Amsterdam Festival: NL fetival of indigenous people's culture

Kanoheda Aniyvwiva (Native American News),
Vol. 03, no. 010, 11 March 1996

During the International Decade for the World's Indigenous Peoples, the Netherlands Centre for Indigenous Peoples plans to organize a recurring Summer Festival of Indigenous Peoples' Culture in Amsterdam. At this festival, which is scheduled to be held in September, several aspects of indigenous peoples' cultures as well as their present circumstances will be highlighted. The central focus of the festival will be indigenous music. Next to that, the organizers aim to call attention to current indigenous theatre, storytelling and poetry. Of each, three fields of performances will be presented on stage:

traditional indigenous culture: performances of traditional songs, theatre and poetry, with direct links to old oral traditions and pre-colonial culture.

popular indigenous culture: performances of well-known indigenous musical artists, which have made - or are about to make - a hit in popular mainstream culture.

avant-garde/experimental indigenous culture performances of experimental groups in the fields of music and theatre. Blending of indigenous traditions with innovative forms in Western and other non-indigenous culture.

Each year of the decade, the summer festival will have a different region as main theme. The theme for 1995 will be the Circumpolar region: Greenland, northern Scandinavia, Siberia, Alaska and northern Canada. Future themes will be the Pacific, the southern cone of South America, the Himalayas, southern Africa, the Indonesian Archipelago, Australia, Central America, North America and, lastly a World's Indigenous Peoples Festival with a reprise of many of the most promising performances.

At the time of the festival we would also like to publish a special edition of our monthly magazine 'Indigo' on the situation of indigenous peoples in the Circumpolar region.

Concerning the first Summer Festival of Indigenous Peoples' Cultures we would like to ask you the following questions:

1. What is your opinion on the idea of this recurring summer festival?
2. Could you give us information on indigenous cultural groups and performers from the Circumpolar region which we could invite to participate in the festival?
3. Would you know any existing exhibitions or exhibition materials we could display at the festival?
4. Do you have any suggestions for articles, guest writers, poetry, books to be reviewed etc. for the special edition of our magazine?

We are looking forward to hearing from you!