TeachRock at SXSWEdu
Everything is bigger in Texas… even conferences! SXSWEdu, the Education and Tech focused week of the month long Austin event, was in many ways akin to major music festival, but rather than bands, it was bursting with educational thought leaders and cutting edge organizations, all speaking, leading workshops, and hosting panels.
The Foundation used its set on the big stage to discuss and expand upon the materials developed to accompany RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked The World in a panel format. SXSWEdu being a festival of sorts, we put together an “A” level band: Stevie Salas, renowned guitarist and the producer of RUMBLE, Dr. Joely Proudfit, chair of the University of California American Indian Studies department and executive director of California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center, John Troutman, Curator of American Music at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, and author of Indian Blues: Native Americans and the Politics of Music, 1879-1934, and Bill Carbone, RRFF Director of Education and Partnerships.
Guided by a few clips from RUMBLE as well as questions from Carbone, each panel participant spoke to specific issues covered in the film and TeachRock material, then provided an expanded background on the topic via both personal research and experiences. There were no lasers or fog machines, however, the panel hit its mark, and transitioned into almost an hour of continued discussions in the SXSWEdu hallway.