ROCHESTER, N.Y. — What started as a singular holiday has evolved into the month-long celebration of Native American Heritage Month. Using this as a crucial time to honor the traditions, culture and contributions of Indigenous groups, one woman has made history by sharing her own history through dance.
Rosalie Jones has always been surrounded by dance.
“Having been born on the Blackfeet reservation, I was around, you know, the pow-wow dances all the time,” Daystar Dance Company owner Rosalie Jones said.
Attending the University of Utah during the 1960s, Jones was focused on achieving an education with both her love of dance and culture.
“I was really very impassioned by the idea that those two elements could come together and create something new,” Jones said.
Something new for both Jones and the country. During the 1980s, Jones had founded the nation’s first Native modern dance company.
“People seeing those kinds of dances, you learn about who they are,” Jones said. “And we didn't have any, we didn't have that. That's what people need. It's a way into their perspective, in their personalities and their knowledge to tell a story.”
Making history by sharing her own, she highlights her family’s experience of survival, identity and culture.
“A very important source was my own family,” Jones said. “In the 1800s [and] early 1900s, Native peoples were displaced, causing them to lose their identity. A large part of the 20th, 21st century now is regaining that cultural identity.”
Jones finds it to be an obligation to continue to provide knowledge and exposure to her people.
“We're living in our own cultural world, and we're living in the modern world and that’s a challenge,” Jones said. “I consider it an obligation, a responsibility to tell the real story.”
Passing Jones’ traditions and experiences from across the country to smaller communities like Hornell.
“We're a small city, but we're in a very rural setting,” Hornell Public Library director Denise Chilson said. “And a lot of times people can't afford transportation. So if we can bring these experiences to our community and provide people the opportunity to enrich themselves and engage civically, then hopefully, hopefully they'll continue to do so.”
Daystar Dance Company’s event is part of the Hornell Public Library’s grant program. It is celebrating Indigenous People’s month while bringing more cultures to the forefront.
“What we have known about Thanksgiving just from our history books isn't really necessarily always what happened,” Chilson said. “So being able to have people come in and speak about what it really was like, especially from New York state, then we take that opportunity.”
She is finding every beat, movement and dance to bridge histories and help shape the future.
“There are thousands of stories there and all of us need to keep learning,” Jones said. “Everyone has their own cultural and ancestral background. So it's really a way to find common ground and and to help shed light on the past about these really the genocide that happened in the United States and elsewhere, that how do we heal this generational intergenerational trauma? And that's going to take time. But the best way to do that is to be truthful about everything and to have respect for each other."
Daystar’s workshop is part of the "Cultural Explorations" with the Hornell Public Library project.
“Right now, one of the biggest things that we are working on is to protect intellectual freedom and create these safe spaces for people to come in and enjoy programs and be able to participate and feel like they're being heard.
For more information on future events or about the Hornell Public Library, you can click here.