For the third year, Atlanta is excited to welcome back the First Voices Festival, a massive celebration of Indigenous culture! All month long there will be ways to celebrate, learn, support and more! Keep scrolling to find out all about the First Voices Festival hosted in Little 5 Points!
The First Voices Festival lineup
The entire festival runs from November 7th – November 29th, 2024, with tons of events happening during the month-long celebration!
This festival is produced by 7 Stages, Turtle Island Trading, Zintkala Zi PowWow, the L5P Business Association and Plaza Theatre to create a wonderful lineup of fun, education, and expression! Here’s what festival-goers can expect!
“What Are You?”
When: November 7-24, 2024
Where: 7 Stages Theatre | 1105 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30307
According to their website,
What Are You? is an exploration of what it means to be multi-racial in America. Created and performed by Nicolette Emanuelle, who has roots in the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina, this original production delves into the complexities of racial identity through a blend of movement, music, and personal testimonies. Confronting the relentless question “what are you?” Nicolette weaves together striking and moving commonalities found in interviews with other multi-racial individuals, highlighting their unique struggles and the beauty of their identities.
Art of Activism
When: November 15, 2024 at 5 PM
Where: 7 Stages Theatre | 1105 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30307
The Art of Activism is an evening of conversation and camaraderie with special guest Muscogee (Creek) elder William Harjo. The evening will be full of learning, stories, and a delicious meal of loaded Fry Bread dishes from Three Sisters Soulfood!
This is a great opportunity to talk with someone with lots of knowledge about Powwows, traditional arts, and history.
PowWow
When: November 16 & 17, 2024
Where: 1136 Austin Ave, NE | Atlanta, GA. 30307
According to their website,
Tatankala “Buffalo” Yellowbird of Zintkala Zi PowWow returns to Little Five points with his third annual First Voices Festival PowWow, featuring intertribal celebrations of culture, dance, song, crafts, food, and pageantry. A member of the Lakota Sioux Nation, Buffalo is well respected in Indigenous communities offering expertise, love, and joy on the mic as the master of ceremonies. At noon both days, the Grand Entry fills the circle with a company of dancers in full regalia taking audiences and participants on a journey of storytelling and cultural sharing through a variety of traditional dances like the Jingle Dress and Fancy dances.
Attendees will be able to marvel at Indigenous jewelry, arts, and crafts, traditional demonstrations, and food including Fry Bread from Three Sisters Soulfood! There will also be hands-on crafting tents for the kiddos!
Entry is free, and everyone is welcome!
BAD RIVER Film Screening and Q&A
When: November 29, 2024 at 7 PM
Where: Plaza Theatre | 1049 Ponce De Leon Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30306
Their website says about the film,
Bad River is a new documentary film which chronicles the Wisconsin-based Bad River Band and its ongoing fight for sovereignty, a story which unfolds in a groundbreaking way through a series of shocking revelations, devastating losses, and a powerful legacy of defiance and resilience which includes a David vs. Goliath battle to save Lake Superior, the largest freshwater resource in America. As Eldred Corbine, a Bad River Tribal Elder declares: “We gotta protect it… die for it, if we have to.”
After the film screening, a Bad River representative will be there for a Q&A!