Maine’s Collective Voice

Story Bank audiovisual archive project invites Folk Festival visitors to share their lore

Bangor Daily News/Gabor Degre
Pam Cunningham of Hampden braids sweet grass to put inside one of her honor baskets. Cunningham, a Penobscot basket maker, has been making the traditional white ash baskets since 1994. She will tell the story of Wabanaki basketry at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Folk Life Center Narrative Stage at the American Folk Festival.

Emily Burnham

One of the stories Chace Jackson likes to tell about his fellow Allagash residents is the one about the day that Clark McBreairte walked on water. “Clark’s 88 years old now, but in his youth, he was very athletic. He worked on the river, driving logs, and no one could handle his footing better than Clark,” said Jackson, a 17-year-old senior at Fort Kent Community High School. “One day a bateau was pulled up along the shore, and the rope broke. It drifted down the river into a section with really bad rapids, so Clark started running over the logs, jumping onto each one, chasing after it.”

McBreairte eventually jumped onto a fir log, and because firs are lighter than other trees, they float just below the surface of the water.

“To everyone that was watching him, it looked like he was walking on water,” said Jackson. “That was the day Clark walked on water. That’s a story that you just have to keep alive. That’s irreplaceable.”

Preserving the stories and culture of the Allagash is Jackson’s passion, and as the youngest in a family that has lived in the area for generations, he feels obligated to honor his ancestors. He, along with a diverse array of other history-minded Mainers, took part in StoryBank, a weeklong seminar held in June at the University of Maine’s Folklife Center. The project is designed for those like Jackson, and teaches them skills in interviewing, audio recording, video and photography, in order to go out and collect stories.

The eventual goal of StoryBank is to accumulate an audiovisual archive of stories from Mainers in order to define a “sense of place” — that sense of specific, localized identity. Of course, there’s no one part of Maine culture that defines Maine, which is why StoryBank reached out to people from all over the state — from Somali immigrants in Lewiston to organic farmers in Hancock County. Those first documented stories will be presented Saturday and Sunday at this year’s American Folk

Festival on the Bangor Waterfront, on the Maine Folklife Center’s Narrative Stage.

Pauleena MacDougall is the director of the Folklife Center, and, with Camden folklorist Kathleen Mundell, initiated the project. She found the concept of sense of place to be the perfect springboard for amassing stories.

“How do we, as Mainers, define Maine?” asked MacDougall. “We get a lot of different answers, of course. A logger in the Allagash and a lobsterman in Jonesboro have two totally different perspectives. It all depends on where you’re coming from. The idea is to collect as many different stories from as many different places as possible, and to have it be a kind of collective voice.”

Participants worked with people such as UM new media professor and photographer Bill Kuykendall, archivist Pamela Dean and audio specialist Rob Rosenthal to gain the technical skills needed to go out into the field and gather their stories. One of the participants, Pam Outdusis Cunningham, a Hampden resident and Penobscot Indian who did her research on Wabanaki basket making, found the project to be an asset to her innate storytelling skills.

“Storytelling comes easy to me, but what I didn’t know was all the technical stuff,” said Cunningham. “I’d been doing a little bit of recording and archiving, but now I can do even more. It was really an amazing opportunity for me.”

Cunningham is in the unique position of being both a storyteller and a part of the story. She herself is a basket maker, and grew up on Indian Island. Her interest in recording and archiving began when she worked in community health care and would do house calls on elders and shut-ins on the island.

“One of the ways I would get them to talk to me about their health was through basketry, and all the people we knew in common,” said Cunningham. “Someone would remember my great-grandmother making baskets, and eventually they opened up to me. It was an icebreaker and a way to connect.”

Once you have an entry into a person’s world, it’s then up to you to ask the right questions.

“You have to ask questions of people, like, ‘What are the places that have special significance in your community?’ and ‘What are the sound and smells you associate with your town?’ or ‘Who are the special people?’” said MacDougall. “We all have these internal maps of our communities, that we don’t necessarily have any concrete definitions of. We’re trying to bring these out.”

Nancy Dewey, a Deer Isle resident, chose to focus on Veronica Dodge, a local crab picker. Dewey is fascinated by both the challenges that face people living in rural communities, especially island communities such as Deer Isle, and also by people who work with their hands — so Dodge was a natural choice for her.

