ARTS
The Michigan Doily
Tuesday, March 4, 1986
Page 5
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Indian Names in Michigan .
Virgil J. Vogel
University of Michigan Press
Finally an informative book that
doesn't read like a technical text or a
chatty dissertation! Vogel takes a
subject matter that could be treated
dryly and instead delivers a clear, in-
teresting, smooth-moving body of
research.
Vogel's success begins with the con-
tent and format he uses. As indicated
by the title, very simply the book
deals with Indian names in Michigan.
He begins with the name Michigan, it-
self, which is in fact, in Ojibwa and
other Algonquian languages, a
generic term for-any very large lake.
From there, he breaks the subject
down to chapters dealing with names
(of lakes, cities, counties, etc.)
derived from Indian personal names;
tribal names, names from fauna and
flora, descriptive names, names from
literature and legend, names that
were French-icized, all the way up to
a brief chapter on Michigan Indians
today. Such a format flows easily; as
a result, the information is more
digestive.
Early on, Vogel provides infor-
mation vital to understanding. He
points out that Indians were not
always named by themselves; often
their location or the name other tribes
called them served as an identity.
For example, "The Seneca of course
did not recognize this foreign name
(Seneca); their own name was Nun-
dawaona, 'great hill people'." Ob-
viously such a contradiction could
cause difficulty in affixing the source
of nomenclature (not to mention the
effect it had on treaty validity) so
Vogel warns not to accept any
definitive explanations of Indian
names.
Vogel also offers the historical
documentation of the names that
allow the reader to make conclusions
from the -data and illustrate how
Vogel himself arrived at his
reasoning. From an historical per-
spective, h discusses the use of per-
sonal names. "Michigan has preser-
ved in its place-names the names of
perhaps forty-five individual In-
dians...All of these names were ap-
parently placed on the map by whites,
for it was not the Indian custom to
glorify individuals in this way." Vogel
finds irony in this fact: contemporary
whites often despised the Indian yet
retained his name thereby ger-
minating a legacy to the Indian.
The documentation he provided is
also sound, citing treaties and
writings of early explorers
(Schoolcraft and others). One ap-
preciates his research for being
thorough as well as reliable. For
example, previous writers attributed
the name Leelanau to Ojibiwa or
other Algonquian sources. However,
as Vogel indicates, this could not be
the case for there is no 1 sound in
Ojibwa.
Other appreciative qualities of
Vogel's work include his use of in-
teresting anecdotes like the naming of
the Sleeping Bear Dunes. Such anec-
dotes facilitate the movement of the
book. In fact, all the information he
offers is so interesting that it makes
the reading quick and easy. For
example: The Objibwa name for the
Grand River, Michigan's longest
river, was Washtenong which was
altered to Washtenaw; and the
meaning of the name of the city of
Chicago is either garlic or skunk,
depending on the source one accepts.
In addition, Vogel's style keeps the
text moving. He is clear, direct and
interested solely in informing the
reader. He avoids obscuring the
material, which in some cases is
already obscure, with descriptive or
talky prose.
The only recommendation one
might make to Mr. Vogel is that he
could have discussed Michigan In-
dians today in more depth. After
piquing the reader's interest and con-
sciousness of the culture, he offers
scant statistics of the number of
remaining Indians etc. One expects
more about the present after reading
nearly 200 pages about the past.
Not much else could be done to im-
prove such clear yet thorough work.
Anyone who loves Michigan, history,
or nomenclature must read this book.
by Gloria Sanak
Daily Photo by DAN HABIB ,
Jazz Trio Triumphs
Records
Pandoras-Stop Pretending
(Rhino)
There never was much doubt that
the Pandoras were the reigning
queens of L.A.'s garage rock scene.
There was, however, some questions
as to which Pandoras. There were
two-labeled largely according to
their leaders:.the Paula Pandoras
and the Gwynne Pandoras-two splin-
ters of the band that existed
somewhere in the distant past, both
with the same name, both with
promising indie releases, confusing
the daylights out of non-L.A. fans.
Just recently, however, the Gwynne
Pandoras decided to call it a day,
leaving the Paula Pandoras as sole
proprietors of the moniker.
Thus, it's the Paula Pandoras which
we refer to when we speak of Stop
Pretending, a pretty much groovy
new garage release, full of swinging
tunes suitable for turning on, tuning
in, rattling the gogo cage, etc... In-
deed, these ladies appear to have just
broken out of said cage, all decked out
in minis, beads, and Courreges boots,
not unlike those you might have found
in Mom's closet 20 years ago. Like I
said, groovy.
