Louis Mofsie

What this episode covers

I asked my friend, Tom Pearson, to help me introduce my interviewee, Louis Mofsie, who will once again MC the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers' annual concert and pow-wow at Theater for the New City, February 8-17. Tom responded with this lovely reflection. "Louis Mofsie is a community builder, in the truest sense. A respected elder and member of the Hopi and Winnebago tribes, and a Brooklyn native, Louis draws together urban Indians of all ages by teaching traditional dances and music, collaborating with contemporary artists, and creating opportunities for people of myriad backgrounds to gather and express cultural heritage. The dance troupe he directs, the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers, has been holding monthly socials for years at the American Indian Community House (where he serves as Chairperson of the Board of Directors) and more recently at the Museum of the American Indian, as well as annual summer powwows at the Queens County Farm for 28 years. And for 33 years, in the thick of winter, his dancers have been bringing their passionate fires to Theater for the New City. "Events like these anchor many urban Indians to their heritage and help them redefine for themselves notions of identity, cultural inheritance, and a sense of belonging to a thriving and diverse urban American Indian community. Most native people in NYC can trace a connection to Louis in one way or another, myself included. And aside from being a brilliant musician (he has recorded several albums), an accomplished artist (he has illustrated several books), and a consummate choreographer and director--his humor, flair for the dramatic, and stage presence also make him an engaging speaker. What the camera was to Greta Garbo, the microphone is to Louis Mofsie! Always an educator, he imparts his wisdom and cultural knowledge every time he MCs a powwow or introduces a performance at a school showing or in the theater by explaning a dance's origin or a song's meaning. And, all of the proceeds from Thunderbird events support native scholarships. It is his generous spirit, sense of community, and educational agenda that allows audiences and participants to glean a deeper understanding when they experience native culture and to walk away fortified by the power of indigenous music and dance. "Louis loaned me an outfit and taught me my first steps for the Grass Dance a few years back, setting me on the powwow trail, and he has been my collaborator on several contemporary dance projects, at The Museum of the American Indian and Lincoln Center. This year, I am thrilled to be performing the Grass Dance with Louis and the Thunderbird Dancers at TNC." --Tom Pearson, Co-Artistic Director, Third Rail Projects BACKGROUND Thunderbird American Indian Dancers, officially incorporated in 1963, traces its roots further back, to a group of teenagers called the Little Eagles. From the beginning, keenly aware of the great diversity of tribal groups living in and around the metropolitan area--each with a very distinct cultural background--its members were determined to learn and preserve the songs and dances of their own tribes, then to branch out and include other tribes. Their teachers were their fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Since its formation, Louis Mofsie and the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers have visited and performed in almost all fifty states, where they have learned from a wide variety of Indian peoples. Louis Mofsie (Hopi/Winnebago) received his M.A. from Hofstra University and taught art for 35 years at the Meadowbrook School in East Meadow, New York. Mofsie has curated exhibits at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and other venues. He has been a guest artist at the Walker Art Center and has shown his own work at the Philbrook Art Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the Woodards Museum and the Gallup Ceremonials, both in Gallup, New Mexico. Mofsie has illustrated the books "The Hopi Way," "Coyote Tales," and "Teepee T

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