Indian Cinema Entertainment -- Spring 1999

INDIAN CINEMA ENTERTAINMENT -- Spring 1999, Vol. 7, No. 2

Arigon Starr -- Star Struck

By K.G. Guillen

SAN DIEGO, CA -- It's tough getting a moment of Starr time these days. The Kickapoo-Creek artist and her band are currently out and about promoting their new album, MEET THE DIVA. ICE was able to track Arigon Starr recently and she expressed that when you put your mind and heart into it, anything is possible.

She begins our interview about her childhood. "Growing up was really interesting for me because my father was in the Navy, specifically on the USS Tripoli-LHP, that's a helicopter carrying ship. So we moved everywhere! We had an existence that was like, two years in one place, then it was time to move again." She continues, "It was hard trying to keep friends with that lifestyle, so basically my family became my friends. We were lucky if we were able to see our cousins maybe once a year back in Oklahoma." She says, "We did spend most of our time on the East Coast, then eventually progressed along towards the West."

It was at this time Starr Says, "When we finally moved to California, life became really interesting." Arigon's father got shipped out. "He was shipped out to WestPac, which is a Navy term for Western Pacific, and we ended up in the Philippines at a based called Subic Bay. And that was for two years." She recalls two years as being "what seemed like an eternity, because at that time in my life I wanted to be going to concerts with friends and be doing music and"...she pauses, "but, I guess looking back at it now, it was a good experience. I did have some good times there."

Starr's personality comes across as an optimist, and her upbeat attitude conveys that she can roll with the punches and make the best of almost any situation.

Eventually, the family settled in San Diego, California, and it was through Arigon's mother's involvement with the church there, that her interest in music began to evolve. This early introduction fueled her interest and motivated her. As she became more aware of her mother's church music, she was also exposed to an even broader spectrum which eventually molded her influences.

"I remember on weekends my parents would stack up and play all the vinyl of Frank Sinatra, show tunes, and country & western. It was quite a variety!"

It was also at this time that The Beatles came along, and for Starr, that's when everything changed. "I guess I caught the Beatles on the second wave really, because although I'd been hearing their music since I was kid, it was as a teenager that I began to really listen to their music and lyrics. And I thought, 'Oh! OK, now I get it' (she laughs) it really had much more of an impact on me later on."

Starr also recalls artists such as Redbone and Buffy Sainte-Marie. "I also remember seeing Jesse Ed Davis on stage singing with George Harrison, and I thought it was amazing that there was an Indian singing with one of the Beatles. Just knowing that there were Indian people doing music, and these were some of my idols, I thought, 'hey, I could do that.'"

Through her later teens, Starr somehow always found herself involved in the entertainment field. "I began writing songs in junior high school, and I was in band throughout high school which was a lot of fun. I played bass guitar in some bands and played guitar in some other ones. But after high school I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do, because I was really, well, you know I started out being an actress. Yeah, I was really big into high school theater. But I began to realize living in southern California was beneficial, because the entertainment industry of film and music is right there, with Los Angeles being just north of us."

Starr did not got to college, " a decision I sometimes regret," she says, "but, working in various 'normal' jobs and being out there playing music was my education. It was a learning process." She found a job in Los Angeles working for the Viacom Company, as well as various production companies.

"I worked on shows like Matlock and Perry Mason, and I worked doing publicity for actors like Andy Griffith and Raymond Burr. Then I moved on to the Showtime Network, and that was interesting because it enabled me to attend large conventions, and I was able to meet stars like Tom Hanks. But more importantly I was able to see the behind the scenes stuff, and it taught me a lot about what the industry is really all about. It was such an eye-opener!" (she laughs).

These jobs gave her the insight she needed to forge ahead. So her days were filled with behind the scenes, but the evenings gave her the spotlight and the musical satisfaction she so craved. She did the coffeehouse circuit performing with other people, and eventually decided that she'd prefer to work on her own.

