PAST: Events in SEPT at the National Museum of the American Indian, Free

Friday, September 19, 2008, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, September 20, 2008, 2:00 p.m.

NATIVE THEATER: Mestiza Power
Written and directed by Concepcion Leon Mora and performed by Sa’asTun
Rasmuson Theater

Mestiza Power is a powerfully performed and beautifully directed new work from Yucatan, Mexico that illustrates the dignity and everyday lives of contemporary Mayan women. Through a series of interviews conducted with city and rural street vendors, the artists recount childhood memories, educational experiences, cultural life, and current issues facing Mayan women. These interviews and monologues encompass the women’s voices and include stories of domestic violence, street selling, and mystical practice. Performance in Spanish with English subtitles. Translation by Harley Erdman.

Sunday, September 21
Join us as we celebrate the 4th anniversary of the NMAI museum in Washington!
The Vine Deloria, Jr. Native Writers Series: American Indian Places
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., Rasmuson Theater and Potomac Atrium
Building and landscape tours, book discussion, and book signing. American Indian Places: A Historical Guidebook is a new, comprehensive book featuring 366 places in the United States that are open to the public and hold significance to Native people. More than 275 Native and non-Native scholars contributed essays about each location. Frances H. Kennedy, editor of The Civil War Battlefield Guide, edited the guidebook and the book royalties will be donated to the NMAI. The afternoon program will include a discussion with some of the contributors and a book signing. Other events include tours of the museum architecture and the outdoor landscape.


Daily Film Screenings at 12:30 and 3:30 September 1 - 30

Films presented in conjunction with the The Vine Deloria, Jr. Native Writers Series: American Indian Places

12:30 daily, Alcatraz Is Not an Island (2000, 60 min.) Director: James M. Fortier (Métis/Ojibwe)

The 1969-71 occupation of Alcatraz Island was a watershed in American history. The tumultuous days of "Red Power" live again in occupation footage and interviews with participants.


3:30 daily, In the Light of Reverence (2000, 30 min.) Producer/Director: Christopher McLeod Co-producer: Malinda M. Maynor (Lumbee)

An excerpt from the feature length documentary about three Native communities’ struggles to preserve lands of spiritual significance, presenting the portion “The Lakota at Devil's Tower in Wyoming.”


National Museum of the American Indian

4th St. and Independence Ave.

Washington DC 20013

see www.wmata.com for best metro bus access