Caddo
Music Program
Recently, the Hasinai
Society received a grant from the
Oklahoma Arts Council's Master/Apprenticeship Program. These funds are
used to continue the tradition of Caddo music by pairing a more
experienced singer, Jimmy Reeder, with a young boy, Steven Leemhuis.
The Oklahoma Arts Council published the following story in their Fall
2004 newsletter, Oklahoma Arts.
Jimmy
Reeder really means it when he says children are the hope of the
future. Reeder and 11 year old Steven Leemhuis will meet once a week at
the Caddo Nation tribal complex in Binger. With funding from the
Oklahoma Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, Reeder
will instruct Steven in the traditional ceremonial and social dance
songs of the Caddo Tribe. This prestigious grant award recognizes the
achievements of traditional artists, like Reeder, and provides funding
for the master to train an apprentice. The purpose of the grant is to
help preserve traditional art forms that are at risk of being lost.
"Just as I was instructed by
elders in traditional song and dance, now, I, as the keeper of
traditional Caddo ceremonial songs, preserve the traditions of my
people by handing them on to the next generation," said Reeder. Steven
had already learned some traditional songs from his grandmother and
been actively involved with traditional Caddo culture. He also attended
the annual Hasinai Youth Camp along with other boys his age and began
instructions under Reeder. Steven will have several opportunities to
demonstrate what he has learned to the tribe at various Caddo dances
throughout the year when he accompanies Reeder as he sings.
* We are very pleased to
announce that the Oklahoma Arts Council
and the National Endowment for the Arts renewed funding for the Caddo
Music Program through their Mini-Grant Program. Current Jimmy Reeder is
working with Robert Elgin Smith and other boys on the Turkey Dance, the
Flag Song, the Fish Dance, and other Caddo songs. They were able to
demonstrate their talents this January at the Western Heritage Days
Trail Ride in Fort Worth, Texas. At this event, the Hasinai singers
performed the Fish Dance and the Bear Dance before an enthusiastic
crowd of several hundred people.
