Cultural Survival in Falmouth

By: Elise Hugus, July 21, 2011

Cultural Survival - A sampling of the artisan crafts available at the Cultural Survival bazaar.

Peg Noonan Park will bring together native artists from around the world this weekend for a bazaar of indigenous arts and culture sponsored by the Cambridge-based nonprofit organization, Cultural Survival.

The international festival will be held at the Main Street, Falmouth park on Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM.

Artisans from Bolivia to Zimbabwe will offer their jewelry, clothing, crafts, and hand-woven rugs for sale at the bazaar. Proceeds will benefit Cultural Survival's non-profit work in protecting indigenous lands, supporting native artisans, and promoting fair trade policies worldwide.

In the past seven years, bazaars held throughout New England have generated over $3 million for Cultural Survival's work in partnership with 370 indigenous peoples across the globe, says Dave Favreau, the organization’s bazaar program director.

On both Saturday and Sunday at 11:30 AM, Yarina, a musical troupe from Ecuador will perform their blend of ancient Quichua rhythms with original pan flute compositions.

At 1 PM, Nipmuc flutist Hawk Henries will perform both traditional Native American flute music and Aboriginal didgeridoo.

Music is an international language, Mr. Henries said. A musician and a craftsman, he said music is essential for creating “a physical and social space where we can remember our connections to each other while exploring our differences as resources for new understanding and mutual awareness, instead of using them as weapons of divisiveness.”

In addition, native artists will demonstrate their crafts: weaving traditional Zapotec blankets, creating wood toys and jewelry in the Shona tradition, and crafting instruments from natural materials.

“Cultural Survival has given me the chance to demonstrate my indigenous art and rug weavings to the people in the U.S. It has allowed me to speak about the history of weaving and share ideas about organic dyeing. I have been able to explain many aspects of my Zapotec culture to people at the bazaars,” said Zapotec weaver Jose Buenaventura Gonzalez, a native of Teotitlan del Valle in Oaxaca, Mexico.

On Saturday from 2:30 to 3 PM, Native American storyteller Leonard Four Hawks will tell stories from indigenous traditions across Turtle Island.

On Sunday from 2 to 3 PM, the Wampanoag Nation singers & dancers will perform social songs and dances. Samplings of Wampanoag cuisine will be available as well.

In the film tent, short videos from three of Cultural Survival's programs will play throughout the day, as well as the trailer for Anne Makepeace's Wampanoag Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project film, We Still Live Here: Âs Nutayuneân.

The complete film will also be for sale, and will be screened during the Woods Hole Film Festival on Sunday, July 31.

A booth dedicated to Cultural Survival’s Global Response Program will give attendees a chance to write letters and learn about the issues affecting native communities in Bangladesh, Panama, Mexico, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines.