A billboard from 1914 promoting the original screenings of In the Land of the Head Hunters.

Paddling Out of the Mists of Time

An artistic event of rare social and historical significance is unfolding as the only silent film ever made by the late, great photographer Edward S. Curtis flickers back to life, accompanied by a live orchestral score and other related events. The film, In the Land of the Head Hunters, will be screened on Nov. 9 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; on Nov. 14 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City; and Nov. 16–17 at the Field Museum in Chicago. Rutgers University in New Jersey will host a public symposium on the film on Nov. 13, as will AMNH on Nov. 15.

When it was released in 1914, the rare film was the first full-length feature to have an exclusively Indigenous cast, setting the stage for other ethnographic films such as Joseph Flaherty’s better-known Nanook of the North (1922). At one point it was rescued from a garbage bin, and subsequently, in 1972, “restored,” but it also was significantly altered and appeared under a new title, In the Land of the War Canoes. The newly reconstructed edition brings it back to its original form and includes restoration of its original beautiful color tinting and toning, melodramatic intertitles, and more than 20 minutes of previously lost footage.

Preparation for the film, which was shot entirely on location in British Columbia, took three years, and involved weaving costumes, building war canoes and house fronts, and carving totem poles and masks. The 70-minute work is a fictional story written by Curtis, but it incorporated real physical elements and starred non-professional Kwakwaka’wakw actors performing dances that were forbidden at the time by the Canadian government in an attempt to force assimilation. It tells an epic story of a forbidden love and resulting war, set in the period before European contact.

“We are indeed indebted to Edward Curtis for his work in documenting some of our traditions in this early film,” notes Chief William Cranmer, chairman of the U’mista Cultural Society of Vancouver Island. “To see our old people as they looked in those days is very special. We continue to learn by watching the dance movements and the expert [canoe] paddling in the film.”

The original film had a live orchestral score by vaudeville and opera composer John Braham. For the upcoming performances in Washington and New York, this original score will be performed live by The Coast Orchestra (myspace.com/thecoastorchestra), composed of all-Native musicians, led by White Mountain Apache violinist Laura Ortman along with Steven Alvarez, Tim Archambault, Dawn Avery, Elaine Benavides, Don Harry, George Quincy, Vince Redhouse and Heidi Senungetuk.

General project details: curtisfilm.rutgers.edu. A DVD of the 1972 version film is available from Milestone Film and Video, milestonefilms.com. Plans are underway for a DVD of the recently restored version; check the Rutgers Web site for updates. Event details: American Museum of Natural History—212/313-7278 or www.amnh.org;  Field Museum—312/922-9410 or www.fieldmuseum.org; National Gallery of Art—202/737-4215 or www.nga.gov; Rutgers University—e-mail


Elsewhere

Watch the curtain rise on a new season of Native Voices at the Autry, Wells Fargo Theater, Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, CA. This year enjoy the world premiere of Salvage, a play written by Diane Glancy (Cherokee) (see March/April 2008 issue) and directed by Sheila Tousey (Menominee/Stockbridge-Munsee). Show times are Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m., from Oct. 31 through Nov. 23. General admission is $20 ($12 for Autry members). Tickets at 866/468-3399 or ticketweb.com. 323/667-2000 or www.autrynationalcenter.org.

Dance into the 17th annual Austin Powwow and American Indian Heritage Festival, Nov. 1, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., at the Toney Burger Center, Austin, TX, with more than 400 dancers performing in front of some 45,000 spectators, as well as more than 100 juried vendors and other attractions. Grand entries at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Host drums are Southern Thunder and Little Eagle. Free admission. 512/371-0628 or www.austinpowwow.org

Take a trip to the American Indian Arts Celebration, Nov. 7–9, Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, Big Cypress Seminole Reservation, FL, with arts by local and out-of-state artists, dancing by the Great Plains Indian Dancers and the Seminole Stomp Dancers, Native foods, and music by the energetic Casper Lomayesva (Hopi) and the Greywolf Blues Band. 877/902-1113 or www.ahtahthiki.com

