tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75446688784877959112024-03-14T04:25:59.816-07:00Listen to SeattleCommission, performances, and recording by the Steve Griggs Ensemble to interpret Chief Seattle's words of peace between people and harmony with nature.Steve Griggshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687012846579957525noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7544668878487795911.post-50892473861152275722016-09-15T14:47:00.002-07:002016-09-15T14:50:00.881-07:00Listen to Seattle on Indigenous Peoples Day 2016<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGxqwzcH-fRWoYY3SYWE-LI61S3d0t1nIZFluf7-hjv5Nzf30DNGtOTlWnlUiFAujxTYYd2vEGMjD9D69XSxhIFuvhgMT9BC7RLFjynLakMOXyrpC7TRgQHha6lJ2SjDumy5vyQTiwKc_R/s1600/Logo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGxqwzcH-fRWoYY3SYWE-LI61S3d0t1nIZFluf7-hjv5Nzf30DNGtOTlWnlUiFAujxTYYd2vEGMjD9D69XSxhIFuvhgMT9BC7RLFjynLakMOXyrpC7TRgQHha6lJ2SjDumy5vyQTiwKc_R/s320/Logo2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Listen to Seattle is coming to Town Hall on Indigenous Peoples Day (Oct 10, 2016). The Duwamish tribe will be welcoming the audience and providing educational materials. To support free admission, please consider donating to our <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1606311190/free-performance-of-listen-to-seattle-at-town-hall" target="_blank">Kickstarter project</a> that will pay artist fees.Steve Griggshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687012846579957525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7544668878487795911.post-38075630150253776082015-10-02T10:33:00.002-07:002016-09-15T14:49:31.849-07:00Encore Performance Oct 17 2015<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClU5JWpGzIyysTlFUmi1Q_Zy1ZLdbEqdWF_YFPpg1pw0E8H8fU1dRYCM54lGIbBBSiFkDJ4Gzi537m6csin7xxwEN_e1TXOWkV1t2yUIyOUzxZOigliPd-Y19jmwL3Bvcb87bSNCd9d0x/s1600/20150926_142001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClU5JWpGzIyysTlFUmi1Q_Zy1ZLdbEqdWF_YFPpg1pw0E8H8fU1dRYCM54lGIbBBSiFkDJ4Gzi537m6csin7xxwEN_e1TXOWkV1t2yUIyOUzxZOigliPd-Y19jmwL3Bvcb87bSNCd9d0x/s320/20150926_142001.jpg" width="320" /></a>The premiere on September 26, 2015 exceeded my expectations! Come see an encore 2pm Saturday, October 17, 2015 at the Duwamish Longhouse.Steve Griggshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687012846579957525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7544668878487795911.post-67978563607153409512015-08-31T09:04:00.003-07:002015-08-31T09:04:54.554-07:00Listen to Seattle script<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
One hundred and
seventy five years ago on a <st1:place>Pacific Northwest</st1:place> beach, a
man sings. A chant in a somber minor key – repeating, descending. His tone is
low and gravelly, but the sound carries far across the dark expanse of salt
water, through the air blanketed in clouds of grey and charcoal.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
The sacred song
was bestowed by nature, to evoke a spirit power. The melody harmonizes with the
hissing breeze in the trees, the slurping wavelets on the shore, the raven’s
rasp, barking seal, and splashing salmon, the crunch of shells underfoot.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
Bushes laden with
berries and rivers flowing with fish nourish the singing man. Cedar trees
approach to offer their trunks for transport across the water and their bark
for garments against the rain. Raven and coyote share ancient stories of how
the earth came to be. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
On the same day
175 years ago, at the sultry mouth of the Mississippi River, a man sits astride
his bamboula, sweating over the drum he is permitted to play only on Sundays in
Congo Square. Hundreds of African slaves drum, dance, and sing in this <st1:city>New
Orleans</st1:city> park, away from the severe restrictions of the
British and French cultures left over from colonization. The music and motion
weaves a resilient fabric, recalling African village life where rhythms told
stories and dancing restored health. Their music is a haven of freedom within
the country enslaving them. This taproot of black music, jazz, drinks from the
confluence of cultures coming to the shores of the new world.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
Today, I would
like to bring these two streams of ancient music together. Like the Duwamish
tribe, I yearn for a connection to the natural world. Like the descendants of
African slaves, I find in jazz freedom, equity, and emotional expression. The
sounds I choose to create today are flavored by the fruit of all our family
trees.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
[PLAY ENCHANTMENT]</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br clear="all" style="page-break-before: always;" />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
My name is Steve
Griggs. I come from generations of white people who migrated from <st1:place>Europe</st1:place>
to the eastern shore of this continent and settled ever westward, displacing
indigenous tribes with disease, discrimination, and destruction. In the eyes of
the Duwamish tribe, I am what is called a “<st1:city>Boston</st1:city>
man.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
While I acknowledge
William Bradford of Plymouth Plantation as a relative, I also embrace a truly
ancient ancestor. One we all share. The common genetic ancestor of all living
things, forged a billion years ago in a single root. That bond connects us and
it is that unifying force I want to recognize today.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
I come from a
family of teachers, including my father, Douglas Meriwether Griggs Jr. He spent
his life as a student of the heart. He was a research cardiologist with a quest
to learn the secrets of how a heart heals itself – to learn how a diseased muscle
will still grow strong. The heart muscle gives each of us our pulse, our drum
beat, our rhythm to dance through life – the muscle that I have heard the
Duwamish refer to as our “third ear.” We hear words through our ears. We hear
feelings through our hearts.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
Today I speak to
that third ear. I follow in the footsteps of my father. Not as a scientist, but
as a musician who wants to create sounds that touch the heart and make it
stronger. Stronger and more open. Stronger and more sensitive. Stronger and more
generous.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
My father bestowed
upon me his curiosity, his persistent pursuit of wisdom – to venture to the
edge of what he knew, and see beyond. I am grateful for his example. I called upon
him throughout the time I spent weaving this program for you. To honor my
father and all of our ancestors, we will play this song.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
[PLAY ANCESTORS]</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br clear="all" style="page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
The program today springs
from my connection with the place where we live. When I was working on a
program about the Panama Hotel in <st1:city>Seattle</st1:city>’s
Japantown and the history of Japanese American incarceration in WWII, I learned
about the deep roots of racism in our city. Before injustices against Japanese,
there were riots against Chinese that brought martial law to <st1:city>Seattle</st1:city>.
And even farther back was the <st1:city>Seattle</st1:city>
ordinance against Indians living within city limits. Preceding that were
violent clashes between settlers and local tribes. In the face of racist frenzy,
Chief Seattle walked a path of peace and non-violence for all. We can learn
from his example.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
How can we listen
to Chief Seattle today? We cannot hear his voice with our ears. We cannot watch
his gestures with our eyes. He did not put his own words on paper. Can we trust
the written and spoken stories about him? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
Some say that
stories are alive. Some say that stories are our ancestors. Perhaps <st1:city>Seattle</st1:city>
is alive in the stories about him. <st1:city>Seattle</st1:city>
is alive in the place where he lived. Does the place that bears his name echo
words that our hearts can hear? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
The most widely
known story about Chief Seattle was told by Dr. Henry Smith in an article he
published in a <st1:city>Seattle</st1:city> newspaper in
1887. Controversy surrounds this story. Smith recalled in English what Chief
Seattle said 30 years before in the indigenous Lushootseed language. This gap
in time and translation may cripple the veracity of Smith’s retelling, yet the
story has a power that is still strong after many decades. Like any story, the
listeners must find their own truths within.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
By the waterfront,
outside Doc Maynard’s house, Chief Seattle rose to address the regional
Governor Isaac Stevens, regarding the change that the whites brought. Settlers
and tribes gathered to listen. Smith described the sound of Chief Seattle’s
voice. “Old Chief Seattle’s trumpet-toned voice rolled over the immense
multitude, like the startling reveille of a bass drum, when silence became as
instantaneous and perfect as that which follows a clap of thunder from a clear
sky.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
He began, “Yonder
sky that has wept tears of compassion on our fathers for centuries untold, and
which, to us, looks eternal, may change… </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Our religion is
the traditions of our ancestors, the dreams of our old men, given them by the
great Spirit, and the visions of our sachems, and is written in the hearts of
