Celebrating Native American Culture at ECU
This article describes Native American culture at ECU. This and other articles may be found in the University Archives.
Citation for this article is: Askew, Susan. "Celebrating Native American Culture at ECU," ECU Report, June 1995, Volume 26, No. 2.
Dressed in regalia of feathers, buckskin and face paint, Joey Crutchfield '80 takes his place in the procession that will officially open ECU's second annual pow wow.
Over a loudspeaker, the master of ceremonies announces the order of the Grand Entry, pre-determined by pow wow protocol.
A color guard leads the way, carrying both the American flag and a P.O.W. flag (today's pow wow is dedicated to American veterans).
Next, the Head Man and Head Lady dancers take their traditional place of honor, then the Coharie chief and his wife from Clinton, the men's traditional dancers (Crutchfield is among them), straight dancers, men's fancy dancers, women's traditional dancers, and women's shawl dancers. The same divisions of youngsters bring up the rear.
The groups enters the arena from the East, because East is held by most tribes as the most sacred -- the direction from which life comes. They proceed clockwise, moving slowly to the beat of a drum circle that is outside the arena.
For the Native American, the pow wow is a celebration of life, with the arena symbolizing the circle of life; the beat of the drum representing the heartbeat of Mother Earth. For the non-Native, it is an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the Native American culture.
For Crutchfield, from the Monacan Tribe in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, the pow wow is that and more.
"I think of a pow wow as a big family reunion," he said. "No drugs, no alcohol. That's not what it's about. It's a family thing -- great for the kids. Through pow wows, they begin to understand the spirituality behind the event, as well as the good times."
Crutchfield's half-Cherokee, half-West Indian wife, Debbie Girdharry, dances in the women's traditional style. Their children, 9-year-old Christina and 8-year-old Josh, are "fancy" dancers. The children's cousins, 12-year-old Adria and 8-year-old Aaron, also participate in pow wow dancing. Their father, Tony Crutchfield, was a flag bearer in the opening ceremony. The family's regalia are homemade -- a family effort.
Crutchfield's job as a USAir flight attendant affords him more weekday freedom for volunteer work in his children's classrooms. It also affords him time to participate in the East Carolina Native American Organization (ECNAO), ECU's student Native American group which co-sponsors the pow wow with the Office of Minority Student Affairs and the Student Government Association.
ECNAO provides fellowship for Native Americans on campus, involves members in learning more about each other's culture and heritage, and provide members with peer support in academic and social pursuits.
Among ECNAO members, the Cherokee, Coharie, Haliwa-Saponi, Lumbee, and Waccamaw-Siouan tribes are represented.
According to Kim Sampson '95, ECNAO outgoing president, growing up Native American isn't difficult, since most Native American children live among fellow tribesmen.The tough part comes when it's time to leave home.Sampson said campus support groups go a long way toward encouraging Native American youth to enroll and stay in college.
"A lot of kids don't want to leave home and all their friends," she said. "And when they get on a big campus like ECU, they may never see another Native American student. That's why support groups like ours are so important."
Although growing up in a tribal community is the norm, Sampson's childhood was under different circumstances. Born into the Lumbee Tribe in Robeson County, Sampson and her mother moved to Raleigh before she entered first grade. Except for weekend visits to their old community and attending pow wows, she grew up among non-Native people.
White classmates wanted to accept her as white, her black classmates as black.To Sampson, it was important that her friends know she was Native American. "I'm proud of who I am and I would always tell them," she said.
But, it wasn't until she entered college that she took a more active interest in her heritage.At Louisburg, the junior college from which she transferred, Sampson was the only Native American student until she was joined by another in her last semester.
When she entered ECU in 1992, she sought out a Native American student organization, only to learn that it had been inactive for a couple of years. Immediately, she set out to reorganize ECNAO.
Sampson recruited members, set a meeting schedule, and got involved in the North Carolina Native American Council on Higher Education (NCNACOHE). Comprised mostly of sister schools in the UNC system and sponsored by the Bureau on Indian Affairs, NCNACOHE serves to unite groups from individual schools.At its monthly meetings, students share their problems and solutions, and speakers address the problems that exist in modern Native American society.
Sampson sees spreading cultural awareness as an important role of Native American groups. As president of ECNAO from 1992 until she graduated last month, she has organized displays and speakers during Native American Heritage Month, set up informational booths at Barefoot on the Mall and at other campus activities, and put the ECU pow wow on the annual circuit schedule.
Sampson also organized the Spring service project on the Cherokee reservation.In the week after graduation, she and other ECNAO members helped collect litter, restore nature trails and do touch-up painting in reservation facilities.
During her tenure as ECNAO president, she also served as vice president of NCNACOHE and sat on the board of the N.C. Commission on Indian Affairs.
At ECNAO's final meeting in April, Nikki Epps, a Waccamaw-Siouan from Hallsboro, was elected to fill Sampson's shoes. Epps is a junior majoring in sports medicine.
Armed with a hospitality management degree, Sampson currently is doing what many others in the Class of 1995 are doing -- trying to land a great job.
She plans to remain active in Native American groups, and to join Joey Crutchfield in lending alumni support to ECNAO.
Native American Dances & Regalia
Native American dance attire is called "regalia." Different styles of regalia reflect different dance styles.
Men's Traditional may refer to Northern or Southern old style regalia. These are replicas of the style of dress worn in the 1800s or before. Usually, the dancers wear Eagle feather bustles. These bustles are not decorated elaborately, but, instead, rely on the natural beauty of the feather. The manner of dance is quite a sight, since each dancer dances in his own special style. He may imitate tracking an animal, display a war exploit or simply dance for the fun of it.
Straight Dance is a part of Men's Traditional and comes from the Ponca tribes of Oklahoma. These dancers typically do not wear bustles; rather, they wear long backdrops made from otter or silver conchos. Many say that the name Straight Dance comes from the erect posture of the dancers. This is not entirely accurate, for these dancers execute elaborate moves as well.
Men's Fancy Dance originated in Oklahoma in the early 1920s. These dancers are easily detected by their double U-shaped bustles, matching beadwork and striking colors. The style of dancing is unlimited in that the steps vary with each dancer. Spins, turns, hops and splits are traits of of these dancers.
Shawl Dance is the women's version of fancy dancing. It is a comparatively new style having been around only a few decades. Some say that Shawl Dancing originated among the Northern tribes and was quickly adopted by the Southern dancers. The most evident aspect of these dancers is their shawls and their spinning movements.
Women's Traditional regalia, whether Northern or Southern, is something to behold. Among the different varieties are buckskin dresses and brightly colored cloth dresses.
Jingle Dress Dance is a subset of Women's Traditional. This dance has its origins with a society of women dancers who dance for the health of the Anishinabe people. These people were also referred to as the Ojibway or Chippewa.
