Why do I make art? To build time capsules for my heritage | Kayla Briët

翻译人员: Thomas Tam 校对人员: Echo Sun

When I was four years old,

我四岁的时候，

my dad taught me the Taos Pueblo Hoop Dance,

爸爸教我跳陶斯印第安部落圈舞，

a traditional dance born hundreds of years ago in Southwestern USA.

一种美国西南部的传统舞蹈， 有数百年的历史。

A series of hoops are created out of willow wood,

用柳木制作一系列的圆环，

and they're threaded together to create formations of the natural world,

并且把它们穿在一起 来创造出自然世界的形态，

showing the many beauties of life.

展现了生命的多姿多彩。

In this dance, you're circling in a constant spin,

在舞蹈中，要不断的旋转，

mimicking the movement of the Sun

模仿太阳的运行，

和时间的流逝。

and the passage of time.

Watching this dance was magic to me.

观赏这个舞蹈时， 我感到非常神奇。

Like with a time capsule,

好像在一个时间胶囊中，

I was taking a look through a cultural window to the past.

正从一个文化窗口回望过去。

I felt a deeper connection

我感受到了一种

to how my ancestors used to look at the world around them.

与祖先们如何看待 周围世界之间的更深的联系。

Since then, I've always been obsessed with time capsules.

从那时起，我一直都 迷恋时间胶囊。

They take on many forms,

它采用了多种形式，

but the common thread is that they're uncontrollably fascinating

但无法控制的迷人是贯穿始终的，

to us as human beings,

令我们人类难以自拔，

because they're portals to a memory,

因为它们是记忆的门户，

and they hold the important power of keeping stories alive.

拥有保持故事鲜活的重要力量。

As a filmmaker and composer,

作为一名电影导演和作曲家，

it's been my journey to find my voice,

我的个人旅程就是 去寻找自己的声音，

reclaim the stories of my heritage and the past

重温我的家族传统和过去，

and infuse them into music and film time capsules to share.

并将这一切倾注到以音乐和电影 为载体的时光胶囊中，与众人分享。

To tell you a bit about how I found my voice,

关于我是怎样找回自己的声音，

I'd like to share a bit about how I grew up.

我先分享一下我的成长经历。

In Southern California, I grew up in a multigenerational home,

我成长在加利福尼亚南部 一个多代同堂的家庭里，

meaning I lived under the same roof

这意味着我与

as my parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents.

父母，姑姨叔伯，及祖父母 在同一屋檐下一起生活。

My mother is Dutch-Indonesian and Chinese with immigrant parents,

我的母亲是荷兰 - 印尼与华裔的 混血儿，父母都是美国移民，

and my father is Ojibwe

父亲是奥杰布瓦人（印第安人），

and an enrolled tribal member

也是位于堪萨斯东北部

of the Prairie Band's Potawatomi Tribe in Northeastern Kansas.

草原带的波塔瓦托米瓦部落的成员。

So one weekend I'd be learning how to fold dumplings,

所以，这个周末我会学习包饺子，

and the next, I'd be traditional-style dancing

下个周末，我会学习帕瓦仪式中的

at a powwow,

传统舞蹈，

immersed in the powerful sounds of drums and singers.

沉醉于强劲的鼓声与歌声中。

Being surrounded by many cultures was the norm,

经常处于多元文化之中，

but also a very confusing experience.

也是一种非常令人困惑的体验。

It was really hard for me to find my voice,

我很难从中找到自我的声音，

because I never felt I was enough --

因为我始终搞不清自己的种族归属，

never Chinese, Dutch-Indonesian or Native enough.

是中国人，荷兰 - 印尼人 还是原住居民。

Because I never felt I was a part of any community,

正因为我感到自己不属于任何社区，

I sought to learn the stories of my heritage

我曾试图去了解我血统的故事，

and connect them together to rediscover my own.

并将它们连结在一起 重新发现自己的归属。

The first medium I felt gave me a voice was music.

第一个让我感受到 自己声音的媒介就是音乐。

With layers of sounds and multiple instruments,

配合多层次的音效和不同的乐器，

I could create soundscapes and worlds that were much bigger than my own.

我创作出的音乐是个人重大的突破，

Through music, I'm inviting you into a sonic portal

借助音乐，我邀请你

of my memories and emotions,

进入我的回忆与情感中，

and I'm holding up a mirror to yours.

也会反照你们自己的感受。

One of my favorite instruments to play is the guzheng zither,

我最喜欢演奏的乐器之一，就是古筝，

a Chinese harp-like instrument.

