By ARIEL OLSON-SUROWIDJOJO
Observer Staff
Nov. 8, 2007

Photo by Ariel Olson-Surowidjojo
Native artist Steven Alvarez performs at the National
Museum of the American Indian in Washington

Steven Alvarez, an American Indian musician and story-teller, entertained a crowd of about 200 children, Nov. 4, during a performance at the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington.

Alvarez, who is Mescalero Apache, Yaqui and Upper Tanana Athabascan, took the stage wearing “pre-contact” regalia inspired by the traditional dress of the Mescalaro Apache: a deer skin vest over a white cotton shirt, leather leggings and bone beads. But his vibrant songs and stories conveyed more to the young audience than a presentation of American Indian history and culture.

“I hope when you leave here you will have a desire to discover more about who you are,” Alvarez told the audience.

The program, sponsored by Discovery Theater, was part of the museum’s celebration of National American Indian Heritage Month, commemorated annually in November.

The experienced performer, originally from the San Francisco Bay area and Hawaii, now lives in Anchorage, Alaska, where he coordinates and delivers educational programs and new media initiatives for the Alaska Native Heritage Center. After years of study, Alvarez said he taught music for 15 years before becoming an arts educator and administrator.

“Working at the Alaska Native Heritage Center has allowed me to meet a lot of people and be in positions where I can perform about who I am,” Alvarez said.

His Washington performance was part of a series of art exhibits, craft demonstrations, lectures and live performances taking place at the National Museum of the American Indian during November.

Abby Benson, the museum’s public affairs assistant, said sharing stories and cultures through the arts is central to the Museum’s mission.

“One of the major themes of the museum is showcasing that American Indian cultures are still alive and thriving,” Benson said. “These native communities are constantly reinventing their arts. They’re taking from the traditional and making it contemporary, or often times they’re trying to revive the historical or traditional ways of making these crafts.”

Benson said the museum will feature about 150 diverse American Indian artists from across the United States in programs commemorating National American Indian Heritage Month.

Highlights include the Classical Native Concert Series, Nov. 8-11; the Native Writers Series, featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning author N. Scott Momaday on Nov. 28; a performance by the Metlakatla Killer Whale Dancers on Nov. 9, and Native film screenings throughout the month.

“We have artists that come back annually,” Benson said. “It’s a pretty exciting place to be and to showcase your arts and crafts.”

Alvarez said his organization also coordinates programming to commemorate National American Indian Heritage Month in Anchorage. With the support of federal grants, he estimated that the Center’s heritage month activities reach 12,000-15,000 students each year.

“It’s really a community-wide initiative that has a broad base of support,” Alvarez said.

President George H. W. Bush first initiated National American Indian Heritage Month in 1990, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.