"Out of Many: A Multicultural Festival"

National Museum of the American Indian Hosts Multicultural Festival as Part of Inaugural EventsThe Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian will host “Out of Many: A Multicultural Festival of Music, Dance and Story” from Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009, through Monday, Jan. 19, 2009. The three-day program to commemorate the inauguration of Barack Obama will feature daily performances of live music, dancing and storytelling in the museum from a variety of cultural traditions. All performances are free and open to the public.

Forty groups will appear, including:

Alma Boliviana, who perform traditional dances of the Andes

Cambodian Buddhist Society, who perform traditional music and dance from Cambodia

Washington Chinese Youth Club, who will perform traditional Lion dances

KanKouran, West African Dancers from Senegal

Gayle Ross, Cherokee storyteller

Mariachi Los Amigos, a mariachi ensemble

Halau O 'Aulani, who will perform Native Hawaiian music and dance

Narrowbacks, who will perform traditional Irish music accompanied by championship Irish step dancers

New Klezmer Quintet, which features Jewish traditional/jazz/fusion music

The Plateros, a Navajo blues and rock band

The Wild Zappers, a hearing-impaired dance troupe

Yaaw Tei Yi Dancers, a Tlingit group from Juneau, Alaska

In addition to the inauguration festival, the National Museum of the American Indian will open a small photo exhibition, “A Century Ago…They Came as Sovereign Leaders” Jan. 14, 2009. In honor of the 2009 inauguration, the exhibition focuses on President Theodore Roosevelt’s 1905 inaugural parade and the six great chiefs who participated in the procession. The chiefs included Buckskin Charlie (Ute), American Horse (Oglala Sioux), Quanah Parker (Comanche), Geronimo (Chiricahua Apache), Hollow Horn Bear (Brule Sioux) and Little Plume (Piegan Blackfeet). The exhibition goes beyond the intent of President Roosevelt’s inaugural committee, which was to add color to the show. The six Native leaders had questions and actively sought President Roosevelt’s attention to their concerns, arriving with their own purposes in mind and representing the needs of their people. The exhibition remains open until Feb. 17, 2009.Comment:  For more on the subject, see The 2008 Presidential Campaign.