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Ash, Reuben Fast Horse bring Native American culture, music, dancing to St. Olaf on Nov. 6

Kate Brown '06 and Nancy J. Ashmore
October 31, 2002

Reuben and Ash Fast Horse
Reuben and Ash Fast Horse.


A night overflowing with culture, music, dancing and storytelling is coming to Northfield as part of St. Olaf College's annual observance of Native American Week. Ash and Reuben Fast Horse of the Lakota tribe will perform in the Pause in Buntrock Commons at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 6. The program is free of and open to the public.

Reuben Fast Horse, born in 1971 on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, is a traditional Lakota singer, dancer, flutist, drummer, craftsman, storyteller and educator. He has been certified by the Lakota and the North Dakota State Board of Education as an ?Eminent Scholar.?

Fast Horse, who has taught Lakota culture at Standing Rock Elementary Grant School in Fort Yates, N.D., tours the United States performing and speaking at festivals, colleges, high schools and elementary school. In past years, he has performed with Kevin Lock, a Lakota flutist and hoop dancer, and Lunar Drive, a London-based band inspired by American Indian music and dance. In 2001, he was a Grammy nominee with the group Lakota Thunder for ?Best Native American Music Album? of the year.

Reuben's dance repertoire includes the ?Grass,? ?Fancy? and ?Traditional? dances, as well as the ?Buffalo? and ?Eagle? dances that have virtually disappeared from Lakota culture. As a singer, he performs Lakota songs as well as songs in the Ojibway, Dine and Blackfoot languages.

?I love sharing this information and perspective with everyone because we all benefit from the knowledge and practices of the First Nations,? Fast Horse explains. ?If you peel back the layers of American history, you will find roots in Native America. Much of our foods, tools, medicines, and government structures derives from Ancient America. You will not find this knowledge in typical American history books, and as Americans we all should know our history.?

Ash Fast Horse, Fast Horse?s wife, joins him in programs upon request. An accomplished dancer of ethnic and choreographed styles, she performs women?s traditional and contemporary Native American dances. Together, they speak eloquently about contributions of Native America to contemporary life and society.

Contact Nancy J. Ashmore at 507-786-3315 or ashmore@stolaf.edu.