Michael Bucher's DONT FORGET ABOUT ME music video filmed at Wild Horse Sanctuary, SD
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities
Music video filmed at Wild Horse Sanctuary
Tuesday, August 05, 2008 (Repost)
HOT SPRINGS - A Native American Music Awards nominee in 2007, Michael Bucher has filmed his latest music video, 'Don't Forget About Me,' at the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary of Hot Springs.
'Don't Forget About Me,' was produced and filmed in association with 2007 Native American Music Awards nominees Karla LaRive of PK Productions, LLC of Hot Springs and Christopher Crosby of musicseenPROductions. The production is the third indigenous music video from PK Productions, and was shot on location at the Black Hill Wild Horse Sanctuary's petrogylph site, along with other regional locations in July 2008.
"The music video deals with the protection of Native burial grounds, and sacred sites. I try to tell people you wouldn't want your grandmother's grave dug up…nor do American Indian people. And, yet, it happens every day in Indian Country" says Bucher.
Michael Bucher is a Cherokee singer-songwriter who was taught from the beginning of his memory the stories, language and legends of his people. His songs are intended to teach, heal and bring awareness to everyone who hears them.
He sings about topics that are important to him and others in Indian Country. From the desecration of sacred sites, to Cherokee legends, to the sometimes seemingly Invisible Indian, there's a passionate quality throughout.
With strong vocals and heartfelt lyrics, his music is a blend of acoustic guitar, native and a contemporary drum, flute, shakers, rattles, bass and electric guitars, and cuts a swath through native folk, blues and rock.
The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary is the largest private, non-profit, wild-horse sanctuary in northern America and has been in continuous operation since 1988.
It is home to more than 500 wild mustangs, plus several film and television projects.
Other productions which have been filmed at the Sanctuary are 'Hidalgo,', the TNT-made-for-television movie 'Crazy Horse,' and the Sean Penn directed "Into the Wild.' 'Into the Wild' was filmed at the Sanctuary and in Hot Springs in 2006.
Video director Christopher Crosby films a music video for the song "Don't Forget About Me," recorded by 2007 Native American Music Awards nominee Michael Bucher. Pictured to the right are Bucher, with a guitar and re-enactor Paula Tonemah.
KILI turbine a signpost of possible future (Repost - 7/31/08)
Category: Life
KILI turbine a signpost of possible future
By Journal staff Thursday, July 31, 2008
For its 25th birthday, KILI Radio got a wind turbine, a gift that the "Voice of the Lakota Nation" hopes will make it a role model for renewable energy on a reservation that has few economic resources but plenty of wind and sun.
KILI-FM throws the switch on its new wind turbine during a gifting ceremony at 1 p.m. Thursday, July 31, at its station in Porcupine. The ceremony will be powered by a solar panel that was installed earlier, ushering in a new era of "green" energy for KILI and bringing an environmental message to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation it covers.
The $120,000 turbine is courtesy of Honor the Earth, a Native American organization that promotes environmental initiatives. It is expected to generate 92 kilowatt-hours of power annually and save the station as much as two-thirds on its yearly electric bills of about $18,000, according to Tom Casey, development director at KILI.
"It's going to help," Casey said.
The radio station has long been an outspoken advocate of sobriety on a reservation facing significant drug and alcohol problems, Casey said. By powering part of its 100,000-watt radio broadcasts with wind energy, it now has the opportunity to become a role model for clean, renewable energy development, according to Winona LaDuke, executive director of Honor the Earth.
"We see the KILI wind turbine as a flagship project, a springboard for a broad, tribal renewable energy initiative," LaDuke said.
Thursday's event includes a free community feast of grilled buffalo burgers and buffalo wild rice soup, with entertainment by Keith Secola, a Native American musical artist who sings folk, blues and rock. There will be speakers on energy issues and a workshop on solar heating panel installation. Actor Eddie Spears also is expected to appear.
On the net at SDPB: http://www.sdpb.org/Archives/ProgramDetail.asp?ProgID=7220
Fort Pierre to Deadwood wagon train pulls out (AP - Repost 7/31/08)
Category: Life
Fort Pierre to Deadwood wagon train pulls out
By Joe Kafka, The Associated Press Thursday, July 31, 2008
Led by sure-footed mules pulling an old wooden wagon fitted with rubber tires, bucket seats and seatbelts, a wagon train crept up a steep bluff overlooking the Missouri River Wednesday on a 240-mile trek across rugged prairie to historic Deadwood.
