Shawn Stevens is an enrolled member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans, whose ancestral homelands are the Berkshires, as well as the entire Hudson Valley. Photo courtesy of Alliance for a Viable Future.
Great Barrington — Alliance for a Viable Future (AVF) and the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center will present the second annual “Honoring Native America” event on Friday, October 6, to kick off Indigenous Peoples’ Day weekend in the Berkshires. Friday’s program consists of flute music performed by R. Carlos Nakai; stories from Mohican storyteller Shawn Stevens; and a talk by lawyer and peacemaker Cheryl Fairbanks, Esq. Executive Director of Alliance for a Viable Future Lev Natan will deliver opening remarks. The Mahaiwe describes the event as going “beyond performance into the interactive realm of ceremony and collective prayer.”
Born in 1946, R. Carlos Nakai is a Navajo and Ute flutist. He initially played brass instruments but switched to the Native American cedar flute due to an injury. Self-taught, Nakai released “Changes” in 1983 and signed with Canyon Records, producing over 37 discs for that label. His music blends traditional Native American melodies with original compositions. Nakai has collaborated with such musicians as composer Philip Glass, flutist Paul Horn, guitarist/luthier William Eaton, composer James DeMars, two-time-Grammy-winning producer Billy Williams, and a very long list of others. Nakai has received 11 Grammy nominations.
Although an ordained minister of the Universal Church of Light, Shawn Stevens does not answer to “shaman” or “medicine man.” Instead, he calls himself a helper. He is also a drummer, dancer, singer, flutist, historian, and especially a storyteller. Shawn is a member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans, but his…
Empty Spaces is a novel by Jordan Abel. (Sweetmoon Photography, McClelland & Stewart)