our people… </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Every hill-side,
every valley, every plain and grove has been hallowed by some fond memory or
some sad experience of my tribe…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
“In all the earth
there is no place dedicated to solitude… </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
“At night, when
the streets of your cities and villages shall be silent, and you think them
deserted, they will throng with the returning hosts that once filled and still
love the beautiful land.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
There are many
truths to be found in <st1:city>Seattle</st1:city>’s
words. I have been wrestling with what he may have said. What truths do you
hear?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
[REPEAT SENTENCES
FROM <st1:city>SEATTLE</st1:city>’S SPEECH AND INIVITE
AUDIENCE TO SHARE INTERPRETATION]</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<i>The following section contains some of my
thoughts that may be shared in dialog with the audience:<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<i>To me, </i><st1:city><st1:place><i>Seattle</i></st1:place></st1:city><i> was talking about what he believed was
eternal, might change. The settlers bring change. The long relationship between
nature and his ancestors may change.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<i>Chief Seattle spoke of what guides the
indigenous people. From this I learn that </i><st1:city><st1:place><i>Seattle</i></st1:place></st1:city><i> cherished traditions, ancestors, dreams,
gifts, visions, and hearts. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<i>Chief Seattle spoke of the sacred connection
with nature. Hearing this, I learned of </i><st1:city><st1:place><i>Seattle</i></st1:place></st1:city><i>’s connection of hallowed ground with
personal memory and experience. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<i>Chief Seattle spoke of the naturalness of
the collective and the aberration of rugged individualism. What does that mean?
Seattle taught that solitude is no haven, no home. Self interest is unnatural. Self
interest is an idea that promotes individualism, separation, and despair. Self
interest leaves a hole, a need, an unquenchable thirst. Self interest fuels the
engine of settler culture.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<i>Chief Seattle spoke about limits of the
settler perspective. He said, In </i><st1:city><st1:place><i>Seattle</i></st1:place></st1:city><i>’s
teaching, the sight of people is not the only measure of living spirit. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
I invite us to listen
to <st1:city>Seattle</st1:city>. Listen with our heart.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
[PLAY THUNDERBIRD]</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
Thomas Phelps was
a sailor stationed on the U.S. Warship Decatur, anchored in <st1:place><st1:placename>Elliot</st1:placename>
<st1:placename>Bay</st1:placename></st1:place> during 1854. Standing on the
deck of the ship, he gazed at the <st1:city>Seattle</st1:city>
landscape, pulled out his journal, and began to sketch what he saw. Nestled
within a forested amphitheater, he drew the 20 or so structures on the
waterfront – Henry Yesler’s sawmill and house flanked by Doc Maynard’s house,
the Methodist church, 2 blockhouses to protect settlers from Indian attack, and
Madame Damnable’s house of pleasure. In his notebook, Phelps described the
setting as the perfect “business emporium” with the finest timber in the world,
soil to produce unsurpassed quantities and qualities of food, a climate teeming
with health, water filled with fish, and forests abounding with game. The
emporium, or store, he saw was nature – nature that was free to be taken and
sold. The U.S. Government issued the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 which made
a generous promise: any white male was entitled to 320 acres as long as they
cultivated it for 4 years. Any married man was entitled to 640 acres. FOR FREE. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
Look around at the
Duwamish landscape now. The towering green cedar trees are replaced by the
lifted metal arms of derricks and cranes loading cargo onto ships and dredging
toxic sediment from the river. The sound of wind lifting proud eagles is replaced
by the whine of polluting aircraft, the wail of passing freight trains, and the
growl of heavy trucks. The seaside smells of salmon, kelp, and clams are replaced
by the stench of oil, sewage, and diesel exhaust. The meandering Duwamish has
been straightened. The forested hills have been stripped and flattened. The
rich soil has been buried under asphalt and concrete. The settlers have grown
in number. The families of animals have shrunk or disappeared. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
As of January
2011, the Environmental Protection Agency listed 113 species as being at risk