The 17-day trip marks the 100th anniversary of the last wagon train to travel the route to the Black Hills. After gold was discovered in 1874, one of the shortest and easiest paths for people and freight headed for Deadwood was overland from Fort Pierre.
Some places on the cactus, sagebrush and yucca-dotted prairie still have deep scars from the wagon wheels that rolled over the route for a third of a century.
Gerald Kessler, who raises mules on a ranch 17 miles northwest of here, is the modern-day wagon master. He was chosen because of his experience: He has gone on 78 wagon train excursions since 1990.
Fifty-four wagons, pulled by horses, mules and oxen, will complete all or parts of the current journey. Those riding on the wagons are accompanied by 225 people on horseback.
Some will stick out the whole trip. Others may ride only a day or two.
Many who hope to finish will not.
"I think we'll lose 10 percent the first two days," Kessler said. "People just ain't got themselves in shape and their horses in shape. And we've got a lot of older people that probably haven't ridden 20 miles in 20 years."
There will be many individual catastrophes along the way, he added.
"You're going to have your day-to-day wrecks, breakdowns and buck-offs."
The lure of the open range and the history of the route drew John Aune to ride the path.
"It will bring back some of the old days," said Aune, a retired dairy farmer from Hendricks, Minn.
He acknowledges riding his horse won't be easy at his age, 68.
"I'll have more trouble than my horse, probably," he said while waiting for the caravan to depart.
The wagon train will face searing summer heat, miles of uncertain footing, dicey stream crossings and rattlesnakes -- although Kessler said he's only killed one rattler on his ranch this year. Usually, he's killed about 10 by now.
Despite the fits and starts that are not uncommon when trying to organize such a large group of mostly strangers, Kessler remained amiable. He alerted his companions to the dangers ahead and spelled out the rules of road.
"The most important rule is, don't hurt the wagon master," Kessler said, tipping the brim of his big straw hat.
Rain can make the prairie treacherous, and that may force some route changes, he said. But for the most part, within 100 yards or so, the wagon train will follow the original trail all the way to Deadwood, he said.
Slight detours will be made when sticking to the trail would ruin wide swaths of wheat to be harvested this summer, Kessler said.
It's remarkable that all landowners along the trail agreed to let the wagon train pass through their property, Kessler said. Many of them also planned to tag along, although they are not counted in the 300 or so signed up for the trip, he said.
The historic trail was closed in 1908 when railroad trains began moving people and cargo from Fort Pierre to the Black Hills. By that time, easily found gold was scarce and much of the land had been taken over by farmers and ranchers.
PLATINUM & GOLD RECORD RECORDING ARTISTS REDBONE & TASTE OF HONEY'S JANICE-MARIE JOHNSON TO PERFORM A SPECIAL CONCERT AT MUCKLESHOOT INDIAN TRIBE'S WHITE RIVER AMPHITHEATRE
CELEBRATING THEIR NAMA HALL OF FAME INDUCTION
PRESENTED BY THE NATIVE AMERICAN MUSIC ASSOCIATION ON THE MUCKLESHOOT INDIAN RESERVATION
Seattle, WA- TheNative American Music Association (N.A.M.A.) is proud to present a special concert featuring upcoming N.A.M.A. Hall of Fame inductees Redbone with their certified gold recording of COME & GET YOUR LOVEand Taste of Honey's Janice Marie Johnson with her multi-platinum single BOOGIE OOGIE OOGIEin a special Hall of Fame Concerton Saturday August 16th at the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe's White River Amphitheatre on the Muckleshoot Indian Reservation.
Tickets are $10.00, $25.00 and $40.00 and are on-sale now at all Ticketmaster outlets or available through www.Livenation.com.Showtime is 6:00pm. The critically-acclaimed Blues/Rock group Indigenous will be the opening act. Native American vendors will also accommodate the premises.
