2008 Woodie Awards
Lumni tribe member speaks to SIUE
Jeff Mason
Issue date: 7/2/08 Section: A&E
Fittingly put under the globe of the Religious Center, the two-hour session began with the singing of the Lumni tribe's oldest songs. Using only an American Indian drum and her voice, Pauline Hillaire shared her songs for "all of the children of the universe."
"I'm a teacher of my culture," Hillaire said. "I just need you to know how happy I am to teach this."
Hillaire, whose native name is Scalla, meaning "Of the Killer Whale," is a 79-year-old grandmother and member of the Lumni tribe located in the Pacific Northwest. She grew up in a traditional American Indian village, learning the culture and methods of her people.
"She is an elder that is relied upon throughout the Puget Sound area (for her teachings)," Hillaire's friend Rebecca Chamberlain said.
Hillaire spoke as part of the World Religions Knowledge and Science Group of Edwardsville with a grant from the Metanexus Institute.
Chamberlain, a professor at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., has worked with native elders like Hillaire since 1977, and has helped pass on the traditions and cultures of the American Indians of the Pacific Northwest.
"We worked on a curriculum on Native American music together, and we've taught a number of college classes on native culture and environmental education," Chamberlain said.
In addition, Hillaire speaks four languages fluently and has earned two degrees in business and education. She even won Washington state's highest artistic honor in 1996, the Governor's Heritage Award.
After singing the salmon song, Hillaire had Chamberlain demonstrate the dance which accompanied the song. Hillaire continued to sing her native songs for about thirty minutes, and while most of the songs sounded like chanting, they actually have lyrics that accompany them.
"We call it 'repeating' because it's repeating the breath of life God loaned to us," Hillaire said. "And so this repeating, even if it's a grunt or a tune, we're returning to the great spirit what he has loaned us in the breath."
"I'm a teacher of my culture," Hillaire said. "I just need you to know how happy I am to teach this."
Hillaire, whose native name is Scalla, meaning "Of the Killer Whale," is a 79-year-old grandmother and member of the Lumni tribe located in the Pacific Northwest. She grew up in a traditional American Indian village, learning the culture and methods of her people.
"She is an elder that is relied upon throughout the Puget Sound area (for her teachings)," Hillaire's friend Rebecca Chamberlain said.
Hillaire spoke as part of the World Religions Knowledge and Science Group of Edwardsville with a grant from the Metanexus Institute.
Chamberlain, a professor at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., has worked with native elders like Hillaire since 1977, and has helped pass on the traditions and cultures of the American Indians of the Pacific Northwest.
"We worked on a curriculum on Native American music together, and we've taught a number of college classes on native culture and environmental education," Chamberlain said.
In addition, Hillaire speaks four languages fluently and has earned two degrees in business and education. She even won Washington state's highest artistic honor in 1996, the Governor's Heritage Award.
After singing the salmon song, Hillaire had Chamberlain demonstrate the dance which accompanied the song. Hillaire continued to sing her native songs for about thirty minutes, and while most of the songs sounded like chanting, they actually have lyrics that accompany them.
"We call it 'repeating' because it's repeating the breath of life God loaned to us," Hillaire said. "And so this repeating, even if it's a grunt or a tune, we're returning to the great spirit what he has loaned us in the breath."
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