MESKLA | Brewyon Drudh #4 A Conversation about Language, Land & Fractured Culture

In this fourth podcast I am joined by Dr Stephanie Pratt - Dakota and Anglo-American Art Historian, and Jowdy Davey - Director of Lowender Peran Festival.  Steph and Jowdy both share aspects of their research which covers intangible cultural heritage and representation of indigenous peoples through colonial gaze. Through our conversation we explore fracturing and healing of cultures, the importance of language, remembering that we too are ancestors, and relearning relationships with land and cultural identity.

Stephanie is a member of the Dakota Nation, and became the first Cultural Ambassador for her Tribal Council at the Crow Creek Dakota Reservation in South Dakota, USA in 2015.

She is a member of the Grandmother’s Society based at Fort Thompson, South Dakota, which promotes the understanding and preservation of Dakota and Lakota culture and language. Her book, American Indians in British Art, 1700-1840 was the first study of its kind. Currently, she is at work on a second book which will examine how Native North Americans made images of those who came to their lands and how those newcomers imaged Native North Americans in turn.

Jowdy is a Director of Lowender Peran, with a young family dominated by powerful females growing up to understand and celebrate their own dual Breton/Cornish heritage. Jowdy has recently led the commission of an exercise mapping Cornwall’s intangible cultural heritage, identifying where support is needed for traditions, and most importantly the communities that bear them, to thrive.

MESKLA | Brewyon Drudh (tr. Mussel Gathering | Precious Fragments) is a multi-platform project using sculpture-making and conversation to explore contemporary Cornish cultural identity. To find out more please visit www.sovayberriman.co.uk/MESKLA-Brewyon-Drudh. Through workshops, podcasts, a symposium and an exhibition the project invites people to share their experiences of identity and Cornwall, and their views on Cornish culture and its relationship to land, language, heritage, tourism, the Cornish diaspora and much more.

These podcasts record conversations between me, Sovay Berriman, and guests whose research or lived experienced touches on the project themes. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own. All conversations are carried out with a spirit of generosity and openness, creating space for the discussions to twist and turn.

Govenek a'm beus hwi dhe omlowenhe goslowes orto/ I hope you enjoy listening

Please note: These podcasts were recorded in different locations and with a range of equipment. As such the sound quality varies and at times external factors are more present than ideal in the recordings.   Resources: For a full list of resources and references for the project please visit https://sovayberriman.co.uk/MESKLA-Resources

https://milkweed.org/book/braiding-sweetgrass https://marlenamyl.es/public-art/ https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/des/issue/archive https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/des/article/view/19145 https://www.mayflower400uk.org https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/newsroomtags/mayflower400 https://northstarstudygroup.org.uk https://stillmoving.org/projects/speedwell-no-new-worlds https://theseventhgeneration.org/about-the-seventh-generation/