All white people look alike - and they're all Christians. Indians are the
colorful backdrop to real American history, but they're not around anymore. It's
time Jews and Indians got beyond the stereotypes.
Native American and Jewish leaders know that neither group can hope to
safeguard the survival of their people without the shared interest and
commitment to cultural pluralism on the part of other groups in the society.
Although members of either group may not be
aware, Jews and Indians face many common issues and problems. Both groups
have to deal with segments of our society which are increasingly intolerant
of pluralism and diversity, We need to become vanguards in the protection of
the fundamental right to cultural diversity. We need to forthrightly affirm
our freedom as peoples to exist and develop in our own ways.
The American Indian Perspective
Since the first contact of Europeans with
the peoples of the Western Hemisphere, each colonial government has adopted
policies which view the status of "Indians" as solely dependent upon the
colonial government's good will, whether political, legal or moral. Within
their perceived mandates, these colonial governments developed and
reinforced an ideology which emphasized the distinction between "the high
culture" (i.e. European) and the "low culture" (i.e., tribal). Whole
generations of American Indians have been conditioned to accept the idea
that their own communities are inferior to that of mainstream society and
that the only solution to problems of cultural and economic dominance would
be assimilation.
At the core of this arrangement is a
fundamental ideological issue regarding the right of the tribal nations to
exist autonomously of the American nation. In large part the issue has never
been confronted directly. Instead, America and its leadership have promoted,
often blindly, a policy of cultural assimilation. This policy, coupled with
a lack of self-esteem among Indian people, has given rise to a broad range
of destructive social pathologies, all symptoms of the failure of
"assimilation".
The Jewish View
Similarly, Christian and Moslem governments
have often regarded their own religious beliefs as superior. Beliefs of Jews
and other religious minorities were all too often seen as inferior, with the
political status of members of these minorities dependent on the whim of the
majority. In many eras of Jewish history, governments have encouraged Jews
to regard assimilation or conversion as the solution to minority status.
By coming together to share music and
memories, we can begin to reach out to each other.
The Concert
The freedom to express a unique cultural and religious identity must be
viewed as a fundamental human right. As Indians and Jews, we are well aware
of the attacks on this right in the past, and the current struggles to
maintain our identities as distinct cultural and religious communities. To
learn about each other's struggles and reach out to each other, we must
first listen to each other. A place to begin is sharing our collective
histories and memories of 1492, the year of Columbus' arrival in this
hemisphere, and also the year of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain.
The Program
As a first step in this process of
listening, The Jewish Federation of Greater Albuquerque is meeting with the
governors of the three neighboring Indian tribes in regard to working with
them as copartners in this concert. They are:
Alvino Lucero
Governor
Isleta Pueblo
PO Box 317
Isleta, NM 87022
505-869-3111
FAX 505-869-4236
Stuwart Paisano
Governor
Sandia Pueblo
Box 6008
Bernalillo, NM 87004
505-867-3317
FAX 505-867-9235
Lawrence Montoya
Governor
Santa Ana Pueblo
2 Dove Rd
Bernalillo, NM 87004
505-867-3301
FAX 505-867-3395
The goal is a joint presentation of
Remembering 1492: a joint American Indian/Jewish flute concert on. The
program will consist of four works by Fernando Cellicion, a traditional
Native American flautist from Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico, and Avi Elam-Amzalag,
an Israeli of international reputation, interspersed with short readings
taken from Jewish accounts of the expulsion of the Jews of Spain and from
Indian accounts of Indian history after the arrival of Europeans..
Fernando Cellicion is leader of the Fernando
Cellicion Traditional Zuni Dancers. The group has performed at a broad range
of venues, including the World Music Festival in Tokyo, Japan, and in the
Pacific under the auspices of the USIS, and at the Gallup (New Mexico)
Intertribal Ceremonials, New Mexico State Fair, Connecticut River Rendezvous
and parades, celebrations, pow-wows and other functions throughout the
United States. The group has won many top honors in dance competitions. Many
of their songs have been heard on such programs at NPR, and the group has
been featured at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, several
times. The group has also appeared on NBC's Today Show, ABC's Good Morning
America and CBS' This Morning. The group's music and dance has been featured
on the video, Indian Dances of the Zuni Pueblo, which was released in 1996
by Indian Sounds of Oklahoma.
In addition, Fernando Cellicion is an
accomplished traditional fluteplayer, and has performed throughout the
United States and in Italy. His recordings include
The Traditional Indian Flute of Fernando Cellicion
The Traditional and Contemporary Indian Flute of Fernando Cellicion
Buffalo Spirit
Kokopelli Dreams
Avi Elam-Amzalag was born in Morocco and has devoted his life to preserving
and perpetuating the Sephardic heritage. He is the founder of the Israel
Andalusian Orchestra which has toured world wide.
haGalil onLine
06-11-2000
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