or vulnerable to extinction in the <st1:place><st1:placename>Salish</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype>Sea</st1:placetype></st1:place>. Seals that swim near the
Duwamish are copper-colored from pollution, instead of black, white, and grey. The
Boeing Company built its B-17s on the bank of the Duwamish. Stormwater from <st1:place><st1:placename>King</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype>County</st1:placetype></st1:place> flows into the Duwamish. The
City of <st1:city>Seattle</st1:city> manages public
utilities that dump sewage into the Duwamish. The pollution from industrial
freight vehicles – ships, trains, and trucks – come together in the <st1:place><st1:placetype>Port</st1:placetype>
of <st1:placename>Seattle</st1:placename></st1:place>. There are 30 inches of
toxins in the Duwamish riverbed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
In stories, the
Duwamish speak of the Changer – the being who changed the world to its present
form. What being is responsible for changing the world in the last century and
a half? We are. We are the changers. We changed the mouth of the <st1:place><st1:placename>Duwamish</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype>River</st1:placetype></st1:place> from a generous gift giver to
a Superfund site filled with long lasting metals, poisons, and cancerous
chemicals. What is left of that “business emporium” described 150 years ago
with the abundance of nature? What have we done to replenish and strengthen the
stock of nature that was capitalized by the wealthy? What can we learn from the
wisdom of indigenous peoples?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
My purpose today
is not to assign blame, wallow in sorrow, or solve the enormous challenge of
healing human impact on nature. I want us to hear what has happened, see where
we are, and feel connected to each other and all that surrounds us, to add a
small fragment to our land’s healing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
[PLAY CHANGERS]</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
The Point Elliot
Treaty of 1855 listed government promises to indigenous people if they would
move to reservations - payment for land, free schools and medical treatment,
and the continued right to fish, hunt, and gather fruit and vegetables where
tribal ancestors had for centuries. Chief Seattle was the first of a long list
of tribal leaders to sign, a place of respect. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
The Duwamish were
never granted a reservation. In the 50 years following the treaty signing,
whites burned 94 longhouses in 28 native villages. In 1916, the ship canal
between <st1:place>Lake Washington</st1:place> and <st1:place><st1:placetype>Lake</st1:placetype>
<st1:placename>Union</st1:placename></st1:place> lowered <st1:place>Lake
Washington</st1:place> by nine feet. The <st1:place>Black River</st1:place>,
that had drained the lake into the <st1:place><st1:placename>Duwamish</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype>River</st1:placetype></st1:place>, dried up. The large tribal
winter longhouse there no longer had access to winter salmon runs. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
Today, the <st1:country-region>United
States</st1:country-region> does not recognize the current
Duwamish tribal organization as descendants of Chief Seattle’s 1855 tribe. The
most recent denial of recognition came to Duwamish chairwoman Cecile Hanson in
July this year. Without that recognition, the government will not acknowledge
responsibility for the promises it made to Chief Seattle.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
Today, I see the
Duwamish. I see them as the descendants of the Chief who signed the 1855
treaty. Everyone who lives on the <st1:place><st1:placename>Salish</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype>Sea</st1:placetype></st1:place> must recognize the tribe. Also,
I stand witness to our government’s blind rules, history of our unjust
treatment, and damage of our unfair decisions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
[PLAY RECOGNITION]</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
The Duwamish have
a strong oral tradition of storytelling. On long winter nights in longhouses
like this, elders share stories of how the world came to be, how people and
nature are connected, how trickster reveals a lesson. I have not received the
gift of a tribal story, so I cannot tell you one today. But I know they contain
teachings – teaching of respect, responsibility, and reverence. They are not
moralistic. There is not only one meaning. Each listener may find a different
lesson. What I am learning from them is connectedness over separation,
responsibility over impulse, respect over negativity. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
Like the Duwamish,
my community of jazz musicians has a strong oral tradition of storytelling.
