I normally wander around to look through all the booths, but this year, I stayed planted at the Four Directions stage to hear great music and watch fantastic dancing. There is no way I will do justice to each act, so I will use the descriptions from the Smithsonian's website and add a few links for you to watch and listen to. I attempted to put them in the order that I enjoyed them, but none of them should be missed. Don't forget to check out the photo album.
5. Waikil and Ketrafe (Music Video)
Jaime Cuyanao Venegas, who goes by Waikil, is a Mapuche rapper, musician, and singer-songwriter. He creates a musical blend that fuses rap in both Spanish and Mapuzungun. Through his music, he narrates the experiences of his people, capturing both the everyday life in rural areas and the urban Mapuche lifestyle.A Mapuche-Warriache singer-songwriter from Nueva Imperial, Wallmapu, Ketrafe creates and performs songs inspired by his experiences as a Mapuche in his homeland and the Futa Waria (Santiago). He incorporates Mapuzungun into his songs to reclaim his culture, knowledge, and language through his music.
4. Hālau o Kekuhi (Folklife Video of Performance)
Founded in 1973, Hālau o Kekuhi is a matrilineal organization led today by Kumu Hula Nālani Kanakaʻole followed by Huihui Kanahele-Mossman. The esteemed hālau hula (classical dance school) is part of the Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation, which is dedicated to the elevation of Native Hawaiian knowledge and practice. Their presentation of hula exemplifies the integrity of Hawaiian cultural traditions, as hula requires knowledge of Hawaiian language, genealogy and history, environmental knowledge and protocol related to the collection of plants, and expertise in philosophy and spirituality.
3. The Gaudry Boys (Music Video)
The Gaudry Boys come from St. Laurent, Manitoba, Canada. Brothers Dylan, Zachary, and Ryan Gaudry have been playing music together for twenty years. Accompanying them on lead guitar is friend Kevin Cockle from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Their Métis traditional fiddle music will get you off your chair, toe tapping, an even dancing.
2. Native Pride Dancers (Kennedy Center Video of Performance)
The Native Pride Dancers bring the excitement and artistry of Native American powwow dances to audiences around the world. An intertribal artistic and educational troupe, its members are citizens of many tribal nations including Chickasaw, Choctaw, Dakota, Meskwaki, Navajo, Ojibwe, and Pueblo. In performances and workshops, the Native Pride dancers demonstrate the innovative blending of traditional steps and contemporary expression that is a hallmark of powwow dance, and they share the meanings and cultural history of their vibrant traditions.
1. Doc Native and Spencer Battiest (Music Video)
Brothers Doc Native and Spencer Battiest (Seminole Tribe of Florida) are performing artists whose distinct trajectories and musical collaborations elevate Native stories and key issues. In 2017, Doc Native and Battiest released the politically charged collaboration with Taboo, “Stand Up/Stand N Rock #NoDAPL,” which was honored with a Video Music Award. Raised in Choctaw and Seminole communities of musicians and gospel singers, Native is a songwriter, producer, and actor, and Battiest is a singer/songwriter who also works in musical theater.
