During the International Decade for the World's Indigenous
Peoples, the Netherlands Centre for Indigenous Peoples plans
to organize a recurring Summer Festival of Indigenous Peoples'
Culture in Amsterdam. At this festival, which is scheduled to
be held in September, several aspects of indigenous peoples'
cultures as well as their present circumstances will be high-
lighted. The central focus of the festival will be indigenous
music. Next to that, the organizers aim to call attention to
current indigenous theatre, storytelling and poetry. Of each,
three fields of performances will be presented on stage:
* traditional indigenous culture
performances of traditional songs, theatre and poetry,
with direct links to old oral traditions and pre-colonial
culture.
* popular indigenous culture
performances of well-known indigenous musical artists,
which have made - or are about to make - a hit in popular
mainstream culture.
* avant-garde/experimental indigenous culture
performances of experimental groups in the fields of
music and theatre. Blending of indigenous traditions with
innovative forms in Western and other non-indigenous
culture.
Each year of the decade, the summer festival will have a
different region as main theme. The theme for 1995 will be the
Circumpolar region: Greenland, northern Scandinavia, Siberia,
Alaska and northern Canada. Future themes will be the Pacific,
the southern cone of South America, the Himalayas, southern
Africa, the Indonesian Archipelago, Australia, Central Ameri-
ca, North America and, lastly a World's Indigenous Peoples
Festival with a reprise of many of the most promising perfor-
mances.
At the time of the festival we would also like to publish a
special edition of our monthly magazine 'Indigo' on the situ-
ation of indigenous peoples in the Circumpolar region.
Concerning the first Summer Festival of Indigenous Peoples'
Cultures we would like to ask you the following questions:
1. What is your opinion on the idea of this recurring summer
festival?
2. Could you give us information on indigenous cultural
groups and performers from the Circumpolar region which
we could invite to participate in the festival?
3. Would you know any existing exhibitions or exhibition
materials we could display at the festival?
4. Do you have any suggestions for articles, guest writers,
poetry, books to be reviewed etc. for the special edition
of our magazine?
We are looking forward to hearing from you!
Leo van der Vlist, Netherlands Centre for Indigenous Peoples
Postbus 94098, 1090 GB Amsterdam, The Netherlands
phone: +31 20 69 38 625, fax: +31 20 66 52 818.
innusuppnl@gn.apc.org
Amsterdam, 3 February 1995