Paiute, Shoshone, Washoe contribute to international storytelling project

Staff Reports

Native Americans share music and stories of personal and ancestral significance, wisdom and humor during the StoryBox presentation, 2-4 p.m. Saturday, at the Stewart Indian School Administration Building No. 3, off Snyder Avenue in Carson City.

The free storytelling event is sponsored by the Nevada Indian Commission-Stewart Indian School and the Nevada Arts Council. The public is invited.

"I am honored to be chosen as a StoryBox Keeper," said Wishelle Banks, a Reno producer-writer, poet and third-generation American Indian storyteller. "Storytelling is a vital part of every culture, and holds the power to change the world." 

Banks will be joined by Ben Aleck, collections manager and Pyramid Lake Paiute tribal historian, and Ralph Burns, Paiute language specialist, both from the Pyramid Lake Paiute Museum and Visitors' Center; and Christina Thomas, a Paiute-Shoshone and Hopi traditional drummer and singer.

The StoryBox Project originated from Ohio State University's Multicultural Center, with the idea that stories are vehicles of understanding and emotional connection. This year, 50 StoryBoxes of recorded, written, or videotaped stories from a community were set in motion around the world. At each stop, Story Ambassadors read audiences a few of the contributed stories, then add new ones from their community before the box goes to the next StoryBox Keeper. Selected stories will be published in a book.

With a built-in element of cultural exchange, the StoryBox Project promotes the power of storytelling, and celebrates storytellers. Information at storyboxproject.com

From 1890-1980, the Stewart Indian School was the only off-reservation boarding school for Native Americans and housed Washoe, Paiute and Shoshone tribes. The state of Nevada acquired the campus in the 1990s, and its 83 buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Nevada Arts Council is a division of the Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs, which serves Nevada residents and visitors through cultural and information management, preservation and promotion of cultural resources, and education. 

The Department also includes the Division of Museums and History, State Historic Preservation Office, State Library and Archives, Comstock Historic District Commission, Literacy Coalition, and the Commission for Cultural Affairs. Information at www.NevadaCulture.org