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That’s cool. All the pow wows I’ve been to in California, New Mexico and Canada are competition pow wows. I’ve never really considered dancing in a pow-wow or realized there were different formats until reading your post. My big motivation for going has been to talk to people and hear stories. I’ve always felt welcomed but figured I might be pushing it if I asked to camp out. Your post opened my eyes. Thanks DreamingHawk.
Dreaminghawk;37010 wrote: Becky and I are regular powwow dancers for about 10? years. We dance all over NC,SC and VA and are accepted and respected most places we go. We do not attend competition powwows and there are a few VA tribes we choose not to support but other than that, it’s all good. It is a way of life for us. We usually camp on the powwow grounds and dance at a dozen or more powwows each year. We do not have tribal cards and are very open about our mixed heritage. I think acceptance has a lot to do with attitude.
Very inspiring to hear this. I was wondering, what do you tell them you’re mixed with? Are you and Becky two of the fortunate ones who know for sure what tribes you descend from? All I know is southeastern “sioux/blackfoot.” I haven’t yet used the “Yesah” name. I’ve narrowed our family down to “likely” be Monacan and Occaneechi, based on where they lived and watching my family’s historical movements, and family artifacts. But nothing definitive. I’m happy to call myself a mixed descendant, but a descendant from who? Also, do people really care that much that we’re accurate with our representations? (Maybe I’m making too much out of this and need to relax!)
I participate with my husbands tribe 100%. It is important to know who your people are, their clan, their town, their medicine, their good and hard times. I do not know all of the answers but I know that their spirits guide us as we are of them. I do not blink or hesitate when I am asked if I am Native. If asked for my pedigree I say it with authority and pride. My Creek husband is the same. If he is asked about me he makes sure it is clear my people are from Turtle Island as his are. It is all in what you choose you are.
What I see often is that several mixed blood enjoy the romance of native heritage. However, they do not want the burdens of their heritage and feel out of place or not worthy when around a tribe. There are many mixed bloods that feel their people in them, drive to find the truth, ready to learn heritage, practice their peoples medicine, and fight for their peoples survival. In short you are either a romantic or you are warrior for your people.
I have been part of this forum for many years. I have the story “Blackfoot” in my family. My third great-grandmother is bured beneath a headstone that reads “Blackfoot,” although it is a recent stone, placed there by a descendent who heard this story. Since my great-grandfather chose to turn his back on his native heritage, I went to high school with people who were related, and I never knew it until I began digging into genealogy. My great grandfather had nothing to do with his maternal relatives beyond his mother who looked native: black, braided hair that was never cut, grey eyes, “Indian blood close in her family.” The family story is that her uncle “knew all the dances.”
I began to volunteer on Pine Ridge 8 years ago, to learn of my forgotten heritage, even though I knew the Lakota were a western tribe while my ancestors were eastern. One of my cherished moments is when one of my Lakota friends said he was proud that I came (and have returned for 8 years) to help and learn.
However, DNA led me to Shawnee, and I have joined the Piqua Shawnee. I designed my regalia, made most of it, and dance in ceremonies. I claim this heritage everywhere I can. While I don’t dance in powwows, I dance in Piqua ceremonies as a member of the Otter Clan. My Danish/German husband also dances as a member of the Turtle Clan. Since traditionally the Shawnee adopted, spouses are adopted. Even our very blond daughter is came with us the last trip. I tried to get her to dance, but she needed to watch first. Next time.
Techteach
Billahug to CollinsOrphan and TechTeach for sharing
I grew up with the Blackfoot name. Also with the Quaker name – in particular German Quakers. I remember reading a post by Three Crows were he said how much the Blackfoot name being spoken to him as a child meant to him in later life. My mother told me stories about how our ancestors loved nature. Stories about how the government stole their land (both the Quakers and the Blackfoot).
My father is a first generation immigrant from Europe who frequently expressed hatred for native peoples when I grew up. Even knowing my mother’s heritage. When I came of age in Ontario the Oka Crisis, Ipperwash, and Dudley George were all big issues. My father would yell at the television ‘they aren’t a nation’ ‘they’re a bunch of drunks’ and the like. It made my heart sink, and I learned to keep to myself.