“Things have changed so quickly here [in Deer Isle], in terms of fishing and being able to make a living in an island community,” said Dewey. “My way of honoring these citizens is to get their history, to get them to speak in a way that honors them. Every time a story is told, it changes a little bit. It’s not about getting the entire story, or getting something very factual and concrete — it’s about getting a story that applies to them.”

Dewey, Cunningham and Jackson will use the skills they gained at StoryBank to continue doing what they love: storytelling. For Jackson, it’s vitally important to preserve the culture of the Allagash — a unique, isolated community rich in the traditions of the Scottish, Irish and English people who first settled it. Jackson wants to study archaeology or history when he goes off to college next year, and his dream is someday to work as an archivist or folklorist.

“I’ve always collected information. I try to keep what we can, and salvage all this history before it’s lost forever,” said Jackson. “Our culture is dying. It’s happening in the St. John Valley, and it’s happening here in the Allagash. We can’t let it be forgotten.”

It’s not just about getting things down on tape, though — the process of telling a story is a kind of therapy, for both the talker and the listener. Cunningham found that the people she interviewed felt really good once they got things out in the open.

“People really do want to share their stories, if you know how to draw it out of them. And once you do, they don’t want to stop talking. You can find out a lot of good history,” said Cunningham. “Everybody has a story, if you take the time to listen to them.”

Folklife Center Narrative Stage

Saturday, Aug. 23

12:30 p.m. Stories from the Madawaska Weavers with Karen Miller.

1:30 p.m. Shellfish stories with Brenda Cummings and Nancy Dewey.

3 p.m. Wabanaki Basketry with Pam Outdusis Cunningham.

4 p.m. Allagash Stories with Chace Jackson.

Sunday, Aug. 24

12:30 p.m. Fort Kent Mills rug makers with Kathleen Mundell.

1:30 p.m. St. John River Bateaux making with John Connors and Chace Jackson.

2:30 p.m. Working the Woods with Rangeley woodcarver Rodney Richards and Jo Radner.

3:30 p.m. Hispanic culture in Maine with Greater Bangor Advocates for Hispanic Culture with Maria Sandweiss and Joanna Cuervo.

Make a deposit

On Saturday and Sunday at the American Folk Festival, StoryBank will be on hand to let you share your own stories in the traveling StoryBank RV set up near the Narrative Stage. Facilitators will guide you through the 30-minute interview process and handle the technical aspects. You contribute your own “sense of place” to the project’s growing archive of history. For information, call the Maine Folklife Center at 581-1891.

Blogsville: www.451Press.com where you can find hundreds of blogs!

http://tomatoes4health.blogspot.com/

Great read… first an update for my garden: Thought I’d have a great crop, but grasshoppers and theri flying comrades are eating my tomatoes. I’m hoping a few will get a chance to turn red. They are juicy and good tasting. Several other plants are in a race to beat fall weather. They are just beginning to create little babies. The squash have the same idea. Perhaps I enjoy too much where they are now without pressuring produce more now! I do love the garden and the wonderful energy all these plants provide by being what they are now.

Chuck however is a pro… read on.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
More on Sustainability from the Small Plot garden

Mid August, 2008
Orland California 95963

The news keeps piling up about “recession” and rising Food Costs.
Example the Goshen News, Goshen, Indiana Article.

Based on my simple survey, our local Fresh Food cost
have edged a bit, but definitely not sending our Population
into a state of Malnutrition.

I did chuckle about a ludicrous report regarding
Poor University Students standing in line at the Local FOOD BANK,
most chatting on Cell phones…

Get real youngsters!
Use your energy and grow a Community Garden,
instead of text messaging all day.

Other articles by the Talking Head Media seem to indicate another
crisis for the Populace.

There are more crucial price increases than food,
and if most would be willing
to forgo senseless activities that SUCK income,
instead spend very little money
and a bit of Health Time “Growing some Food”,
There are more crucial price increases than food,
and if most would be willing
to forgo senseless activities that SUCK income,
instead spend very little money
and a bit of Health Time “Growing some Food”,
they would not only feel better,
eat better and cheaper and have surplus
to sell or give away.

What are Cable and satellite cost compared to Food Increases ?
Cable and Satellite seem to be rising 5-7% with no end in
sight according to the
New York Times, today
July’s report from the USDA shows Food with a 12 month rise of
4.2%, of course the more processed the food the higher the Rise…
wonder why?

What does all this have to do with Growing Tomatoes for Health and Wealth?

