Native Sounds: Lakota Jonez
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 Lakota Jonez is Cherokee, Mohawk and Lakota. She was born in Florida and grew up all over the East Coast and Canada. She began performing at an early age--first in ballet, then writing, poetry, lyrics and finally music. Lakota wrote lyrics and poetry in high school and later found herself immersed in Hip-Hop music. "Writing Hip-Hop lyrics was like telling a story," she said. Lakota then started turning lyrics into songs and thus began her career in music. Lakota won the 2009 Canadian Aboriginal Music Award for Best Rap or Hip Hop Album and has co-written songs with various artists including Rock & Roll artist Derek Miller (Six Nations of the Gran d River First Nation) and Rock & Roll band Jesus Murphy. Lakota Jonez recently worked on a project for Gathering of Nations called The Golden Opportunity. The experiment provides students with a small amount of money and a camera so that they may select and research small-scale actions to learn about how those actions ripple out across their community and the world. Production Assistant Tobias Grant (Omaha, Dakota, Cherokee & Dineh) spoke with Lakota Jonez during the 2011 Gathering of Nations. Tobias and Lakota talk about her music, performing on Stage 49 and her plans for this year.
Interview with Lakota | Lakota Jonez Website | Lakota Jonez Facebook | Lakota Jonez MySpace | The Golden Opportunity
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Now Available for Instant Download--
Vis a Vis: Native Tongues
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Rent Online for Only $1.99 This innovative documentary delves into the lives of two indigenous artists--James Luna (Luiseno) and Ningali Lawford (Walmajarri)--over a four-day period as they come face-to-face via an interactive video link to share dialogue, performances and video diaries.
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Upcoming Robert Mirabal Performances in the Big Apple
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 (Taos Pueblo) is a musician, composer, painter, master craftsman, poet, actor, screenwriter, horseman and farmer. He travels extensively playing his music all over the world and has created twelve albums of traditional music, rock & roll and spoken word. Robert has won many honors including two-time Native American Artist of the Year, three-time Songwriter of the Year and a 2006 Grammy for "Johnny Whitehorse Totemic Flute Chants." He maintains a traditional life, keeping centuries-old customs of the Taos Pueblo people. Robert lives with his family at the foot of the sacred Taos Mountain in northern New Mexico. Big Apple Concert Dates:When: July 23 Where: National Museum of the Native American; New York, NY When: July 27-31 Where: Lincoln Center; New York, NY Don't miss Robert Mirabal in the documentary films For the Generations: Native Story & Performance and Robert Mirabal: Music from a Painted Cave.
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An Amazing Deal to Add to Your Collection...
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Producer Profile:
Shelley Niro
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In Shelley Niro's (Mohawk) debut feature film, Kissed by Lightning, a Mohawk woman works through the grief surrounding the death of her husband by painting the stories he used to tell. The film is a love story infused with history and tradition.
Niro began conceptualizing the Kissed by Lightning story in 1998 during the Bosnian War. "I started reading articles about what was happening, and it seemed so unbelieveably terrible and filled with atrocities you wouldn't expect to be happening during this day and age," she said.
At the same time, Niro was studying Peacemaker, one of the founders of the Iroquois confederacy. Kissed by Lightning, Niro said, is a contemporary story influenced by the events of Peacemaker's time and the war in Bosnia.
To find out more about Kissed by Lightning Producer/Director
Shelley Niro, select any of the following links below:
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