UNESCO: N. SCOTT MOMADAY DISCUSSES CULTURAL PRESERVATION

UNCLAS PARIS 004659

SIPDIS

FROM USMISSION TO UNESCO PARIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM UNESCO OEXC SCUL
SUBJECT: UNESCO: N. SCOTT MOMADAY DISCUSSES CULTURAL PRESERVATION



1. SUMMARY. UNESCO's Social and Human Sciences Division of
Foresight, Philosophy and Human Sciences hastily organized a June 22
symposium on human dignity and art with N. Scott Momaday, UNESCO
Artist for Peace and Native American poet, novelist, painter, and
story-teller, which focused on the importance of cultural heritage.
Momaday was in Paris for the opening of the French Quai de Branly
Museum of indigenous art and culture. His work focuses on the
preservation of indigenous culture, and outreach to indigenous
youths who find it difficult to hold on to their cultural identities
in modern society. To take advantage of Momaday's presence, Mission
also organized a lunch in his honor, where Momaday spoke on the
importance of his relationship with UNESCO in addressing the plight
of indigenous youth worldwide and the significance of its neutral
platform. Mission would recommend Momaday to posts worldwide as a
gifted speaker and excellent source of information on Native
American culture. END SUMMARY.

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MOMADAY ON INDIGENOUS CULTURE AND UNESCO:
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2. At lunch, Momaday discussed his work with UNESCO and Native
American culture in general. Momaday and a French Anthropologist in
attendance explained that he first engaged with UNESCO to
participate in a 2001 UNESCO Seminar on Indigenous Identities, Oral
Written Expressions and New Technologies, which is where he met
Katerina Stenou, director of the office of cultural policies.
Momaday commented that his status as UNESCO Artist for Peace brought
three key benefits: the UNESCO neutral platform enabled him to
conduct outreach to indigenous youth in countries such as Russia,
where he might not otherwise have access. UNESCO also put him in
contact with an existing network of indigenous experts, and UNESCO
was partnering with him on an archive project with a Native American
tribe in Oklahoma. In Russia, Momaday stated that indigenous youths
in Siberia face similar challenges to Native American youths in
terms of connecting their contemporary identity with their culture
and history. Story telling, he commented, helps these young people
to learn about their heritage and past history.


3. UNESCO staff expressed to Mission privately in advance of the
lunch that Momaday's wife had told them he opposed the Cultural
Diversity Convention. However, when asked about the Convention at
lunch, Momaday answered vaguely that he thought its significance was
important and that UNESCO does an excellent job on cultural issues
in general.

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HUMAN DIGNITY AND ART:
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4. At the June 22 symposium on Human Dignity and Art, Momaday
discussed how ethnologists, anthropologists and ordinary citizens
can better approach native cultures today. The audience was moved
by the youth leader who described the difficulties of growing up as
an Inuit and trying to grasp his identity while society changed
around him. Debate focused on how different cultural groups
distinguish themselves as "superior" or "inferior" in relation to
others. (COMMENT: Although no one specifically mentioned
colonialism, the European anthropologists were clearly grappling
with its legacy and how experts from industrialized nations could
engage with indigenous cultures without stealing something from
them. END COMMENT.)

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FUTURE ENDEAVORS WITH MOMADAY:
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5. Momaday expressed interest in the World Digital Library
initiative, and he asked to be put in touch with the U.S. Library of
Congress. He also noted that he would be in Russia this August and
was interested in contacting the American Embassy in Moscow.
Mission notes that Momaday is an excellent speaker, a Pulitzer
Prize-winning author, expert on Native American culture, and a
thoroughly devoted advocate of cultural heritage. Mission hopes to
welcome him again to UNESCO in the future and would encourage other
posts to consider him as a speaker. More information on Momaday can
be found at:

UNESCO Artist for Peace:
Please google Scott Momaday and UNESCO Artist for Peace, as Mission
clout system cannot exceed 55 characters without a space or a
return, making it impossible to send the url.

Buffalo Trust:
http://www.buffalotrust.org/scott.htm


KOSS