Lifestyle, Arts

A New Twist on an Old Tradition

The First Literature Project at Guild Hall on display through July 14th

Before texting, before penned letters, before even stone carvings and painted cave walls there was the word, the spoken word. The power of oral storytelling and its connection to the native Shinnecock land and its people is vividly on display at Guild Hall’s First Literature Project. Artists-in-Residence Wunetu Wequai Tarrant and Christian Scheider collaborated on bringing an ancient tradition alive in a very modern setting with advanced Virtual Reality 3D technology using the newly released Apple Vision Pro headset. Viewers are treated to the storytelling of Padawe originally written in English by Elizabeth Chee Chee Thunderbird Haile and newly translated and narrated in the Shinnecock language by Tarrant, Haile’s granddaughter.

Tarrant who grew up on the reservation and has devoted her studies to the reconstruction and revitalization of the Shinnecock dialect says of the exhibition, “We wanted to create an environment that was inviting and warm, the feeling of a lodge without being claustrophobic. We used the circle of storytelling log seats for viewers on a woven pine bough floor.” Once viewers look through the high-tech lenses they are transported as if the storytellers are sitting with them in the circle.

Scheider, who is an independent filmmaker and theater maker, knew Tarrant and proposed doing a VR film about one of her grandmother’s stories. “I can’t stand modern technology most of the time,” says Scheider, “But here we could use new technology as a means of achieving an old kind of focus and way of listening.” Both were highly influenced by philosopher N. Scott Momaday who said, “The oral tradition is inestimably older than writing and it requires that we take words more seriously. One must not waste words. One must speak responsibly, one must listen carefully, and one must remember what is said.” They worked with Khora, a leading Virtual and Augmented Reality Production studio to produce the experience.

For those afraid of motion sickness or with an aversion to video games, fear not. Scheider specifically chose to create an atmosphere of natural beauty and serenity with only a few shots even using motion. Instead, the visuals focus on the storytellers and the pre-colonization purity of the coastal Shinnecock land. “As a filmmaker I wanted to strip away all of the gimmickry to have you really sit in the land which goes back thousands of years,” he explains.

Anthony Madonna, Guild Hall’s Patti Kenner Director of Learning and New Works who worked with both Tarrant and Scheider over two years to bring the exhibition to life comments, “You are immersed in an environment as opposed to an interactive space. Christian matched beautifully the visual cadence to a vocal cadence. You are given time to absorb what you hear and what you see.” It is seeing life (pun intended) through a different headset.

The exhibit in partnership with the Padoquohan Medicine Lodge also includes hours of interviews with members of the Shinnecock Nation. The preservation of their stories and history is considered a sacred trust. An interesting concept of the language is that it is essential to speak the truth. In an era of misinformation and viral falsehoods, the first person veracity feels incredibly reassuring. Tarrant says, “The language is a gift from our ancestors and it encapsulates their world view. It is built into the grammar and based on their relationship with each other so why would you lie?” With respect for the land and animals such as the whales they hunted (a far cry from the bloody tales of Sag Harbor whalers) there is “no need to take more than what you need.”

Another important part of the project is working with local school students to video first hand stories. “We are showing them they don’t have to be just consumers of information,” says Tarrant, “They can be producers.”

The invitation is to take a step forward to step back in time to rediscover meaning. No emojis required.