[RP TownTalk] Mural Idealist

Wed Apr 22 14:07:53 UTC 2009

The phone numbers I gave you do not work but I do
have a phone number that does & I left a message.
The American Indian Cultural Org. meets the first
Tuesday of each month at the Greenbelt Church,
7 pm at 1 Hillside Drive but the church sets on 
Crescent Road.  Anyone is invited to learn about 
them & come to the meetings.

If we are going to have a mural in the Historic 
District about Indians - it should only honor our 
own Indians who were living here.  These Indians
are still here in Cedarville/Waldorf & meet in 
Greenbelt.  I think we should consult them so they
can feel proud that we are honoring them in the
proper historical way.  There has been so much pain
between the Indians and the White man here in our
area.  This is a chance to honor & respect them.

My mother was a geneologist and when I was young
I went with her talking to the Chiefs & used to go to the
festivals.

It is confusing to have a mural with southwestern
symbols in it.  When history buffs come to visit us
or others who know their history - the experts will
think we DO NOT KNOW our history and are not
proud of it.  It sends the wrong message.  

The Mural
should honor what the Riversdale Mansion stands for
and complement it - teaching our residents & children
what we are about.  It should make our Indians still
alive and in our area proud that we care about them.

Natalie & Maurice Proctor would be the ones to teach
us the symbols & history to portray on this Mural.

Emily

In a message dated 4/21/2009 10:28:56 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
m.avery at rocketmail.com writes:

It is very interesting that you have chosen Native  American symbols as a 
place to start your artistic ideas for a mural, but it  looks as though you 
have chosen symbols from southwestern  Indians. 
Are you aware that we have a very long and influential  history of Native 
American culture in the Riverdale Park area? 
The kind of native American that resided in this  area were the Woodland 
Indians. Woodland Indian period was from  1000 BC to 1600 AD. 
Captain John Smith explored the upper Anacostia River, which included the 
tributaries in today's  Riverdale  Park. In fact, the area  you propose is 
located near to a tributary of the Anacostia River. The Indians he found near 
the  tributaries of the Anacostia River were called the  Nacotchtanke. 
Riverdale Park is part of the Anacostia  River Trail and a Federally designated 
historic  district. 
Many residents in the area have  found arrowheads while digging in their 
yards and therefore have  experienced a connection with the past. 
A  mural with Native American symbolism in this town would be better served 
if it  had representative symbols of the indigenous people of the Anacostia 
 region.
Melissa   

____________________________________
 From: Christopher Martin  <chrism at pgcps.org>
To:  towntalk at riverdale-park.org
Cc: Alice Ewen Walker  <alice at ewenwalker.com>; James n Julie Coleman  
<jnjcolemans at yahoo.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 11:09:49  AM
Subject: [RP TownTalk]  Mural Idealist

Hello Riverdale Town Talkers,

A note from Community Based Classroom Teacher / Riverdale Resident /  mural 
planner:

In my class's conception of this mural  -- the rainbow squares and/or other 
squares in this rough sketch  (see 
http://www.muralcollaborative.netfirms.com/muralintro.htm) could  be filled with symbols designed by local artists/ 
community members,  working side by side with CBC students.  In that sense, 
if there are any  strong Symbols of Riverdale that Historic Preservationists 
want to fit into  the mural - you're more than welcome to.  There are about 
7-10 or more  squares available with this sketch.  We'd love to have and 
want  input/asistance from any artists or aspiring artists from town - 
neighbors Jim  L and Sherita S... that means you! :)      

If we -  cbc artists, riverdale artists/community members-  wanted to 
change the  design to some degree to include landscapes/moments from town 
history.. we  could do that also.  The process of community involvement is as 
important  as the artwork in this mural.  The challenge is getting multiple  
artists/ideas into a coherent mural.  I think the sketch's division by  squares 
/ rainbow of symbols has the potential to incorporate many different  
perspectives into a unified landscape.  By allowing CBC students to  follow 
through with their initiative here, getting community involvement  (including the 
elementary school too) from experienced artists and beginners -  this mural 
can serve many purposes.  It's a big enough bridge for us all  to fit under 
it!  

CBC  students would like to start attending the Thursday Market to assist 
us locals  create potential design squares, have a children's drawing space, 
and  raise a little $ for the project, but as of yet have not gotten the go 
ahead  from Town / Market leaders.  Town / market leaders... what's  up?

For more info about CBC and its students go to _www.pgcps.org/~cbc_ 
(http://www.pgcps.org/~cbc) .

Thanks for your time.

Chris Martin 
301-918-8726
_chrism at pgcps.org_ (mailto:chrism at pgcps.org) 

_______________________________________________
TownTalk  mailing list
To post to the list, send mail to  TownTalk at riverdale-park.org
TownTalk-request at riverdale-park.org is for  automated subscription 
processing  only
http://riverdale-park.org/mailman/listinfo/towntalk

For more  information about Riverdale Park, visit  
http://www.riverdaleparkmd.info

**************Big savings on Dell XPS Laptops and Desktops! 
(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1220433404x1201394533/aol?redir=http:%2F%2Fad.doubl
eclick.net%2Fclk%3B214133109%3B36002181%3Bk)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://riverdale-park.org/pipermail/towntalk/attachments/20090422/6cd09a63/attachment-0002.html>