Redbone, featuring original founding member Pat Vegas, isa Native American rockgroup that reached the Top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1974 with the song, "Come and Get Your Love." The Pop/Funk song was certified Gold by the R.I.A.A for selling over one million copies is still heard today on radio stations throughout the country.Formed in Los Angeles, California, byPatrick Vasquez (Pat Vegas) on bass and vocals and his brother, Lolly, the name Redbone itself is a reference to the band members' mixed blood ancestry. Their first commercial success came with the single "Maggie" from their second recording, Potlatch, in 1970, and two other hit singles followed - "The Witch Queen of New Orleans" (1971) and "Come and Get Your Love" (1974). In 1973 Redbone released the politically oriented "We were all wounded at Wounded Knee"recalling the massacre of Lakota Sioux Indians by the Seventh Cavalry in 1890. The song reached the 1 chart position in Europe. With 15 recordings to their credit throughout their 40-year career and covers by the Real McCoy, Earth Wind & Fire and Cyndi Lauper, the Native American Music Awards will induct Redbone along with Janice-Marie Johnson into the N.A.M.A. Hall of Fame at the Tenth Annual Awards show on October 4, 2008 in New York.
Janice-Marie will also be joining Redbone at White River Amphitheater. Janice-Marie is the founder and principal songwriter of the internationally acclaimed and Grammy award-winning group A Taste of Honey. A Taste of Honey's self-titled debut release rocked the record industry with the multi-platinum Disco/R&B smash hit "Boogie Oogie Oogie," a Janice-Marie penned composition.The recording garnered the group a Grammy for "Best New Artist of the Year," and nominations for "Best R&B Single" and "Best Vocal Performance by a Group or Duo." Through the years, Janice-Marie's songs have been covered, sampled and borrowed many times. Her music of yesterday contributes greatly to the success of numerous 'R&B,' 'Pop,' 'Rap' and 'Hip Hop' artists of today including; Ice Cube, Mary J. Blige, MC Lyte, and Japanese and European artists as well. Her music has also been showcased on television programs including "American Idol," "All My Children," "Swingtown," "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and movie credits including; "A Fate Worse Than Death," "Step Mom," "Mystery Man," "Contact" among others. Commercial credits include Coca Cola, Frito Lay, The New York Lottery, Burger King and Old Navy. With a 30-year career behind her, Janice-Marie the record producer, musician, songwriter and entertainer has once again returned to the limelight with the release of her long-awaited CD "Hiatus Of The Heart." The single, "Until The Eagle Falls", embraces her Stockbridge-Munsee-Mohican heritage, and garnered Janice-Marie with a 2002 "Nammy Award for 'Best Producer.'
The Blues-rock group Indigenous featuring lead singer, guitarist and primary composer & lyricist, Mato Nanji will be opening for Janice Marie Johnson and Redbone . Indigenous began their career as a Native American family raised on the Yankton Indian Reservation in South Dakota. From the earliest Indigenous performances, Mato's fiery guitar playing was widely recognized among the greatest of his generation. Indigenous signed with Pachyderm Records in September of 1998. They released their first single, "Now That You're Gone," that same year. The record, according to K. L. Testerman in Lakota Times, was the fifteenth most played rock and roll song in the United States. Indeed, by early 1999, Indigenous' music reverberated from radio stations across the lower 48 states and was awarded the Native American Music Awards' Group of the Year with the release of Live At Pachyderm Studios in 1999.A second single, "Things We Do," was released on video and received Best Video at the American Indian Film Festival that year. By the end of the 1999 calendar year, Indigenous was a popular opening band for prominent blues performers such as B. B. King and Bob Dylan. Critical comparisons between Mato and legendary Carlos Santana and Stevie Ray Vaughn remain commonplace.Indigenous currently performs as many as 200 concerts annually. They are expected to release their next CD recording, '"Broken Lands" on August 19th.
Apache Gospel artist, Johnny Curtis, will also be performing and will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement award. The Native American Music Awards & Association, founded in 1998, is the country's leading membership-based association consisting of music industry professionals directly involved in the recording and distribution of traditional and contemporary Native American Music initiatives. Visit www.nativeamericanmusicawards.com for more information.
511 AVENUE the Americas 371New YorkNY 10011 Tel 212.228.8300Fax646.688.6883
Michael Bucher’s DIRTY WATER - A tribute music video to Bear Butte Mountain, So Dakota
Category: Music
For Immediate Release……. July 14, 2008
PK PRODUCTIONS, LLC releases its second music video production, DIRTY WATER by (2007) Nammy nominated for "Best Debut Artist" and "Best Folk Recording" Native American acoustic singer/songwriter Michael Bucher and in association with (2007) Nammy nominated Videographer for "Best Short Form Music Video/DVD" Christopher Crosby of musicseenPROductions.
Dirty Water is a tribute video about the spiritual battle of Mato Paha - Bear Butte Mountain, being threatened by the encroachment of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, South Dakota.