We have two small plots this year, one 25o square feet,
the other 300 square feet.
The Tomato Patch as recorded on Video has been
providing us with all we need,
plus Eggplant and earlier, red onions a 6 month
supply from 24 plants, and Broccoli
early spring for us and our neighbors

Out total expenses to date have been $147.00

Total cash Income $ $320.00
Donated Produce to Senior Center $175.00 (Market Value)
Value of Food consumed $196.00 based on weekly Market value.

Of course many will point to Time Spent has a Value.
You bet it does!

I have conducted INCOME GENERATING
seminars while Pruning,
Weeding and Irrigating.

And the exercise gained, at no Gym or Equipment costs,
has substantially added to my Overall Wellness.

But even forgetting those factors, My “time Card” shows about
8 hours a week in the garden since February..

My math comes up with:
192 hours
Earnings: $691
Expenses: $147
Net $ 544 Profit
or a little over $2.83 hour NET Profit ( so far)

MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH BENEFITS….
PRICELESS

Continue to join us on this Journey
Start your Fall Garden Now.
Containers can yield bushels!

Do your self a favor and Grow for Life..Yours!

Buzz up!vote now

This is New Mexico, and I really appreciate these newsletters which gives us an idea of a few important issues that the Senate are working hard on. Give a hand to communication!

Making College More Affordable

Just one year after Congress passed the largest increase in student aid in more than 50 years, I am pleased to report we have enacted another bill that helps make college more affordable and accessible to New Mexicans.

At the end of July, the Senate passed The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, which makes it much easier for New Mexico students to navigate the financial aid process and qualify for financial assistance. It also increases the maximum Pell Grant award and provides those grants year round so students can take courses in the summer.

The legislation requires greater transparency in the costs of attending college, helps reduce the costs of college textbooks and holds colleges accountable for their rising costs. It also reforms the student loan system and provides loan forgiveness, scholarships, and fellowships, and removes barriers for students with disabilities to qualify for financial aid.

I am particularly proud of the increases in funding for minority serving institutions included in this legislation. As a member of the Senate Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee that finalized the bill, I urged the inclusion of increased funding levels for Hispanic Serving Institutions to $175 million. This funding is used to support two-and four-year Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs); most New Mexico colleges will qualify for such funds.

Also at my urging the bill creates a long-overdue program for graduate students enrolled at HSIs and funds it at $69 million over six years. The graduate program will provide support for fellowships and other services for graduate students. It will also provide funding to improve facilities and for faculty development, as well as for technology and distance education.

In addition to providing aid to HSIs, I was also able to include a provision that authorizes $25 million for Native American Serving Institutions – an initiative that provides funding to nontribal colleges with a student population that is at least 10 percent Native American. Grants of at least $200,000 would support curriculum development and academic instruction, faculty development, the purchase of books and other educational materials, and academic tutoring and counseling. Currently, eligible schools in New Mexico include San Juan College, University of New Mexico-Gallup, and New Mexico State University-Grants.

The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 also helps students prepare for and succeed in college by strengthening the TRIO and GEAR UP programs and requiring students enrolled in these initiatives to take more rigorous school coursework such as Advanced Placement classes.

This new bill, which I expect will soon be signed into law, comes just one year after The College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 was enacted. That measure increased student aid by more than $20 billion over the next 5 years, of which New Mexico will receive $200 million.

Making sure that our nation remains competitive and continues to be an economic leader in the world is very important. We can retain this position by making sure students have the best and highest levels of education. New Mexico has a tremendous talent pool that, if given the tools, will succeed in becoming the nation’s best doctors, teachers, agriculture specialists, technical specialists, and businessmen and women. This bill goes a long way in helping us achieve that goal.

Housing Crisis

Our flagging economy is affecting millions of American families, many of whom are trying to avoid home foreclosure. To help those families, Congress approved the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 – a measure aimed at stabilizing the housing market and providing relief to hundreds of thousands of Americans who are struggling to keep their homes.

The bill provides assistance for communities devastated by foreclosures, counseling for families in need and also contains programs that assist returning soldiers to avoid foreclosure. It also provides tax benefits for homeowners, homebuyers, and homebuilders aimed at helping the housing market recover. It also modernizes the Federal Housing Administration, implements greater oversight and creates a new program that would help at least 400,000 families save their homes from foreclosure.

