Photos of the July 2013 Festival of Native Peoples

Here's a link to a great set of photos from the July 2013 Festival of Native Peoples (I did not take these photos; but the one on the left is mine).  The photos show several of the groups that performed dances in Cherokee, NC from all over North America and Mexico (the Hawaiian group is based in Virginia).  The costumes are incredibly beautiful (especially the Aztec dancers!), as well as some of the musical instruments like the drums in the photo at left (in the photo the man on the left is Andy Everson, Northwest Coast artist and graphic designer– check out his great art at www.andyeverson.com).

Below is a video of the Raven Gwawena Dance, performed by the Le-La-La Dancers of Northern Vancouver Island.  They are a traditional Kwakwaka'wakw (pronounced kwa kwa key wok) dance company that has shared their culture by entertaining and educating throughout the world for over 25 years under the direction of George Me'las Taylor (he is on the right in the photo above).

2013 Festival of Native Peoples and Cherokee Indian Art Market

Coming up this weekend (7/12-7/13) in Cherokee, NC is the 2013 Festival of Native Peoples and Cherokee Indian Art Market.  It is the "finest showcase of native dance, art, and culture in the southeast. Indigenous tribes from across the Americas gather for the Festival of Native Peoples... the event honors the collective history, customs and wisdom of some of the oldest documented tribes."

Some of this year's performing groups include the Totonac pole flyers of Mexico who gracefully unfurl from the top of a ninety-foot pole while attached to ropes; the White Mountain Apache Crown Dancers of Arizona; the Halau Ho'omau I ka Wai Ola O' Hawai'i hula dancers based at Hope United Church in Alexandria, Virginia; and Cherokee's own Warriors of AniKituhwa.

The festival will also play host to one of the southeast’s largest Native American art markets. The Cherokee Indian Art Market will feature over fifty nationally recognized, juried craftspeople and artisans from around the country displaying and selling their handmade traditional and contemporary works of art ranging in price from $10 to tens of thousands of dollars. Artists will also demonstrate techniques passed down from generation to generation.

Adult admission to the festival is $10.  To see a detailed performance schedule for both days, click the image at the top of this page.  Below is montage video of the dance groups from 2009: