A Voice from the Eastern Door
A Voice from the Eastern Door
Sorted by date Results 1 - 19 of 19
On Thursday, June 20th, the Akwesasne Cultural Center hosted an opening reception for the artwork of Elizabeth “Betts” Doxtator. On exhibition are three separate displays that are tied together using cornhusk dolls. There are easily over 100 cornhusk dolls that were created for this exhibit that took about 4 years to make. Each doll, standing 10 inches tall, has its own ribbon dress/shirt and very intricate beadwork on the clothing and moccasins. Elizabeth Doxtator created these dolls over the...
The Akwesasne Youth Leadership group, which aims to reinforce and strengthen traditional values of the youth of Akwesasne, recently organized a wampum belt workshop that took place on January 12th. Jamie Jacobs, Seneca Turtle Clan, traveled from Tonawanda to share his knowledge of wampum belts with the youth of Akwesasne. He brought with him several replica belts that included Tadodaho Wampum Belt and the Great White Mat wampum belt. Wanting to highlight two belts, the Circle Wampum and Dust Fan...
Over the years, we have met some very talented people via this Artist Spotlight column. We’ve come to know artists that use paint, pencil, charcoal and many other methods. But it has been a while since we’ve met a sculptor. If you have ever worked with soapstone, or any other carving material, you know that it takes a lot of skill, patience and determination to create beautiful masterpieces. One slip of the chisel or rasp (both carving tools) can easily ruin a piece that’s been weeks in the m...
While most people were celebrating Columbus Day in 1998, volunteer broadcasters at the KVMR radio station in Nevada City, California, dedicated the day to the Onkwehonwe who lived on Turtle Island far before Columbus ever “discovered” it. As music from indigenous musicians played over KVMR airwaves, members of the Tsi Akim Maidu held a candlelight vigil to honor the original people. The two groups united the next year to create a four-day celebration of music and stories. Indigenous Peoples Day...
Painting, sculpting and drawing are just a few of the many forms of art that numerous Akwesasronon have done in the past. Tammy King is one of the few that were given the skill to create in more than one art form. A triple threat, Tammy stitches together beautiful quilts and ribbon dresses, paints vibrant and colorful images, and captures stunning portraits and scenic photographs. Tammy Renee Catherine Kahentison King, born in Cornwall and raised in Akwesasne, began creating beautiful artwork...
Kontiwennenhawi performed twice over the weekend. First was to open a discussion that happened at the Paul Smith’s Visitor Interpretive Center while the second took place at the Meetinghouse Museum in De Kalb. On the night of the 16th, Kontiwennenhawi traveled to the visitor’s center near Paul Smith’s College. This particular night was part of a month long traveling exhibition that tells the story of Black homesteaders granted 40 acres of land in the 1840s. A reception for the exhibit was held...
The California Worldfest is a four-day music festival that celebrates music of the world. Groups from as far away as Nigeria, Ethiopia, Peru and India came to share music and culture with the people of California. For the second year in a row, Kontiwennenhawi Akwesasne Women Singers were invited to be a part of the California Worldfest. Kontiwennenhawi, along with members of the Tsi Akim nation and a women’s drum group opened the festival, which took place on July 12-15. Throughout the f...
It was a packed theater at the Galaxy Cinemas in Cornwall as students from Akwesasne Freedom School, AMBE Skahwatsira Program, SRC Native Film Class, and Kanien’keha:ka Onkwawen:na Raotitsiohkwa showed films based on Haudenosaunee culture and language. Several films included content that was part of the Kanien’keha Awenhnisera Tehonkieronnions, which is the language show that was held in late March. Other films revolved around environmental issues, bullying, and the story Akwesasne: The Lit...
The Akwesasne Youth Leadership Group held a lacrosse tournament on June 9th, 2012 at Generations Park. With “aint no style like the old style” in mind, this tournament changed the rules up on a traditional lacrosse tournament. Teams of at least six played a 10-minute, running time game. Because a tennis ball, instead of a lacrosse ball, was used during the game, players did not have to wear equipment. A skills competition was also held. Categories included Fastest Indian, Fastest Shot, and Top...