One of the most important parts of the bill is the affordable housing trust fund it creates to address the imbalance between the amount of extremely low-income households in our country and the number of affordable rental housing units available to them. The National Housing Trust Fund doesn’t cost the taxpayers because it does not require annual funding from Congress. Instead, it is funded by tapping a portion of the profits that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac make on their mortgage loans, which are estimated to yield at least $300 million a year and perhaps as much as $700 million.

This long-overdue legislation will provide some relief to struggling Americans.

Consumer Protection

As a result of an alarming number of recalls of imported products found to be dangerous to children, Congress has approved and the President has signed consumer protection legislation.

High levels of lead and other poisonous chemicals were found in toys and other imported goods entering the United States. Reports of injuries, and in rare cases even deaths, have eroded consumer confidence in the safety of products coming from overseas.

The Consumer Safety Commission Reform Act takes aim at transforming the commission into a much more effective watchdog. The bill also increases investment so that more safety inspection personnel can be hired and the lab facilities can also be updated. It also protects children from unsafe products by requiring testing and certification of children’s products, and by banning the use of lead in children’s toys. The bill also mandates tracking labels for children’s goods that will enable the purchaser to ascertain the manufacturer, production time period, and other identifying characteristics to help easily identify recalled products.

Express yourself. Leave a comment.

Tonight www.moveon.org has a valid viewpoint. Read on:

Obama just picked Joe Biden to be his VP. Now, we’re giving away FREE Obama/Biden stickers. Get yours today.

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Dear MoveOn member,
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P.S. If you’d like to learn a little more about Joe Biden, check out his Wikipedia page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_BidenAnd here’s a page specifically on his issue positions:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=4085&id=13561-4495224-lXwXTIx&t=6

Want to support our work? We’re entirely funded by our 3.2 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

Dear Editor,
Volunteers are needed for the Obama for America campaign. In a race that is neck to neck voter participation is crucial to creating the outcome that citizens desire. In the last election in NM the winning difference was within 200 votes. I have a few ideas how people can help the campaign.
1) Go to the headquarters at 720 St Michael’s Dr 2-N. Volunteer.
2) Call (505) 471-4833. This is important because you can let them know where you stand. Tell them you want to answer the canvas survey. This will also reduce phone calls and other contact from the office. Keep those phones ringing.
3) Go to www.barackobama.com to order bumper stickers etc. Post them wherever to let people know.
4) Email the folks at: www.nmforchange.com and let them know who you are going to vote for.
5) Create your own list of things to do to help your candidate or candidates win.
Tom Udall also needs volunteers. People working on the campaigns really appreciate your help. Contact them as soon as possible even if you are undecided. Volunteer if you can.
Sincerely,
Mary MacIntyre
Santa Fe NM

Dialogue with the Machine

Santa Fe Complex · 632 Agua Fria · Parking via Romero St.

For more information, contact Don Begley at 505/216.7562 or visit sfcomplex.org

——————————————————————————–

Next Wednesday, August, 27, pioneering digital artist Woody Vasulka opens a two-part conversation at Santa Fe Complex on the changing relationship between art and technology over his four-decade career.

Each of those decades represents a distinct phase in the evolution of that relationship, says Vasulka. “It has been a dialogue with the machine that began in the political environment of the 60s with a time of continual interaction within an art community,” he explains. He explains, “We were looking for images that were not derived from the world in this earlier work. It was a generation of continual interaction between technology and art where we were learning, demonstrating, and building in a community of with a network of interests.”

That almost communal time of social and artisitc experimentation faded as computer-generated graphics overwhelmed art with hyhperrealistic images and an emphasis on the technical rather than the artistic elements of creativity.

As “the idea of realism slowly came to dominate art in the digital era,” Woody says, “the image itself took the dominant function and the contextual information lost its importance.” As a result, art became dominated by computer needs like resolution and color spaces rather than the artist’s vision.

The irrepressible artist believes the hyperrealistic phase is fading. He offers his “Dialogue with the Machine,” which is how Vasulka refers to his coming talks at Santa Fe Complex, as a return to a more collaborative and experimental community.

In fact, he says that technology will expand the artist’s horizons. Asking “is it the tool that limits you?,” Vasulka calls the computer a variation machine that will let artists leap beyond historic constraints. In the 70s, he says, artists asked, “What happens between the frames?” and “Why 24 frames per second and not 1000?” Today, with the variation machine, they can begin to answer those questions and more.

