美国国家公共电台 NPR Artist Louie Gong Brings Authentic Native American Art To Mainstream Business

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Let's head to the other side of the country now. In Washington state, a member of the Nooksack Indian Tribe wants to change how you think about Native American art. Louie Gong is an artist and entrepreneur, and he wants to move past what he sees as outdated¹ stereotypes² about Native art. Marcie Sillman of member station KUOW has the story.

MARCIE SILLMAN, BYLINE³: Louie Gong leads the way into his store room.

LOUIE GONG: This is our blankets.

SILLMAN: Gong pulls one out of a cardboard box. It's woven from soft red wool and decorated with an image of a traditional Native American thunderbird. And it's an extremely popular item. Even Bernie Sanders bought one.

GONG: A lot of times, people who speak to tribal⁴ audiences are gifted blankets. And so when one of our Native leaders spoke⁵ on behalf of Bernie Sanders, Bernie Sanders himself gifted that Native leader this bright red thunderbird blanket.

SILLMAN: Louie Gong's been in business less than a decade. Before that, he was a mental health counselor⁶ at the Muckleshoot Indian Reservation south of Seattle.

GONG: But I hadn't really explored art or even considered it a possibility in my life until I helped the Muckleshoot Tribe create giveaway items for the 2006 canoe journey which they hosted.

SILLMAN: The canoe journey is an annual celebration of Northwest Native culture. The host tribe gives gifts to the guests. And with his knack⁷ for drawing, he decorated gift drum heads. A few months later, Gong took a black marker to a pair of gray Vans sneakers he picked up at the mall, doodling his version of a traditional Northwest Native design.

GONG: And I really wasn't like coastalizing (ph) or nativizing them. I was Louisizing (ph) them, you know?

SILLMAN: Gong wore them to work, and his colleagues were so impressed, they asked him to decorate their Vans. Gong started to market the shoes on social media. The Vans company caught wind and not only condoned⁸ this, they invited him to create a pair of one-of-a-kind shoes for them. Eventually, Gong had so many orders, he quit his day job and set up shop in his apartment.

GONG: I look at all the work that I'm doing as collaborations with my ancestors and my family, the people that came before me. That's why I named my business Eighth Generation. It was a way to honor the contributions and prior work of the people whose shoulders I'm standing⁹ on.

SILLMAN: Gong has contracted with four other Native artisans. He uses some of their designs on his products, as well as selling their work. They get most of the profits from their art. And that makes Gong a new brand of social entrepreneur, according to Lori Pourier. She's the president of the First People's Fund, a South Dakota-based organization that provides grants and training for Native American artists.

LORI POURIER: We always believe that there's a balance between the head and heart and the work that we do. And Louie represents, you know, both of those as a businessman, as well as a community member and, you know, a leading culture bearer in his community.

SILLMAN: She points to a mentorship program Gong set up called Inspired Natives. His goal is to teach other indigenous¹⁰ artists what he's learned about the business world, from social media marketing¹¹ to working with non-Native corporations.

GONG: In native communities, we have art, and we have culture. What we don't have in our community are business skills or good examples of creative artists who have been successful.

SILLMAN: Eighth Generation's been so successful that last year, Gong opened a brick-and-mortar shop near Seattle's historic waterfront.

COLLEEN ECHOHAWK: When I walked down to Pike Street Market (ph), and I looked down and I see a store, I'm just filled with just tremendous amount of pride.

SILLMAN: Colleen Echohawk directs the Chief Seattle Club, a social service center for the city's Native Americans.

ECHOHAWK: Because there's not many places in the city where you can feel authentic¹² representation of Native people, where it hasn't been colonized¹³.

GONG: This is called the Busted¹⁴ Knuckle¹⁵ Gallery. I named it after my dad.

SILLMAN: Louie Gong's father was a martial¹⁶ artist competing across North America. This room in Gong's store serves as a gallery, a community meeting space and a metaphor¹⁷.

GONG: You know, I grew up with a dad who was a professional fighter. And although I'm not exactly that person, I've taken a lot of the good parts of who my dad was and incorporated that into the rest of me.

SILLMAN: Louie Gong may not spar like his dad, but he never backs away from a challenge. For NPR News, I'm Marcie Sillman in Seattle.

1 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

2 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

7 knack   

n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法

参考例句：

• He has a knack of teaching arithmetic.他教算术有诀窍。
• Making omelettes isn't difficult,but there's a knack to it.做煎蛋饼并不难，但有窍门。

8 condoned   

v.容忍，宽恕，原谅( condone的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Terrorism can never be condoned. 决不能容忍恐怖主义。
• They condoned his sins because he repented. 由于他的悔悟，他们宽恕了他的罪。 来自辞典例句

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

11 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

12 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

13 colonized   

开拓殖民地，移民于殖民地( colonize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The area was colonized by the Vikings. 这一地区曾沦为维京人的殖民地。
• The British and French colonized the Americas. 英国人和法国人共同在美洲建立殖民地。

14 busted   

adj. 破产了的，失败了的，被降级的，被逮捕的，被抓到的 动词bust的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You are so busted! 你被当场逮住了！
• It was money troubles that busted up their marriage. 是金钱纠纷使他们的婚姻破裂了。

15 knuckle   

n.指节；vi.开始努力工作；屈服，认输

参考例句：

• They refused to knuckle under to any pressure.他们拒不屈从任何压力。
• You'll really have to knuckle down if you want to pass the examination.如果想通过考试，你确实应专心学习。

16 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

17 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。