Northwestern Hosts Brandi Berry Benson’s THE STORY OF PA I SHA – Preview

A spokesperson describes the event as follows:

“...Growing up, Benson often looked at the portrait of her Chickasaw great-great-great-great grandmother, Pa I Sha, which hung in her living room. Every time she gazed at it, Benson said she saw a woman of immense strength who carried the Chickasaw reputation of “unconquered and unconquerable."

It was an image that stayed with Benson as she pursued a career in classical music. And although she loves performing a wide range of musical styles from Renaissance to Baroque to bluegrass and even the occasional gypsy jazz gig, Benson longed to play something that resonated with her own Chickasaw heritage.

So a few years ago, Benson decided to compose a new work that melded these two worlds. “I really wanted to find a way to have both sides of my life connect with each other, and I knew that writing a piece that honored my ancestors would really bring everything together for me,” she said.

The result was a piece entitled, “The Story of Pa I Sha” — a musical narrative designed for a Choctaw vocalist/narrator, a Native American flute, traverso (which is a type of Baroque flute), violin, viola, cello and Indigenous percussion that highlights four major stories in Benson’s Chickasaw heritage.

The first story is about Pa I Sha herself, who was full-blood Chickasaw and walked the Trail of Tears (called “The Removal” by the Chickasaw tribe) in 1837 from her home in Mississippi to her new nation in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) as a result of the Indian Removal Act. She married her husband, another full-blood Chickasaw, who also walked the trail.

The second story is about Pa I Sha’s daughter, Mary, who married an Englishman who fought in the Civil War. Because interracial marriages with the tribe were taboo at the time, they were forced to live in a railroad tent outside of town with their nine children, many of whom dropped their indigenous identity to avoid discrimination.

“The third story is about how Mary’s daughter, Rosa, gave up her indigenous identity once Oklahoma became a state for fear of restricted citizenship. Pa I Sha’s great grandson and Rosa’s son, Earnest, is the last of Brandi’s relatives on the Dawes Rolls from Indian Territory. He was born in Indian territory before Oklahoma became a state in 1906.

The fourth story is about how Earnest met his wife, Elvera, who traveled with her family from Litchfield, IL, to the Texas Panhandle. Her family was welcomed into the community as they arrived just before the holidays, and through a series of connections Elvera and Earnest met and fell in love. The couple made it their lifelong mission to find out all they could about Earnest’s Chickasaw family lineage..."