Dream Weaver: Internationally Renowned Artist Teri Rofkar’s Incredible Textile Masterpieces

Jordan Wright
March 2012
Special to Indian Country Today Media Network  

Terri Rofkar's Lituay Bay Robe

Terri Rofkar's Lituay Bay Robe

Teri Rofkar (Tlingit of the Raven Clan from the Snail House) of the Sitka Tribe of Alaska sees patterns and shapes emerge from wool and roots.  Using cedar, spruce tree roots, ferns, and mountain goat wool she collects in the woods, and along the shoreline of her Northwest coast home, the internationally renowned artist has been weaving exquisite baskets and textiles for over 25 years.  Her robes are made with traditional Sitka freehand weaving techniques that date back over 6,000 years.  Descending from a family of weavers she is inspired by “a deep connection to my ancestors.”

In creating ceremonial regalia she weaves in the once lost art of the Tlingit Raven’s Tail style of twining that uses ‘formline’ figures to represent the creature or spirit.  Rofkar’s expertise also extends to the more highly stylized and representational Chilkat style of curvilinear and circular forms, one of the most complex weaving techniques in the world and the only one that can create perfect circles.  Chilkat robes feature long wool fringe and are used for both ceremonial as well as dancing robes.

But though these loom-free techniques derive from an ancient culture, Rofkar is not wedded entirely to the past.  “I listen to heavy metal when I work,” she cheerfully explains debunking the notion that she is a strict traditionalist unwilling to experiment with new concepts as an artist.  “Change is the one thing that is constant.  Traditional arts continue because they adapt and change with society.  I’m not changing the methodology.  It is the same as it was thousands of years ago.  My technique and my intent are still there.”

Her latest project the “Tlingat Superman Series” will comprise three ceremonial robes, two of which will use modern technology.  She credits a seminal meeting with the noted anthropologist and textile expert, Alice Kehoe, who spoke to her of “extending yourself beyond what you might be capable of” that drove her to explore new ways of applying her technique.

Teri on the beach with mountain goat wool

Teri on the beach with mountain goat wool

The first and most traditional robe, which Rofkar estimates will take over 2,300 hours, will be in the earlier Raven’s Tail technique and will be woven from mountain goat wool that she spins herself.  “These robes are created all by hand.  It’s the same kind of textile you see with Kennewick man, found 9,000 years ago in Oregon, or the mummies of South America, discovered around 30,000 years ago,” she elaborates.  “The patterning on the robe will be accurate.  Design work and art was our written language.  Our village goes back 11,000 years with its stories of flood times and when the ice advanced.”

The complexity of the Tlingit style of finger weaving is well known.  “We used math and science, but we didn’t use Western terminology for it.  So in the Western mind it didn’t exist. Weaving is all math and not many numbers,” she says.

Drawing from symbols of animals and clan crests spoken of in Native oral history, traditional robes can often include headpieces with frontlets that might include sea lion whiskers or shells.  “In Alaska our top predators have been bears and killer whales and I plan to weave grizzly bear tracks and killer whale teeth patterns into the robe.”

As an eco-conscious artist and 2004 Buffett finalist for Indigenous Leadership, Rofkar is concerned with sustainability and stewardship of natural resources and her passion is palpable.  Some of the trees she sources from are hundreds of years old and known to her family for generations.  “Tlingit culture recognizes that animals, plants, people and places all have spirits and American Indian relationships to the earth are great examples of this.  Native people left the land sustainable and preserving the environment is a part of the Indian community since we’re so in tune with it,” she asserts. “In fact when the invaders came it was like, ‘Hey! There’s nobody here!’ ”

Following this philosophy she will use locally found copper and hemlock bark for the coloring and mountain goat for the wool. “I just found an ancient population of mountain goat for my wool fiber source,” she reports.  In addition she will use her beadwork skills to describe the building blocks of life,  “I will incorporate the double helix [into the robe], because it represents the proteins of amino acids. “

In 2010 Rofkar visited the Kunstkamara Museum in St. Petersburg where she viewed the largest collection of the oldest Raven’s Tail robes.  “They had six robes.  All acquired in Lituya Bay in 1788.  They realize how important they are.  I had no idea they came from that area.  Ten years earlier I had woven my Lituya robe that was all about my clan group and the fault lines and plate techtonics and megatsunamis of the area.  It sure gave me the context of why I’m so obsessed with them.”

Another robe will be created from Kevlar, a bulletproof fabric.  It’s what she defines as her “tongue-in-cheek” reference to the Sitka park rangers who wear bulletproof vests. “In our Native communities there isn’t even any car theft.  We only have 14 miles of road here.  When we’re in our cars we call it joy riding!”

Of the recent use of Native images for ‘homeland security’, she explains, “There have been a plethora of images for the term, so this is my political statement.  They [the park rangers] are the people that are the caretakers of our sacred ground.  It’s not for protection from the bears that they wear it.”

