American Indian storytellers convene on campus

Concentrated storytelling will be going on at the second annual American Indian Storytelling Festival this Thursday and Friday (Feb. 25-26). Native peoples from around Wisconsin, the United States and the world will be represented; about seven languages, including Oneida, Ojibwe, Menominee and more, will be featured.

Roberta Hill, director of UW–Madison’s American Indian Studies program and associate professor of English, says the true function of storytelling goes far beyond entertainment.

“Storytelling is a vital art in aggrieved communities,” she says. “It keeps us going by giving us a bigger perspective than our own little terrors. Our stories contain a strong moral center. They lift us. They heal us.”

The stories begin at 7 p.m. each day, in 2330 Humanities Thursday and 6191 Helen C. White Hall Friday. Tales will be told in native languages and translated into English.

In addition to the storytelling festival in the evening, a forum for native speakers, teachers and linguists will take place each day. The meeting is part of the UW–Madison’s Native American Language Preservation Project, part of the American Indian Studies program.

These free events are open to the public. The festival is a collaboration of the UW–Madison American Indian Studies, Folklore, and Latin American and Iberian Studies programs; and the Department of Scandinavian Studies, with support from the Anonymous Fund.

For information, contact Hill at (608) 263-5501.