Johnny Moses at AICH : children's stories.
Johnny Moses spends the afternoon telling children's stories to youngsters in the AICH community. His stories are from several different tribes and relay messages that have informed the lives of Native people for hundreds of years. Storytelling remains a strong force in Native American life. Johnny Moses (Tulalip) (www.johnnymoses.com), was raised in the remote Nuu-chah-nulth village of Ohiat on the west coast of Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada. He is a master storyteller, oral historian and traditional healer and shares his knowledge through storytelling, lectures and workshops. Moses, whose Indian name is Whis.stem.men.knee (Walking Medicine Robe), is fluent in eight Native languages and is a traveling ambassador for the northwest coast cultures. The American Indian Community House (AICH) is an urban Indian center that services the needs of the Native people living in New York City and welcomes Native visitors to the city. AICH was founded in 1969 and has become a de facto neighborhood serving as a meeting place for the diverse Native community of the New York City area. The Community House offers a variety of services ranging from substance abuse and HIV counseling, to career assistance. It is also home to the only Indian owned and operated art gallery in New York City. The AICHs Performing Arts Department has become an important resource for Native visual and performance artists. Through its programming, performance has become an important educational vehicle, both for the Native and non-Native NY community. The Badger's Corner, initiated in the 1980s, is an education-via-entertainment vehicle for the AICHs visual and performing arts department programs. Taking its name from the Pueblo legend of the four-legged creature who led the Pueblo people out of the underworld after the great flood, the intent of its programming is to inform and challenge people to rethink their concept(s) of Native American people and customs. All performances at AICH are presented under the auspices of the Badgers Corner. Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics