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Powwow at UD celebrates Native American culture
3:37 p.m., Nov. 10, 2006--The American Indianist Society of Delaware held its third annual Native Powwow in celebration of Native American History Month on Saturday, afternoon, Nov. 4, on Harrington Beach at UD. Members of regional Indian tribes from Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia, in full ceremonial regalia, celebrated their heritage in song and dance. “We dance to keep our native traditions alive. Dance is a common factor for all Native American tribes. The regalia may be different, but, the meaning of the dance is always the same. You dance for The Creator and you dance for yourself,” Cory Jackson, or Nightingale, said. Jackson is a sophomore majoring in cultural anthropology. She is the president of the UD Native American Club, which sponsored the powwow, or gathering of nations. Representatives of the Lenape, Nanticoke, Lakota, Iroquois, Cheyenne, Susquehanna, Lumbee and Choctaw tribes, wearing brightly colored outfits, fringed breechcloth and leggings, feathers, beads and feathered headdresses, sang and danced tributes to their history and traditions.
Throughout the 5-hour ceremony, vendors sold dream catchers, jewelry, moccasins, blankets, hair ornaments, art, herbal remedies and smudge sticks--wrapped bundles of sage, juniper, cedar and sweetgrass that burn slowly creating a scent similar to incense used by Native Indians to bless and purify a home or loved one. UD students and visitors were invited to dance and were even loaned breechcloth shawls to use during certain dances that were open to anyone from the community. Article by Barbara Garrison
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