Singers, comedians and musicians took to the stage Friday night to showcase their talents at the Get Your Act Together Variety Show. It was a night of fun, laughter and food. Audience members were treated to live music and the comedic styling of Matt “Aardvark” Herne, who came out of retirement for this event. The night started off with short comedy films submitted by Kaneratiiostha Phillips. Two of Akwesasne’s talented singers, Kahentahawe Francis and Summer Rain Herne, came to sing for the g...
The Akwesasne Attack Legends of Lacrosse Memorial Tournament, dedicated to Travis Solomon and Randall “Man” Jacobs, was held at Salmon River on Sunday May 6th. The one-day tournament started at 10am and ended around 4pm. Twenty three (23) boys teams from Akwesasne and the surrounding area played in the tournament. Vendors and concession were on site throughout the day, as well as a lacrosse display put on by the Akwesasne Museum. Also, the Akwesasne Hall of Fame booth displayed an inf...
As the season was getting started, league organizers didn’t believe they had enough Onkwehonwe players to fill two teams to play competitively. They especially didn’t believe that both these teams would compete against each other in the Championship game. But as 400+ people witnessed history on April 7th, as the Iroquois Ironmen and Ohsweken Demons battled for the inaugural Creator’s Cup. The arena was filled with fans that wore their favorite teams’ colors. Ironmen fans wore purple, grey and bl...
The Akwesasne Coalition for Community Empowerment brought to the community a one-woman play called The Yellow Dress. It is a dramatic telling based on stories of young women who were victims of dating violence. The play begins when ‘Anna’ comes onto stage and begins to tell the story of how she fell in love. She engages the audience by asking them to help her pick out a dress for prom. The first was a beautiful mid-length black dress with flowers down the side. She then starts to tell how thi...
Many Ahkwesahsronon can attest to the fact that preserving the Kanien’kéha language is of the utmost importance. Since March 31, 2012, we can breathe a little easier as the strength of our language was showcased as students as young as 7 to the adult students presented plays all in Kanien’kéha. The idea of having one these shows here in Akwesasne came from the very first community language shows that started in Kanehsatà:ke in 1991. Kahnawà:ke followed in later years. Since 2006, Ahkwesa...
The arena was packed as leftover fans from the first semi-final game between the Ohsweken Demons and Brampton Inferno stayed to find out who their team would face in a championship game dubbed The Creators Cup. The Demons had narrowly made it through with a 17-16 win over the Inferno and awaited the winner between the 1st place Durham Turfdogs and the 4th place Iroquois Ironmen. Throughout the season the Ironmen were unable to defeat the Turfdogs. They came close in a couple games but weren’t ab...
Like many Akwesasronon before her, Natasha Thompson-Barnes expresses herself through art. She has been drawing and beading since she was young. She picked up sewing along the years and has only recently started to paint. Photography is also new to her but she enjoys it just as much. Ever since she was young, Natasha would search and search for pencils so she could draw and color pictures for her grandmother. At just 10 years old, after watching her mother and grandmother bead and sew, she fell...
As March Break approached, parents were left with the looming task of finding something for their children to do. Luckily, the Kawehnoke Recreation Committee had just the thing. It was a week of activities ranging from skating at the A’nowara’kó:wa Arena to bowling at Olympia Bowling. Committee members were quite surprised at the turnout throughout the week. Not only did the number of children exceed expectations, the number of parents and grandparents that participated had more than surp...
The Canadian Lacrosse League, CLAX, was formed to give players the opportunity to play professionally in the winter season. The league consists of 6 teams from around the Toronto area, including two all-Native teams from Six Nations, the Ohsweken Demons and the Iroquois Ironmen. All games are played out of three venues; GM Center in Oshawa, Powerade Center in Brampton and at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena in Six Nations. CLAX uses the Canadian box lacrosse rules with a few exceptions as to allow...
The Akwesasne Coalition for Community Empowerment brought to the community a one-woman play called The Yellow Dress. It is a dramatic telling based on stories of young women who were victims of dating violence. The play begins when ‘Anna’ comes onto stage and begins to tell the story of how she fell in love. She engages the audience by asking them to help her pick out a dress for prom. The first was a beautiful mid-length black dress with flowers down the side. She then starts to tell how thi...
