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THURSDAY March 4, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels February 19, 2004 A story to tell Puppet theater builds on Native American culture By Elizabeth Hughes Tidings Correspondent Storytelling is an age-old tradition and form of education - an art form rooted in Native American culture and passed down in the oral tradition. Puppet theater also shares an ancient history, which entertains while educating audiences. The Lomakatsi Restoration Project and Southern Oregon University's Native American Student Union bring these traditions together in the benefit performance at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Britt Ballroom at Southern Oregon University. Incorporating a number of different performances, the event is intended to entertain and educate, bridging the gap between Native American knowledge and contemporary life. The evening will bring the two-day Native American Ecological Education Symposium to an end with storytelling, theater, song, music, and puppets. "Combing all these people and things brings [the event] full circle," said Aron Nauth, a member of Ashland-based The Fire Scar Shadow Theater, which will perform at the event. Local Lakota storyteller and actor Robert Greygrass will tell stories from Lakota and other tribal traditions, including pow-wow songs, while traditional ecologist, artist and storyteller Frank Kanawha Lake will share dance, songs, and regalia of the Karuk tribe of northwestern California. Kanawha will also narrate the story of "Lizard and Grizzly." Stories have a special place in Native American tradition, according to Lake, who sees stories as ecological prescriptions to how people are supposed to live. They contain social and ecological information, which has different meanings at different points of our lives, he said. The story of "Lizard and Grizzly" tells us how to pay attention to what is going on in our lives and how the smallest creatures matter and can make a difference. Nauth will accompany the story with his shadow puppet production. The story was also performed at last year's benefit in March. Nauth works with the Lomakatsi Restoration Project and saw an opportunity to put his experience in puppet theatre to work, complementing the oral story telling tradition. "Puppeteering is a dying art form," said Nauth. During a puppet tour around the nation, Nauth found Ashland and moved here from Minneapolis, bringing his love and expertise of puppets with him. The lack of puppet theatre in Ashland's art scene was a gap which Nauth was quick to recognize. Nauth hopes to change this with his theater. Fire Scar Shadow Theater has a close connection to the woods, as does Nauth himself. He looks at large charcoal spots burned into the bark of old growth trees as an opening into another dimension. This is also how Nauth views puppeteering, an art form in which reality is suspended. "Scars tell stories," said Nauth, pointing to a healed injury on his forehead. "Fire is an important element of forests and Europeans haven't understood this." Nauth is excited to combine his love of working for Lomakatsi with his work with puppet theater. By expanding upon the storytelling element of the benefit performance, he believes that he is helping to expand upon how to live with the natural world in today's society, something that is lacking. "We don't understand restoration," said Nauth. Lomakatsi Restoration Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to the regeneration and rehabilitation of watersheds within the greater Klamath/Siskiyou bioregion of Southwestern Oregon. The organization is dedicated to developing and training a restoration culture to heal the wounds of bad land management. The organization will host a slide show during the event about its riparian planting projects. The cost of the event is on a sliding scale of $5 to $500 and the proceeds go directly to the Lomakatsi Restoration Project and NASU. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: The new search is here! Click here for more information. .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - ODOT Road Cams