Things to do: Stephanie Land reading, Native play debut and live music

By in Native

Things to do: Stephanie Land reading, Native play debut and live music


Cory Walsh

Here’s a quick guide to some upcoming events happening around Missoula in the coming week.



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From left, University of Montana students Connor Romandine, Lucy Schindler, Andy Lottis, McKay Cheney, Rikky Johnson, Nick Monsos, Monroe Ayers and Mikayla Kay in the Zootown Cabaret, a student performing ensemble for musical theater, rehearse “35mm: A Musical Exhibition” at McGill Hall on Thursday, Nov. 9. The student group is staging a musical based on photographs by a Broadway photographer who grew up in Missoula.



ANTONIO IBARRA OLIVARES, Missoulian


‘35mm: A Musical Exhibition’

(Friday-Saturday, Nov. 17-18)

The Zootown Cabaret, an auditioned UM musical theater group, is staging an unconventional new show with Missoula ties.

In “35mm: A Musical Exhibition,” still photographs (seen on a projection screen) formed the inspiration for the music. New York composer-lyricist Ryan Scott Oliver, a rising star in the theater world, wrote songs in a variety of genres based on photographs by his husband, Matthew Murphy, a theater and dance photographer who grew up in Missoula.

Details: 7 p.m. doors, 7:30 p.m. show. $17 general, $10 students. Contains mature themes and language.

People are also reading…

Bass loops take the lead

(Saturday, Nov. 18)

During the low points of 2020, Cole Grant, a bassist who plays with the local jazz-jam-improv group Transcendental Express, spent a lot of time jamming not with his friends, but a looping pedal.

That time turned into an album’s worth of short loops that he released as a beat tape.

He’s expanded that effort with a new project under the name C Dylla G. (The name’s an homage to the late producer James Yancey, who went by J Dilla.)

Quarantine long over, he brought in collaborations for a triple-album’s worth of new beats, each around a minute and 20 per record. You can hear work by saxophonist Lhanna Writesel, multi-instrumentalist Sean Burress, singer-songwriter Gabrielle Tusberg and former “Pea Green Boat” host Annie Garde.

To bring the loops to life for a release show, Grant booked Suite Two, a community performance space, and booked three artists that will interpret one album each: DJ Slacks, S_nya and Doctor Fly, plus visuals by Rainbow Gorilla.

Details: 8 p.m., $10 suggested donation. Suite Two is located at 1001 S. Fourth St. W.

Funksgiving at the Wilma

(Saturday, Nov. 18)

The Bozeman tradition of Funksgiving, now in its ninth year, is expanding to Missoula.

A ’70s costume party, in which the bands and the audience can dress up, has sold out the past three years in its home city.

The music is provided by the Sweet Groovalicious Funk Machine with some special guests: L.A. singer Adryon de Leon, Bozeman country singer Paige Rasmussen, and local vocalist Kelley Sinclair. Montana “power disco” duo Desperate Electric will open.

Some proceeds will go to the nonprofit Montana Land Reliance, which works with “private landowners to permanently protect agricultural lands, fish and wildlife habitat and open space,” according to its website.

Details: Tickets are $20 advance, $23 day of, logjampresents.com. Doors at 7 p.m., show at 8.



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Stephanie Land seen at her home in Missoula in 2019 not long after “Maid” was published.



Kurt Wilson



Stephanie Land reading at MPL

(Sunday, Nov. 19)

The Missoula author of the best-selling memoir “Maid,” which was turned into a Netflix series, has written a follow-up book, “Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education.”

Released early this month, the book covers Land’s experience raising a young daughter on her own while finishing an English and creative writing degree at the University of Montana.

At this hometown celebration, she’ll discuss the book with local novelist and vlogger Hank Green.

Details: Free, 7 p.m. MPL Cooper Room on the fourth floor.

Original play addressing MMIP

(Sunday, Nov. 19)

A new play by a local Indigenous writer that addresses the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People will get a stage reading this weekend.

“Can’t Drink Salt Water” is an original work by Missoula playwright Kendra Mylnechuk Potter (Lummi). She wrote and starred in an original full-length show, “The Buffalo Play,” which premiered in Missoula and New York. She was also the subject of a documentary, “Daughter of a Lost Bird,” about her adoption by a white family in Missoula and her search for her adult mother.

According to the Rep, the play follows two stories: “a mother’s relentless search to find her missing daughter with the journey of a young woman newly arrived at Bethel House, an evangelical shelter for victims of sex trafficking.”

