April 4, 2017
(Flyer)
Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) and the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) PITAAS program are sponsoring a lecture and musical performances by Ed Littlefield, a well-known percussionist, educator and composer based in Seattle.
Littlefield, who is Tlingit from Sitka, will give a lecture, Tlingit Music – Past, Present and Future, that will explore how traditional knowledge was shared in the past and how we can incorporate those styles of learning into our everyday lives. He will also give two jazz performances in Juneau.
Littlefield performs in many ensembles of different genres nationally and internationally. He has released two albums featuring his traditional Native melodies with his group, Native Jazz Quartet: Walking Between Worlds and N J Q: Stories.
Littlefield played the role of K’alyaan in the premiere of Battles of Fire and Water and wrote and performed an original score for Eurydice, both for Perseverance Theatre in Juneau. Most recently he has done sound design and composition for the world premieres of Our Voices Will Be Heard at Perseverance Theatre and composition for They Don’t Talk Back at Native Voices at the Autry, La Jolla Playhouse and Perseverance Theatre. Littlefield also served as a cultural advisor for They Don’t Talk Back.
The lecture is scheduled at 12:00 pm, Friday, April 21, Egan Lecture Hall (Room 112) at UAS. Jazz performances are scheduled at 7:00 pm, Friday, April 21, Egan Lecture Hall (Room 112) at UAS and 6:00 pm, Saturday, April 22, at SHI’s Walter Soboleff Building in downtown Juneau. All events are free and open to the public.
The program is offered through a partnership between SHI and the UAS program PITAAS, which stands for Preparing Indigenous Teachers and Administrators for Alaska Schools. SHI and PITAAS collaborate on programs such as cultural orientations for educators and events to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding.
Sealaska Heritage is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts social scientific and public policy research and advocacy that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars and a Native Artists Committee. Its mission is to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska.
CONTACT: Rosita Worl, SHI President, 907.463.4844, rosita.worl@sealaska.com; Ronalda Cadiente-Brown, PITAAS Director, 907.796.6058, rcadientebrown@alaska.edu.
