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In Janey Blackeye-Bryan and Shasta Blackeye-Adair’s second presentation to the Shoshone Community Language Initiative (SCLI) program at Great Basin College they continue to talk about their history and the traditions of the Western Shoshone. They begin by singing a Shoshone Honor song that was created by their father/grandfather Willie Blackeye from Duckwater reservation, NV. Then they move onto express the importance of the language program and moreover how important it is to stay in school and stay strong like our ancestors use to.
Presented at the 2017 Shoshone Community Language Initiative summer youth program (SCLI 17).
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Katherine Blossom addresses students at the Shoshone Community Language Initiative (SCLI) program at Great Basin College. Katherine Blossom begins her discussion by describing the benefits of learning the language. She speaks about how her mother and others were punished at boarding schools for speaking their native language, and as a result she was denied the opportunity to learn it growing up. She then goes on to sing a song on the hand drum. Afterward, she begins to speak about the different native plants and other materials that traditional Western Shoshones would use.
Presented at the 2017 Shoshone Community Language Initiative summer youth program (SCLI 17).
Dennis F. Pete, Sr. was born at the Duck Valley Reservation (Owyhee, NV-ID) to Bessie and Alec Cleveland. He went to school in Owyhee also at the Swayne School where he would play basketball and football. Later in life he got married and moved to Pyramid Lake where he lived for 39 years. He currently lives in Owyhee. Dennis then addresses the hand games and how hand games are played, moreover he talks about some of the places he has traveled to attend hand games. He then plays a few circle dance songs for his audience.
Full Video Video pendingVirginia Jones is a Shoshone-Paiute from the Duck Valley reservation. She begins her oral history by describing the different types of drums that she currently own and how they are used in powwows, hand games, or circle dancing. She also tells us about how she got interested in drumming along with those individuals which taught her drumming through the years. This also included how to take care of your drum when traveling to different events, and moreover how different materials can create different sounds with the drum.
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]]>Virginia Mae Jones from Duck Valley reservation (Owyhee, NV) goes over the hand drum at Great Basin College on February 27, 2012. She sings a few traditional songs to the audience while playing her hand drum. She also speaks about individuals who inspired her to begin hand drumming herself, as well as those individuals who passed her songs of their own. She also speaks about the difference between traditional versus contemporary practices that have surfaced recently within powwows and other gatherings or doings.
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Earl and Beverly Crum speak about the different types of traditional Shoshone songs sung during different ceremonies and events. They speak about how songs are more than just a melody but include a story and sometimes a moral. They also talk about how the language is put together and how it is culturally significant. Earl and Beverly also tell about the customs of the Shoshone Bear dance and hand games as well as provide a tale explaining the hand game: Coyote and the hand game. They play an array of traditional Shoshone songs. Earl describes his childhood in Battle Mountain, Nevada during the Great Depression.
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