November 2011: Film Screenings – University of Colorado @ Boulder – Boulder, CO
I was invited to participate in the “Decolonial Indigenous Interventions” program at University of Colorado – Boulder. Dr. Gabriel S. Estrada (Assistant Professor of American Indian Studies at California State University – Long Beach) preceded my presentation. His presentation, “Two Spirit & Activism & Transgender Film: From Fred Martinez Jr. to Angie Zapata“, was very informative and inspiring. His work not only brings to light the plight of LGBT causes, but he also gets his audience to realize this struggle is a human rights issue.
My portion of the program included screenings of Frybread: A Traumedy, Thomas Indian School Reunion and What the Hell is Corn Soup? Prior to the screenings, I did discuss the “unmaking” of my documentary film “Casino Nation“. I shared the trials and tribulations of producing a documentary film on tribal lands. The program ended with corn soup tastings for the audience that included both hull and roast versions of the soup.
Nyah:weh to Penny Kelsey, Interim Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies – English Department, for bringing me to CU-Boulder. Prior to my presentation, I was a guest lecturer for her class, “Indigenous American Literature and Film: Cultural Narratives, Tribal Stories and Intellectual Production“. The students read “Chainbreaker: The Revolutionary War Memoirs of Governor Blacksnake” by Thomas Abler. Governor Blacksnake was a Seneca chief who fought in the American Revolution who dictated his “autobiography” to fellow Seneca, Benjamin Williams. It was interesting to see how the class interpreted this book. Aside from the historical readings, I was able to give contemporary context to the Seneca people today. CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE FLYER.
Terry Jones at University of Colorado - Boulder
October 2011: Cultural Presenter: 34rd Annual Falling Leaves Festival – Salamanca, NY
This year’s festival showcased the treasures of the Native Roots Artists Guild. Guild members demonstrated: carvings; basket making; how to make corn soup and the story behind it; story telling; and traditional dance. Visitors were invited to take part in this celebration. My portion of the program was to conduct personalized historical presentations about Seneca culture and food. At the conclusion of the presentation, the visitors were able sample both hull and roast corn soups. CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO VIEW AN ARTICLE ABOUT THE FALLING LEAVES FESTIVAL IN THE DUNKIRK OBSERVER.
2011 Falling Leaves Festival - Salamanca, NY
December 2010: Film Screenings – ArtRage Gallery – Syracuse, NY
Fellow Seneca artist, Tom Huff, invited me to screen some of my short films for ArtRage Gallery in Syracuse, NY. Although I never met Tom, I knew about his work and once we had established contact over the phone, it felt like we had known each other for some time, in fact I had worked with his brother, Hank, during my first job within the Seneca Nation education department when I was 15 years old. On December 10th, I arrived to the gallery with my parents. Syracuse was in the middle of getting many feet of snow so the turnout was modest. I was glad to see about half of the audience was from the Onondaga territory. At the end of the screening, we did serve corn soup and fry bread. CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO SEE A LISTING ON THE ARTRAGE WEBSITE.
October 2010: Cultural Presenter: 33rd Annual Falling Leaves Festival – Salamanca, NY
Each year, the city Salamanca presents it’s annual Falling Leaves Festival. According to the Chamber of Commerce website, “The mission was to develop ideas to restore civic pride, improve the look of Main Street and attract new businesses to the area.” I was asked to conduct cultural presentations that would promote the Haudenosaunee culture to both the residents of Salamanca, NY and Seneca people. As shown in the image below, I offered corn soup tastings as well as general information about Seneca culture. CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO SEE A COPY OF THE FALLING LEAVES PROGRAM.
September 14 and September 15, 2010 – Film Screenings – Seneca Fall Festival (Seneca Territory)
Each year, a portion of the Seneca Fall Festival includes an art exhibit/competition. I was contracted to provide the public with information about Native America’s under-appreciated art form…moving image. I compiled information about the latest and upcoming Native film projects and where the public can view these films. Along with screening trailers found on the internet, I also screened Seneca cultural films including lacrosse stick-making by Richard Kettle, cornbread-making with Rhoda Lay as well as my film, “What The Hell Is Corn Soup?”. I also screened a rough cut of my upcoming short about roast corn soup. There is a definite appetite for Native films and I hope that public access to Native films becomes more available in the near future. CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO VIEW FLYER.
