Notable Native Performance Troupe at Mitchell Museum

A notable Native American performance troupe will present a variety of traditional tribal dances, songs, and stories at the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian in Evanston at 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 21.

The Black Hawk Performance Company of Chicago, together with the Been Na Un Den Nah drum group and singers, includes members of the Ojibwe, Dakota, Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, Ho-Chunk, Salish Kootenai, Navajo, and other tribes.

The dancers will explain the significance of their regalia, the traditional yet highly personalized outfits worn for powwow dances and other special events.

Founder and artistic director of both ensembles is New Mexico-born Parsino Carlos "Zeke" Peynetsa, a Zuni and Isleta Pueblo elder who settled in Chicago nearly five decades ago. Peynetsa is a championship powwow dancer and a nationally known multimedia artist.

Peynetsa and the Black Hawk Performance Company were featured at a day-long event in March at the University of Chicago to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Chicago Indian Conference of 1961, a milestone in American Indian activism.

Peynetsa was the subject of a March 30 Chicago Tribune profile, which noted that, at 64, he was the oldest traditional powwow dancer and singer in Chicago.

Admission to the event is included with museum admission, which is $5 for adults, $2.50 for seniors, students and teachers (with valid school ID), and children. Maximum admission per family is $10.  Admission is free for Mitchell members and tribal members. The independent, nonprofit Mitchell Museum is at 3001 Central St., Evanston. For information, phone (847) 475-1030. On the Net: http://www.mitchellmuseum.org.