Native Pride Dancers coming to DePauw Wednesday, Thursday

On Wednesday and Thursday, March 9-10, DePauw University will host the acclaimed Native Pride Dancers in a concert of traditional Native American music and dance.

On Thursday, March 10 DePauw University will host the acclaimed Native Pride Dancers in a concert of traditional Native American music and dance, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium in the Judson and Joyce Green Center for the Performing Arts (GCPA).

Based in St. Paul, Minn., and led by founder and artistic director Larry Yazzie, the Native Pride Dancers (NPD) perform not only in the USA, but also internationally at festivals, universities and cultural events, and are comprised of members of many Native tribal nations, including Meskwaki, Navajo, Dakota, Lakota, Ojibwe, Lumbee, Cree, Pueblo, Choctaw and Chickasaw, among others.

Native Pride Dancer performances include not only the traditional music and dance performed on traditional musical instruments and in striking ceremonial regalia or costumes, but also feature stories and other spoken narratives which help audiences understand the historical and cultural significance of the dances and music, and reinforce the company’s mission to “educate, inspire … and empower diverse communities to bridge cultural gaps through indigenous traditions.”

The Native Pride Dancers will be on the DePauw campus for a two-day residency during which time they will perform and talk at the School of Music’s recital hour at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 9 in Thompson Recital Hall in the GCPA, and will conduct a cultural diversity and activism symposium later the same day at 4 p.m. in the Watson Forum in the Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media.

The Wednesday afternoon symposium will conclude its exploration of social activism in contemporary culture with a ceremonial dance, inviting the audience to participate in celebration of unity with the musicians and dancers. The two events on Wednesday as well as the concert in Kresge Auditorium on Thhursday are all free and open to the public.

University Covid-19 protocols require that all attendees to these events wear masks, and Greencastle community attendees who are not employees or students at DePauw must show identification at the door.

The Native Pride Dancers residency and performances are sponsored by the School of Music, the Performing Arts Series, the Communication and Theater Department, the English Department and the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics.

Those with questions may email Ron Dye at rdye@depauw.edu for more information.