When improvising, musicians are encouraged to “tell their story” – to transcend
technique and reveal their spirit.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
Along with music,
musicians pass along stories and jokes about the history and culture of
improvising. The stories are not about good versus bad, order versus chaos, friend
versus foe. They emphasize what it takes to create in the moment. They are
about style as substance, wit as worthiness, improvisation as identity.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
In both the
culture of the Duwamish and the culture of jazz musicians, stories teach and
share truths so the community will endure. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
[PLAY TEACHING TRUTHS]</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
The Duwamish tribe
is experiencing a rebirth – reclaiming their language, fighting for their legal
rights, establishing a gathering place, teaching wisdom from their ancestors,
and leading environmental stewardship. I hope the city that bears the Duwamish
ancestor’s name will support this rebirth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
I want to close
this program by returning attention to the river. We owe a great debt of
gratitude to those advocates working to clean up the Duwamish. One I would like
us all to acknowledge today is Duwamish tribal member James Rassmussen. He is the
coordinator of the Technical Advisory Group for the Duwamish River Cleanup
Coalition. James is working on behalf of the communities whose lives are
overlooked, impoverished, and poisoned by the river’s pollution. There is an
important interview with James which you can find at duwamishcleanup.org. But
today, he will speak to you directly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
[GIVE JAMES FLOOR]</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
We can all help
the <st1:place><st1:placename>Duwamish</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>River</st1:placetype></st1:place>.
Today, storm water runoff has a bigger impact on the river than industrial
pollution. Every drip of oil from our cars, every load of laundry, every
chemical we put on our landscapes, and everything that enters drains in our
homes can wind up in the mouth of a crab in the Duwamish. We are all connected
to the Duwamish. We are all connected to <st1:city>Seattle</st1:city>.
We are all connected to each other. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
[PLAY CIRCLES]</div>
Steve Griggshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687012846579957525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7544668878487795911.post-7932624145329650182015-07-22T11:21:00.004-07:002015-07-22T11:21:55.803-07:00Premiere of Listen to Seatle 2pm September 26<i>Listen to Seattle</i> will premier on September 26 at the Duwamish Longhouse. Coincidentally on this date in 1851, Lee Terry and David Denny first arrived at Alki point. <i>Listen to Seattle </i>will honor the city's namesake and the tribal struggle to coexist with whites.Steve Griggshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687012846579957525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7544668878487795911.post-8189693596256227572015-07-22T11:13:00.000-07:002015-07-22T11:15:17.604-07:00Captain Phelps of the Decatur describes Seattle in 1856"Few places are more advantageously situated for a business emporium than Seattle--located on an amphitheatre of gently sloping hills, with clear, pure, cold water to be found everywhere a few feet below the surface; and surrounded by a country with the finest ship and spar timber to be found in the whole world; with the land possessing a soil capable of producing in the greatest profusion and unsurpassed in quantity and quality--all kinds of cerials [sic], vegetables, fruits and berries usually found North of the 38th parallel of North latitude; and possessing a climate teeming with health, and so salubrious, as to render it at all times an antidote to despondency; where the nights are always cool, insuring refreshing slumber and a renewed, invigorated system on awakening--physically prepared for all the emergencies of life; and, during the Spring, Summer and Autumn months, presenting weather unexcelled [sic] in any quarter of the globe.<br />
"The waters of the Sound are filled with excellent salmon in their season succeeded by cod and many other varieties of fish, while the forest abound in game."Steve Griggshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687012846579957525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7544668878487795911.post-50265502151413725742015-03-23T09:12:00.000-07:002015-03-23T09:12:16.765-07:00PrologueOne hundred and seventy five years ago on a Pacific Northwest beach, a man sings. A chant in a somber minor key – repeating, descending. The tone is low and gravelly but the sound carries far across the dark expanse of water covered in clouds of grey and charcoal.<br />
