NEWS

We are sad to announce that Jeri Sopanen passed away Sunday September 21, 2008. Jeri was cinematographer on The Reawakening as well as a friend, colleague and supporter. Our deepest condolences go out to his family.

of Interest

Edmond teacher Grace Wiley Smith (Muscogee Creek Nation) a teacher at Boulevard Academy has won the Oklahoma Indian Elder of the Year award. Smith received the award December 8th 2009 from the Oklahoma Council on Indian Education at an honoring in Midwest City. Daughter, Andrea Lee Smith, a well educated and determined NY artist working with AMERINDA, gave a bright smile and was quote "very proud" of mom. Congratulations! More >>

NAAR Artist and Painter David Bunn-Martine (Shinnecock/Montauk/Chiricahua Apache) has a featured column in the latest issue of Fine Art magazine (Fall 2009). Martine, known for his elaborate murals and historical representation, is the Director of the Shinnecock Nation Cultural Center and Museum. More >>

Congratulations to United States Artists 2009 fellows Delores Lewis Garcia and Emma Lewis Mitchell (Acoma Pueblo) of New Mexico. Recipients of the USA Gift of Art Fellows for Crafts and Traditional Arts. Delores Lewis Garcia and Emma Lewis Mitchell are the daughters of renowned Acoma pueblo potter Lucy M. Lewis, from whom they learned their craft. The sisters work together and are committed to producing and teaching traditional, hand-built pottery. They retain authentic Acoma patterns and techniques and gather their own natural pigments and clays from the pueblo. More >>

Crow tribal historian Joe Medicine Crow received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, at the White House on August 12, 2009. The annual award was created after WWII by President Truman who wanted to honor civilian service during the war. Joe Medicine Crow who served in WWII and is the last traditional Crow War Chief told the president that he was "highly honored." More >>

Monetizing Emma was nominated for Best Production and Best Ensemble in Planet Connections Festival. Produced by Thackeray Walsh, LLC Benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. Written by Felipe Ossa and Directed by Leah Bonvissuto. Stage Manager: Teresa-Violet Cajigas. Assistant Director: Shauna Horn. Scenic Design: Jasmine Vogue Pai. Lighting Design: Lauren Parrish. Costume Design: Mira Veikley. Performed by: James Arden, Dawn Jamieson, Janice Mann, Daniella Rabbani, Tovah Rose, and Nitya Vidyasagar. Awards Presented August 2nd 2009 in NYC. - planetconnectionsfestivity.com More >>

Congratulations to David Bunn Martine, selected for the centerfold of UNITY. Thompson Hospitality has selected three American Indian Artists, Phillip John Aarnaquq Charette (Yup’ik), Carmen Hathaway (Abenaki), and David Bunn Martine (Shinnecock/Montauk, Chiricahua Apache) whose works will be featured in the Centerfold of UNITY, from Picture That LLC promoting cultural awareness and diversity through the arts. More >>

Syracuse University will award an honorary doctoral degree to Chief Irving Powless Jr. for his exceptional achievement. At the 155th Commencement exercises on Sunday, May 10, in the Carrier Dome, Powless is among six honary degree recipients including Molly Corbett Broad '62, Charles J. Fahey, Seymour M. Hersh, Gianfranco Zaccai '70 and U.S. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. L'68, who will deliver the Commencement address to the Class of 2009. More >>

The NAMMY award winning Jimmy Wolf has released a new Rock & Blues record. His sixth album, Deep Downtown, won Best Blues Recording at the 10th Annual Nammy Awards and is now available through emailing Jimmy Wolf directly at jimmywolf23@hotmail.com or through cdbaby.com. More >>

We are proud to announce that Michelle Dawn Schenandoah graduated Sunday May 18, 2008 with her Doctorate of Law degree from the New York University of Law. She has worked really hard and has done an amazing job. Her mother Diane Schenandoah could not be more proud of her. As equally if not even more exciting is that she is expecting a son on September 15th. Congratulations!

More than a quarter-century after his death and 56 years after he single-handedly took out three enemy machine-gun nests in the Korean War, Army Master Sergeant Woodrow Wilson Keeble (Whapeton Sioux) was awarded the Medal of Honor March 3rd 2008 - the first Whapeton Sioux to receive the United States' top decoration for bravery in battle. On Oct. 20, 1951, Keeble led three platoons against Chinese soldiers who controlled a steep and fortified hill that protected an enemy supply line near the Kumsong River in North Korea. Armed only with hand grenades and a Browning automatic rifle, Keeble eliminated three machine-gun nests while the bulk of the enemy fire was directed at him. "As Woody first started off," Bush said during the ceremony, "someone saw him and remarked, 'Either he's the best soldier I have ever met, or he's crazy.' " By the time Keeble was through, the president continued, "all 16 enemy soldiers were dead, the hill was taken, and the Allies won the day."

Congratulations to NAAR artist Dylan Carusona for his role in the Sundance 2008 top film award winner Frozen River. Frozen River is writer/director Courtney Hunt's first full length drama, and won the Grand Jury Prize Dramatic Feature this January at the Sundance independent film festival in Utah. The film has been picked up by Sony Pictures Classic for wide distribution.

On January 22, 2008 an honoring was held for Tonya Gonnella Frichner (Snipe Clan-Onondaga Nation) North American Regional Representative to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues 2008 - 2011. Tonya is President and founder of the American Indian Law Alliance in New York, a lawyer and activist, whose academic and professional life has been devoted to the pursuit of human rights for Indigenous peoples.

The works of five prominent American Indian artists soon will be on display at U.S. embassies worldwide, introducing foreign audiences to the richness and variety of contemporary American Indian art. Norman Akers (Osage), Mario Martinez (Yaqui), Larry McNeil (Tlingit), Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (Flathead Salish) and Marie Watt (Seneca) -- artists who often utilize traditional American Indian motifs in unexpected ways -- were selected by the U.S. State Department and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian to have their work showcased overseas. The embassy-bound artworks, which were commissioned for the State Department’s ART in Embassies program, were unveiled in Washington at a November 14 reception attended by the artists, first lady Laura Bush and other dignitaries. More >>

"The Other Side of Hip Hop-The Sixth Element" a film on Ernie Paniccioli's life, art, politics and photography has been awarded Best Documentary in the 2007 Big Apple Film Festival. More >>

The Lannan Foundation honors Paula Gunn Allen with a 2007 Writing Fellowship. Paula Gunn Allen is a contributing author of Genocide of the Mind released November 2007. Congratulations for recognition of her continued work as a literary critic, poet, and novelist, and a noted scholar of Native American literature. More >>

For the month of November 2006, Amerinda was featured on WNYC’s Salute The Arts, or STAR. Mentions could be heard on 93.9 FM and AM 820. WNYC's Salute The Arts Initiative is a free program that profiles 36 small, cultural, non-profit organizations in the New York Metropolitan area over a 12-month period, through on-air promotional announcements and free website support. www.wnyc.org More>>

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