Jim Coffin's passion for the Southwestern United States and American Indian tribes has culminated into an on-screen role for a film that will be shown at the Santa Fe Film Festival today and Saturday. The festival began Wednesday and runs through Sunday.
Coffin, director of International Programs at Ball State University, said he decided as an anthropology student at Indiana University to share his fascination and love of the Southwest with students.
During the past 30 years, Coffin has taken 20 to 25 students to the Southwestern region to learn about the cultures of the Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, Havasupai and Acoma tribes.
Throughout his trips, Coffin has fostered a personal relationship with Alex Seotewa, a Zuni artist whose life-size murals of ceremonial dancers on the interior walls of the Old Mission Church at the Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico combine aspects of Catholicism with Zuni tribal beliefs.
The trips and personal relationship with Seotewa lead to Coffin's involvement in the film. After Seotewa was approached by producers interested in making a film about his life and artistic accomplishments, he contacted Coffin and requested he be involved with the film.
"Vanishing Voices: The Life of Alex Seotewa," was one of more than 1,000 films submitted to the Santa Fe Film Festival, Coffin said. In all, 120 films were selected to be shown at the festival. Some films feature mainstream actors such as Dustin Hoffman, Renee Zellweger and Naomi Watts.
Coffin assisted in writing the script of the film and also has a role in which he explains what the ceremonial dancers in the murals represent, he said. They are from the Zuni religious calendar.
The dancers in Seotewa's mural represent ceremonial seasons, Coffin said. Spirit beings descend to Earth and transform into physical beings who bring rain and teach ethics to village residents via dramatic arts, Coffin said.
The Southwest trip left a memorable impression on senior social work major Lindsey Wilson who went in May 2006.
"I can't do [the murals] justice by describing them," she said. "He has to be very well-off for the art that he does and to see how he can live his life being wealthy yet down to Earth is really inspiring."
Wilson also was emotionally touched by the trip.
"To be quite honest, [Seotewa] made me cry," Wilson said. "You meet people that touch your life and he is one I will remember for the rest of my life."
Seotewa's history is marred with death, war and alcoholism.
At the age of three, Seotewa was in the hospital with pneumonia, Coffin said. While visiting him in the hospital, Seotewa's mother had an appendix attack and died, Coffin said.
The only picture Seotewa has of his mother is a mental image of her in a red dress, Coffin said.
Following her death Seotewa's father, a gifted artist, remarried and forfeited parental obligations to Seotewa's grandparents, who raised him in a loving home, Coffin said.
According to Coffin, Seotewa often says, "My father did give me one thing - my artistic ability."
While Seotewa's artistic talent has led him to gain international recognition, he did not attend art school for years, Coffin said. He spent one semester in school for it.
Seotewa has earned the highest artistic recognitions possible in countries around the world, including Russia, Coffin said. Seotewa has also received honorary doctorates from various universities.
However, despite his fame in artistic realms, Seotewa still is willing to share the Zuni culture with Ball State students.
Seotewa explained the history, purpose and significance the ceremonial dancers hold to the Zuni people to the students in the group, Wilson said. He spoke to the group and addressed them as "my children" and called Coffin "Young Coyote," Wilson said.
"He really wanted us to understand his history. ... He made us feel wanted."
Senior psychology major Steve Polivka, who attended the Southwest trip in May 2006, said American citizens believe their culture is superior to others and they would benefit from studying other cultures.
"The whole experience itself just opened my eyes to so many things," he said. "Seotewa is admirable, it was amazing to speak to and learn from a man with such wisdom and knowledge."
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