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Education and entertainment
Published June 19, 2009
A Cherokee chief led an informational and hands-on program concerning Native American culture for a gathering of children at the Scottsboro Public Library Thursday.
The event brought children together from the Rec*Com's Kids Klub and the library's Summer Reading Program to learn about the customs and traditions of Native American culture.
Chief Gina Williamson, of the United Cherokee Ani-Yun-Wiya Nation, who led the program began by asking the children how many of them had been told they had Native American ancestry.
As many children in the room raised their hands, Williamson said she was there to expose the children to true Native American culture and to dispel the image most have of "the TV Indian that causes so much trouble."
"Indians were the first recyclers," Williamson said.
She then explained the Native American custom of using every part of a slain animal that they possibly could.
While Williamson showed the room a variety of animal skins -- timber wolf, fox, bear, angora sheep, mink, and even an albino raccoon -- she explained that Native Americans were trained to tell the difference in the skin of an animal killed in the summer and the winter depending on the thickness of the fur.
Displaying the skin of a rabbit and a horse's tail elicited a collective moan from the children that were otherwise attentively quiet throughout the lecture.
Many rival Native American clans settled disputes through a game similar to modern day lacrosse called stickball, Williamson said as she showed children the traditional "stick" used to play the game.
Williamson also showcased a few traditional Native American weapons such as the standard bow and arrow; the atlatl, a weapon used to throw spears; and a blowgun, of which a live demonstration was given.
Perhaps most surprising to the children was Williamson's revelation that Cherokee Indians did not live in tepees but rather in log cabins they built -- a skill the Cherokee later taught to settlers, Williamson said.
The children were also surprised to learn that the whooping sound commonly attributed to Native American men is a popular misconception.
"No self-respecting Indian man trilled," Williamson said.
It was the women in Native American tribes who were traditionally more vocal with trills and whoops, and the men stuck to howls.
After a short dance lesson, Williamson had the girls and the boys come up separately to take part in traditional Native American female and male dances before having all the children join hands and perform a "snake dance" throughout the entire library.
Williamson ended the program by teaching the children how to say both thank you and you're welcome in the Iroquois language used by the Cherokee.
The children were then allowed to step up and touch all the furs, garments and tools shown throughout the program.
Williamson, who has been doing such speaking engagements for ten years, encouraged anyone with questions or an interest in learning more about Native American culture to visit the United Cherokee Ani-Yun-Wiya Nation building located in Guntersville.
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