LECTURES and SLIDE PRESENTATIONS
Any subject having to do with the West, Native Americans, Cowboys,
Costume, Film and Art is a possibility for an entertaining hour with Cathy
Smith. Just let her know your interests.
Fees: $1500 per appearance, plus transportation, lodging, and per deum.
Sliding scale for non-profit organizations or Native Youth programs.
Hands-on Workshops on beadwork, costuming, historical accuracy, etc
are on going. Contact us for more information.
THE DEMISE OF TONTO OR HOLLYWOOD MEETS THE SIOUX NATION
A behind the scenes look at the making of Western Movies from the POV of an Emmy award winning Costume Designer. Cathy Smith walks us through a day in the life of the filming of Dances With Wolves: How costumes are designed, life on the set, and the importance of authenticity in costumes, sets and props. She relates entertaining stories, educating us about the history of the Plains Indian and the 19th century West.
Time: 60-90 min
TAKU WAKAN – THE SACRED NATURE OF PLAINS INDIAN ART
Artifacts can be said to be the physical clothing of a society’s’ imagination. They speak of spiritual feeling, social belief, the fear of the unknown, and the dignity of a purposeful life. Smith explores the spiritual origin, power and meaning inherent in Plains Indian artifacts through over seventy images of historic art.
Time: 45 min.
I CAN SEE BY YOUR OUTFIT…..
Originally presented at Smithsonian Institutions’ Renwick Gallery in 2003, Costume Designer Cathy Smith gives us a humorous look at the historical evolution of the American Cowboy through his costume, equipment and horses.
“I believe I would know an old cowboy in hell with his hide burnt off. It’s the way they stand and walk and talk.” Teddy Blue Abbot.
Time: 45-60 min
SUNKA WAKAN: THE HORSE IN PLAINS INDIAN CULTURE
The acquisition of the Horse brought the North American Indian out of the woodlands and onto the Plains, changing their lives forever. The horse gave them mobility, wealth, and access to the buffalo range. The Plains Indian became ‘the ‘finest light cavalry in the world.’ Historian and costumer, Cathy Smith guides us through a visual horseback trip beginning in Mexico with Cortez’ first 16 horses and moving North to Canada with the horsemen of the Plains.
Time: 45 min
WADDIES & WARRIORS: NATTY & NOBLE ATTIRE ON THE PLAINSA CHRONOLOGY OF COWBOY & INDIAN FASHION
The era of the Cowboy & Indian was fast and furious and short-lived, and if they were wild & wooly they were an American creation. They left a character to the land that neither time nor gasoline would entirely obliterate. Costume Designer and Historian, Cathy Smith, dispels some of the Myth of the West while she takes us through two centuries of the dressing of the West.
Time: 60-75 min.
PTE & TATANKA: BUFFALO & THE PLAINS INDIAN: FOOD,CLOTHING, SHELTER & MORE THROUGH THE CENTURIES.
Cathy Smith describes the importance of the Buffalo to the Plains Indian from their origin as “Buffalo People” to their almost complete dependence upon the buffalo for their existence. Over 100 uses of the buffalo are described through slides of museum artifacts made from buffalo. The sacred connection between man and the Buffalo Nation is emphasized.
Time: 45-60 min.
CRAZY HORSE AND QUANAH: ON THE TRAIL OF THE LAST GREAT AMERICAN FREEDOM FIGHTERS.
Cathy Smith takes us on a journey across the Powder River Country of the Northern Plains and the Llano Estacado of the Southern Plains, searching for clues to the essence of the two greatest Plains Indian leaders of the 19th Century. While neither warrior was ever conquered by the US Military, both surrendered after their primary food source, the buffalo, was exterminated. Crazy Horse was assassinated before he could walk the white man’s road, while Quanah became a rancher and let his Comanche people into the 20th century.
Time: 45 min.