UNIVERSITY The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition -Fall 2004-5C Dance for unity Pow Wow rallies Native Americans BRETT MOUNTAIN/Daily Students volunteering to give tours of an exhibition of art by Michigan's prisoners explore the exhibit last night ahead of its opening today. The exhibit, placed in the North Campus Media Union, is sponsored by the Prison Creative Arts Project. Prisoners' art exhibit 10en on North Campus Charity group showcases more than 340 works ofart by Michigan pnoners March 2, 2004 By Nicole Frehsee SDaily Staff Writer Beginning today, pictures of animals, land- scapes and nature scenes will line the walls of North Campus's Media Union Gallery. Though it sounds pastoral, this is no down-on-the-farm art show - it is an exhibition of art created by Michigan's prisoners. The show's opening at 5 p.m. kicks off two weeks of events sponsored by the Prison Creative Arts Project, which includes discussion panels, guest speakers and film screenings. In its ninth annual exhibition, the show is expected to draw a crowd of 2,500 before its, March 16 closing. Though the art exhibition is their largest event, PCAP administrator Suzanne Gothard also predicts a healthy turnout at the Michigan Theater showing of Brad Lichtenstein's- movie "Ghosts of Attica" and Stephen Hartnett's reading of his book "Incar- ceration Nation" at Shaman Drum Bookstore. Organized by Gothard and curators English Prof. William "Buzz" Alexander and Ariella Kaufman, the exhibition's purpose is to create a forum for inmates to "express themselves and to get their work out," Gothard said. "It's a big event." "We have people lining up at the door," said Janie Paul, who has been the show's curator for the last eight years..Students and faculty, as well as community members and relatives of artists, come to see 340 works of art by 213 inmates from various prisons around the state. Opening night will also host speeches by four former prison artists and an art instructor at a cor- rectional facility. Preparation for the exhibit began in the fall, when PCAP sent letters to Michigan's prisons asking for artistic contributions. Works were chosen based on the artists' origi- nality and ability. Popular media include sketch- es, paintings, collages and "scratch art," where a metallic image is created by scraping off the top layer of a black sheet of paper. Former.contributor and inmate Jason Rios, who created a mixed media piece for two past shows, said the exhibition helped his personal growth. "When you're incarcerated, you're a for- gotten member of society. (PCAP's exhibit) put me back in touch with humanity," said Rios, 27, who was released from prison in 2001. The pieces display differing degrees of expertise; both "primitive" works and "extraordinary, gallery- worthy pieces," are shown, Paul said. All art is for sale, ranging in artist-determined prices from $25 to $500, with most pieces in the $60 to $100 range. Ninety percent of the profits goes to the artist and the other 10 percent goes toward the prison. The show's innovative works often surprise visi- tors, who "expect to see limited work coming out of a limited situation, but there's an incredibly wide range, from very peaceful works to graphic repre- sentations of prison life," Paul said. Regardless of the subject matter or quality of the art, she added each piece displays a "tremendous emotional intensity" and serves as an emotional "lifeline" for its creator. March 29, 2004 By Michael Kan Daily Staff Writer Centuries ago, Native Americans cleared open fields of grass to hold a pow wow. At Saturday's Ann Arbor Dance for Mother Earth Pow Wow, Native American dancers continued the same tradition, including a Grass Dance in this week- end's event, symbolizing the clearing of the grass so many years before. Open fields of prairie used to stretch across the land when the first pow wows were held, Native American dancer Ronny Preston said. During the year, the prairie grass would grow tall. Whenever the tribes liv- ing in these lands needed a meeting place, the elders would send out the young men to clear the fields by stomp- ing down the grass. As the young men stomped on the grass, the elders noticed how beautiful their motions were. So the tribe made a danceout of it now called the Grass Dance. Dressed in traditional Native American clothing, Preston and hundreds of Native Americans from tribes all over North America joined Ann Arbor residents in this year's Pow Wow for fun and to immerse themselves in Native American culture. The 32nd annual Pow Wow was held over the course of the weekend at Crisler Arena and was sponsored by the University. Pow wows, dancer Jody Gaskin said, are meant to gather the community together, allowing them to socialize and meet new friends. This particular Pow Wow was also a dance and drum compe- tition where performers were judged by their group's routine. But the Pow Wow also serves an equal- ly important purpose of providing the Native American community time to express their long-standing traditions. With thousands of yellow and red beads spread across his clothing, decorat- ing the pattern of shapes and symbols on his garb, Preston said he made his dance wear over the winter