[OR_Archaeology] FW: Jim Pepper Arts Festival Portland State University

[Susan White]

Greetings friend,

In the early 1970s, Jim Pepper, the young Native American jazz musician, hit the European stage for the first time.  So began a love affair between music fans on the Continent and this understated, big-hearted and enormously talented man. Jim continued to perform internationally to great acclaim, receiving a level of recognition abroad that he never fully achieved here in the States.

Born in Salem and raised in Portland, the son of a Muskogee Creek mother (Floy Pepper) and a Kaw father (Gilbert Pepper), Jim was a true "Native Son" of Oregon. Although he was only 51 when he succumbed to cancer in 1992, Jim's legacy survives. Now-through the efforts of a group of local, national and international Jim Pepper fans, including Pulitzer Prize for Music winner and composer Gunther Schuller-that legacy is about to get a big boost. The first annual Jim Pepper Arts Festival will fill the city of Portland with a two-week showcase of Indian art and culture and world-class jazz entertainment this fall. A few of the planned highlights include:

 *   The American premier performances of Witchi-Tai-To: The Music of Jim Pepper, arranged and conducted by Gunther Schuller and performed collaboratively by the Jim Pepper Remembrance Band, the Portland Chamber Orchestra, and the Intertribal Veterans Pow-Wow Drum from Ft Defiance, AZ
 *   The establishment of the Jim Pepper Chair at Portland State University as called for in Senate Joint Resolution 31 (2005), "to further the study of Native American music and its relationship to jazz." http://www.leg.state.or.us/05reg/measpdf/sjr1.dir/sjr0031.en.pdf 
 *   Spoken word and musical presentations by local Native storyteller Ed Edmo, poet Joy Harjo (tentative), Joanne Shenandoah, Blackfire and many others
 *   Showings of Native-made films and documentaries, including Sandra Osawa's groundbreaking Pepper's Pow-Wow and Maria Tallchief
 *   Visual art show and sale featuring Native American artists
 *   Dance presentations by Native American dance and drum groups
 *   Nighttime jazz jams at Jimmy Mak's and other venues, showcasing an array of jazz greats, including the legendary Rakalam Bob Moses
[cid:image008.jpg at 01CB08A8.DCE4C820]The center of planning and activity for the Festival is the beautiful Native American Student and Community Center at PSU.


Our host at the Center is Professor Cornel Pewewardy, Kiowa and Comanche, who is Director of the Native American Studies Department, a nationally acclaimed Indian educator and a respected musician in his own right http://www.pdx.edu/nas/nas-news.

Dr. Pewewardy began his tenure at PSU in 2008 and is the co-chair of the Jim Pepper Arts Festival. PSU is offering its full support for the annual Festival, including access to venues and performance space, as well as marketing and fundraising support.

Further, the University is fully embracing the establishment of the Jim Pepper Hunga-che-ada Flying Eagle Chair at Portland State, a permanent, two-week annual residency that will bring to the University and the community a transformational Native American performing artist.                                                                                        [cid:image009.jpg at 01CB08A8.DCE4C820] 

Gunther Schuller, although not a Native American, is one of the major figures of modern music and has graciously accepted our invitation to be the first to hold this special position.

Besides shining a light on Jim's legacy and the work of other Native artists and musicians, the Festival has another central and important mission: One of Jim's goals in life was to inspire and encourage young Native American artists, dancers and musicians through his music and career. (Jim was a dancer and composer, as well as a singer and saxophone player.) His mother, Floy-a teacher for nearly 60 years, the first Native American employee of Portland Public Schools, and who also taught Special Education at Portland State- instilled in Jim the importance of education and giving back to the community. Therefore, all proceeds from the Festival will benefit the Native American Studies Department and the recently established Jim Pepper Remembrance Scholarship Fund at Portland State University.

The Festival is an ambitious undertaking, but already so many fortuitous meetings and offers of help have occurred, that we are confident of its upcoming success. More help is needed, particularly financial support in the form of major charitable donations, corporate sponsorships and foundation grants. (The Festival is a non-profit organization operating under the wing of Portland State University. All funds raised will be handled through PSU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' Development Office.) Our modest projected 2010 budget of $ 250,000 includes all costs for the production and promotion of the Festival and the two-week 2010 Jim Pepper Chair residency. Our goal is to raise the majority of those funds through these channels, so that revenue from ticket sales and other proceeds can flow to the Native American Studies Department and the Jim Pepper Remembrance Scholarship Fund at PSU.

We are writing to you to ask for the chance to meet with you to discuss the Festival-and our needs-further. Please join the family of Jim Pepper, Portland State University, and the Jim Pepper Arts Festival steering committee in helping to make this first annual Festival a huge success.

Your help will enable the Native American Studies Department at PSU to take another giant step forward in establishing itself as one of the nation's leading programs in indigenous studies.

Jim Pepper Arts Festival partners and in-kind support:

Trinity Cathedral + KBOO 90.7 FM + Episcopal Diocese of Oregon + KMHD 89.1 FM +
Music Millennium + Tutu Records + The Portland Chamber Orchestra + Native Nations + Oregon Music News + Jazz Scene + Jimmy Mak's + Oregon Native American Chamber of Commerce


Music Dance Theater Film Video Comedy Spoken Word Art Literature

[cid:image014.jpg at 01CB0805.DBE619E0] 

Sincerely,


/s/                                                                               /s/
Cornel Pewewardy, D.Ed.                                           Sean Cruz
Co-Chair, Jim Pepper Arts Festival                             Co-Chair, Jim Pepper Arts Festival
Director and Professor of Native American Studies    1000 Nations