Artistic Icon and Promoter of Indigenous Performing Arts Receives Newest Honour
Daystar/Rosalie Jones extends Indigenous tradition, education and art to Trent and beyond
Over her extensive career Daystar/Rosalie Jones, an adjunct faculty member in the Indigenous Performance program at Trent, has made a prolific impact as a trailblazer and supporter of Indigenous talent in the performing arts.
Recognized once again for her legendary accomplishments as a choreographer, dancer, writer and educator, she has been named as one of this year’s 50 Faces of Indian Country 2016, an American publication celebrating the Nations and its Peoples.
Drawing on decades of teaching experience in Native American schools, communities, and colleges throughout the U.S. and Canada, Ms. Jones developed a unique curriculum alongside Trent’s program director Professor Marrie Mumford.
Additionally, through collaborations between Indigenous performance initiatives and her dance company, Ms. Jones staged and performed in several contemporary dance productions for Trent and Peterborough audiences including “The Dreamed Imagination,” which began as a research paper linking traditional ceremony and the creative process of contemporary Indigenous performers.
In April 2016, Ms. Jones was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) where she was as a choreographer, teacher and chair of Performing Arts. In response to receiving the award she said, “I have promoted native talent all my life.” She also felt her work at Trent University with the Indigenous Performance Studies program is an extension of the work she began at IAIA.
In 2004, she was honoured with the creation of the Daystar Archive in Special Collections at the University of California-Riverside and declared a “pioneer” of Native Modern Dance in the USA. She was also the first Native American to receive a two-year National Endowment of the Arts Choreographer's Fellowship in recognition of 25 years of pioneering the early development of Native Modern Dance in the United States.
Her newest accolade honours native pioneers who are making a difference without sacrificing strength or beauty.