It was not until she became involved with The American Indian Registry that Starr realized how many Native people lived in the Los Angeles area. This fanned the flames of her passion even further. "It was great working for the Registry. I helped them with publicity, and I was always trying to use my skills. And then I got a job with First Americans in the Arts, and what was interesting about that job was being able to see Indian people interact with each other within the industry. It was great to see our people filled with such pride. I'd hear things like, 'yeah, I was in a major feature film' of "I was on a television program'...things like that. It was empowering to see this," she says.

With that in mind Arigon knew eventually it would come to a head -- she need to make that big leap. Working for First Americans in the Arts also fueled her interest in her own culture. Starr, like so so many Native people didn't know much about her tribe. With that she says, "I didn't know much about myself because growing up, my father was sort of from that 'lost generation era', not quite the boarding school ear, but for him it just easier not to be Indian. Not growing up in Oklahoma didn't help either. My mom taught us what she knew, the traditions and the culture. My grandmother was Seneca and Cherokee on my mother's side, and her dad was Creek. And, of course, my dad is fullblood Kickapoo-Creek. But I did a lot of research about the tribes on my own too."

At times Starr found it to be difficult being in the spotlight. "Many times people look at you and they expect a lot out of you, it can become tough because if you fall short, they're going to call you on it." She laments. This dilemma is what gave her the initiative to compose songs that would let people see where she was coming from. She states, "What I want to do is to share with people what happened to me, and try to interpret it, especially those outside of the Indian community. I want them to know, we are still here, we have a grand history, you know, we have our own heroes, people that are equal to George Washington (much laughter) and we're really, really proud of that."

She accomplishes this task with her collection of songs on the "Meet the Diva - Arigon Starr" album. This album speaks from the heart, and unlike many groups or artists who choose to use anger as a base for their message, Starr captures the essence of issues Indian people deal with on a daily basis, and brings them to the forefront through her choice lyrics, and catchy, upbeat compositions. Her unique style that blends everything from alternative to pop to country, puts her in a place unbound by category. "I certainly hope I'm making my own genre, that there will be many musicians that will follow my pattern and make the same kind of music. I really hope that happens. I want to inspire people, I want to give our people a sense of pride and hope," Starr says optimistically.

Between performances for her album, and everything else that comprises her busy life, Starr has also been doing the musical rounds in conjunction with a book tour. The book is by British author and photographer Serle Chapman, entitled Of Earth and Elders - Visions and Voices of Native America. Starr explains how the connection was made. "I got involved when Sara Gilbertson (who is one of the agents for Serle Chapman), came to Los Angeles to First Americans in the Arts, and we just started talking in the press room. When she explained what the book was about, which is compiling thoughts, quotes and contemporary experiences on Native people through their own words and perspectives, I knew I wanted to become involved. So I have her a copy of my CD, and several weeks later I got a call and was able to meet Serle.

I was pleasantly surprised to meet Serle, because I wanted to check him out, you know...I suppose I was expecting the worst. But here was this soft-spoken, reserved man who told me he had been talking to Indian people, and he showed me the pictures he'd taken, and he wanted to make this book. I was really impressed! He told me that he'd listened to my CD and he really liked it, and he wanted me to do an interview for the book."

Chapman decided to go wit the well-known Hollywood Indians because he was taking this book to England and wanted to bring it to light, and to have these well-known names made it that much easier for the public to recognize. Floyd Westerman, Steve Reevis, Apesanahkwat, and Larry Sellers are some who are are a part of this book. Serle Chapman has also made sure that his proceeds go to the American Indian College Fund. All those involved with the book are adamant supporters of educating Indian youth.

This afternoon comes to a close with Starr sharing her thoughts and aspirations for her future. She wants to finish composing for her second album. She's already tested some of her new songs while on tour, songs like "Apache A Go-Go" that Starr says, "Basically the song says, 'We just wanna dance!'"

Another idea for a project that she would like to see launched would be to have a Native Women's Lilith Fair type of project for the new millennium. A line-up of Native women musicians such as Walela, Joanne Shenandoah, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Ulali, Susan Aglukark, and Tudjaat...the possibilities are inspiring.

In summary Starr explains, "There's such a feeling that you get when you speak the truth from your heart, and to be able to share these things through the context of a song is, for me, what truly brings the circle together."