Pat’s Wildways: Intertribal powwow

It turns out I don’t need to travel to the Mayan Mountains in Belize to get a taste for Indigenous culture. St. George, Georgia, only 40 miles from here, is home to the Cherokee of Georgia Tribal Grounds, and last weekend was their Fall Intertribal Powwow. My master tie-dyer friend Freddy Two Hawks told me about it, and this has been on my calendar for months. I couldn’t wait to experience it.

First, a bit of history. Many of the Cherokees, originally in the southeastern part of the United States, were forcibly removed in the infamous Trail of Tears to a reservation west of the Mississippi River. Many died along the way, and the survivors were resettled in Oklahoma, where a large Cherokee presence remains to this day. Some evaded this process and stayed in the North Georgia area, around the existing town of Cherokee, while others fled farther south, eventually coalescing into the Cherokee of Georgia Tribal Council in St. George.

Thanks to Freddy introducing me to the Tribal Liaison, Jane Winkler, I got a full-throttled introduction to the happenings at the Powwow. Jane introduced me to the various vendors selling all kinds of Native American accoutrements, with many coming here from all over the region to sell their unique items. I would never have understood much about the items on sale without Jane’s narrative. One booth sold “ribbon attire,” and I learned that during the early 1700s, ribbons were exported from Europe, and Cherokee people adapted them into their clothing designs. Now ribbons on shirts and skirts are a proud label for modern Cherokees and are incorporated into timely clothing, including even a Jaguars sports shirt on sale with added ribbons.

Another nearby booth sold fringed shawls, which have a place in tribal dances and activities as well. My friend Freddy had a booth of his tie-dye shirts.  Another booth sold intricately carved flutes and another sold drums and animal hides. One vendor, Jay Plante, demonstrated the atlatl, a device used for centuries to enhance the power of hand-thrown spears. Who would guess that?  Black Hawk, another artisan, sold individual handmade medallions, so beautiful that I am now ordering one for myself with an otter motif.

Seeing the distinctive crafts was one thing, but the main show was around the “Circle,” where low benches were situated around a large arena, where people could watch the proceedings, facing inward, or eat their fry bread and lunches facing the other way. The Cherokees, with a warrior mindset have embraced U.S. military veterans as ones to be honored. In a touching parade, veterans from different services held their flags and walked around the arena, followed by colorful Native Americans in their full regalia. Grass dancers provided a show of their intricate footwork and waving arms, clad in each person’s own distinctive outfit.

I inadvertently learned some of the protocol of these tribal powwows by making a series of mistakes and being corrected. When I was introduced to Cheryl Johnson (aka Wolf Feather) I was so taken with her colorful regalia adorned with otter pelts I reached out to touch it, and was chastised. “You cannot touch someone’s regalia.” Oops. And later, when we were told to keep standing for many long minutes of a ceremony, Bucko and I had to leave the circle and find a place to rest our legs, but I was chastised: “You can’t leave the circle when prayers are being said.” Oops again — we did not even guess that these performances were prayers.

Before Jane left us to attend to tribal affairs, I asked to be shown their special seven-sided Council House. She had permission to remove the “closed” sign so we could go inside. At the center of this bare wooden structure is a fire pit with an eternal flame, lit whenever a council meeting is held. Each of the seven clans — Wolf, Bird, Deer, etc. has their own corner of the seven sides to sit in during ceremonies. But this is sacred ground and I was not allowed to take photos inside. There are only three functioning seven-sided Cherokee Council Houses in existence — this one, one near Cherokee, Georgia, and the third in Oklahoma.

I am grateful to Jane for showing me around, to Freddy for introducing me, and to all the active tribal members who opened their culture to us. If you are interested in a similar experience, follow the Cherokee of Georgia Tribal Grounds Facebook Group, and you will find out when the Spring Powwow is being held. It’s an amazing experience right in our own backyard.

Pat Foster-Turley, Ph.D., is a zoologist on Amelia Island. She welcomes your nature questions and observations. patandbucko@yahoo.com