Dancers Umi IMAN and Khadijah Siferllah-Griffin of Al Taw’am will quickly current the inaugural Atlanta Afroindigenous Peoples Pageant. (Photograph by Awa Mally, courtesy Walker Artwork Heart, Minenapolis)
Sisters Umi IMAN and Khadijah Siferllah have been dancing collectively since they will keep in mind. The 2 comprise Al Taw’am, an Emmy-nominated dance ensemble, and use the medium of dance to attach with and honor their roots as Black, Tsalagi Native American, Jamaican and Muslim ladies.
IMAN and Siferllah had been born and raised in Minneapolis however have since relocated throughout the nation. IMAN now calls Atlanta house, whereas Siferllah hails from New York Metropolis. The sisters co-founded Sequoia Ascension in 2021, intending to supply housing, dance and wellness choices that open alternatives for Black, Native American and Afroindigenous individuals in Atlanta to discover a sense of belonging and pleasure.
Rising up across the Anishinaabe individuals in Minneapolis, IMAN says she “felt the resonance” with their tradition and traditions. They grew up in a very inventive family. Each of their mother and father cherished music and their mom was a dancer. “It was simply certain to occur that it could rub off on us,” mentioned IMAN.
Whereas their house was crammed with dance and music, dance is a much less prevalent side of Muslim tradition. “We simply sort of turned that into motivation to actually research Black dance at house,” mentioned IMAN. Later, the 2 joined the worldwide sensation We’re Muslim, Don’t Panic motion led by Amirah Sackett. “That was the primary time ever that many people noticed Muslim ladies dancing on a public platform,” she recalled.
Over time, they’ve mastered many Black and Indigenous dance practices, together with hip-hop, poppin’, waving, home dance, waacking, Conventional West African dance, jingle gown and fancy scarf. In bringing collectively the disparate origins of their household tree by the shared medium of dance, they’ve discovered a way of belonging that harmonizes not solely the actions of those cultures but additionally their identities inside them.
“We didn’t see ourselves within the media earlier than us,” defined IMAN. “In that’s a number of duty but additionally a number of pleasure.” They take this duty critically and perceive that they’re paving new paths ahead for others to comply with of their footsteps.
Sequoia Ascension will current the inaugural Atlanta Afroindigenous Peoples Pageant (AAPF) June 14 and June 15. This weekend-long celebration of tradition and group has been within the works for a number of years, and IMAN and Siferllah shared their pleasure over seeing the Pageant come to life.
“The Afroindigenous Peoples Pageant . . . it’s so necessary,” mentioned Siferllah. “This can be a dream that we have now had for years, and it’s lastly coming collectively.”
Traditionally, Afroindigenous individuals have usually been excluded from either side of their heritage. Anti-Blackness and colorism inside indigenous communities have made entry to tradition and traditions tough — if not not possible — for many. Over the generations, many Native American tribes had shut relationships with African People, some optimistic and others detrimental.
Whereas some Native American communities got here below fireplace for aiding escaped African People as a part of the Underground Railroad within the late 18th century, others held enslaved African People themselves throughout the Civil Warfare. And, sure, this was even whereas Native People had been additionally enslaved by colonists.
Years later, following the abolition of slavery, america signed new treaties with the 5 Civilized Tribes which required the tribes to liberate any enslaved African People, thereafter often called freedmen. In some Native American communities, freedmen and indigenous peoples coexisted, intermarried and shaped new lineages with highly effective connections to a number of cultures.
For others, such because the Seminole and the Cherokee, membership guidelines had been designed to be extra restrictive. Racist insurance policies such because the one-drop rule, in accordance with blood quantum legal guidelines, insisted that any individual with even “one drop’ of African American blood couldn’t be a member of sure tribes.
Sadly, stigma round biracial individuals continues inside American society as we speak, and lots of Afroindigenous individuals might really feel they merely don’t belong in any camp; they’re too Black to be Native and too Native to be Black. It’s exactly this conflicting place that the Sequoia Ascension sisters purpose to eradicate. They do that by the AAPF, which is able to current participating workshops, activations, schooling and naturally, the love of dance. Someday, they hope to carry an iteration of this competition to New York Metropolis.
“I simply actually needed to create the house for these Afroindigenous people to really feel comfy when experiencing tradition,” mentioned IMAN. “There’s a lot to be mentioned about how ache and trauma and disappointment is all the time part of Afroindigenous people’ tales when attempting to attach with the group. We wish to say that it doesn’t should be a part of the story.”
The weekend’s festivities kick off with a Duality: A Assortment of Afro Indigenous Views movie screening and dialog; Fancy Scarf & Home Workshop; and Gullah Geechee Sweetgrass Basket Workshop on the Auburn Avenue Analysis Library on Saturday, all of that are already bought out.
That night, the Powwows & Ciphers: A Sacred Place To Be efficiency at Transferring In The Spirit will showcase a group of award-winning and excellent Black, indigenous and Afroindigenous ensembles and artists. On Sunday, the AAPF will current an Afroindigenous powwow that includes Grammy-nominated Afroindigenous musician Mumu Recent on the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance from midday to 4 p.m. The weekend’s lineup contains performances by the Lyrric Jackson Dance Firm, Wontanara Percussions, Girl Krow, Jamaal-Isaac Jones, Lashay and the Butterfly Impact Dance Group, in addition to Al Taw’am, that includes Umi IMAN and Khadijah Siferllah themselves.
“The Pageant has been a number of work. As somebody who’s a part of many underserved communities, garnering sources and particularly the monetary means to tug off one thing of this magnitude is like pulling tooth,” mentioned Siferllah. “It’s actually difficult to be a Native of deeper pores and skin complexion, who’s darker, and to should struggle for sources and in addition struggle to be believed that I’m genuine; I’m actual.”
The Group Basis for Higher Atlanta supplied important grant funding that has enabled Sequoia Ascension to placed on the Powwows & Ciphers occasion on Saturday evening. The Pageant can be supported by Yaya Rose, Pageant organizer and Afroindigenous powwow program supervisor, and social media and public relations guide Charlie Mitchell.
“[Dance] continues to be one thing that bonds me to these individuals,” mentioned Siferllah, referring to her ancestors, household and group. “I see it as a portal; it’s a time touring portal. It’s a means for me to expertise the previous, expertise the rhythms and the motion, the ways in which individuals moved earlier than me, and it’s additionally a method to protect the tradition for the longer term for the those that come after me. In a means, dance is sort of a duty however one which I’m proud to keep up and carry. It’s a means for me to bond with household and group, and, most significantly, myself. Dance has boosted my sense of shallowness and self-love.”
To study extra in regards to the Atlanta Afroindigenous Peoples Pageant, go to the Sequoia Ascension web site. The competition will happen on Saturday, June 14 and Sunday, June 15. In honor of Pleasure, they’re additionally providing a particular promo code for the Powwows & Ciphers occasion on Saturday evening: IndigiQueer will get you $15 tickets to the efficiency.
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Isadora Pennington is senior editor of artwork + design and dance. An skilled author and photographer with a deep love for the humanities, Isadora based the Sketchbook publication with Tough Draft Atlanta in 2022. She can be president of the Avondale Arts Alliance and director of the Avondale Arts Heart.