Fall 2008: Corn Soup Demonstator – Seneca Niagara Casino – Experience the Culture
During a weekend in November, the Seneca Niagara Casino conducted an Experience the Culture program. I was contracted to be a corn soup demonstrator. I was equipped with a “set” kitchen that was used by Bobby Flay along with a video monitor, a microphone and a stove top. I edited down a shorter version of “What the Hello is Corn Soup?” and I gave the general public a 7-minute lesson about how traditional Iroquois corn was made. After the brief presentation, I served a tasting bowl full of the freshly made soup along with made-to-order frybread, which was made by my mother, Alberta Jones. This was a great opportunity for the casino to show its patrons a little bit about our culture. CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO SEE A COPY OF THE EVENT POSTER.
November 6, 2008 & November 7, 2008 – Film Screenings/Corn Soup Presentation – Fredonia, NY and Salamaca, NY
As part of the Seneca Nation of Indians’ Native Heritage Month Film Series, I was asked to screen some of my short films as well as serve corn soup and fry bread. The November 6th screening was held at the Fredonia Opera House in Fredonia, NY and the November 7th event was held at the Ray Evans Theatre in Salamanca, NY. This was an extremely satisfying event since I was able to screen my work in front of my home tribal members. After screening “What the Hell is Corn Soup” I was surprised to learn that some Seneca audience members didn’t know how it was made. My only hope is that them seeing the film may move them to pursue to learn how to make the soup themselves. I also screened “Thomas Indian School Reunion (2004)” and some of the audience members were actual former students of the school. CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO VIEW EVENT FLYER.
September 14 and September 15, 2008 – Film Screenings – Seneca Fall Festival (Seneca Territory)
Each year, a portion of the Seneca Fall Festival includes an art exhibit/competition. Fellow Seneca, Berta Jones, was organizing the show and she really wanted to include a “new media” part of the exhibit. We set up a corner of the exhibition venue to include 20 chairs, a DVD player and a flat-screen television. As you can see from the flyer below, I had planned on screening my own short films along with some longer form films. As it turns out the audience members’ attention span was very short. This allowed me to only screen my short films and I was able to have an open discussion with the viewers. It made the experience very intimate for everyone and I am glad it turned out that way. CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO VIEW FLYER.
February 25, 2008: Screening/Corn Soup Demonstation – Hobart and William Smith College (NY)
Each year, the Hobart and William Smith community takes part in a traditional campus event known as HWS Day. The purpose of this event is to “look at a contemporary issue from the points of view of various disciplines.” I was asked to partake in their “Celebrating Our Native American Heritage” event. I screened “Frybread: A Traumedy”, “Thomas Indian School Reunion (2004)” and “What the Hell is Corn Soup?”. It was interesting evening where I screened the films and allowed the topics of conversation to be determined by the audience questions. Topics of discussion included colonialism, Indian residential/boarding school, Rabbit Proof Fence and Indian casinos. I concluded the evening by serving corn soup and fry bread. CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO SEE A COPY OF THE ARTICLE WRITTEN ABOUT THIS EVENT.
Fall 2007: Corn Soup Demonstator – Seneca Niagara Casino – Experience the Culture
During a weekend in November, the Seneca Niagara Casino conducted an Experience the Culture program. I was hired to be a corn soup demonstrator. I was equipped with a “set” kitchen that was used by Bobby Flay along with a video monitor, a microphone and a stove top. I edited down a shorter version of “What the Hello is Corn Soup?” and I gave the general public a 7-minute lesson about how traditional Iroquois corn was made. After the brief presentation, I served a tasting bowl full of the freshly made soup along with made to order frybread, which was made by my mother, Alberta Jones. This was a great opportunity for the casino to show its patrons a little bit about our culture. CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO SEE A COPY OF THE EVENT FLYER.
