Join us for a powerful DelArt Night celebrating Native Heritage Month through music, art, and shared traditions. Experience a captivating dual performance by master flutists Boe Harris, an enrolled citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, and Richie Olivera, native born of Peru and of Quechua lineage.
Together, their music bridges northern and southern Indigenous traditions, leading into a special guided tour of the Living in the Present exhibition in the Jefferson Lobby. This unique evening honors the ancient prophecy connecting the Condor and Eagle nations uniting the Peoples of the North and South as one through story, sound, and visual culture.
Left to right: Boe Harris. Richie Olivera.
About Boe Harris
Boe is an enrolled citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa; she is of both Chippewa and Dakota ancestry. A Northern Traditional, and Jingle dress dancer, poet and plays the Indigenous traditional flute. Boe has dedicated her life to education and increasing public awareness of and appreciation for the Indigenous people of this land and their culture. “As a granddaughter of strong Indian women, my heart and spirit no no other journey then to follow the traditions that flowed within the souls, spirits and lives of those women who walked before me. Those women were called by their mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers, and the Creator to prepare the path for the generations to come. Through their blood, heartache, tears, pain, and determination, they honored their call. With pride, respect, honor, and privilege, I walk this same path.
About Richie Olivera
Richie Olivera is a Quechua musician from Lima, Peru, whose artistry is deeply rooted in the musical traditions of the Andes. Learning to play the quena (notched reed flute) and zampoña (panpipes) at age twelve, Richie dedicated himself to carrying forward the wind instruments that have echoed through South American landscapes for centuries. Starting his journey alongside community elders, he learned by honoring the collective tradition before forming a performance group with his brother and peers. Bringing their music directly to the people, they filled the public spaces and streets of Lima with traditional Andean sounds. After relocating to the United States in 2007, Richie expanded his sonic palette in the tri-state area, weaving North American and global influences including Jazz, Rock, Celtic, and classic world traditions into his native instrumentation. Today, whether performing solo or collaborating across genres at venues like Princeton’s Café Improv and the annual Andes Festival, Richie uses the quena and zampoña to build cultural bridges, weaving Andean heritage into contemporary global soundscapes.
Top detail: Photo by Iz Balleto Pariona.