I moved far away to California when I was young and never really thought about my heritage. It wasn’t until at least a decade later when I had become heavily involved in activism that I realized I had gravitated to the same type of people as my ancestors. Through peace causes I became involved with groups I hadn’t even realized were Quaker. Through environmental and social causes I had becomed involved with several tribes and was going to pow-wows.
Now another decade later it seems like I only had an unconscious awareness of who I was then. John Trudell among others became an important influence before I put it together that he was a mixed Blackfoot. One of my closest activist friends asked John if she could name her band Josiah Hawk after his unborn son who was killed in the fire at Duck Valley. She later played a show at The Whisky in LA with that name and it really stuck with me because it reminds me of the Blackfoot name, the issues, and the musical heritage that defined the German Quakers from 1700s PA up to my present day family members.
Growing up I spent a lot of time alone in the forest. I grew to love the land. Both my sister and I found a lot of meaning in our lives through the cultures of the Ojibwe and Anishnaabe who have been here so long. The Canadian Parliament and the area where I live now sits on unceeded Algonquin land. I never forget that.
What CollinsOrphan says about romance vs warrior is very true. I’ve spent so much time battling that sometimes I want it to just be romantic. But when I stray that way something always happens to wake me up to reality. In a way I sympathize with the romantics, because the truth is not easy to face sometimes and romance is an easy way out. It’s much easier to think of issues in the past instead of seeing how they are playing out today.
I’ve spent time working in tribal healthcare, obesity, diabetes, drug addiction, suicide. There are a lot of people hurting and it takes a lot of energy to focus on healing. I have wanted to know my clan for some time now and feel like knowing would be a medicine for me. Reading JohnTwoHawk’s recent posts and seeing that I actually share common ancestors with people on this board gives me energy to keep learning more.
My second daughter was born Monday. I will keep our family stories alive for them.
DStrait;36911 wrote: Has anybody ever considered forming a new Saponi tribe? It seems so many of us are without a home. We know who we are, but are lacking community among ourselves. Some of us are kept out of tribes because they want to limit who is enrolling, even though many qualify for enrollment. Also has anybody tried this before? It would be nice to have a Saponi settlement, where we all can be together. Any way I just thought I would run this by every one and see what everybody thinks.
That is a reasonable thing as far as I see. The State only approved tribes are using a professional genalogist to reverify the submitted family tree for accuracy and this is working good I feel. If the data is in question then the applicant must submit more info and probally is nor so bad. The Federally recognized tribes make you have a Indian relative in the first three generations and if not you get rejected. A Lakota friend of my had to Take the Lakotas to court with a lawyer and she was 100% Lakota, and not white at all, Both parents Lakota. She was adopted and raised white when Lakota dad died. With court records of adoption she still had to go to court. Now what I really want to say here is that, If I were for example a member of the Federally recognized Catawba tribe, I would have a home and community but that is it. Unless a tribe has a business activity of casinos or hand made art or etc you still cannot recieve any financial benefit. The government gives us nothing but will help start a tribal business to support our people. I have a Tribal Medicare card myself and only claimed ethnic group on my app. The only thing that Federal tribes recieve different is Discount housing and shared casino profits, but I have to question whether or not this helps or ruins a nation. This is what I want to hear from somone about. Does gambling money become OK if it helps/supports American Indians and is it worth it. I feel we are no longer a proud people at this point. Rest assured that all the Federal benefits are no different than what the poor welfare receipents of the US already are recieving.
I have been away from this forum for such a long time. I apologize for just stepping back in, but the topic might benefit from what I have learned.
I live in Virginia, a few hundred feet from the Sappony Creek, down the road from Sappony Church, four miles from Sappony Road that leads to the old Sappony cabins. Many Saponi names are listed in the church records, William Littlefoot Parker, Maniassa, John Proudfoot, Old Tom.