一种中国竖琴样的乐器。

While the hoop dance is hundreds of years old,

尽管陶斯印第安部落圈舞 已经流传几百年，

the guzheng has more than 2,000 years of history.

古筝却有两千多年的历史。

I'm playing the styles that greatly influence me today,

现在的演奏风格影响我至深，

like electronic music,

比如电子音乐，

with an instrument that was used to play traditional folk music long ago.

用一种佷久之前 用来演奏传统民乐的乐器。

And I noticed an interesting connection:

我觉察到一个有趣的联系：

the zither is tuned to the pentatonic scale,

古筝是五声音阶的乐器，

a scale that is universally known in so many parts of music

一个在全世界众多音乐中

around the world,

广为人知的音阶，

including Native American folk songs.

包括美洲原住民的民歌。

In both Chinese and Native folk,

在中国和原住民民歌中，

I sense this inherent sound of longing and holding onto the past,

我感觉到了这种对过去的 渴望和坚持的内在声音，

是现今推动我进行音乐创作的原动力。

an emotion that greatly drives the music I create today.

At the time, I wondered if I could make this feeling of immersion

当时我很想知道是否能够

透过视觉和音乐的结合

even more powerful,

by layering visuals and music --

加强这种沉浸感——

visuals and images on top of the music.

在音乐中加入图像及视觉的效果。

So I turned to internet tutorials to learn editing software,

因此我通过网络课程 学习了电影剪接软件，

went to community college to save money

也去社区大学学习， 为的是省钱，

and created films.

并且能创作电影。

After a few years experimenting,

经过几年的实验，

I was 17 and had something I wanted to tell and preserve.

在17岁时，我有点事情 想讲述和保存下来。

It started with a question:

这一切从一个问题开始：

What happens when a story is forgotten?

当一个故事被遗忘，会发生什么事？

I lead with this in my latest documentary film,

我将这个主题引入到最近的纪录片

"Smoke That Travels,"

《烟雾的传播》中，

which immerses people into the world of music, song, color and dance,

影片让人们沉浸在色彩与音乐， 歌曲和舞蹈的世界中，

as I explore my fear that a part of my identity, my Native heritage,

我始终怀揣着一种担忧， 担心个人的身份及本土传承的文化

will be forgotten in time.

将会随时间的流逝而被遗忘。

Many indigenous languages are dying due to historically forced assimilation.

由于历史上的强制同化， 许多土著语言正在歨向灭亡。

From the late 1800s to the early 1970s,

从十九世纪末到上世纪七十年代初，

Natives were forced into boarding schools,

原居民被迫进入寄宿学校，

where they were violently punished if they practiced traditional ways

倘若他们实践了传统的习俗， 或者用他们的原居民语言交流，

or spoke their native language,

就会受到严厉的惩罚，

most of which were orally passed down.

而大部分语言恰恰是口头传承的。

As of now, there are 567 federally recognized tribes in the United States,

截至目前为止，有 567 个部落 为美国联邦政府所承认，

when there used to be countless more.

曾几何时，这个数字大到无法估量。

In my father's words,

用我父亲的话说：

"Being Native is not about wearing long hair in braids.

“本土化不只是关于头上的长辫子。

It's not about feathers or beadwork.

也不是关于那些珠饰或羽毛，

It's about the way we all center ourselves in the world as human beings."

而是关于我们如何作为 人类，生活在世界的中心。”

After traveling with this film for over a year,

我携带这部电影旅行了一年多，

I met indigenous people from around the world,

遇到了来自世界各地的人，

from the Ainu of Japan,

从日本的阿伊努人、

Sami of Scandinavia,

斯堪的那维亚的萨米人、

the Maori

到新西兰的毛利人，

and many more.

还有很多其他原居民。

And they were all dealing with the exact same struggle

他们都有同样的挣扎，

to preserve their language and culture.

想要维护他们的语言和文化。

At this moment, I not only realize the power storytelling has

此时此刻，我不仅体会到 讲故事的力量

to connect all of us as human beings

可以把我们所有的人类联系在一起，

but the responsibility that comes with this power.

也感受到了伴随着这种力量的责任。

It can become incredibly dangerous when our stories are rewritten or ignored,

当自身的故事被重写或忽略时， 我们会面临险恶的考验，

because when we are denied identity,

因为当自己的身份被否定，

we become invisible.

我们就变成了不可见的群体。

We're all storytellers.

我们都是讲故事的人。

Reclaiming our narratives and just listening to each other's

重申我们自己的叙述， 以及仅仅是聆听对方的声音，

can create a portal that can transcend time itself.

就可以创建一个 超越了时间本身的门户。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）