Posts Tagged ‘“Geronimo: An American Legend”’

16
Jul

Native American flutist Carlos Nakai headlines flute convention

   Posted by: admin    in Native music, Navajo, Ute

R. Carlos Nakai, described here as the premier Native American flutist in the world, will perform tomorrow at the International Native American Flute Convention at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Given that description, it’s a little surprising to learn that Nakai, who is Navajo and Ute, was originally a classically trained trumpeter. He actually thought his musical career had stalled, until he discovered the Native American flute.

“It was sort of like a godsend,” Nakai told Troy Espe of the Leader-Telegram in Wisconsin during a telephone interview. “All of the sudden the flute appeared, and I started applying different music principles to it.”

As Espe writes:

    Nakai, who co-founded the International Native American Flute Association, has released more than 35 albums since 1983. He has sold 4 million copies, achieving gold status for the albums “Canyon Trilogy” and “Earth Spirit.”

    Nakai has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards. His music has appeared in movies “The New World” and “Geronimo: An American Legend.”

Nakai has a master’s degree in American Indian studies from the University of Arizona. He’s performed with more than 15 symphonies and chamber orchestras, leads a jazz quartet and has played with Japanese, Tibetan, Hawaiian, Jewish and Arab musicians, Espe writes.

His msot recent album is “Dancing into Silence.”

Gwen Florio

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

No Comments
29
Dec

“Avatar” update: Cherokee actor Wes Studi goes 3-D in his newest “Native American” role

   Posted by: admin    in Native films



Studi's character Eytukan

Studi's character Eytukan

Bookmark and Share

You could say Wes Studi is getting typecast.

Not only has the hard-working, award-winning Cherokee actor had his share of roles in movies about Native people – “Geronimo: An American Legend,” “Last of the Mohicans,” or “Dances with Wolves,” and most recently “The Only Good Indian” – those roles have a certain similarity.

As the Tulsa (Okla.) Native Times points out here, the characters usually stand up to power.

Well, Studi’s at it again, this time in James Cameron’s 3-D blockbuster “Avatar,” which has been called “Dances With Wolves in Space.” That’s because the indigenous population on the film’s planet Pandora, the Na’vi, look strikingly Native American – only, you know, with cornrows and blue skins and pointy Spock ears. As the Native Times reports of Studi:

    He recently spoke at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian about tapping into the warrior role. It’s “almost therapeutic how easy it is to get into that mindset of warrior-ism,” Studi said. “You kind of think of the injustice Indian people lived through. It’s pretty easy to draw from the kind of feeling. You have a completely different aggression than the white folks.”

In real life, Studi has been honored for his work to preserve Native languages. In “Avatar,” Studi and the other actors had to learn the Na’vi language, created especially for the movie.

No problem, says Studi.

“Because I do speak another tongue besides English,” Studi says, “my tongue is more willing to take chances.”

Gwen Florio

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

No Comments
Back to top