Thw process has begun, according to Woody. Santa Fe artists like Corey Metcalf and David Stout, he says, are heirs to the Vasulka traditions. They show that modern digital processes, once again, allow a reinterpretation of sound and sight.

——————————————————————————–

Woody pioneered video art in the late 1960s. Born in Brno, now in the Czech Republic, he trained as an engineer before studying television and film production at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. He met his wife, Steina Vasulka, in the early 1960s and moved to New York City in 1965, where he worked as a multiscreen film editor, experimenting with electronic sounds and stroboscopic lights while pioneering the showing of video art at the Whitney Museum. Woody collaborated with Don MacArthur and Jeffrey Schier in 1976 to build a computer controlled personal imaging facility called The Digital Image Articulator. The Vasulkas have been based in Santa Fe since 1980. More information is available at http://vasulka.org/index.html

Don Begley
Managing Director
Santa Fe Complex
624 Agua Fria St
Santa Fe, NM 87501

Come Visit Us

Santa Fe Complex is located next to the Railyard Art District and within walking distance of the hotels, restaurants and shops at the plaza downtown. We’re housed in two facilities, the conference area at 624 Agua Fria and the project space at 632 Agua Fria.

The conference area contains meeting rooms and facilities for short-term use associated with on-going complex projects. The project space houses the great room, where we hold events and offer working facilities for laptop users, coffee lounge and work carrels.

While there is parking at 624 Agua Fria, the Romero Street parking lot is more conveniently located for the 632 facility. Romero St. is an old-style Santa Fe ox-cart road just east of the 624 driveway. Follow it until it opens up to two lanes and turn hard right into the parking lot for 632.

Here’s a map to our location, a representative shot showing the Railyard District and a sketchup drawing of the facility at 632. For more information, call 505/216.7562 or click here.

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CAMP OBAMA NEW MEXICO HISPANIC COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP TRAINING

August 22 5PM to 9PM
August 23 9AM to 9PM

Alamosa Community Center
6900 Gonzales Rd SW
Albuquerque, NM 89102
Corner of Bridge & Coors

Call to sign up.
Empowering Local Hispanic Leaders with the skills to mobilize VOTERS in their NM Communities.

In Santa Fe: Team 476 (Precints 56,62,75, 86)

Saturday 8/23 & Sunday 8/24 Canvass
8/28 5PM-9PM Phone Bank at headquarters 720 St Michaels Dr
8/30 Voter Registration Southside Library 10 AM-5PM
Wednesday 9/3 Organizational Meeting 6:30 PM Southside Library

For anyone interested:
YOUTH KICKOFF MEETING Jazz and Pizza, Thursday 5 PM (headquarters)

Classic error what date??? Call 471-4833 about this next event:

Howard Dean in Santa Fe 10:15 AM Bus tour Rally Casa Solana Registering folks. Call: 471-4833.

Vote early. You cn even vote by mail.

Old music to set the mood. From an old DNC

Small town USA. According to Hillary Clinton, it is here, in every small town is where the political action occurs that can change the votes for America. Our personal involvement to get people out to vote, to encourage people to join our causes can make big changes. In New Mexico a few hundred votes made the difference in the last Presidental race.

Classic: Born In the USA….

Have you joined your neighborhood group yet? be bold. Make a difference, blog even, join the wave of Americans who will use the next 70 days to elect our President. (Yes I want you to work for the OBAMA campaign), however everyone’s involvement working for their candidate is very important. We have to keep working for the CHANGES that we need to make to IMPROVE this country. Join your neighborhood group today!

Not convinved? Don’t know how to help out? Go on over to the Obama for America Headquarters on 720 St Michael’s Dr. They have amazing hours so just go.
LIST of things you can do:
1) Phone Banks
2) Bring food for the staff
3) Join a neighborhood group
4) Have a garage sale and donate $$$, or buy more food.
5) Have a bake a cookie party. Oops, I am using creative license again. Like pay for someone’s gas on canvassing days.
6)Volunteer
7) Data Entry
Bring 5 friends to help you.
If some of these ideas don’t seem exciting enough, then make up your own too. BOTTOM LINE: VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED NOW!!!! If we all chip in the work will be easier.

Also you don’t have to be active forever. Work at times when you can. Perhaps participate 3-4 times. They need your help. Create a tag team with your friends. Find 10 friends who will pledge to work 4X’s. Do your bit, and then call the next volunteer. REpeat until everyone has kept their committment.