For the past forty
years the San Diego Intertribal singers have continued to evolve. Mutual
interests in traditional American songs and the social participation
in the pow wow circle has sustained the drum. The drum is a respectful
term that acknowledges the primacy of the group effort and reminds the
participants at the drum that they are subordinate to the whole. Sitting
at the drum one often heard, "You boys take care of this drum and
it will take care of you all."
Respect and humility
are essential elements of traditional tribal life. Around the drum there
is a universe of listeners that are very qualified to judge the quality
and attitude of the presentation. The sustaining reward for singing
good is overwhelming and very warmly emotional. So often one feels spirituality
or a special quality of audience beyond place or that worldly moment.
About 1969 or 1970
at San Diego State College the Urban and Rural Indian community organized
to petition for a department of American Indian Studies. Gwen Cooper,
Cherokee, was assigned to be the schools' liaison. Efforts succeed in
appointing John Rouillard to head the Indian Studies office and organize
classes and events. John was a professional musician, high school band
teacher and Santee Sioux. He brought a life long interest in traditional
American Indian music to the campus. Students, staff and community members
produced workshops, conferences and pow wows. He bought a pow wow drum.
This was the heartbeat of the 'State Boys' intertribal drum. Art Ketcheshano,
Kickapoo, was an accomplished head singer living in the Los Angeles
area. He was the first to come down to San Diego and teach about the
protocol of the Southern song tradition.
From that beginning
there have been many Northern and Southern lead singers: Delbert and
Frank Pomalee, Tim Redbird, Foster Hood, Melvin Ahhaitty, Ralph Zotay,
Millard Clark and others who have made good contributions to the repertory
of the also changing participants of the San Diego Intertribal drum.
Also in this 1970-90 time you could ask the head singer for permission
to sit in and be a part of the intertribal group singing at the time.
There was a good camaraderie and opportunity to learn songs. In these
past ten to fifteen years there has been a shift in the intertribal
structure of the song presentation. Especially Southern Plains singing
is evolved into a multi faceted and many times tribally specific presentation.
The San Diego drum
has enjoyed hundreds of invitations to participate and be the invited
head drum for many pow wow events. It has traveled to France and Australia
by invitation of their Nations cultural officers. Roy Cook was the drum
keeper for 25 years.
In this new millennium
the San Diego Intertribal Singers continue to accept invitations for
smaller group, single morning or afternoon or specific singing role
presentations: Flag or Veterans, memorial, spiritual, gourd dance or
round dance songs. We attend many of the same Tribal activities but
on an individual basis and often join in with other groups for pow wow
singing.
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