On the Northeastern edge of the Black Hills, just a few miles from the small town of Sturgis, off Highway 34, lies one of the most sacred mountains to the Plains Indians from the United States and Canada.
Up to 60 different tribes traveled to Bear Butte to fast and pray. Separated by about 8 miles of prairie from the greater Black Hills, which are also considered sacred by these same nations of people, Bear Butte looks like a sleeping bear lying on its side with its head pointed toward the northeast. Geologists call Bear Butte a laccolith, or a bubble of magma that did not become a complete volcano.
All the tribes of the Sioux people: Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota, came to Bear Butte to pray. The months of May, June, and July will see families camped at the base while a relative is standing on the side of the mountain fasting in deep meditation. Small colored pieces of cloth containing pinches of tobacco are wrapped around trees and bushes as prayer gifts to the Creator. Larger flags of red, white, black, or yellow, the sacred colors, also are tied to trees to carry the prayers to all the directions.
Bear Butte, the mountain proper, is currently a National Historic Landmark managed by the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks Department. Although a few parcels of adjacent land have been purchased by some Native American nations, the rest of the surrounding area is ranchland, or is being sold to developers. Two drag racing strips, biker bars, a convenience store, campgrounds, and housing developments are all located within a few miles of this sacred place.
The tribute music video was shot on-location during the 2007 Sturgis Rally in the Black Hills, South Dakota at: Bear Butte Mountain State Park; City of Sturgis; Fort Meade National Cemetery; Reddy Ranch/Wounded Knee; Oglala Nation Pow-Wow/Pine Ridge Reservation; Hartman Ranch/Oelrichs, South Dakota and, Seneca Niagara Casino and Hotel, New York.
THE PRODUCTION COMPANY
KARLA LARIVE (Executive Producer) of PK Productions, LLC is Producer and Manager Rep for Native American Hip Hop Artist/Activist, SHADOWYZE's new CD release; 2006 Club Re-mix. She is co-producer with musicseenPROductions on Shadowyze's first music video, BUMPY ROADS.
Bumpy Roads premiered at the Tulalip Tribe Film Festival in Washington on August 24th 2007 and, was nominated for best "Short Form Music Video/DVD" at the 2007 Native American Music Awards in New York.
With entertainment management background in Broadway theatre, special events and concert promotion, Ms. LaRive is also the Creative Director for Studio West Management of Hot Springs, South Dakota.
CHRISTOPHER CROSBY (Video Director/Editor) of musicseenPROductions, brings a background in video production and media development to PK Productions, LLC. musicseenPROductions was founded in 2000 with the concept of building leverage for the artists by producing music videos and promotional materials. With an education in music business management from the Art Institute of Atlanta, and music theory from the Guitar Institute of Technology; he specializes in creating music videos and web design.
Mr. Crosby was nominated for best "Short Form Music Video/DVD" for Shadowyze' BUMPY ROADS at the 2007 Native American Music Awards in New York.
MICHAEL BUCHER (Artist) is a Cherokee singer-songwriter who was taught from the beginning of his memory the stories, language and legends of his people. His songs are intended to teach, heal and bring an awareness to everyone who hears them. He sings about topics that are important to him and others in Indian Country. From the desecration of sacred sites, to Cherokee legends, to the sometimes seemingly Invisible Indian, there's a passionate quality throughout. With strong vocals and heartfelt lyrics, his music is a blend of acoustic guitar, native and a contemporary drum, flute, shakers, rattles, bass and electric guitars, and cuts a swath through native folk, blues and rock.
Proposal to euthanize wild horses spurs debate (repost - July 13, 2008)
Category: News and Politics
Proposal to euthanize wild horses spurs debate
By MARTIN GRIFFITH,
AP Posted: 2008-07-07 05:49:34 (Repost)
RENO, Nev. (AP) - Animal rights activists and ranchers are clashing over a federal proposal to euthanize wild horses as a way to deal with their surplus numbers.
Horse advocates will mount a campaign against the proposal announced late last month by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, said Chris Heyde, deputy director of government and legal affairs for the Animal Welfare Institute based in Washington, D.C.
Federal officials said they're faced with tough choices because wild horses have overpopulated public lands in the West and they no longer can afford to care for the number of animals that have been rounded up.
But Heyde maintained the agency is seeking a "magic bullet" for budget problems caused after it began rounding up the mustangs at an unprecedented rate in recent years.
