After conferring with the staff and athletes, it is with sadness that Copper Mountain College…
Friday, September 8, 2023
Copper Mountain College is pleased to host Ed Kabotie and Tha ‘Yoties as part of their Native Voices of the Grand Canyon Tour. Kabotie and Tha ‘Yoties will be coming to the college in Joshua Tree on Wednesday, September 20 for two events.
The first event that day will be a presentation and performance by Ed Kabotie on “Alter-Native” History. The Alter-Native History presentation, which includes visual art, Kabotie’s music, and education on the history and issues related to the Indigenous people and lands of the Southwest, will take place at the Christine Proudfoot Student Activity Center on Copper Mountain College’s Joshua Tree campus, at 2:30 p.m., Wednesday, September 20. The event is free to attend.
Following that event, the Copper Mountain College Alumni Association is hosting, Howlin’ at the Mountain, a “funky Yotie party” with live music by Ed Kabotie and Tha ‘Yoties, in the 300 Quad on the Copper Mountain College campus. The event opens at 5 p.m., with Tha ‘Yoties taking the stage at 7 p.m. for a night of Native rock n’ reggae music. Food will be available through the CMC Food Truck Frenzy! and the college’s very own café, Jorge’s. CMC information and CMC and Tha ‘Yoties merchandise will be available. The evening event is free.
“Copper Mountain College is pleased to be one of a group of colleges hosting Ed Kabotie and Tha ‘Yoties on their Native Voices of the Grand Canyon Tour,” said CMC representative Steve Brown. “The tour is in support of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument. It began at Shrine of the Ages on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, and concludes at the Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian, in Washington, D.C. We’re happy to be able to share this tour – free of charge – with the communities the college serves.”
While Ed Kabotie and Tha ‘Yoties will be performing their popular songs like Funky Yotie Party, Love and Respect, Sunflower Girl, Brown in This Town, Restless Natives, and Don’t Worry Be Hopi, concertgoers will find amidst the catchy melodies, there is a Native narrative that can range from playful and light to exploring Indigenous issues, from racism and cultural preservation to genocide.
“The purpose of Tha ‘Yoties’ current campaign is to help people understand some of the history of the tribes of the Grand Canyon region and the environmental injustices that they continue to experience in this industrial age,” noted Kabotie. “The Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument is of primary importance to both our cultural heritage and our continuance upon our ancestral landscapes.”
The new Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument was officially designated by President Biden in August. The name combines the phrases “where tribes roam,” in the Havasupai language with “our ancestral footprints,” in the Hopi language. Tribal nations and environmental organizations have been working to establish additional protections for the area for years. The new national monument reportedly protects thousands of cultural and historical sites that are sacred to numerous tribes.
Tha ‘Yoties’ band leader is Ed Kabotie, an artist, musician, and “edu-tainer” from the Hopi village of Shungopavi and the Tewa village of Khap’o Owinge. He is the son and grandson of legendary Hopi artists and a famed Tewa anthropologist.
Ed’s grandfather, Fred Kabotie, was a celebrated Hopi painter, silversmith, illustrator, potter, author, curator and educator. The famed architect, Mary Colter, commissioned Fred Kabotie to paint the murals in her Desert View Watchtower at the Grand Canyon National Park in 1933, and later received the Guggenheim Fellowship. His work is included in the National Gallery of Art, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Museum of New Mexico, the Heard Museum, the Peabody Museum at Harvard University, and other museums and collections.
Ed’s grandfather from the Santa Clara Pueblo Tewa side of the family, Edward P. Dozier, was a noted Native American anthropologist and linguist who helped inspire Ed’s interest in Native American history, was the first Native American to earn a PhD in anthropology in the United States.
Ed’s father, Michael Kabotie, was a Hopi silversmith, painter, sculptor, and poet, known for his use of petroglyph and geometric imagery. He began to paint after high school and had a solo show at the Heard Museum, and a long career in the arts that brought to life Hopi oral history, motifs from Pueblo basketry and embroidery, blended with contemporary design elements. His work has been compared to that of Pablo Picasso and other artists, and he lectured internationally. His works are found in the Heard Museum, the Museum of Mankind in London, and elsewhere. He taught Hopi silversmithing for 26 years at Idyllwild Arts.
Ed Kabotie has continued his family’s important multi-generational cultural work and has combined his visual arts career with his songwriting and musical performances, as well as narratives and advocacy on Native American issues and history. Copper Mountain College is proud to provide the opportunity for the community to experience Kabotie’s Alter-Native History, a history of the Southwest from an Indigenous perspective, and to join Tha ‘Yoties for a funky ‘Yotie party, howlin’ at the mountain, under the desert stars of Joshua Tree.
Alter-Native History
History of the Southwest region presented by Ed Kabotie with music, art, and commentary, presented by Student Life & Engagement.
2:30 p.m., Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Christine Proudfoot Student Activity Center
Copper Mountain College
6162 Rotary Way, Joshua Tree
Admission: Free
Howlin’ at the Mountain
Ed Kabotie and Tha ‘Yoties, presented by the Copper Mountain College Alumni Association. Live music outdoors, Food Truck Frenzy!, CMC information, band and CMC merchandise.
Gates open: 5 p.m., Tha ‘Yoties: 7 p.m.
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Copper Mountain College campus, Quad 300 (library, student activity center, Jorge’s)
6162 Rotary Way, Joshua Tree
Bring lawn chairs or a blanket. No coolers. No outside food or alcoholic beverages allowed.
Admission: Free
Attendees to events at Copper Mountain College should be aware that they may appear in photos or videos created by, or for, the college and its associated organizations, and those photos or videos may be used for marketing, advertising, and/or editorial purposes. Event attendance grants permission to be photographed and/or filmed.
Photos courtesy of Ed Kabotie and Tha ‘Yoties.