MAI NEWS & UPDATES
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2018 in Review
2018 Trade Feast
MAI’s Trade Feast in September was a major event featuring Indigenous artists, dancers, storytellers, cultural demonstration, information booths, and food. Attendance was up from the year prior of 500 to well over 800 this year.
"What I loved the most was the 'heart' of the event. The heart of Native America was shared so beautifully." -- Maureen "Mo" Garrett, Unole Women’s Drum Group
Mark your calendars for MAI’s 2019 Trade Feast on September 14th.
Heart of Marin
On January 10, 2019, MAI Board President, Doug Fryday, was one of sixty nominees eligible to receive one of six prizes presented by the Center for Volunteer and Non-Profit Leadership (CVNL). There were more than 650 members of the non-profit community of Marin at the luncheon and recognition ceremony sponsored by CVNL. Doug was among ten very worthy Board Presidents nominated in the category of Board Leadership. We are very proud of Doug for his dedication to the mission of the Museum and to its continued service to the community. It was he who pressed the Museum to reinstitute the annual Trade Feast that draws and inspires over 500 attendees every September.
Photo (left to right); Henry Frank, Josh Fryday, Teresa, Saltzman, John Petrovsky, honoree Doug Fryday, Arthur Scott, Kirk Hylan, and Alicia Retes.
Our inaugural #GivingTuesday did far better than expected. We set our goal at a modest $500 and ended up bringing in more than $1,000 in donations! We are beyond grateful to everyone who participated and made our first #GivingTuesday unforgettable.
A Slice of History
Several years ago, MAI received a donation of a feathered bustle and headdress. The only information provided with the donation was the story of the item being purchased by a young woman on her honeymoon, and a sales tag with the name Charles Black Horn. Research was conducted for additional information about the item, but was mostly unsuccessful until a 2017 publication by Steve Friesen titled Lakota Performers in Europe: Their Culture and the Artifacts They Left Behind provided further information about Charles Black Horn. Turns out that Charles Black Horn was a Lakota performer who traveled with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show throughout Europe between the 1880s and 1910. You can imagine our delight to learn more about Charles Black Horn and his relation to the donated feathered bustle and headdress. MAI is pleased to be able to share this item and knowledge with Museum visitors. You can now see Charles Black Horn’s bustle on display in the MAI’s front gallery, and experience a piece of this important history. Museum Director, Teresa Saltzman, was responsible for tracking this history and providing the update.
You can see Black Horn’s bustle on display in the MAI’s front gallery, and experience a piece of history that danced through Europe in the early 1900s.
2019 Plans
Native Expressions
March 2 to June
Exhibit Opening Meet the Artist
Saturday, March 2nd 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. MAI Members Free, Non-members $5
MAI will feature Native American clay/mixed media masks, gourd masks, photography, serigraphs, rawhide shields and other mixed media works by Becky Olvera Schultz. Schultz's art is inspired by the peoples indigenous to the Americas and her masks have been described as intense, awesome, powerful, cutting edge, beautiful, spiritual, dramatic and even intimidating. They have been featured in the national magazines Cowboys & Indians, Wild West, and Native Peoples.
Artist Becky Olvera Schultz will be available to answer questions about her exhibit.
Light refreshments will be provided.
We Are Still Here
Several years ago, the We Are Still Here Coast Miwok exhibit displayed photos of then tribal members and their families. We discovered these images boxed up in storage and brought them out into the light. The original exhibit was produced by the Federated Coast Miwok (now part of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria) in co-operation with the Bolinas Museum in 1993. MAI is working to return the exhibit to the producers.
Photo credit: Beverly R. Ortiz
School Tours
Alicia M. Retes teaches our grade-school classes and has done so for 8 years now. The Museum teaches up to 5,000 students annually and is currently taking reservations for classes in the 2019-2020 academic year. Fifty one classes have already been booked with more coming in weekly. To register, either call the Museum at 415-897-4064, email education@marinindian.com or make contact via our website at marinindian.com and go to School and Groups. Openings are still available for classes this spring and Summer, Feb-June 2019.