Discussion series focuses on women of color
Circling the Square
By Ceci Clover, Jackson Hole, Wyo.
February 13, 2013
A Wyoming Humanities Council film discussion series, “Giving Voice: Women of Color Filmmakers,” will be held at 6 p.m. Feb. 21 and 28 and March 7 at the UW Outreach School classroom in the Center for the Arts.
The series examines gender, race, ethnicity and class issues, the humanities council said. The films were written and directed by women of color and give voice to the experiences of women who are not often seen or heard in mainstream American films.
“Real Women Have Curves” (2002) studies the differing generational views about the responsibilities to family and self faced by children of immigants, viewed through the lens of Hispanic seamstresses in a Los Angeles factory.
“Something New” (2006) explores modern interracial relationships from the perspective of a successful black woman questioning how her relationship to a white man will be accepted by her friends and family.
“Saving Face” (2004) views how two unconventional relationships within the same family — one same sex and one dealing with the late-life, out-of-wedlock pregnancy of a doctor’s mother — are viewed within New York Chinese-American families.
Humanities scholar Roberta Makashay-Hendrickson, previously a UW senior lecturer in the Gender and Women’s Studies Program, will facilitate the online discussions. She has created online content, including an introduction to each of the films, links and suggestions for further reading and questions for discussion.
Sponsored by the Wyoming Humanities Council and the Cultural Council of Jackson Hole, the series is a project of the humanities council’s “Giving Voice: A Wyoming Listening Project” initiative, which seeks to encourage the people of Wyoming to listen to voices less often heard. The project is supported in part by the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources through funding provided by the state Legislature.
For information about participation in the program or online discussions, email wych@uwyo.edu or call the council at 307-721-9243.
The Wyoming Humanities Council was supported by the following donors in past month: Marcia Wolter Britton, Robert and Carol Bryant, Dave and Glo Reetz, Charlene Urban, Penny and David Barkan, William and Betty McKinley, David and Christel Walrath, Pat Tripeny, Julie Francis, Sy Thickman, Jan Torres, Cliff and Sue Knesel, Lorraine Saulino-Klein, Art and Susan Simpson, Anne Young and James Nielson, Joseph Albright and Marcia Kunstel, and Harriet Bloom-Wilson and Richard Wilson.
In other happenings around town, the Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum Settlers Club invites anyone interested in history to celebrate the past with a Valentine’s Day “Take Me Out to the Movies” event at 3 p.m. Thursday in the history museum at 225 N. Cache. The event will feature an Old West Love Story, hot dogs, popcorn, old-fashioned candy and a “picture show” raffle. Come enjoy a fun afternoon. Please let the folks at the historical society know you coming by calling Barbara Knobe at 733-2414.
At 7 p.m. Feb. 20, the historical society and museum will kick off a new series on Sheep Eater archaeology and culture with a demonstration by Tom Lucas about how the mountain Indians of the Greater Yellowstone made their highly prized hunting bows out of the horns of bighorn rams.
The ancient technique, used by both the Mountain Shoshone and the Mountain Crow, has been revived by Lucas, who grew up on the Crow Reservation in Lodge Grass, Mont., and now makes his home in the Dubois and Lander area. He is employing this remarkable craft, which includes soaking the horns in hot springs to soften them enough to reverse the curve, to make a replica bow for display at the museum.
Lucas will show museum guests the step-by-step process of making a horn bow, starting with the head and skull and moving through reversing the curl, straightening and drying the horns and then joining the two with sinew backing and hide glue.
The final product is a work of art, said Dr. Sharon Kahin, executive director of the museum.
“An exceptional weapon, these were the most powerful weapons in North America before the advent of guns,” she said. “Tillered and perfectly balanced, they were strong enough to pierce buffalo hide. Found as far away as the Upper Missouri Valley, they were a major trade item of the Sheep Eaters or Mountain Shoshone, commanding the high price of 10 horses apiece.”
Seated is limited for this event, so be sure to arrive early. There is a suggested $5 donation for those who aren’t members. The historical society and museum thanks the Lander Game and Fish office for supplying the horns.
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Ceci Clover writes weekly on the doings and doers in and around Jackson Hole. Submissions may be sent to circlingthesquare@hotmail.com or call 307-733-8348.