Native America : Ulali & the SilverCloud Singers.

For several years the American Indian Community House (AICH) produced a cable network show titled 'Native America.' Select performances in the Circle at AICH were videotaped, edited, and aired on the Manhattan Neighborhood Network in half hour segments. This episode contains performances by Ulali and the Silvercloud Singers. Ulali (www.ulali.com), formerly known as Pura Fe, is an a cappella women's trio featuring three Native women singers, Pura Fe (Tuscarora), Soni Moreno (Apache/Mayan) and Jennifer Kreisberg (Tuscarora). Ulali blends a variety of traditional and contemporary indigenous music of the Americas, incorporating political, social and personal issues that affect all of humanity. By fusing outside influences with Native words and music, Ulali challenges notions of how 'traditional' words and concepts are applicable in the modern world. The group can be heard on dozens of albums, documentaries and movies. The SilverCloud Singers (www.silvercloudsingers.com) are an intertribal Native American singing & dance troupe weaving the traditional with the contemporary of Native song & dance. SilverCloud was founded in 1991 and takes its name in tribute of Josephine Mofsie Tarrant, the mother of founding members Kevin Tarrant and Michael Tarrant, and current members Donald Tarrant and Judy Tarrant Fields. The singers of SilverCloud come from many tribes, and from many parts of the U.S and Canada. The group was started with the intention of using traditional methods of Native culture as a means to educate through song and dance. The American Indian Community House (AICH) is an urban Indian center that services the needs of the Native people living in New York City and welcomes Native visitors to the city. AICH was founded in 1969 and has become a de facto 'neighborhood' serving as a meeting place for the diverse Native community of the New York City area. The Community House offers a variety of services ranging from substance abuse and HIV counseling, to career assistance. It is also home to the only Indian owned and operated art gallery in New York City. The AICH's Performing Arts Department has become an important resource for Native visual and performance artists. Through its programming, performance has become an important educational vehicle, both for the Native and non-Native NY community. The Badger's Corner, initiated in the 1980's, is an education-via-entertainment vehicle for the AICH's visual and performing arts department programs. Taking its name from the Pueblo legend of the four-legged creature who led the Pueblo people out of the underworld after the great flood, the intent of its programming is to inform and challenge people to rethink their concept(s) of Native American people and customs. All performances at AICH are presented under the auspices of the Badger's Corner. Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics