I'm fromtheOneidaandtheOjibwenations, and I amEagleClan. Whendidyoustartplayingmusicandstartdancing? So I starteddancingandtellingstoriesfromthetime I wasborninnorthernWisconsin, inthelandsoftheAnishinaabepeople. Peoplewhere I comefrom, weusedifferentpartsoftheanimaltocreateverybeautiful, adornedbags. Whatisthebagmadeoutof? Thebagismadeoutofdeerhide.
Thistypeofmaterialthat I'm wearing, thedifferentcolors, that's porcupinequills. I definitelywouldlookat a baglikethisandbelike, "ThatpersonisAnishinaabe." Howcomesomeofthesesymbolsaresoimportant? Sosomeofthesesymbolsareimportantbecausetheypreservecultureandstories.
Look, there's a thunderbird, whichis a symbolofpower. AndinAnishinaabeculture, therearedifferentstoriesaboutthunderbirdsprotectinghumansfromthingsthatliveunderthewater. Peopletelltheiraunties, theircousins, theirgrandchildrenstories.
Thesesymbolsrippleout, andsoeverythinghas a meaning. Howcomeyou'rewearingtheseclothesandwhyisitimportanttoyourperformance? I wearthisonspecialoccasions.
Sotoday I wasthinking, "Wow, I'm goingtotheMet, I'm goingtotellthesestories, I'm goingtomakenewfriendswithpeople. I havetodressin a waywheretheclothesthat I'm wearingfeellikehometome." Outoftheperformancetoday, whatwasonethingthatyouwerelike, "Ohyeah"? Probablywhenyouusethehoops, likeyouattachthemtoyourbodyandthenthecolors, liketheblack, white, yellow, andred. Theyallsortofjustremindedmeofthebag, yourculture, andhowtheypasseditdownfromgenerationtogeneration. Thosehoopsaresocoolbecausewiththatdanceorstoryyoucanmakesymbolscometolife. ThankyouTy.