The director of this reading is Pirrone Yousefzadeh and the cast includes Indigenous actors from around the U.S. and Canada, including Elva Guerra of the FX series “Reservation Dogs.” 

This is a staged reading, meaning there’s no set and costumes, and the Rep has committed to a full production in the future.

Details: 4 p.m., Montana Theatre, PAR/TV Building. Tickets are $5-$50 at montanarep.com. Recommended for adult audiences.

String Orchestra of the Rockies concert

(Sunday, Nov. 19)

The SOR’s final concert of the calendar year, “Musical Stars and Serenades,” features two soloists and a youth guest orchestra.

The soloists are the group’s music director, Maria Larionoff, a violinist and former concertmaster for the Seattle Symphony, and Adam Collins, cellist and professor at UM. They’ll take the spotlight on Vivaldi’s Concerto for Violin, Cello and Strings.

The orchestra’s “Risings Stars” group, which includes UM undergraduates and area high school students, will join them for Dvorak’s Serenade for Strings.

Details: 4 p.m., UM Music Building Recital Hall.



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Heather Cahoon shares poems while speaking at the first night of the Stolen Waters Summit at the University of Montana’s Payne Family Native American Center in early November.



ANTONIO IBARRA OLIVARES, Missoulian


Glacier Symphony with Native poetry

(Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 18-19)

For “Vision Spirit Land,” the symphony has some special collaborations from an Indigenous poet and artist.

The centerpiece of the concert is the world premiere of “The Hunting Moon,” a symphonic piece by the group’s conductor John Zoltek. It includes nearly 15 poems by Heather Cahoon, a UM professor and member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. The narration will be accompanied by guest soloist Suzanne Teng on flute. The pre-concert and intermission will feature work by Monica Gilles-BringsYellow, a Missoula-based Salish visual artist, and the concert will have two ceremonial songs by Kevin Kickingwoman, a Blackfeet artist, Browning High School instructor and the 2023 Montana Teacher of the Year. Besides Zoltek’s original composition, the concert features Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Visions” and pieces by Samuel Barber and Dvorak, along with visuals.

Details: Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. in McClaren Hall at Wachholsz College Center at Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell.

Quick hits

Local show at Free Cycles: The Benevolents (7 p.m.) and the Two Tracks (8:30-10 p.m.). The Benevolents are a local folk-rock-jam group; while the Two Tracks are a Sheridan, Wyoming, Americana outfit that recently released a new album, “It’s a Complicated Life” that was deemed to be “pure excellence” by American Songwriter magazine. Admission is $5 at the door, no one will be turned away for lack of funds. All ages. Friday, Nov. 17.

Locals at the Badlander: Catch a three-pack of old-school musicians with The Skurfs, Modular Haze and Bacon and Egg. 7 p.m., $10, on Friday, Nov. 17.

‘Napoleon Dynamite’ reunion: The cast of the cult film is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a screening and an on-stage discussion: Jon Heder as the title character, Efren Ramirez as Pedro and Jon Gries as Uncle Rico. Friday, Nov. 17, 8 p.m. Dennison Theatre, griztix.com.

Noise-heavy groups at VFW: Attendees of the late noise/heavy/anything event Total Fest may recall Gaythiest of Portland. They’ll play with local metal-doom outfit Swamp Ritual and a local noise-improv group whose name includes the word “Panic,” led by Tricia Opstad and Dusty Shriver. Friday, Nov. 17, $10, all ages, Doors at 8 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m.



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These Indigenous Artists Are Using Public Art to Make Their Voices Heard

By in Native

These Indigenous Artists Are Using Public Art to Make Their Voices Heard

From the ancient petroglyphs at Nevada’s Grimes Point Archaeological Site to the vibrant murals adorning Indian Alley in Los Angeles, Native American communities have been harnessing the power of visual art to tell their stories for thousands of years. And we’re not just talking about paintings hung behind gallery doors. Instead, many Indigenous artists are sidestepping institutional barriers and bringing their works into the public eye via moving outdoor installations intended to amplify the diverse history, traditions, and stories of their peoples. (Not that their body of work isn’t gaining more and more recognition in the exhibition space as well—Jeffrey Gibson is set to be the first solo indigenous artist to represent the US at the Venice Biennale in 2024.)

Why public art? Part of the reason lies in the numbers. While the US Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey noted a significant growth in those identifying as American Indian and Alaska Native—from 5.2 million in 2010 to 8.7 million—Indigenous peoples still only account for about 2.6% of the country’s total population. As such, going public is a way for Native artists to make their voices heard, to shout from the rooftops, “We exist.”