He said the roundups left too many horses for the public to adopt, requiring the agency to contract for more private long-term holding facilities.
The proposal "is killing pure and simple to balance the books for an agency whose reckless management has caused immeasurable harm to a national treasure at considerable cost to the American taxpayer," Heyde said.
Ron Cerri, of the Rebel Creek Ranch in Orovada and president-elect of the Nevada Cattlemen's Association, said ranchers would prefer horses be adopted but euthanasia may be necessary to keep their numbers down.
"Unfortunately, it's something they'll have to consider," Cerri said. "I don't know of another solution."
Cerri criticized the federal agency's proposal to stop roundups of wild horses to save money. Ranchers view mustangs as competition for forage on the range.
"That would be really unfortunate," he said. "We're starting to get close to what's called ..appropriate management levels' of wild horses on the range. If we stop the roundups, that number will blow up again."
There are an estimated 33,000 wild horses in 10 Western states. About half of those are in Nevada.
The agency has set a target appropriate management level of horses at 27,000. About another 30,000 horses are in holding facilities, where most are made available for adoption.
Last year about $22 million of the entire horse program's $39 million budget was spent on holding horses in agency pens. Next year the costs are projected to grow to $26 million with an overall budget that is being trimmed to $37 million.
Lacy Dalton, president and co-founder of the Let 'Em Run Foundation horse advocacy group, urged the agency to consider alternative solutions.
They include efforts to step up birth control and legislation to provide tax breaks to large landowners willing to let horses roam on their property, she said.
"The American people have spoken - they want to preserve these wild horses," said Dalton.
"They are symbolic of the wildness and freedom and independent spirit of the West. We need to find ways to save them without being a burden on taxpayers," she added.
Agency officials said they stepped up the roundups in recent years because of ongoing drought that has left dwindling forage and water for the mustangs. Horse advocates insist the action was taken to placate ranchers.
The Bureau of Land Management's announcement marked the first time the agency publicly has discussed the possibility of putting surplus animals to death. Congress unanimously passed the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act to protect the animals.
Ford Motor Company Rescued Wild Horses at the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary (2006)
Lakota students document reservation life (Repost - July 13, 2008)
Category: Life
Lakota students document reservation life
By Sarah Beu, Rapid City Journal staff Sunday, July 13, 2008 (Repost)
PINE RIDGE - Nearly all the teenagers were pointing their camera at Enos Poor Bear Jr. as if he were a celebrity. Shutter after shutter clicked as they profiled the cultural interpreter at the Badlands National Park White River Visitor Center as he spoke to them about their Lakota heritage.
Juliana Alford, a 13-year-old from Denver, showed her shots of Poor Bear to Lindsay McCullough, with National Geographic.
"Oh, I love this one with his hands in the air," McCullough said.
Poor Bear counseled the teenagers to take pride in their heritage and to take advantage of the opportunities given to them. This weekend, the Lakota teens are taking his advice by participating in a photography camp put on by National Geographic and the SuAnn Big Crow Boys and Girls Club.
With a team of four professional photographers, the teenagers are documenting life on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and important landmarks within the reservation, such as the Badlands. On Friday and Saturday, they traveled around Pine Ridge, to a buffalo ranch and to Cedar Butte and Gallago Table.
Through the camp's focus on the environment and conservation, the teenagers can find out "what it means to be Lakota," McCullough said.
"The culture of Lakota is grounded in the landscape," she said.
Chaz Wasa Maza Thompson, 16, of Pine Ridge, said photography gives him a different view of the world.
Chick Big Crow, coordinator of the Boys and Girls Club in Pine Ridge, said Thompson -- who was given the Lakota name of his great-great-great grandfather Dewey Beard, who saw the Wounded Knee massacre -- and his peers are fulfilling the prophesy made by a spiritual leader after the massacre.
The leader said the circle of Lakota life was broken at Wounded Knee, and the seventh generation will have the responsibility to complete the circle.
Big Crow said many people come from far away to photograph the Lakota way of life, but it's even better that the teenagers do it themselves.
"This brings a different perception of the reservation to the public," Big Crow said. "This is an unheard art, and the kids like it."
The camp has also been a "confidence booster," said Maggie Steber, a photographer from National Geographic. "It doesn't matter if they become photographers as long as they express themselves creatively."