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The sacred song was bestowed by nature, to evoke a spirit power. The melody harmonizes with the hissing breeze in the trees, the slurping ripples on the shore, the raven’s rasp and laughing gull, the seal’s bark and splashing salmon, the crunch of shells underfoot.<br />
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Bushes laden with berries and rivers thick with fish nourish the songman. Cedar trees approach to offer their trunks for transport across the water and their bark for garments against the rain. Raven and coyote share secret stories of how the earth came to be. Soon, white settlers will invade with disease and denegration.<br />
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On the same day, at the sultry mouth of the Mississippi River, a man sits astride his bamboula, sweating over the drum he is permitted to play only on Sundays in Congo Square. Hundreds of African slaves drum, dance, and sing in this New Orleans park, away from the severe restrictions of the British culture left over from colonization. The music and motion weaves a resilient fabric recalling African village life where rhythms told stories and movement restored health. Their music is a haven of freedom within the country enslaving them. This taproot of black music drinks from the confluence of cultures coming to the shores of the new world.<br />
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Today, I bring these two streams of ancient music together. I am not a member of a native tribe but I yearn for a connection to the natural world. I am not descended from African slaves but I cherish freedom, equity, and emotional expression. My blood traces back to Germany through my mother and Scotland through my father. I learned music through public schools, peers, mentors, radios, and records that I could find in America’s heartland. The sound I chose to create today is flavored by the fruit of family trees both near to and distant from my own.<br />
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Steve Griggshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687012846579957525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7544668878487795911.post-75754713996355730162014-12-17T14:18:00.000-08:002014-12-17T14:22:13.875-08:00Rosemary Sweeney shares American Indian Law Review article<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJxZDub7PLOHogJs8QenxUjbDcH5dGlhTEbtvNUYVwmcWMc7bcfbkteIpFSnnQtFkZPKs-P2FLsBTHMl3g5z8dwesMX3f2p548yERZqzOPkKMIcsPf-fcUlC7S4TpfTZntsVLqpI1F-i4/s1600/American+Indian+Law+Review.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJxZDub7PLOHogJs8QenxUjbDcH5dGlhTEbtvNUYVwmcWMc7bcfbkteIpFSnnQtFkZPKs-P2FLsBTHMl3g5z8dwesMX3f2p548yERZqzOPkKMIcsPf-fcUlC7S4TpfTZntsVLqpI1F-i4/s1600/American+Indian+Law+Review.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a></div>
Attorney Rosemary Sweeney shared her 2001 article in the American Indian Law Review titled: FEDERAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF INDIAN TRIBES: CURRENT BIA INTERPRETATIONS OF THE FEDERAL CRITERIA FOR ACKNOWLEDGMENT WITH RESPECT TO SEVERAL NORTHWEST TRIBES.<br />
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Rosemary is the wife of bassist Phil Sparks, who will be performing in <i>Listen to Seattle</i>.Steve Griggshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687012846579957525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7544668878487795911.post-77647561257444112552014-12-17T14:13:00.001-08:002014-12-17T14:13:16.698-08:004Culture Historic Site Specific Program recommends funding Listen to Seattle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj65f6aNrpm1gBbuOgpmBuYMnHNGsOUISm0Pyka_hnkhRoRlOS5o_bwiUHosy_ckxtUK8JuObCTjhr10YXaSy-ml6yP3pfBH73dV_bPqdn-d5cqvj4oI7pLIySm-PdXABTE4gNaJT47U0L2/s1600/site_specific.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj65f6aNrpm1gBbuOgpmBuYMnHNGsOUISm0Pyka_hnkhRoRlOS5o_bwiUHosy_ckxtUK8JuObCTjhr10YXaSy-ml6yP3pfBH73dV_bPqdn-d5cqvj4oI7pLIySm-PdXABTE4gNaJT47U0L2/s1600/site_specific.jpg" /></a></div>
The review committee for the 4Culture Historic Site Specific Program has recommended funding for <i>Listen to Seattle</i>. The recommendation will be part of the 4Culture budget to be approved in January.Steve Griggshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687012846579957525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7544668878487795911.post-71058133592963057262014-09-23T19:40:00.000-07:002014-09-23T19:41:10.131-07:00Learn an appreciation of earth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgNmgfjq-10iuxvb1KGg4yIsJq8aLV2bScC3F-A_hse77jy5H_jFTgGEYX6FJZijjx5KEoiAzq-HyJT4HE0WQj_IEtt5-lSHL4TMjZ-eCu6PEmCgb3eDrL51-aGjX7JCgiBOBX2DzSy9Ju/s1600/Chief_seattle_banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgNmgfjq-10iuxvb1KGg4yIsJq8aLV2bScC3F-A_hse77jy5H_jFTgGEYX6FJZijjx5KEoiAzq-HyJT4HE0WQj_IEtt5-lSHL4TMjZ-eCu6PEmCgb3eDrL51-aGjX7JCgiBOBX2DzSy9Ju/s1600/Chief_seattle_banner.jpg" height="226" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Steve Griggshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687012846579957525noreply@blogger.com