Meander over to the 19th annual Navajo Rug Show & Sale, Nov. 7–9, Snow Park Lodge at Deer Valley Resort, Park City, UT, a benefit for the praise-worthy Adopt-A-Native Elder program (see Nov./Dec. 2003 issue). Besides the display and sale of more than 700 outstanding Navajo weavings, this year featuring the work of Elizabeth Clah, activities will include a Young Miss Navajo pageant on Saturday morning, ceremonial and social dancing on Sunday afternoon and weaving demonstrations both days. A special reception on Nov. 7 (admission $30 for adults, $10 for children) will include live entertainment, a live auction from 8 to 9 p.m., and sale of jewelry and other crafts. Admission Saturday and Sunday is $5. 435/649-0535 or www.anelder.org

Don’t miss the 17th annual Intertribal Marketplace, Nov. 8–9, Autry National Center, Griffith Park, Los Angeles, CA, the West Coast’s largest Indian fine arts market. View and purchase top-notch works from more than 100 artists; enjoy live music, dance and storytelling; and fill up on Native fare. $12 adults, free for members. 323/667-2000, ext. 322 or www.autrynationalcenter.org.

Drama rules at the second annual Native Theater Festival, Nov. 12–15, New York City, a festival of free public readings presented by The Public Theater (with support from the Ford Foundation). Works will include Conversion of Ka’ahumanu by Victoria Kneubuhl and Re-Creation Story by Eric Gansworth, a free panel discussion, and a concert by Martha Redbone at Joe’s Pub. 212/539-8698 or www.publictheater.org

Enjoy the seventh annual Honoring the Harvest, Nov. 15, 11 a.m.–1 p.m., Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology at Brown University, Bristol, RI, with storytelling, drumming, dancing, a Native foods feast, and arts and crafts by the local Pokanoket Wampanoag community. Free with museum admission. 401/253-8388 or www.haffenreffermuseum.org

Head to the Arts & Crafts Holiday Fair, Nov. 28–29, California State Indian Museum, Sacramento, CA. Native California crafts-people from all over the state will sell and demonstrate their artwork, including jewelry, beadwork, silver work, pottery and ornaments. Free with museum admission. 916/324-0971 or www.parks.ca.gov/indianmuseum

Holiday-shop at the third annual Santa Fe Indian Market Winter Showcase, Nov. 28–30, Santa Fe Convention Center, Santa Fe, NM. Early-bird admission kicks off on the evening of Nov. 28 with appetizers and wine. For advance tickets call 505/983-5220. www.swaia.org

Visit Winter Market, Dec. 6, Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Indianapolis, IN, with some 50 Native and non-Native artists from the region selling gourd art, baskets, glasswork, leatherwork, beadwork, pottery, furniture and fine arts. The museum’s restaurant will offer a special holiday buffet, Cowboy Santa will greet children, and there will be live holiday music. Free with museum admission. 317/636-9378 or www.eiteljorg.org

Check out the Holiday Art Market, Dec. 6–7, National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C. and New York City, with an intimate group of artists from North, Central and South America. 202/633-6614 or www.americanindian.si.edu

Catch the Christmas Spectacular, Dec. 13, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Orpheum Theater, Sioux City, IA, featuring a groundbreaking collaborative concert of the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra and the accomplished musician Brulé (Paul LaRoche) and his band AIRO (American Indian Rock Opera), based on Brulé’s work. Tickets $14 to $36. 712/277-2111 or www.siouxcitysymphony.org

Enjoy the desert warmth at the 31st annual Pueblo Grande Museum Indian Market, Dec. 13–14, returning to its popular former location at South Mountain Park, Phoenix, AZ. More than 250 Native artists representing many local and national tribes will display and sell a wide range of fine, handmade artwork. Also enjoy performances by musicians Arvel Bird (Paiute) and James Bilagody & the Cremains, puppeteer and ventriloquist Buddy Big Mountain (Mohawk Iroquois), the Havasupai Ram Dance Group and the Hopi Senom Dancers, plus children’s storytelling, art demonstrations and guided petroglyph tours hourly beginning at noon. Featured artist is potter Dorothea Sunn-Avery (Gila River). 602/495-0901, www.pgmarket.org

Attend the 33rd annual Miccosukee Indian Arts Festival, Dec. 26–Jan. 1, Miccosukee Indian Village, near Miami, FL, for performances by regional dance groups, sales of arts and crafts by Florida Native artisans, and other attractions. 305/552-8365 or www.miccosukee.com/indian_village_events.htm