Heather Ahtone, the director of curatorial affairs at the First Americans Museum, says that while it’s important to remember that there’s no singular Native viewpoint, there is some commonality between works created by Indigenous Americans, including a continuous reverence for and connection to the land and their communities.

For Ahtone, the significance of Indigenous narratives goes beyond just dates and events; it’s about a spiritual connection to a specific place, or what she calls a Genesis story. She says that for many Native American cultures, “Knowledge doesn’t rest in books but in music and oral history.” What’s more, she sees Indigenous architecture like Navajo hogans, Plains tipis, and Pawnee lodges as not just functional buildings but artistic expressions of cultural identity.

Today, Native artists across the country and beyond are projecting their creative visions larger and louder than ever before, pushing the boundaries of contemporary art and paving the way for a more inclusive and dynamic cultural landscape. Here are just a few of the places where Indigenous artists have transformed buildings, town squares, city streets, and more into captivating super-sized canvases.

Michelle Beth Photography celebrates new location

By in Photography

Michelle Beth Photography celebrates new location

Michelle Woods, owner of Michelle Beth Photography, surrounded by friends and family with Tipp City Mayor Mike McFarland, far right, and the Tipp City Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Meredith McKee, center in pink, cuts the ribbon Wednesday, Nov. 15, celebrating her new business location in the Tipp Center on North Third Street in Tipp City. Woods’ business was previously conducted by working out of her home. Her business, which shoots weddings, and family, business and senior portraits, may be reached by calling 937-476-9356.

Sheryl Roadcap | Miami Valley Today

Michelle Woods, owner of Michelle Beth Photography, surrounded by friends and family with Tipp City Mayor Mike McFarland, far right, and the Tipp City Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Meredith McKee, center in pink, cuts the ribbon Wednesday, Nov. 15, celebrating her new business location in the Tipp Center on North Third Street in Tipp City. Woods’ business was previously conducted by working out of her home. Her business, which shoots weddings, and family, business and senior portraits, may be reached by calling 937-476-9356.

‘Do It Right’ with AI: Ally creators experiment with generative AI in marketing test case

By in Art World News

‘Do It Right’ with AI: Ally creators experiment with generative AI in marketing test case

Early results show Ally.ai capabilities could boost speed, drive team creativity and productivity

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) announced today the early results of an experimental generative AI use case with its marketing team designed to help understand the real-world impact the technology could have on campaign development and employee productivity. Using the Ally.ai platform’s large language model (LLM) chat and prompt functionality, a select group of marketers were able to reduce the time needed to produce creative campaigns and content by up to 2-3 weeks and reported an average time savings of 34%, compared to typical processes without AI. 


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Ally Financial has released the early results of an experimental generative AI use case with marketing, showing the potential benefits the technology could have on campaign development, content creation and overall employee productivity. This infographic provides an overview of the Ally marketing test case, including potential time savings and measurable accuracy and usefulness rates reported by the team using the Ally.ai platform. For more about Ally’s work with generative AI, visit https://ally.tech.
Ally Financial has released the early results of an experimental generative AI use case with marketing, showing the potential benefits the technology could have on campaign development, content creation and overall employee productivity. This infographic provides an overview of the Ally marketing test case, including potential time savings and measurable accuracy and usefulness rates reported by the team using the Ally.ai platform. For more about Ally’s work with generative AI, visit https://ally.tech.

Additional results reported from the month-long experimental program include:

  • The reduction in time needed for content creation and other marketing outputs of up to 2-3 weeks was primarily found in the early stages of the creative process in tasks such as research, first drafts and naming exercises
  • The 34% time savings on tasks when using the Ally.ai interface could equate to an annual savings of almost 3,000 hours across the participant team
  • More than 80 prompts developed by participants during the test had an 87% usefulness rate, showing the value of prompt engineering training for teammates and the effectiveness of outputs that could be used in assigned work
  • Users also noted a prompt accuracy rate of 81%, signifying that they received the right type of content or response outputs from the Ally.ai platform to complete their assignments
  • Participants also saw usefulness and accuracy in outputs when using Ally.ai for data analysis, quality controls and search engine optimization (SEO)

“The best marketing teams know the art of evolution, which includes evaluating and testing of transformative technologies,” said Andrea Brimmer, Chief Marketing and Public Relations Officer at Ally. “The early results demonstrate how AI could enable our talent to focus on creative tasks that needed the most human involvement, while speeding up the routine efforts of our day-to-day work. We look forward to the continued exploration of generative AI and learning more about how the technology can assist our team.”  

