Pioneer Tales

Young visitors to the Autry Museum of Western Heritage on Saturday are in for a special treat--a griot. That’s a professional storyteller who specializes in African folk tales and African American stories.

Michael D. McCarty will spin tales of humor, history and mystery in a program called “African American Western Heritage Lore.” And because Black History Month is underway, McCarty’s tales Saturday will be based on the true-life adventures of pioneers, some of whom were ex-slaves who made new lives for themselves in the American West.

Drawing on a repertoire he’s been presenting for young audiences at libraries, schools and youth clubs all over Southern California, McCarty plans to tell kids about Stagecoach Mary, Bill Pickett and Willie Kennard.

Mary was a strong-willed stagecoach driver in Montana, a woman in a man’s world and a black woman and ex-slave on top of that. Her favorite pieces of jewelry were a six-gun and a Winchester rifle, McCarty says.

Her motto was, “If a man can do the job, I can do the job. And if a man can’t do the job, I can do the job.” This attitude, on at least one occasion, got her into a western-style shootout, McCarty says.

Bill Pickett was a black rodeo star, the main performer in the biggest rodeo show at the turn of the century. “He developed bulldogging--by accident,” McCarty says, referring to part of a rodeo show where the cowboy leaps off his horse, grabs a steer and wrestles it to the ground bare handed. “He did it the first time to prevent the steer from killing the horse he was riding.”

Another story will be about Willie Kennard, who served as a U.S. marshal in Colorado. “He was hired to serve in a town where there was a tradition of killing marshals,” McCarty says. “His prior experience as a Buffalo Soldier (cavalryman) helped him.”

The Old West was multiethnic. A large percentage of cowboys were African American--one-third in some areas, McCarty says. And another third were Hispanic.

He’ll include these and other historical facts in his presentation to encourage kids to read about black history. When he appears at libraries and clubs, he sees to it that there’s a “reading table” providing books for the kids to borrow. One title he particularly recommends is a young-adult paperback, “Reflections of a Black Cowboy,” by Robert Miller.

During his presentations he gets kids involved. “Storytelling is an interactive event. I always encourage the kids to tell their own stories, use their imaginations and also get excited about reading,” he says.

Of his personal style of telling stories, McCarty explains, “I do not memorize my stories. I know my stories, and I put into words the images I see in my mind.”

McCarty’s appearance will be followed by an activities session led by museum staff members. Kids will get to make gris-gris, African good-luck charms, and learn some games from African-American tradition.

BE THERE

Story Time--”African American Lore and Tradition With Storyteller Michael D. McCarty,” Saturday. Storytelling presentation from 12:30-1:30 p.m., activities workshop from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Autry Museum of Western Heritage, 4700 Western Heritage Way (junction of Interstate 5 and the 134 freeway) in Griffith Park. Reservations and information, (213) 667-2000, Ext. 317. Participation is free with admission to the Autry ($3 for kids, $5 students and seniors, $7.50 adults).