Bobby Bridger is not an American Indian. But like his ancestor, Jim Bridger -- often described as the quintessential mountain man -- he has spent his life dedicated to the understanding of the American Indian, in his case through ballads of the American West.
His first was a tale of the mountain men like Bridger -- hunters, trappers, guides and scouts who explored the western United States in the early decades of the 1800s.
FAQ
‘Lakota’
WHEN — 6 p.m. Saturday
WHERE — Museum of Native American History in Bentonville
COST — Free; seating is limited to 95
INFO — Reservations at 273-2456
His second was about the American Indians of that period. It was based on "Black Elk Speaks," written in 1932 by John G. Neihardt about Lakota healer Nicholas Black Elk (1863--1950) and the tragic history of his Sioux people during the epic closing decades of the Old West. The two met as kindred spirits in 1930 on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, and the Lakota elder chose Neihardt to share his visions and life with the world.
His third was about Buffalo Bill, who lived in both the American Indian and white man's cultures.
The three stories together are called "A Ballad of the West," and Bridger has been performing them for more than three decades. On Saturday, he'll present "Lakota," the portion based on "Black Elk Speaks," at the Museum of Native American History in Bentonville.
"Bobby Bridger was the first artist-in-residence at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyo., has contributed a historical interview and original music to the Smithsonian"s Museum of the American Indian exhibition, 'Treaties: Great Nations In Their Own Words' in Washington, D.C., and is the recipient of the Neihardt Foundation's prestigious Word Sender Award," says Charlotte Buchanan-Yale, the museum's director. George C. White, founder of the Eugene O'Neil Theater Center at the Sundance Institute calls him "the Shakespeare of the American West" and Dee Brown, author of "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee," says he is "the true balladeer with a background of professionalism in music and the history of the period."
Bridger says his performance will last about an hour, and there will be time for questions afterward. Visitors may also see the rifle Jim Bridger made and used when he served as an apprentice with master gun smith Phillip Creamer from 1817 to 1822. It is part of the museum's permanent collection.
NAN What's Up on 11/18/2016