Some of the participants were hesitant about going out, but they gained confidence and soon were shooting with smiles on their faces.
"Photography can be a powerful tool of connection," Steber said.
McCullough said she saw the teenagers "blossom" with cameras in their hands.
Katie Zacher, a 13-year-old from Pennsylvania, dreams of becoming a photographer. She said she enjoys landscapes and portraits of animals, and she even captured a frog by Cedar Butte, but it jumped off her hand before she could get the shot.
Before heading out to the Badlands, Lois Raimondo, a photographer from the Washington Post, took some time to analyze a few of the pictures from each of the teenagers and comment on the positive aspects of their photography.
Juliana, the Denver teen, said the workshop taught her that the best photography involves capturing the scene at the right moment and at the right angle.
Today, the teenagers will head to a powwow in Oglala and maybe visit a gardener. On Monday, they will spend time editing their photography for a final presentation they'll put on for the community.
When the camp is over, the Boys and Girls Club will get to keep the cameras, the students will continue to learn about photography and Big Crow plans to publish a book with their pictures.
McCullough hopes the program goes further than that.
"If they reconnect with the land and use it for inspiration, that'll change their path," she said. "If we can get a spark into them, it's completely worth it."
Wounded Knee Memorial Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota Photo by - KR LaRive (2006)
Speaker asks for understanding in Shepard’s memory (Repost - July 13, 2008)
Category: Music
Speaker asks for understanding in Shepard's memory
By Ryan Woodard, Rapid City Journal staff Sunday, July 13, 2008
Thomas Howard Jr.'s goal Saturday was to enlighten listeners about fighting hatred and relay the story of Matthew Shepard for Shepard's mother, Judy.
"The fact of the matter is, it's all of our responsibilities to make the world a better place," Howard told a crowd scattered throughout the seats of Mount Rushmore National Memorial's amphitheater.
Matthew Shepard died five days after he was brutally beaten Oct. 7, 1998, in what many saw as a hate crime. His mother, Judy Shepard, was scheduled to speak Saturday at the fifth annual Black Hills Pride event but was unable to for health reasons.
Howard is the programs director for the Matthew Shepard Foundation. He told the crowd that one of the reasons he became involved in the foundation is because he was discriminated against as a gay man.
Howard was kicked out of a small Texas college for being gay, he said. He became friends with Judy Shepard after booking her for a university speaking engagement.
He described her Saturday as the strongest and most determined person he has ever met. Judy Shepard seeks to educate the public on avoiding hate and making sure that a repeat of the crime against her son doesn't occur, Howard said.
"Judy survived by trying to make sure there are no more Matts," Howard said.
Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student, was beaten, robbed and tied to a fence post outside Laramie, Wyo. Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson were convicted of murder and kidnapping charges and are serving consecutive life sentences.
Many have said that Shepard was beaten and murdered because he was gay, although McKinney later said the crime had more to do with drugs and money.
Although members of the audience were disappointed not to see Judy Shepard, many enjoyed the message that Howard conveyed.
"I think it's a message that needs to be spread," Tony Mitchell of Rapid City said.
Rapid City resident Shaun Hauk also enjoyed the speech. Hauk said he has been beaten up for being a gay man. He said the event was a good way to encourage understanding between people.
Discrimination against gay people still exists, he said.
"It's going to be a problem for a while, but it's less and less of a problem," he said. "It's more accepted."
James Pryor, executive director of The Centers for Equality in South Dakota, said he plans on trying to reschedule an appearance for Judy Shepard. She has never spoken in Rapid City, he said.
Pryor said Shepard was "heartbroken" that she couldn't make it. He said he was pleased with the turnout at the event -- especially because many people who are not gay came to show support.
Contact Ryan Woodard at 394-8412 or ryan.woodard@rapidcityjournal.com.
Brule to rock Spearfish festival (Repost - July 11, 2008)
Category: Music
Brule to rock Spearfish festival
By: By Jomay Steen, Rapid City Journal staff
July, 10 2008 (Repost)
Expect a new wave of music when Brule and AIRO hit the stage at the 31st annual Festival in the Park in Spearfish. On July 18-20, the groundbreaking family of contemporary Native American music will showcase its talent along with that of its youngest band member, Nicole LaRoche.
Standing at center stage, Nicole LaRoche follows Brule's musical lead, but it is often her trilling notes and haunting melodies that draw the crowds to hear what this unusual band has in its catalog of music. The youngest LaRoche has taken the next step in creating her own solo career by producing and writing her latest project, "Deep Dreams."