My family has lived in Cartersville for over 400 years, migrating from Prince George and Chesterfield in the 1700’s to 1710’s. Surrounding the family land are the Crows, Moons, Collins, Adkins, and etc. There is ample evidence of Saponis on both sides of the river there. Most of the wives in the clan came from Amelia lodges on hte grounds of what is now Saylor’s Creek battle ground.
That said, it is almost impossible to for a tribe in today’s world. Saponis are such a mixed bag that it is terribly hard to find common ground. I tried. It only brings one to wondering what we thought would happen.
Tribes are not clans. They are groups of people that reside and interrelate on an ongoing basis. Our clans, spread all over the Carolinas and Virgina. Some were in Halifax and Brunswick, some were in Georgia. And others were in the mountain areas. Although I found relatives in most of those areas, even Ohio, the clans were different too.
Looking in this group, you find the same.
I started to build a facebook group for Virginia Saponies some time ago. I am going to reopen it after the new year to try to build a clan from Virginia that actually has roots to here. If anyone is interested, let me know. (sorry so long)
I love this thread. So from the heart and true.
We have come together in a sence. If you think about it, we have found eachother.
Some more mixed than others, and generations apart. Yet here are.
What are the chances this would have happened otherwise?
We learn more every day who are many ancestors were, and still can come together
in a common bond, a sence of who we are today.
I will never be allowed to officially join a tribe. Even if I can prove more than one line.
I’m so many generation from them. But regardless of what they had to do to survive, through all the adversity. They still found love and acceptance in the world and created
a bunch of true American hybrids. And we found eachother, and still came together. I feel
like I’ve found my people here…and that’s more than good enough for me. Its an honor.
If we learn anything from the past. Let’s learn to keep our identity in love and acceptance
e of one another. God knew what he was doing when he made the rainbow and wildflowers. He made them as beautiful and diverse as he made his creation manking.
We have survived because we have done that very thing. We are more than a piece of paper. We recognize eathother. We are a people. That’s what matters .
First, it is so good to see Allen and Seeker back home. Yes, Saponitown is home to me. It broke my heart when it seemed that our “family” or “tribe”, if you will, had scattered and this community would die as so many tribes have. To see the rebirth (much thanks to Mark), new members arriving and old members returning swells my heart with pride.
Becky and I have been invited to join a number of tribes, both state recognized and non-recognized, based on our genealogy and conduct on the powwow circuit. We have always thanked them kindly and declined. Our crusade is public recognition of and acceptance of mixed-bloods. My colors are black, red and white with the red always between the black and white. I publicly identify as triracial. I have no “black” features and have been asked why would I admit to having black heritage if it doesn’t show. Simply put, it is now acceptable to be ndn or ndn and white but not to be ndn and black. My crusade and goal is awareness and acceptance of the triracial nature of NC/VA colonial America.
We spread truth 24/7 wherever we are, whatever we are doing.
It is good to be back.
It is good to know who I am.
It is good to know who you are.
It is good to have relations of the same heart.
It is good to be a part of many as one.
It is good to have this place that lets it happen.
Allen;37468 wrote: Surrounding the family land are the Crows, Moons, Collins, Adkins, and etc.
Do you know any of the Moon genealogy?
RE forming a new “Saponi tribe”…the term tribe may be problematic for many established tribes, nations, etc. Mainly since the word tribe has been abused by less scrupulous folks. I could imagine if I tried to form a tribe in Umatilla Indian territory I would be laughed and then yelled at. Perhaps the term Saponi cultural club or Saponi civic club would be more appropriate? Hawaiians on the mainland have many chapters of Hawaiian civic clubs throughout the country. Its a way to maintain language, culture, traditions, no need to be closely related to join, and wouldn’t ruffle the feathers of established tribes- of course I’m thinking outside of Tutelo territory, I’m in Oregon.
Sorry I hadn’t been around awhile, but after this site died down, I researched a different branch of the family and got sucked into other pursuits that demand my attention on a daily basis. Lately I’ve turned into a historic preservation activist of all things….but that gives me more stuff to talk about in Tutelo.
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