Native American Art

Native American history spans a broad range of cultures and experiences. In California, you don't have to look far to find the influence of American Indians on music and dance or the arts. Friday Start your journey through Native American history with a trip to the Southwest Museum (234 Museum Drive, Highland Park, [323] 221-2164), or its second location at LACMA West, in the historic May Co. building at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue.

There are two sides to every story. But when it comes to "cowboys and Indians" stories, until recently we heard only one: the white man's side of the tale. To fill us in on the other perspective, the Autry Museum of Western Heritage recently opened an exhibition, "Powerful Images: Portrayals of Native America" that gives a more balanced account.

The Southwest Museum is bringing more than just Native American art to its new space at LACMA West, adjacent to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This weekend, dream catchers, colorful costumes and a plethora of activity will attract the attention of motorists driving along Fairfax Avenue at Wilshire Boulevard.

MOVIES "American History X," a drama about the consequences of prejudice, stars Edward Norton (facing camera) and Edward Furlong as brothers in a family torn apart by hate. Also featuring, from left, Beverly D'Angelo and Jennifer Lien, the film, directed by Tony Kaye, opens Wednesday.

As a seventh-grader in Altus, Okla., I had to memorize the names of all 77 counties in the state and their seats. I wasn't expected to learn anything else about most of those places, but I fantasized about them, especially those with Native American names that made my mouth work harder than did Ada, Enid and Altus--names like Tahlequah, Okmulgee, Muskogee. One day last year, those names leaped out at me from a map I was studying in my New York City apartment.

With more than 300 Native American dancers from about 40 tribes participating, the second annual Los Angeles Intertribal Powwow will begin today at the Hansen Dam Sports Complex in Lake View Terrace. Dancers at the two-day event will include members of the Cherokee, Sioux, Choctaw, Comanche and Apache nations. Also scheduled to appear are Yellow Plume and the Sacred Path Singers, drum groups from New Mexico.

Last chance. Today is the final day of the American Indian Festival and Market at Old Pasadena's Central Park. Artists from New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma and New York have come to Pasadena to offer the largest and most significant exhibition of Native American arts and crafts, story telling, cuisine, music and dance ever seen in Southern California. Those familiar with the renowned Indian Market, in Santa Fe, N.M.

Margaret Hardin smiles as she looks at the beautiful objects to be featured in "Lost and Found Traditions," an exhibit of con temporary Native American art that opens Feb. 25 at the Burbank Gallery of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Relatively recent baskets, pots, beaded costumes, cradleboards, even a soaring tipi and a 17-foot-long canoe are all vivid reminders that Native American art hasn't gone the way of the buffalo herds.

The winds were sharp and cold. It was the weekend after Thanksgiving and we were traveling west on Interstate 40 from Albuquerque, nearing the Arizona border. As we turned onto the road to the Zuni Pueblo, we breathed a sigh of relief at finding it dry and inviting--unlike the previous year at the same time. This was our second attempt at seeing the reverent, colorful Shalako dances.