AMERICAN MOSAIC - Native American Music and Movies / Questio

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - November 29, 2002: Native American Music and Movies / Question About
Thanksgiving

HOST:
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC --VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.
(THEME)
This is Doug Johnson. To celebrate Native American Heritage Month on our program today:
We play some award-winning Native American music ..
.
Answer a question from two listeners about the holiday Thankgiving ..
.
And report about new movies written and directed by Native Americans.

Native American Movies

HOST:

November is the month the United States celebrates Native American history and culture. One way people can
learn about Native American Indian culture is through motion pictures. Shirley Griffith explains.

ANNCR:

American Indians have been shown in American movies for many years. But they were often shown in false
ways. They usually acted as the faithful friend to the white man, or as a fierce fighter threatening the white man
or as a spiritual person guiding the white man. Native American Indians generally never wrote, directed or acted
the leading part in movies. This, however, is changing.

Several Native American film directors have begun creating their own movies about their culture
and traditions. Cheyenne-Arapaho filmmaker Chris Eyre is leading the movement. His nineteen-
ninety-eight film called “Smoke Signals” received several honors at the Sundance Film
Festival. The Miramax Film Company bought the movie and showed it widely around the
country. The film has earned about six-million dollars.

“Smoke Signals”
is the story of two Native American Indians who take a road trip to collect the
remains² of one character’s father who has died. The two men in the film wanted to show that
Native American Indians are like other people. They are funny, sad, strange and interesting. The
film is based on a short story written by Native American writer Sherman Alexie.

Mister Alexie also wrote and directed another Native American film released earlier this year. It is called “The
Business of Fancydancing.
”
The film is about two boys who grow up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in
Washington state. The friends separate before leaving for college. Years later, they are reunited at the funeral of a
friend.

Perhaps the most surprising film about Native people this year is one spoken almost completely in the Inuit
Indian language. The three-hour movie is called “The Fast Runner.” First-time moviemaker Zac Kunuk filmed
it in the Canadian Arctic. All the actors and crewmembers in the film are Inuit Indians.

Like recent Native American films, this one aims to change people’s ideas about Indians. Native American
filmmakers are trying to educate people about their culture and customs. They want to change people’s ideas
about the image of Indians created by filmmakers in Hollywood.


Thanksgiving

HOST:

Our VOA question this week comes from listeners in India and Iran. Both Shan Sampath and Nima Faroud ask
about the American holiday Thanksgiving.

Yesterday, November twenty-eighth, was Thanksgiving Day in the United States. Friends and family members
across the country gathered to celebrate. They attended religious services or watched sports on television. Almost
everyone ate a huge meal. On Thanksgiving, Americans eat some of the same foods eaten at the first
Thankgiving hundreds of years ago. These include turkey, sweet potatoes, squash, corn, cranberries⁴ and pumpkin⁵
pie.

Settlers from England called Pilgrims are believed to have held the first
Thanksgiving meal in sixteen-twenty-one. They had arrived in what is now the
northeastern United States a year earlier. Soon, more than half had died from disease
or lack of food.

Those who survived held a day of thanksgiving. They thanked God for protecting
them. They also thanked the Native American Indians who lived in the area. These
Indians were part of the Wampanoag tribe. The Wampanoags had helped save the

Pilgrims by showing them how to fish and plant crops.

The Pilgrims celebrated⁶ for about three days. About ninety Wampanoag Indians joined the celebration. They ate
deer, ducks, geese, turkeys and pumpkins⁷. And the two groups made a peace and friendship agreement giving the
Pilgrims an area in the forest to build their town.

This friendship did not continue for long. More English settlers came to America. Unlike the Pilgrims, they did
not need help from the Indians. Many settlers forgot about the help the Indians had provided. Within a few years,
the Indians and the English settlers were at war. Many of the Wampanoags were killed in battle or died from
diseases brought by the white people.

Native Americans living today have criticized many of the happy stories that have been told through the years
about the first Thanksgiving. They say everyone should learn the truth about what happened after the Europeans
arrived in North America.

NAMA Awards

HOST:

Earlier this year, the Native American Music Association held its fifth yearly awards ceremony. The awards
honor musicians, singers and other Native American music makers³. Mary Tillotson plays music by some of the
winners.

ANNCR:

The Native American Music Association named Joanne Shenandoah Artist of the
Year. She is a member of the Oneida tribe in the northeastern state of New York.
Joanne Shenandoah is known for mixing traditional songs of her tribe with modern
folk music. Here she performs a traditional chant,”Kaluhyanu:Wes” from her
album, “Matriarch.
”

(MUSIC)

Each year, The Native American Music Association names an artist to the Native
American Music Awards Hall of Fame. The winner this year was country and
western singer Kitty Wells. Here is Kitty Wells singing her hit song from the nineteen-fifties, “It Wasn’t God
Who Made Honky Tonk Angels.
”

(MUSIC)


The Native American Music Association honored Mary Youngblood with the Best New Age Recording⁸ Award.
Mary Youngblood writes music and plays the Native American flute⁹. Her award winning album is called
“Beneath the Raven¹⁰ Moon.
”
We leave you now with the title song from that album.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

This is Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today. And I hope you will join us again next week for
AMERICAN MOSAIC -- VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.

This AMERICAN MOSAIC program was written by Jill Moss¹¹ and Nancy Steinbach. Our studio engineer was
Glen Matlock. And our producer was Paul Thompson.

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1 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 cranberries   

n.越橘( cranberry的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The tart flavour of the cranberries adds piquancy. 越橘的酸味很可口。
• Look at the fresh cranberries. 你看这些新鲜的蔓越橘。 来自无师自通 校园英语会话

5 pumpkin   

n.南瓜

参考例句：

• They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
• It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！

6 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

7 pumpkins   

n.南瓜( pumpkin的名词复数 )；南瓜的果肉，南瓜囊

参考例句：

• I like white gourds, but not pumpkins. 我喜欢吃冬瓜，但不喜欢吃南瓜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they cut faces in the pumpkins and put lights inside. 然后在南瓜上刻出一张脸，并把瓜挖空。 来自英语晨读30分（高三）

8 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

9 flute   

n.长笛；v.吹笛

参考例句：

• He took out his flute, and blew at it.他拿出笛子吹了起来。
• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。

10 raven   

n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的

参考例句：

• We know the raven will never leave the man's room.我们知道了乌鸦再也不会离开那个男人的房间。
• Her charming face was framed with raven hair.她迷人的脸上垂落着乌亮的黑发。

11 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。