Viewpoints
Native Oratory Contest: THANK
YOU!
By Cara Wallace
March 11, 2009
Wednesday
Thank you to everyone who made Ketchikan's first Native Oratory
Contest (held on February 16) a success! The Native Oratory
Contest was a contemporary way of celebrating Alaska Native peoples'
oral traditions. Oral traditions tell us who we are and where
we come from, they connect us to our ancestors, affirm our relationships
with one another, and help us navigate the future. One of Alaska's
most famous orators was Elizabeth Peratrovich, who spoke with
conviction, honesty, poise and eloquence when she addressed the
territorial legislature to advocate for our collective civil
rights. It was especially fitting that we celebrated the exchange
of Native knowledge, ideas and history on the same day Alaska
honors Elizabeth Peratrovich's legacy.
Results of the contest include:
Grand Prize Winner - Jomarie
Alba
1st Place Oratory - Katrina Monta
1st Place Dramatic Declamation - JoMarie Alba
1st Place Storytelling - Leroy Wallace
2nd Place Oratory - Chevela Mathews
2nd Place Dramatic Declamation - Willard Jackson Sr.
2nd Place Storytelling - Terri Burr
3rd Place Oratory - Louise Bryant
Our Grant Prize Winner had
the opportunity to compete at the regional contest in Juneau
and she took 3rd Place in the Dramatic Declamation category.
Way to go!
Thank you to all of our esteemed judges: Mary Jones, ANS Grand
Camp President Emeritus; Priscilla Schulta, UAS Professor of
Anthropology; Jeanne Sande, Speech & Debate Coach extraordinaire;
Elizabeth Nelson, First City Players Creative Director; Richard
Jackson, ANB Executive Committee Member; and Keith Smith, First
City Players Managing Director. Prizes were sponsored by: Ketchikan
Indian Community, ANB/ANS Camp #14, Tlingit & Haida Ketchikan
Chapter, University of Alaska Southeast Ketchikan, Parnassus
Books and Ketchikan Area Arts and Humanities Council. Much gratitute
is also extended to: ANB/ANS Camp #15, Elizabeth Peratrovich
Day Co-Chairs Winona Wallace and Victoria Canul Dunne, Sonja
Skan, John Wallace and the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center
staff.
We look forward to next year's competition!
Gunalcheesh & Haw'aa,
Cara Wallace
Ketchikan, AK
About: "Tribal Education
Specialist for Ketchikan Indian Community"
Received March 11, 2009 - Published
March 11, 2009
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