"It's much more electronic and has a heavy feel to it," she says of the CD. Released in November, it is a perfect blend for the traditional, contemporary music performed by Brule.
Last week, frontman Paul LaRoche stepped away from a crowd of fans at Mount Rushmore National Memorial to talk about the upcoming concerts. The band's newest release, "Concert for Reconciliation of the Cultures," drew many fans over the Fourth of July.
LaRoche says that he and AIRO, or American Indian Rock Opera, have had plenty of time to perfect their concerts after 10 days of appearances on the Xanterra Stage at Mount Rushmore, beginning July 3."It's a chance to get that taste of music," he said.
It's not what Top 40 radio stations will play, but once heard, it imprints on the memory. Along with performances, LaRoche has been putting together his ideas for a full rock opera to be finished sometime this fall.
"We plan to write a full rock opera as a full show. It's ambitious, but I hope we get it done in time," he said.
The concerts will feature a mix of the new CD's tracks with that of "Kinship," which earned Brule Nammy Awards (the Native American version of a Grammy) for best group and best new age recording. They'll also add in a heavy rotation of Brule favorites as well, he said.
"We'll showcase the best of Brule at the two-day show before taking a few things off Nicole's CD. We'll have plenty of new material," he said.
Nicole LaRoche, 28, has been the second half of Brule from the beginning. Classically trained in flute from the age of 10, she had taken private lessons and played in band, orchestra and even marching band. She eventually put her music aside as her life became busier. Yet, when her father decided to enter the music scene with a different genre of music, she packed up her flute and readied herself for the road.
"I had actually quit in this time when my dad found his family," she said. But as he wrestled with the decision to go for a music career, she supported his decision.
"I told him, 'I'll go with you,'" she recalls. "I've been along ever since." Paul LaRoche — along with the rest of his family — rediscovered his biological family after his adoptive parents died in a tragic car accident. They had never told him of his Native heritage as a member of the Lower Brule Tribe, let alone that he had been adopted.
To support Paul, the entire family moved from Worthing, Minn., to Lower Brule as they met and formed bonds with newly discovered family and friends."We started with nothing," said Kathy LaRoche, Paul's wife and Nicole's mother. Music is what kept Paul alive, Kathy said. "As a family, we had to take his leap of faith," she said of their becoming the band, Brule.
Their son, Shane, 30, followed his father's musical roots and joined Brule after finishing college. Self-taught, he plays guitar by ear — like his father, she said."We asked him to finish school, just to be sure," she added. Each year, they travel to the 150 shows and festivals in South Dakota, California, Nebraska and Wisconsin. In the meantime, Brule continues to evolve.
Moses Brings Plenty, an Oglala musician and actor, came on board nearly four years ago to add his talent of traditional drumming to the band. Newcomer Dedric Thomas, a Santee dancer, floats through the steps of Native traditional grass dances in perfect harmony to Brule's contemporary music.
Karla LaRive with Moses Brings Plenty & Dedric Thomas
Brule Perfomances Mount Rushmore (July 2008)
Kathy LaRoche said the reception to the band's diverse music has been overwhelming from all ages and walks of life. When asked if she thought this would be her life when she first met Paul in the summer 1972, she grins at the memory.
"This was a total surprise. Something we would never have planned," she said.
If you go What: Brule and AIRO concerts When: 4 p.m. Friday, July 18; 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, July 19; 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, July 20. Cost: $5 for sneak peek from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday; free on Saturday and Sunday Where: 31st annual Festival in the Park, Spearfish City Park in Spearfish
2007 NAMA nominee Michael Bucher for your consideration for this years Nammys
Category: Music
MICHAEL BUCHER
"DIRTY WATER"
2008 Native American Music Awards
for your consideration in Five Categories
Male Artist – Michael Bucher
Producer for Music Video – Karla LaRive, PK Productions, LLC
Song/Single – Dirty Water
Short Form Video/DVD – Dirty Water
Native Heart – Christopher Crosby, musicseenPROductions
Poster Design by K3 Photography 08
"Our sacred lands are all that remain keeping us connected to our place on Mother Earth, to our spirituality, our heritage and our lands; what's left of them.If they take it all away, what will remain except a vague memory of a past so forgotten?"
Tamra Brennan, Director/Founder
"Protect Sacred Sites as Indigenous People, One Nation"....
