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The Elders Speak
Dakotah and
Ojibway Stories of the Land Told by Gourd Woman and Eagle Heart
Awards
Winner:
- Native American Music Award for Best Spoken Word Recording (2000)
- Notable Document Award from the Government Documents Round Table
of the American Library Association (2000)
Nominee:
- Native American Music Award for Best Historical Recording (2000)
- Native American Music Award for Best Traditional Recording (2000)
- COVR Visionary Award for Best Spoken Word-Music Album (2000)
- NDLA Government Documents Round Table Most Notable Document (2000)
Artists and Album Tracks
Gourd Woman (Mary Louise Defender Wilson) is a Dakotah/Hidatsa elder
born into a family of storytellers on the Standing Rock Indian
Reservation of North Dakota. The first story she remembers hearing, at age three, was
told by her mother and grandmother, both of whom were midwives. Her
knowledge of the land was enhanced by her walks on the prairie with her
grandfather, a healer. By the age of eleven, Gourd Woman, fluent in the
Dakotah language, was telling stories herself. Gourd Woman's
storytelling skills, wisdom, and soft-spoken elegance have earned her
much respect throughout the Dakotah community and beyond. In 1999, she
was awarded a National
Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the
nation's highest honor for a traditional artist.
Eagle Heart (Francis Cree) is an Ojibway elder and storyteller born
on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation of North Dakota. Eagle Heart
recalls first working at the age of nine with the elders, some of whom
were a century old. He helped them during his ceremonies. Those elders,
in turn, taught Eagle Heart what they knew, including many traditional
stories. Through the years, Eagle Heart generously shares the stories he
learned from generations past. His diligent, yet gentle, efforts at
preserving traditional culture have given him the respect of the Ojibway
community. In 2002, Francis and his wife Rose were awarded a National Heritage Fellowship
for their work in storytelling and
basket-making.
Track List:
- Introductory Remarks by Gourd Woman and Eagle Heart
- Sky Woman and the Great Flood
An Ojibway creation story surrounding the origins of the Turtle
Mountains of North Dakota by a muskrat and the spirit being, Sky
Woman
- The Powerful Lake
The Dakotah people are said to have emerged from certain geographic
features. One emergence area is at Heart Butte or the Greater Bear's
Lodge near Greater Bear's Lake or what is called today Spirit Lake
in North Dakota.
- The White Buffalo
The birth and appearance of a white buffalo holds symbolic meaning
to many American Indians all across the Great Plains.
- The Spiderman and the Giant
Spiderman meets a giant in a valley northeast of Greater Bear's Lake
and Heart Butte. For the Dakotah, Unktomi or Spiderman is a
trickster. He represents human nature before people became
"civilized" and often serves as a humorous example of how
not to behave.
- Holy Spring
Not all traditionally-based narratives are said to have occurred
generations ago. Eagle Heart relates a battle on the Turtle
Mountains that took place in 1910 between a thunderbird and a giant
serpent.
- The Woman Who Turned Herself to Stone
Tells about a Dakotah woman's love of Nature. One of four stones
associated with the story can be found near another emergence area
of the Dakotah people.
- Nanabosho and the Dancing Ducks
Nanabosho is the name of an Ojibway trickster and serves as
an example of how not to behave. Stories, such as this, explain why
certain animals look the way they do.
- Coyote's Den Hill
The storyteller describes the desperate journey of a woman and what
she learned when she met a family of coyotes at a butte in South
Dakota.
- Closing Comments by Gourd Woman. Closing Prayer by
Eagle Heart
Audio Samples
Production Credits
Acknowledgements:
- National Endowment for the Arts
- North Dakota State Library
- North Dakota Department of Public Instruction
- Joan A. Alvord, Dr. Carol A. Davis, George Demery, Cherie Harms,
Dr. Timothy J. Kloberdanz, Mary B. Morin, Patsy Thompson, and the
Dakotah and Ojibway communities
Musicians:
- The Little Corner Singers (vocals and drum): Clyde Heavy Runner,
Victor Sure Chief, and Darrell Norman
- Gary Stroutsos (flute)
Executive Producers:
- North Dakota Council on the Arts
- Makoché Recording Company
Producers:
- Troyd A. Geist, North Dakota Council on the Arts
- David Swenson, Makoché Recording Company
Art Design:
- Stephanie Meisel
- Darla Hueske
Photography:
- Troyd A. Geist
- Chris Martin
- Darla Hueske
Album © 1999 Makoché Word, North Dakota Council on the Arts
Funded in part by the North Dakota Humanities Council, an affiliate
of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Post production, editing, mixing, and mastering was completed at
Makoché Recording Studios on the Sonic Solutions digital editing
system.
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