Ally.ai, the company’s proprietary, cloud-based AI platform that serves as a secure, private bridge between enterprise-grade LLMs and Ally’s data and AI applications, launched in June 2023. The test with marketing comes on the heels of Ally’s pilot with its Customer Care and Experience group where Ally.ai was used to quickly and accurately summarize customer service calls, helping associates focus their energy on more meaningful customer interactions and reduce the time needed to service and close a customer inquiry.

Read more about Ally.ai and the Customer Care use case here.

Both use cases reflect a commitment to Ally’s core principles for the enterprise use of AI: initially focusing on use cases that support employee productivity and optimizing internal business processes; providing human intervention and controls for oversight and training; protecting against the disclosure of personal identifying information and prohibiting third party model providers from using Ally data to train their foundational models.

“The purpose of building Ally.ai in-house, and with foundational data, cloud and network infrastructure already in place, is to scale its use throughout the organization while also keeping a close eye on potential risks and opportunities for new use cases,” said Sathish Muthukrishnan, Chief Information, Data and Digital Officer at Ally. “The value that our marketing colleagues could get from Ally.ai demonstrates how important cross-functional collaboration is to the development of enterprise AI capabilities.”

Generative AI in Marketing: Supporting Productivity

In addition to the preset system prompts and security features already embedded in Ally.ai, the platform needed a place where teammates could engage with the LLM directly. Understanding that most LLMs and generative AI applications are good for summarization, content creation, ideation/brainstorming, and information analysis, Ally’s developers built an open prompt user interface (UI) for Ally.ai that would allow teammates to do two types of work: chat directly with the secured LLM and also develop specialized prompts that could be saved, used again, and shared with colleagues based on their accuracy and usefulness rates.

Teammates could change features of the platform depending on the work they did, including toggling between chat and prompt mode, adjusting prompt length as well as the model’s creative parameters and vocabulary. The participant team frequently used Ally.ai as a starting point for creative development, specifically for first drafts of advertising copy, video scripts or social media posts, or enhancing human-driven ideas that originated from brainstorms or naming exercises.

An example: the content team performed a test of Ally.ai by providing the platform with a transcript of a podcast that featured an Ally executive. The team asked the platform to create the first draft of a 750-word article for Ally’s Conversationally blog with the information provided, plus direction to incorporate the most insightful, informative and entertaining parts that would be relevant to consumers. While the Ally.ai output required editing and the finesse of Ally’s content writers and it still went through Ally’s well-established regulatory review processes, having a quick first draft done in 15 minutes helped reduce the total time needed to create and edit the blog article from four hours to just one.

“We look at Ally.ai as an assistant that will be able to help our teammates with faster and smarter project delivery, which leads to a better experience for our customers,” Brimmer said. “In several different instances, our content writers were able to use thoughtfully crafted prompts to either start up the creative process or help extend the distribution of content to new channels. Anytime we can reduce the time to publish while also letting our creatives do what they do best, that means a lot in our fast-moving, competitive environment.”

Dig deeper on how the Ally Marketing team tested AI on the Ally Tech blog.

With the Ally.ai UI in place, Ally teammates can be trained to use it for the exploration and development of approved business use cases. The opportunity to learn more about AI and train using the platform has created a positive energy inside the company. Earlier this month, Ally hosted its second AI Day – a half-day dedicated to education and knowledge sharing around AI – with almost 1,000 teammates from multiple business units in attendance.

“You can’t escape the conversation around AI, so we are taking hold of that momentum and using it as a springboard to continue to explore new use cases that will drive AI adoption internally while supporting business goals,” Muthukrishnan said. “Right now, there are more than 100 use cases being carefully evaluated throughout the enterprise. While not all of them will pass our rigorous testing, we remain optimistic about what AI can bring to our teammates at Ally and to the financial services industry.”

For more insights from the technology team at Ally, including how the team is exploring new innovations like quantum computing and digital accessibility, visit https://ally.tech.

About Ally Financial

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a financial services company with the nation’s largest all-digital bank and an industry-leading auto financing business, driven by a mission to “Do It Right” and be a relentless ally for customers and communities. The company serves more than 11 million customers through a full range of online banking services (including deposits, mortgage, point-of-sale personal lending, and credit card products) and securities brokerage and investment advisory services. The company also includes a robust corporate finance business that offers capital for equity sponsors and middle-market companies, as well as auto financing and insurance offerings. For more information, please visit www.ally.com and follow @allyfinancial.

