Native Americans share culture, heritage with NW students
by Maria Ragle, reporter

    Heritage is important, a native American Indian said during the NW Campus’ celebration of Native American Heritage Month last week.

   “Never forget where you came from or what got you here today,” Gilbert Smith, honorary society chairperson and member of the board of directors of the Thunder Alliance, Inc., said.

   Smith and other American Indians performed tribal dances, told folklore stories and provided history for the NW Campus student body last week.

   “The traditions that we carry with us are some that have been passed down over many generations from grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles,” he said.

   Smith said those words show how important it is to carry on traditions. His people, the tribes of Odawa and Chipawa, were some of the original Native Americans in the Southwest before the Spanish, the French and Mayflower travelers discovered what is known today as the United States of America.

   Resa Shipman, a SE Campus history instructor, discussed the traditional Thanksgiving foods. She said certain foods associated with the Thanksgiving holiday were already prepared and used by Native American Indians long before the rest of the world began to use them.

   “The Chipawa Indians used 14 different types of beans in their diet, and the Pueblo tribes used corn and cotton as major crops as far back as 4000 A.D. And such luxury items as chocolate and chewing gum came from the Native American Indians,” she said.

   Some foods were more important than others to the culture.

   “The three most sacred foods of the Native American Indians of this area are corn, beans and squash,” she said.

   Students then witnessed examples of the Native American culture.

   Will Tonama, Kiowa, told the students that each dance performed would have a special meaning.

   “The Indians took great care to thank God, Mother Earth and the Sun (god) for all that she had provided to the tribes during the year,” he said.

   Tonama and James Yellowfish played a hand-made large drum of wood and stretched leather hide, made by the hand of a Pawnee Indian from Oklahoma, beating to the steps of the dancers in a traditional welcoming song.

   Father and 4-year-old son, Javier and Mannasah Gonzalez, members of the Tulalap/Yakima tribe, performed a wedding hoop-dance representing the unity of two lives coming together under the protection of the eagle.

   Javier Gonzalez said the eagle is a sacred and mighty bird of great and respectful appreciation to many Native American tribes.

   “Native American traditions are something we are proud of and want to be able to pass on to our children. That is the main reason that my son dances with me. He enjoys it and continues to learn a tradition that is very important to who we are,” he said.

   Gordon Thomas, Comanche, performed a straight dance or war dance.

   “This dance is one that conveys a story, usually about hunting or tracking animals or the enemy,” he said.

   Carrying a tomahawk, Thomas wore traditional native wear, with feathers, bells, headpiece, boots and a belt of silver decorations.

   He also performed a slow war dance popular with some tribes of the Southern Plains.

   Lillian “Redbird” Stewart, of the Cherokee tribe demonstrated a special woman’s dance.

   In the cross-dance, done with elegance and grace, the feet of the dancer lightly and slowly touch the ground to pay respect to Mother Earth. The dance also shows appreciation for all of the motherly gifts that she has been given, Stewart said.

   “The woman’s dance is done quietly and more gracefully in comparison to the dances of the men in the tribes,” she said.

   “It is important for the Native Americans to offer thanks to God for each and every blessing that they feel they have received,” she said.

   Eugene Brown, an affiliated member of the Miami tribe of Indiana, introduced the Native American language and some of its meaning.

   Brown told a story about the frozen flower and Father Wind as they prepared for the winter months, playing his wooden, handmade (of river cane) Native American flute to accompany the story.

   “I live on a concrete slab, and everywhere I go is a concrete slab of some sort,” he said.

   “Everyone needs to take the time to step off of the concrete slab and look around them. You will see how sacred Mother Earth is and why it is so precious,” the speaker said.

   “No one ever finds the time to just go out and see the beautiful Mother Earth,” he said.

   “It has been said that if you take a language away from a people, you will take away their culture,” he said.

   Many Native American traditions have made the nation what it is today.

   But if people continue to take away those traditions and nature, a time will come when so much has been taken and covered with concrete that the humble beginnings of a people will be gone, Brown said.

   The program, Fruits of the Earth—A Native American Harvest, was sponsored by NW Campus student activities.