But unlike most other garage prac-
titioners, the Pandoras have thank-
fully remained musically aware of the
'80s-and have come up with a record
that sounds modern and rich, yet cap-
tures the essence of '60s punk. The LP
starts off with "In and Out of My Life"
(In a Day), perhaps the least 60's-ish
track. It's solid, it rocks, maybe is a lit-
tle predictable, but is still an apt
single. Much better (although much
more garagey) is "I Didn't Cry," which
sounds like the result of the grafting of
every Standells song to "96 Tears," as
well as boasting some of the meanest
female screaming (courtesy Paula)
that this reviewer's heard recently.
She makes Joan Jett sound like Kate
Bush!
Also swell are "You're All Talk"
and "That's Your Way Out," which
sport Farfisa organ and great
choruses. It's certainly not the most
intellectually or technically deman-
ding music around, but that's not the
point. The point is that it sounds great
and is great fun, proven by the Pan-
doras apparent undying en-
thusiasm for their music.
Swell stuff on side two includes
"I'm Your Girl"- the psychchick's
"Stand By Your Man?" And the folk-
poppy "Stop Pretending." The closing
track, "It Felt Alright," lays the fuz-
ztone on thick, and the guitar ap-
proaches something near apocalyptic
by the end.
The remainder of the tracks on Stop
Pretending are not nearly so suc-
cessful as those mentioned, yet retain
an enthusiasm and classic feel (due to
their punk roots) that render them
unobjectionable at the very least. Lots
of fun!
-Julie Jerrjens
By arwulf arwulf
Sunny Murray. David Murray.
Maluchi Flavors. These three names
speak fire and flash floods of ex-
pression to anyone who has been
following the vigorous growth of
Creative Black Music since 1960.
Seeing their faces in a casual photo
snapped outside of the gig, I was
floored. Just the three of them, in an
extended performance, available on
imported vinyl, I swallowed hard and
got out my check book. Sunny Murray
Trio. Priceless.
Sunny was among the first of the
few drummers who dared work with
Cecil Taylor and Albert Ayler, back in
the early 60's, when unpredictable
behavior was scaring everybody
away from each other.
Sunny, like - Jerome Cooper,
pioneered the expansion of the drums
in Jazz, taking the emphasis far past
time-keeping. The focus was shifted to
the tones and textures of percussion,
and there's light years of possibilities
therein.
You have seen Malachi Flavors if
you've ever caught the Art Ensemble
of Chicago. He is a bassist, fascinated
with percussion who seldom appears
without facial paint and ancestral
robes, or plaster mask with conical
straw hat. A mysterious cat, and a
founding member of the Association
for the Advancement of Creative
Musicians in Chicago.
David Murray came to most folks'
attention as the young terror tenor
portion of the World Sax Quartet, and
has performed with an astonishing
roster of gifted musicians, from Jim-
my Hamilton to Amiri Baraka and
back again.
These are three of the brightest
folks in music, and their performance
that day in West Germany has come
to us here in the future as MOERS
MUSIC 01054.
The album opens with "Sweet
Lovely," a walking sort of thing with
attractive erratic jags from the tengr
saxophone. David has a bite that
echoes Archie Shepp, and an ability to
vibrate and bellow which owes to
Albert Ayler.
Side twooffers an even clearer
example of David's debt to Ayler.
"Tree Tops" is Ayler up and down.
The melody is light, twisted and
delicately spiked. The theme mingles
with "Happiness Tears", David bub-
bling now at the bassrclarinet. He in-
vokes Eric Dolphy with long strong
moments of deep horn reed sound.
*Gram mys,schlock & rollshow
?0
By Alan Paul
and Beth Fertig
Who are the Grammy Awards kid-
ding? Does anyone really believe
they represent the pinnacle of artistic
achievement? Let's face it, the
Grammys are merely a reaffirmation
of everything we already know - who
the most popular mainstream artists
of the year were.
However, neither artistry nor sheer
popularity are the Grammy criteria.
You've got to please all of the people
all of the time. It seems that any
musicians with slightest amount of
anti-authority or controversial con-
tent or experimental methods are ex-
cluded. The Rolling Stones, the most
successful rock and roll band ever,
have been nominated for only one
Grammy - for best album cover -
and they lost. On -last week's Award
broadcast, the Stones received a
Lifetime Acheivement Award, which
lead singer Mick Jagger had wanted
to refuse. He accepted, however, with
the bands support. After all, it's only
rock and roll, right Mick?
Jagger was quoted last week for
| dubbing the Awards a "Schlock"
show. The figures speak for them-
selves. Some of the artists snubbed by
the Grammys include the Who, Led
Zepplin, The Everly Brothers,
Creedence. Clearwater Revival, Neil
Young, Talking Heads, and Chuck
Berry (at least he made the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame). Winners, on the
other hand include A Flock of
Seagulls, Men at Work, Leo Sayer,
Survivor, and Olivia Newton John.
And what about .R.E.M.? The most
critically acclaimed band of the past
three years has never received a
nomination.
Does anyone still doubt Mick?
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