For more information and disclosures about Ally, visit https://www.ally.com/#disclosures.

For further images and news on Ally, please visit http://media.ally.com.

Contacts:
Laurie Hurst
Ally Communications (Media)
[email protected]

SOURCE Ally Financial

Make Your Culinary Fantasies a Reality With the 48-inch Pro Range With Six Burners + Griddle

By in Design

Make Your Culinary Fantasies a Reality With the 48-inch Pro Range With Six Burners + Griddle

When it comes to the kitchen, some of us are looking for a bit – alright, a lot – more firepower than others. For those who want the ultimate high-tech professional culinary experience, we invite you to explore Signature Kitchen Suite’s 48-inch Dual-Fuel Pro Range with Six Burners and Griddle. It’s everything you could dream to ask for in a range, and then some. Intuitive Smart Knobs™ display the heat level, temperature, and cooking time so you don’t get off track. Each cooking method is controlled by a dedicated Smart Knob™ featuring large, easy-to-read, illuminated numbers and a Wi-Fi timer you can monitor using the ThinQ app, in case you want to leave the room entirely to spend time with guests. Simply turn the knob to the desired temperature or burner level and rotate the LED display to set the cooking time. Signature Kitchen Suite has thought of it all in this appliance’s top-notch engineering and design.

A main feature, the sleek chromium griddle plate delivers even, consistent heat across its surface for professional results every time. It’s also incredibly durable, with a polished finish that resists scratches when you’re busy whipping up a fast meal or juggling multiple pots and pans at once. We’re already dreaming of deluxe breakfast sandwiches and perfectly seared steaks!

stainless steel range top with sauce pot simmering on a burner

Take advantage of the range’s technologically advanced burner system: three Ultra-High™ and three Ultra-Low™ – that are remarkably powerful, yet incredibly precise. The black porcelain-coated brass Ultra-High™ burners deliver up to 23K BTUs of pure cooking power for better searing and quick stir-frying. Meanwhile, the Ultra-Low™ burners can create the perfect simmer, maintaining temperatures as low as 100° while you prepare delicate sauces and sugary confections to be enjoyed.

overhead image of a pan of salmon sitting on a stainless steel range top

The front three burner grates can easily convert into a built-in Wok Convertible Grate to accommodate the vessel’s rounded bottom. Your stir-fried favorites will never taste better than when prepared with these profession-style results.

overhead image of a pan of salmon on the oven shelf of a stainless steel range

More gourmet results can be expected from the 18-inch Steam-Combi oven that features special cooking and steam modes. Narrow in size, the convection system cooks food quickly and evenly, while the circulating steam helps to preserve the texture, appearance, and taste of your latest culinary masterpiece. The accompanying 30-inch oven features ProHeat™ convection technology with a rear-wall element and fan to distribute heat to every rack, while also broiling, baking, roasting, warming, and proofing your recipes.

Once you’re ready to shine up the kitchen, the SpeedClean® function will make fast work of cleaning a lightly soiled oven by only using water. In 10 minutes, you can relax knowing there’s no mess waiting to be tackled later. For deeper cleanings, there are self-cleaning and variable self-cleaning options that can tackle larger messes.

styled kitchen with two light-skinned people at the island

Designers specifying the 48-inch Pro Range and other appliances from Signature Kitchen Suite can now earn cash rewards through the SKS Partner Rewards program. Register at skspartnerprogram.com today.

To learn more about Signature Kitchen Suite’s 48-inch Dual-Fuel Pro Range with Six Burners and Griddle, or the rest of the brand’s portfolio, visit signaturekitchensuite.com.

Kelly Beall is Director of Branded Content at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based writer and designer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, from Fashion Plates to MoMA and far beyond. When not searching out the visual arts, she’s likely sharing her favorite finds with others. Kelly can also be found tracking down new music, teaching herself to play the ukulele, or on the couch with her three pets – Bebe, Rainey, and Remy. Find her @designcrush on social.

The 2023 BirdLife Australia photography winners

By in Photography

The 2023 BirdLife Australia photography winners
image

Portfolio prize winner

Where there is smoke there is fire by Martin Anderson. In order to capture this sequence I spent two full days a week for a two-month period at the same location, observing and learning the behaviours of the spotted harriers in the Richmond area of NSW. I became attuned to their daily routine and achieved many close-up flight shots. On this day, however, the spotted harrier came from an unexpected direction, at an unexpected time and it brought unexpected company with it – a brown falcon

Native American artists share their stories, history, culture at film festival

By in Native

Native American artists share their stories, history, culture at film festival
‘Wallowing Bull’ being filmed. Photo courtesy of Christian Wallowing Bull.

