Raven Jake Dawes

Naahilii: New Designation for Black Native Americans

Couple months back, Jane went off to see Radmilla Cody give a presentation about Native American identity issues.  Radmilla Cody is beautiful, talented and smart. She made headlines a few years back as the first half-Black, half- Diné Miss Navajo Nation in 1997-1998. At the time, and maybe now too, she caused a lot of waves because she didn't look like a typical Miss Navajo. Rest assured, if anything she was overqualified. See, to be Miss Navajo you don't prance around in a bikini and do floral arranging for your talent. The Navajo expect their women to work, not just sit around looking pretty and making bland conversation. So Miss Navajo has to be the best at public speaking in Diné, traditional dress, singing and butchering a sheep. She has to get things done.

At this presentation, Radmilla showed an abridged version of her film, “Hearing Radmilla.” It described her beginnings being raised by her very traditional grandmother, her experience of being bullied at Navajo schools and being called a jinny, which is a derogatory word for a mixed-race Black Navajo. That’s kind of unusual, but not as much as you might think.

Radmilla decided to come up with a new, non-derogatory word that would describe being mixed-race, but in a positive way that would honor both heritages. The word she (and an elder) came up with is Naahilii, which breaks down to:

Naa = those who came across (overcame)

hil – dark and calm

ii – oneness.

Over at the left is Diana Fletcher of the Kiowa tribe. Anyway, I think this positive re-naming is really beautiful, and it’s a concept that should be exported to all tribes so that they have an inclusive word for the many Native folk who belong to more than one race. Now it's not like Radmilla just sits around reminicing about her glory days as Miss Navajo Nation - she's got her movie out, she's working on campaigns to address domestic violence and Native identity issues and she received a Grammy nomination for her album "Shi Keyah: Songs for the People" in the category of best regional roots. 

Aladdin and his Winter Wish

Tonight I'm headed out to the Pasadena Playhouse to see Aladdin and his Winter Wish. 

Jordan Fisher, Ben Giroux, Bruce Vilanch and Ben Vereen  in "Aladdin's Winter Wish" at The Pasadena Playhouse Photo credit: Clarence Alford

 

An Arabian Nights story performed as a British-style "panto" to celebrate the winter holidays seems pretty unlikely, but the Playhouse has had some rather ingenious  sucesses litle by just this kind of "thinking outside the box." Case in point - my favorite production of last year was "A Night with Janis Joplin," followed by Cirque-a-Palooza, both at the Pasadena Playhouse.  So I'm goin' in with an open mind, and I'll let y'all know how it woks out.