Indians share culture, beliefs at gathering
By BETH SMITH
Gleaner staff
831-8334 * Beth Smith Email
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Karen Gatewood, Cairo, performs a smudging ceremony on Jerry Wallace, Reed, at the Uniontown Indian Days event at the Turner Building in Uniontown on Saturday November 11, 2007. Smudging is the act of spreading burning herbs from head to toe in order to cleanse the soul. The event was held to benefit the Native American Ancestors' Days to be held next May, and included hands-on activities, music, food, and craft vendors.
Alan Holmes, left, Morganfield, is assisted by Kyler Floyd, 10, Uniontown, in weaving a peice of Native American jewely at the Uniontown Indian Day event at the Turner Building in Uniontown on Saturday November 11, 2007. The event was held to benefit the Native American Ancestors' Days to be held next May, and included hands-on activities, music, food, and craft vendors.
Barry Redbird Brown demonstrates a tribal dance to the dumbeat of Matthew Cordes at the Uniontown Indian Day at the Turner Building in Uniontown on Saturday November 11, 2007. The event was held to benefit the Native American Ancestors' Days event to be held next May, and included hands-on activities, music, food, and craft vendors.
Never take anything for granted. Never take more than you need. Respect the land. And in all things, give thanks to the Creator.
These are beliefs that American Indians have always practiced as a way of life.
On Saturday, several American Indians came together at Uniontown Indian Day in Uniontown to share some of their beliefs, as well as information about their culture, with anyone who took the time to listen.
The event, held at the Turner Building, was very much an in-depth and hands-on history lesson about the lifestyle and culture of the American Indians.
People could participate in classes for stick weaving, beading, making corn husk dolls, medicine bags and dream catchers.
There was also a lesson in teepee construction and the art of smudging.
All proceeds from the event will benefit Ancestors' Days, which will be held in May.
Matt Cordes, a member of the Long Plain First Nation of the Dakota Sioux, and a resident of Radcliff, Ky., mesmerized a group of children and adults with his demonstration of teepee construction and the ceremony involved in building a home.
"As Indian people, one thing we have in common with other nations is that we respect the land we live on," he said. "When we move into an area we respect the plant life."
That's why before constructing a teepee, a grass dance was held to stomp down the grass. Cordes said after the Indians moved on, the grass would grow upright again. The grass was not destroyed to make the home, he said.
"As we go through our daily lives ... we're always in tune with what the Creator has for us in our lives," he said. "Every aspect of our lives is spiritual.
"As a family begins to put up a home -- we invite the spirits to come in and be a part of our home, to bless the home so good things go into the home."
Here, Cordes sang a song to bless the home.
"There's a lot of heart that goes into the songs -- it's to share our hearts with the Creator as we sing these songs," he said. "In our culture, we're a very ceremonial people and there are songs for everything."
Cordes discussed different aspects of the American Indian culture while all the time, building a small teepee. Once it was finished, a drawing was held for the teepee, which went home with a small boy in attendance.
Teepee construction wasn't Saturday's only attraction.
People could also experience smudging or the ceremony of cleansing.
Cairo resident Keith Gatewood, who is descended from the Sisseton-Lakota Indians who lived in the South Dakota area, explained that the idea behind smudging is to "soak the whole body with smoke."
The smoke is from burning sage, sweet grass and sometimes cedar.
Participants are asked to wave the smoke toward their heart and then up over their heads.
Smudging is performed before every ceremony, he said.
If there's one thing people should understand about American Indians, Gatewood said, it's that "it's not what you see on T.V."
Not everyone wears buckskins and feathers and medicine men aren't scary, he said.
But, Gatewood said, "American Indians have a spirituality that's been around for years. We're a very earth-friendly people. We believe everything is connected. If you change one thing, you change everything. Mother Earth is the support of all life. American Indians believe that everything, the rocks, the trees, are alive."
"We don't take anything from this earth without giving something back," Cordes said, in an interview later Saturday afternoon.
"Anytime we cut trees for a teepee, we leave tobacco as a gift, to make a trade with the earth," he said. "We pay special attention and we don't want to disturb the ecosystem."
Veteran's Day weekend and Uniontown Indian Day, an event to raise funds for Ancestors' Day, coincide, Cordes said.
"With this being Veteran's Day, we're respecting our veterans and ancestors for protecting our lives," he said. "They've prepared this for us."
Cordes said American Indians endured a time of "white washing" when their culture became almost extinct through societal prejudice and Christianity.
He said Indians were forced to lose themselves in the white culture or face serious consequences.
"Our ancestors had to go into hiding to preserve our ceremonies," he said. "They did it in remote places so no one would catch them.
"I consider those ancestors our (the American Indians) veterans," Cordes said. "Ancestors and veterans protect our ways of life."
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November 2007 News Reports
Last updated on Nov 12, 2007