June 2007 – Panelist – SILVERDOCS International Documentary Conference (Silversprings, MD)
I was asked to sit on a panel called “Working With Public Television Stations”. It is with special thanks to Native American Public Telecommunications (NAPT) that I was able to attend. When I arrived at the panel discussion, I was a bit apprehensive since the other panelists were all public television professionals who worked at public television stations. When it was my turn to speak, I could only give them my own experience about my relationship between my film and KNME in Albuquerque, NM. The audience members were interested in my perspective because I understood how rare it is be able to get public television funding for a film. Below is an excerpt from an email I received from SILVERDOCS:
Dear Terry:On behalf of the whole SILVERDOCS team, thank you for helping to make the fourth edition of the International Documentary Conference such an outstanding success.
We knew going in, that our audience was eager for information that went right to the core of the subject at hand and that was relevant to their particular interests. WORKING WITH PUBLIC TELEVISION STATIONS certainly delivered in spades. Thank you for the obvious care and attention that you and your fellow panelists put into preparation.
The panel was scheduled in a particularly competitive slot — so there probably weren’t as many attendees as the subject warranted. We’ll have to think about that for next year, but clearly those who were there took advantage of the opportunity to connect with you all.
On a personal note it is working with folks like you that makes my job so easy and frankly so much fun. I hope that you will keep SILVERDOCS on your radar screen for next year.
April 26, 2007 – Charity Film Screening/Corn Presentation – American Indian Community House (New York, NY)
I organized a charity screening/corn soup presentation to benefit the American Indian Community House (AICH). I screened “Thomas Indian School Reunion (2004)” and “What The Hell Is Corn Soup?” As I was preparing for this event, I was approached by Chef Mark Tafoya of ReMARKable Palate to do a video and audio podcast. The video podcast was filmed while I was preparing the corn soup for the charity event. Mark interviewed me while I was cooking. The audio podcast contains a more detailed interview where we discuss issues pertaining to corn soup and general native culture. CLICK IMAGE BELOW TO VISIT CHEF MARK’S WEBSITE.
CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO VIEW THE REMARKABLE PALATE VIDEO PODCAST FEATURING TERRY JONES.
CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO LISTEN TO THE REMARKABLE PALATE AUDIO PODCAST FEATURING TERRY JONES.
October 21, 2006 – Premiere Screening – Comanche Nation College 3rd Annual Invitational Film Festival (Lawton, OK)
Initially when i filmed the “Thomas Indian School Reunion in 2004″, I never intended for it to be a short documentary. As I screened the raw footage, I started to piece together the first-hand accounts into my editing program. Some very powerful and inspiring stories emerged from these form students. It was at the Comanche Nation College film festival where I “premiered” this film. Within the audience, there were former students who attended other Indian residential/boarding schools. After the screening the former student thanked me for my film and a dialogue ensued where these former students shared some their experiences. It was a very moving screening and it gave me the motivation to screen this film whenever an opportunity arises. CLICK ON THE IMAGES BELOW TO VIEW THE EVENT INVITATION
March 31, 2006: Film Screening/Corn Soup Presentation – Helen Day Art Center (Stowe, Vermont)
As part of the 29th anniversary of the Helen Day Art Center, I screened “What the Hell is Corn Soup” which was followed by serving corn soup and fry bread. A discussion, “Who Discovered America?” followed my presentation. This discussion was led by Chief Paul Thompson and Chief Francis Booth. I was a bit nervous, since I had never screened this film to any Native people. I had nothing to worry about since one of the Chiefs thanked me for preserving and sharing a part of our culture. CLICK ON THE IMAGES BELOW TO VIEW THE EVENT INVITATION
April 21, 2006 – Film Screening – American Indian Community House (New York, NY)
The American Indian Community House presented a screening of shorts by Nanobah Becker (Navajo), Terry Jones (Seneca), Sally Kewayosh (Ojibway/Cree), and Brooke Swaney (Blackfeet). An article about this event appeared in Talking Stick Quarterly, which was written by Vicki Ramirez. CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO READ THE ACCOMPANYING ARTICLE.