Emily McCauley, Contributing Writer

The Virginia Museum of History and Culture will host Pocahontas Reframed from Nov. 17 through 19, the East Coast’s largest Native American film festival, according to Bradby Brown, Pocahontas Reframed director. 

“Storytelling is the heartbeat of indigenous culture, and that’s really what the film festival is about, is native people telling their stories about native history and culture,” Brown said. 

The festival will occur from 9 a.m. through 4 p.m. in the Robins Family Forum at the VMHC. Films will occur all day at the festival, totaling 31 films over the three days.

The Tsenacommacah Eastern Indian Marketplace will take place at the festival for the first time this year on Saturday and Sunday, with native artisans selling jewelry, pottery, clothing, gourds and more, according to Brown. 

November is Native American Heritage Month, and the festival occurs the weekend before Thanksgiving, making it a good time for the event, Brown said.

The purpose of the festival beyond storytelling is educational and to allow students and citizens to learn about and appreciate American Indian culture, languages and cinema, according to Brown. 

“Every year more and more people come to it and I think they really enjoy it,” Brown said. “The films are really what bring people in —  we have musical performances as well.”

Musician Christian Wallowing Bull will show his short film titled “Wallowing Bull” at the festival on Nov. 17 at 10:30 a.m., according to the festival’s website. 

The film represents Wallowing Bull’s family on the Wind River Indian Reservation, he said. The Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes share this reservation together.

“I am North Arapaho and the song and the film are supposed to represent the essence of the reservation as well as my people and my family,” Wallowing Bull said. 

The song in the film represents the healing of his people and shows the significance of buffalo to the tribes on the reservation, Wallowing Bull said. 

“Within the video we captured buffalo here on the reservation and that is very significant to our people and we understood we wanted to bring that element to our film slash music video,” Wallowing Bull said. 

The two tribes have considered themselves buffalo people for many generations and are working with an organization called the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative to bring buffalo back to their land, according to Wallowing Bull. 

Wallowing Bull hopes the attendees can witness the power and energy that is in the native communities on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, he said. 

“I have always considered myself a modern-day storyteller,” Wallowing Bull said. “That for me as an artist and an Arapaho tribal member I believe I’m honoring traditions that have been passed down for many generations from my people and being able to tell stories about what it looks like today in society.”

“Rabbit Stories,” an animated film written fully in Cherokee, according to Joseph Erb, writer, producer and director. 

Erb aims to create media that includes Cherokee and represents native life in the present day, he said.

“So that people understand that our language is today’s language, not a past language,” Erb said.

“Rabbit Stories” is set in the present day, so audiences will see recognizable buildings and the capital of Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Erb said. 

Erb said he feels many people outside of indigenous communities think their stories are just entertainment, but these stories have values and accurate knowledge of medicine and history.

“For indigenous media, we are such a small group, we don’t have these areas where someone can really focus in on our creativeness of this media and this is a film festival that does that and I just wanted to be a part of it,” Erb said. 

The VHMC, the event’s host, is dedicated to recognizing and remembering that native culture is still part of Virginia history and Virginia culture, said Joseph Rogers, the director for partnerships and community engagement at the VHMC.

“There were concerning efforts to erase native peoples from Virginia,” Rogers said. “That is an aspect of our history that we have not faced well enough.”

When one walks into the museum, the flags out front say “Your history. Your story,” and the VMHC means that for native people as well, Rogers said. 

“We cannot discount that their culture and their history is what makes this all possible,” Rogers said. 

Creating the ability for people to tell their own stories is the VMHC’s goal for this year and upcoming years, Rogers said.

“I want people to come in with an open mind so that they are able to see the stories that are put in front of them,” Rogers said. “That they’re able to think about what people went through in order to make those stories and then I would love them to commit themselves to ensure that more of those stories are heard.”

A roundup of holiday markets and craft sales

By in Art World News

A roundup of holiday markets and craft sales

There are a lot of holiday markets in November and December (and by a lot, we mean almost 50). Each offers a treasure trove of unique gifts for those you love. Find home-baked goods, authentic crafts, decorations, novelty items, and more.

Find even more things to do in the Arts Roundup and the Food Roundup.

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