participated in a panel on the formation of a writers organization. My contribution was to suggest that a “Whereas Committee” be appointed to draft recommendations into resolution form. I was appointed with six or seven others and we decided to meet on Friday morning to write our resolution.

I had a number of conversations throughout the festival. We spent much time with Duane Big Eagle (Osage). Duane is the director of the Poetry in the Schools program in California.

We had several late night, early morning sessions with Geary Hobson (Cherokee-Quapaw-Chickasaw) and William Oandasan at Coach House Dormitory, Sooner House and Mr. Bill’s Tavern. Wednesday night at Mr. Bill’s featured the karaoke performance art of several festival participants, the highlight being an amazingly inept, out of tune ensemble presentation of Helen Reddy’s anthemic “I Am Woman.”

Geary Hobson, festival historian, held forth on “Bad ass poets” is a phrase coined in his 1977 review of Nila Northsun’s Diet Pepsi and Nacho Cheese. Obson explained that the term applies to young Indian women poets with a slightly irreverent attitude, a group that included Leslie Silko and Joy Harjo in their younger days and expanded to include Northsun and Sister Goodwin (among others) later on. What we really need today is a “bad ass poets society.”

We spoke with Glen Simpson (Tahltan) about the clan conference scheduled for spring 1993 in Southeast Alaska. This conference will include representatives of clans and clan houses of the Tagish, Southern Tutchone, Tahltan (Athabascan tribes), Tlingit, Alaska Tsimshian and Alaska Haida. Glen will serve as a contact for the Tahltan.

On Thursday we visited Wal-Mart on the main mall drag of Norman. We bought disposable cameras, cheap shirts and shorts. There, in the center aisle, standing like a death shrine, was a huge pile of copies of Sam Walton’s autobiography. The 100-degree temperatures throughout the week made short sleeve shirts, t-shirts, shorts and sandals derigueur apparel in Norman.

On Friday, the “Whereas committee” drafted a resolution that was presented to the afternoon to the afternoon plenary session. Joe Bruchac was helpful in outlining recommendations for continuing activities. The committee recommended the name “Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas” as the name of the Native writers organization. A Steering Committee was appointed and will meet via teleconference until funding is available for real meetings. Follow-up projects will include:

1) A semi-annual newsletter edited and published by Joe Bruchac.

2) An anthology, published by the University of Arizona in 1993.

3) A collection of workshop and plenary session papers, published as a special issue of Akwekon Magazine at Cornell University.

4) Regional conferences in each of the next three years, with another major festival scheduled for 1996.

5) A Directory of North American Native Writers, published by the Smithsonian in the fall of this year.

Friday evening events featured a song by Jeannette Armstrong (Okanagan) as the festival dinner and readings and performances at Meacham Auditorium and the Forum. The Hanay Geiogamah play “Grandpa” (directed and performed by Joe Cross) was a hilarious Indian vaudeville performance.

Ed Edmo (Shoshone-Bannock) performed his “Through Coyote’s Eyes.” Ed is from Portland. I first heard of Edmo from the late Jim Pepper in the mid-70’s. Jim told me of this poet that wrote about potatoes. I asked Ed about this when I met him at Mr. Bill’s and he told me that Pepper was referring to the fact that his people were from Idaho. I had made copies of a three-hour radio show tribute to Jim Pepper and offered one to Edmo at cost, $6. Edmo negotiated a deal: three broadsides of his poems and $3 cash. A fair trade. Duane Big Eagle told me that Edmo performs Indian theater puppet shows for schools that are extremely popular with children.

On Saturday we traveled to Stroud, Oklahoma to participate in the Sac and FoxNation 29^th Annual Pow-Wow. We drove by red clay country, just north of Oklahoma City. Linda Hogan had read from her 1981 poetry collection, Red Clay, on Wednesday at P.O.E.T.S. Café. Listening to her read reminded me of my late uncle’s comments about our red clay collection. One of our clan houses is named X’aan Hit, which he told me translates as either “red clay house” or “fire house.” “There’s no red clay around Wrangell,” he said. “Therefore, we must have migrated from the south.”

This was our fist Pow-Wow. We were guests of the McClellans, a Ponca family, for dinner of two different stews, salad, fry bread and iced tea. The Grand Entry of dancers started at 8 P.M. that evening. All of the pow-wow festivities were conducted at an outdoor arena that was approximately 50 yards in diameter. The performances are scheduled in the evening because of the high daytime temperatures.

The Pow-Wow lasted four days. Many of the Indian families stay on campgrounds adjacent to the Pow-Wow arena for the festivities. I had heard a lot about Pow-Wows from my friend Jim Pepper and he was on my mind as we watched the dancers round the arena. The format allowed for participation by everyone, with “inter-tribal” or open dancing once each hour. I had a hard time with even the simplest, “woman’s style” dance step during the intertribal sessions.