Entertainer misunderstood show

Dear Editor:

In response to the letter submitted last month to Windspeaker by Buffy Sainte-Marie regarding her objection to devils portrayed in the opening number of the 1998 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, I should like to take this opportunity to state that Ms. Sainte-Marie has misinterpreted the devil-like characters. Her assumption that these characters represented the sacred holy people of Hopi and other Aboriginal cultures is inaccurate and untrue.

Each year, we present many pop singers from our community to pay homage to the recipients of the awards, and also try to provide an opportunity for artists who practice other forms of cultural and artistic expression to have an opportunity to perform as well.

This year, our plan was to present the talents of a young opera singer, Marion Newman, and a number of classically trained dancers to perform with traditional Aboriginal dancers in the opening presentation of the show. Since we were not relying upon the accessible lyrics of popular tunes to convey the message of the piece, it was presented in an operatic fashion, using imagery to convey the message.

The theme was designed to be universal and simple to speak to the largest possible audience, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal. The vices of humankind, such as greed, avarice, envy and hatred, were symbolized by the devil-like creatures in question. Mother Earth eventually appeared dressed in white to overcome and chase the devils away. Stemming from her own goodness, Mother Earth then created the Aboriginal people who emerged on stage to populate and care for the Earth.

This scene and all characters stemmed from my imagination, and in no way represented any reference to any specific Aboriginal culture or religious figure or person in any way whatsoever.

Most people interpreted the piece in the way that I intended and enjoyed the rich imagery.

The foundation is sorry that Ms. Sainte-Marie misinterpreted these devils as being related to holy people. We carefully consider everything that we present and regularly consult with Elders and artists to seek approval on every costume and image presented. Constructive criticism is always helpful but Ms. Sainte-Marie's remarks that I should enlist in a Native 101 course was malicious and invective. The National Aboriginal Achievement Awards is a very important instrument for the Aboriginal community and it is undertaken with every good intent. The mistaken identity of the these devils is akin to the opera singer who sings 1,000 musical notes in tune and then misses the pitch on one single note. Nobody talks about the accomplishment of the singer or the quality of the voice, rather they remember and discuss the one note missed.

The first chapter of the Native 101 course is on "Respect" and perhaps Ms. Sainte-Marie herself could take a refresher course to review this particular chapter.

Sincerely,

John Kim Bell

Founder and President

National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation