American Indian Heritage Celebration

Praying in the Sacred Seven Directions

Cars blocked up the narrow streets of North Carolina’s state capital: Raleigh. Church groups and other organizations opened up their parking lots to visitors for a small fee. Although the American Indian Heritage Celebration was being held on this day, all of the crowds were flocking to a mere Christmas Parade going on downtown.

While families with young ones in strollers strutted past the North Carolina Museum of History, indigenous tribe members, as well as volunteers, busily set up tables offering information as well as handmade goods from their people. Above each of the representatives was a sign, modestly displaying their name and their tribe.

You can read more about the American Indian Heritage Celebration here!

Despite the morning cold which tends to nibble on the flesh, Dalton Lynch of the Haliwa-Saponi tribe blessed the courtyard in front of the museum. With a technique known as “smudging” Lynch used a bath of smoke to pray to the seven directions and cleanse the circle of all negative energy.

Not long after, the drums reverberated off of the walls and welcomed the representatives of the 8 recognized tribes of North Carolina. The echoing of the beat and cries of the indigenous people as they marched into the sacred circle was more than enough to pull swarms of people away from mall Santas on floats, to the narrow courtyard where indigenous people commanded the very air which we breathed.

You can read more about smudging here!

Evolution of the Powwow

For most indigenous tribes east of the Mississippi, they were the first nations who suffered under the rule of European colonists. Therefore, these people were not only the first to be in contact with the invaders but also the first to have their language, religion, and culture stripped away from them. Today many of these tribes are still struggling to revive their traditional culture and dance. The powwow itself is a ritual which has evolved over time from the Great Plains. Today, this gathering represents all tribes coming together as one nation. With the emergence of inter-tribal powwows, there has also been an exchange of culture and traditions which many tribes who have been stripped of their roots have adopted.

You can read more about indigenous dance styles here or here!

Warriors of AniKithuwa

The Cherokee is one of the oldest tribes in the South East and claims that many of the other tribes are offshoots of their own people. The Eastern Band Cherokee have many traditions which survived the cultural genocide and forced removal from their land due to their ability to retreat and fight in the Appalachian Mountains.

Today, the Cherokee have preserved much of their language and culture, despite pressure from the United States government. Other than the living history village of Oconaluftee in Cherokee North Carolina and their yearly celebrations, the Warriors of AniKituhwa are one of the only groups of indigenous people that can perform their own historical dances.

Disappointingly, the dances performed for the American Indian Heritage Celebration were the very same demonstrated at Oconaluftee Village in the Smoky Mountains, the only major difference being the clothing and an opening warrior dance. The reason behind the same dances being performed over and over again is that these dances are not a performance, they are both a sacred and spiritual ritual. Many tribes have their own ceremonies which can only be performed in the company of tribal members, not outsiders. There have even been instances where dancers have gotten in trouble with elders for doing the more sacred rituals in public.

You can read more about the Warriors of AniKituhwa here or Cherokee here!

Empowering Native Women

A statistic which has often been passed around online is that indigenous women are 2.5 times more likely to be sexually assaulted and have the highest rate of rape and assault in the country. A statistic only gets us part of the way towards progress, talking to women who have to live day to day with this fear in mind are the ones who need to be supported.

Wahlalah Brown and her mother Sandy are from the Cherokee Reservation and travels the country educating people on her people’s history and culture. It is reported that on reservations women are ten times more likely to be murdered. When asked about this epidemic of violence which has spread across the nation she confirmed that it was, indeed, a problem. While she personally has never been a victim, there have been cases of assault within her tribe.

You can read more about Wahlalah Brown’s education program here!

Raven Dial-Stanley, of the Lumbee Tribe, is the reigning Miss Indian NC and has made it part of her platform to confront abuse against Native women. With her support of the Lumbee organized Enlightening Native Daughters, she hopes to empower women and have them come forward and so that any call for help will not be unheard.

Wahlalah and Raven were both in agreement that Native and Non-Native men were both equally to blame for these cases of domestic abuse. According to the Indian Law Resource Center, however, they state that up to 96% of the reported cases are committed by non-Indians.  When asked why indigenous women particularly are targeted, they both responded that native women may be perceived as weak and vulnerable, especially when tribal courts have difficulties persecuting non-native people.

You can read more in detail about these statistics here or Amnesty International’s report here.

Handing the Culture Down a Generation

One of the most heartwarming things about attending a powwow is the hope shown in the actions of the indigenous children. For a culture which has been repeatedly purged and people continually persecuted, the younger generation is taking an active involvement in their people’s heritage. While these little ones may not truly understand the full weight of what they are doing when stepping inside the circle, they will grow into progressive and enlightened leaders of indigenous people.

The intensity these children put into their dance is unmatched by many of the adults. The concentration during the contemporary Fancy Dance or elegance during the jingle dress dance is enough to compete with even the most experienced of dancers. Knowing that these children will grow up, continue to hone their skills and inspire a new generation truly shows that native culture is indeed being revived.

You can read the Great American Indian Exposition and Powwow here!

The Importance of Indigenous Culture

The American Indian Heritage Celebration packed the small courtyard between the museum of history and the museum of natural science. Many of the visitors stopped over after watching the various festive floats drive by for the annual Christmas parade. At the start, the powwow only had a handful of people, it wasn’t until the end of the parade that the area around the circle began to fill up with spectators. The question must be asked: Who many people would have attended the heritage celebration if there were no parade that day?

Inter-tribal powwows are held nearly monthly throughout the United States, but other than indigenous people these gatherings only attract a small niche of people. Why is it then that other races show a blatant disregard for native culture? There is no easy answer to why, in fact, that powwows are almost an “underground” ceremony, even though most are open to the public. After centuries of genocide, it is the duty of every person to educate themselves and support a culture which was once on the verge of extinction.

Indigenous people are more than just a mere chapter in the history books, they are still here. While they may be forgotten by the American hierarchy, it is every citizen’s responsibility to lend their support so that Native voices are heard.