“When I do my patterning on the Kevlar robe I will use those top predator patterns and do it accurately.  It will be where science and art meet to tell the stories of legends and dance – to stretch our creativity.  When I first came up with the concept I didn’t tell anyone for a while.  I knew it was risky,” she admits.  “But I knew if I didn’t get it out there it would haunt my dreams.”

The final piece in the series is called, “The Robe of Enlightenment”.  It is inspired by the Maoris of New Zealand whose ancestral war chants sung during their rhythmic Haka dance is also used by Hawaiian football teams before a game or after a win.  Rofkar recognized elements of Maori symbols that are similar to Native Alaskan weaving.

Haka is the theme song for this robe.  It has the embodiment of the “Okay, we’re ready.  Bring it!” she emphasizes.  She also acknowledges being inspired by Del Beazley’s popular Hawaiian Maui “Superman” song. “I think it embodies leadership.  And I’m looking for a hero.  Before there was a Clark Kent there was a Superman.”

Rofkar weaving a continuum robe

Rofkar weaving a continuum robe

In this garment her strategy is to fuse luminescence and nanotechnology into the fabric.  “I visualize it as the warps are fiber optic and could be in an audio frequency that gets louder, and the wefts are embedded with nanofibers that are aluminum and programmable.  Tassels and lights could be embedded too and change color, “ she describes, “much like the story of the raven changing color.

As a lecturer and educator Rofkar has taken her woven arts to the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts, the Field Museum in Chicago, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York.  In 2006 she was the Native Arts “Smithsonian Visiting Scholar” at the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and in 2004 she won the Governor’s Award for Alaska Native Arts.

She received a USA Fellowship in 2006 and performed at the inaugural USA Fellows Celebration at Jazz at Lincoln Center dressed in one of her spectacular robes.  In 2009 she was awarded the National Cultural Heritage from the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.

She is aware of her responsibility to the craft.  “I am really challenged to incorporate today’s fabrics and technology into the traditional textiles because those are the textiles of this generation.  I thought how awesome it would be to take the regalia to the next level where it would be programmable, where I could integrate the knowledge that young people have today with music and sound and hip-hop into the Robe of Enlightenment.”

Reflecting on the future of art and its relationship to technology she muses, “If we don’t use our creativity and stretch it in ways that it hasn’t gone before, how do we know what the applications are.  When we go into space we learn a whole lot about what our technology is and can apply it to other things.  I think that this kind of thinking is something that has been missing.”

Acknowledged to be one of the few living practitioners of the Tlingit woven arts, she ventures,  “I thought, I’m the one carrying the culture forward by doing the weaving and creating the pieces, and all of them have extensive stories about plate tectonics and earthquakes, mega tsunamis and migration.  I feel I am just the conduit.  It’s the twining that is moving through me.”

Rofkar’s work can be seen at the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) in Washington, DC, the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and the Museum of the North in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Saltville, USA From Woolly Mammoths to Paleo-Indians to Conquistadors and Sasquatch

Special to Indian Country Today Magazine
Jordan Wright
March 2012

Mastodon skeleton at the Museum of the Middle Appalachians - photo by Jordan Wright

Mastodon skeleton at the Museum of the Middle Appalachians - photo by Jordan Wright

“Saltville can probably claim to be the most fascinating two square miles in Virginia, or possibly the eastern United States, owing to its geology, paleontology, history and past industrial production.”  Charles Bartlett, American geologist.

Around Halloween last year when the 2,077 residents of Saltville, VA heard the producers of Animal Planets“Finding Bigfoot” were coming to investigate a sasquatch in their midst, phones rang off the hook.  The program’s host Matt Moneymaker called for a town hall meeting at the Palmer Grist Mill and anyone who had seen Bigfoot up in the Southern Highlands was asked to bear witness.  Moneymaker couldn’t attend in person.  He was already up near Gum Hill that night with his infrared cameras in search of the “beast”.

MOMA  -  Olin Salt Factory

MOMA - Olin Salt Factory

But the small town in a quiet valley has known a great deal more excitement than the random sighting of a mythical creature.  In a place where the bizarre presence of mallards and Canada geese paddling lazily in salt ponds in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains is commonplace, the unexpected is, well,ordinary.

Saltville’s inhabitants have always lived at the crossroads of history because of salt.  The quest for the coveted mineral lured prehistoric animals and hunters.  Tribes from the region used it for trade and later industrialists made fortunes selling it to the nation.  Salt’s powerful influence held sway during the Civil War when Union forces fought a 36-hour battle to capture Saltville and destroy its crucial saltworks.  It is not a simple story to tell.  It’s a story of war and survival, but also of power and prosperity.

