Impact On Our Phase II North American Indigenous Music Project

Greetings and good wishes, friends. First and foremost, I hope you and your loved ones are staying well! I have been on this planet for a few decades, and have never seen anything like the psychological upheaval we as human beings are faced with as a result of COVID-19.

I do find it interesting. The virus knows no boundaries. It doesn’t matter what religion you practice, what your political leanings are, your gender affiliation, or what your cultural heritage is. The virus is not prejudice. It is a reminder that we are all inter-connected and dependent on being mindful, respectful, and kind to each other.

It is kind of nuts, but Global Z is uniquely qualified to conduct business as usual. To a degree. We are designed to do practically everything virtually, so the need to work from home has limited impact on our ability to progress with our mission. However, as discussed in a recent episode of From A To Global Z, we are dependent on the contributions of others.

There are three main things we need to wrap up this Spring. First, we are working with the fine folks at the University of New Mexico’ Organization, Information and Learning Sciences to conduct a couple of focus groups for us. We were hoping to conduct two focus groups with the assistance of Indigenous student musicians. With many schools across the country under precautionary orders to close, this is having an impact on our ability to progress with the focus groups. Certainly this is no fault of the wonderful team at UNM OILS, and we truly appreciate their contributions.

Next, the George Mason University School of Law’s Arts and Entertainment Clinic has had a team of student attorneys working diligently to provide us with music industry-related contracts for use in our Phase II project. I have spoken with their program Director, and they are on schedule to deliver the agreements by end of the semester.

Lastly, I have been busy applying for foundation grants to fund Phase II. We have yet to meet our budget, and I am unsure how COVID will impact the ability of foundations to conduct business as usual, but I will continue to crank out the applications to try and get us funded, up and running by Fall 2020.

In the meantime, in the words of Bill and Ted, be excellent to each other. I wish you the best of health, peace and happiness.

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