from the knowledge passed down through his family. "My mother taught me how to bead when I was real small. I never forgot it," he said. Gaskin said he learned Native Ameri- can dance when he was five and now teaches his children the same dances. "I've taught my kids, and then they'll teach their kids," he added. Gaskin said this Pow Wow also serves a larger purpose of bringing the Ann Arbor community "to see what the beauty and the variety of our own Native Ameri- can culture has to offer. "(The pow wow), it's a social event, but it's also spiritual. For Native Americans, EUGENE ROBERTSON/Daily Neil Wolfgang of the Seneca tribe of New York, dressed in traditional regalia, attends the Pow Wow March 27, 2004 in Crisler Arena. The annual event drew more than 10,000 audience members and performers. our spirituality goes through everything. To be social is to be spiritual," he said. Wearing a breastplate fashioned out of hollowed bones, with a bustle, or gather- ing of eagle feathers strapped around his waist, Gaskin and others swayed their bodies to the banging of the drums throughout the afternoon's first dances, rhythmically tapping Crisler Arena's floor with their feet. Other dances featured during the Pow Wow ranged from traditional dancing based on the movements of animals to more contemporary routines called fancy dancing, Gaskin said. Young boys and girls also participated in the dances. Over the years, the Pow Wow has become increasingly popular to the Uni- versity and the Native American commu- nity, said George Martin, who attended the first Pow Wow 32 years ago. Martin was invited to be the Pow Wow's head veteran, who is the traditional leader of the opening ceremony. "We had one dancer 32 years ago. Now we have over 150. We used to have one drum- mer, but now we have so many,"he said. Still, even with its growing size, some think there needs to be more acknowledg- ment of Michigan's Native American community. Education senior Erin Crain said of the event, "I enjoy watching the dances. It's something different." But she added that more students should have come to the Pow Wow. "I would say that not many people know this is going on. There doesn't seem to be a large awareness of the Native American community." That' why it's so important to hold cul- tural events like the weekend's Pow Wow, Martin said. "(We want to show everyone) that, we're here, that there are Native Ameri- cans here," he said. Non-Muslims join Fast-a-thon to raise donations, awareness November 13, 2003 By AdanRosen Daily Staff Writer For non-Muslim students who have ever wondered what it's like to fast all day in observance of Ramadan, the Muslim Students Association is offering a unique opportunity today. MSA is sponsoring an all-day fasting event for non-Muslims with the goal of assisting a local charity in combating hunger, as well as raising awareness of the Islamic faith during the holy month of Ramadan. Dubbed Fast-a-thon, the event, which has attracted between 200 to 300 non-Muslim students, prohibits participants from eating, drinking all beverages - even water - or smok- ing anytime during daylight hours. MSA has arranged for local business sponsors to donate money to the Ann Arbor Food Gatherers charity based on the number of non-Muslims who have pledged to fast. Aisha Jukaku, MSA administrative affairs chair, defined fasting in Ramadan - one of the five pillars of Islam - as a time for Muslims to increase their spirituality through hunger and to learn to be submissive to God. "Fasting, as well as charity, are the basis of our religion; one of the reasons that we fast is to gain self-control over other aspects of our lives," said Jukaku, an LSA sophomore. MSA community affairs chair and event organizer Lubna Grewal said she feels it will give non-Muslims a unique chance to see what it's like "to be a Muslim for a day" during Ramadan. This event "gives people a taste of The concept of Fast-a-thon originated with the University of Tennessee at Knoxville chapter of MSA, which creat- ed the event two years ago to raise awareness of Ramadan around campus. MSA National, the coordinating body of all Muslim Student Associations in the country, felt that this event was a great success and sought to establish it as a national program. Fast-a-thon is not required by all MSA chapters, but the University's MSA decided to implement the program last year. Many MSA members said they feel this event is very important for the community. "First, it's a good way to raise money for local charity, second, (participants) are going to be hungry so that some- body else doesn't have to be," said Jukaku. MSA member Nura Sediqe added she thinks this event will help bring aware- ness of fasting to non-Muslims. "It makes fasting seem more normal and establishes connections between Muslims and non-Muslims that helps unify us more" said Sedige, an LSA freshman. All local businesses contributing to Fast-a-thon have chosen to remain anonymous. Grewal said this is because many of the contributors were Muslim, and "in Islam, we believe that some- times it is good to participate in anony- mous charities, where no one knows, except for God, who contributed." 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