MOMA  Indian Artifacts

MOMA Indian Artifacts

Despite what is found in most American schoolbooks, our early history did not begin with the emergence of the dinosaur and miraculously pop back up with the British landing at Plymouth Rock.  Aboriginal people migrated down the continent from Alaska and up from Florida, the Caribbean and Mexico to arrive in this wilderness.  In the area of Saltville Paleo-Indians dwelt along the Clinch and Holston rivers in Southwestern Virginia and on across the mountains and valleys into the adjoining territories of what is now known as North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee.

In the Pleistocene Age Saltville was a convergent point for prehistoric creatures like the great woolly mammoth, elephant-size ground sloths and hulking mastodons, who came in search of water and salt deposits for their survival.  Over millennia these migrating herds carved permanent trails in the earth.  Of six major Indian trails in Virginia three are found leading to Saltville, tracing the well-established paths of the animals that came before them.

MOMA Exhibit Indigenous Indian

MOMA Exhibit Indigenous Indian

Author, archaeologist and professor emeritus at UCal Santa Barbara, Brian Fagan, lists the Saltville area as one of the six worldwide sites of earliest human activity and a known concentration of pre-Clovis spear points made by Ice Age hunters.  The discovery of a tool-like bone fragment in the area, made by humans and found beside a mastodon, is evidence of its slaughter by prehistoric man.

For today’s visitor to Saltville, eight miles off I-81 in Smyth County Virginia, a compelling resource helps connect the dots.  Chronicling the area’s complex history in a comprehensive timeline, The Museum of the Middle Appalachians is a mecca for archaeologists, paleontologists, historians and the curious.

Paint Lick Mountain pictograph taken in nearby Tazewell County - Photo reproduction by John C. Fisher (Museum of the Middle Appalachians)

Paint Lick Mountain pictograph taken in nearby Tazewell County - Photo reproduction by John C. Fisher (Museum of the Middle Appalachians)

The museum houses thousands of artifacts and archival photographs from the area dating from 14,500 years ago to the present and visitors are greeted with a breathtaking full-size replica of a mastodon skeleton and the jaw of a woolly mammoth.  Mineral displays from geologic formations of the Late Ice Age show the earliest evidence of human activity in Eastern America.

The museum begins its American Indian displays in the Late Woodland Period (900 – 1600 BC) when the Chisca, also known as Yuchi, lived beside the nearby Holston River, which they called ‘Hogoheegee’ and their village ‘Maniatique’ where they established salt-powered chiefdoms and traded the precious commodity with tribes along the eastern US.  Museum manager, Harry Haynes, says, “There have been more than 20 native village sites found along the Clinch and Holton Rivers within 20 miles of Saltville.”

Mask gorget in the Weeping Eye style from the Museum of the Middle Appalachians- photo by Jordan Wright

Mask gorget in the Weeping Eye style from the Museum of the Middle Appalachians- photo by Jordan Wright

Clay pots, celts, copper and shell beads, including an astonishing 164-inch necklace of marginella beads make up a small part of the extensive Patricia Bass Collection.  Mastodon bones, a beautiful quartz crystal grooved axe, and javelin points are other intriguing objects that have been unearthed in the area.  Here a giant slothfootprint shares space with rare engraved gorgets, a type of medallion or mask with rattlesnake or turkey designs that were carved from marine shells.

Photographs of cliff walls at nearby Paint Lick Mountain show early pictographs of bird, man and snail.  Further testament to Native American skill and craftsmanship, are drawers filled with axes, celtsand arrowheads and a rare platform pipe of steatite, highly characteristic of the region.

MOMA  -  Indigenous Indian Bead Craft

MOMA - Indigenous Indian Bead Craft

Since 1782 when Arthur Campbell sent a letter to Thomas Jefferson and enclosed a jaw tooth from a mastodon, referring to “bones of an uncommon size”, researchers have been attracted to the region.  In 1917 the Carnegie Institute conducted the first official excavations at Saltville, followed by the Smithsonian Institute whose findings beginning in the 1970’s led to the discovery of well-preserved mastodon skeletons and wooly mammothremains in 2007.

Exhibits reflect its later development as a “company town” under the aegis of the Olin Corporation who purchased the Mathieson Alkali Works that had extracted salt there since 1895.

MOMA  -  Civil War Solders

MOMA - Civil War Solders

Olin, who continued to harvest salt in the well fields later branched out into chemical production and developed the rocket fuel that took man to the moon.  Even today over 23 tons of salt per hour is still produced here and former salt caverns serve as one of the nation’s largest storage facilities for natural gas.  The town’s slogan “Preserving history for over 30,000 years from the Ice Age to the Space Age” neatly sums up its dramatic history.

In the 16th century Spanish conquistadors came searching for a mythical chimera other than the ‘sasquatch’.  Archives reveal that in 1541 two outriders first set foot in Saltville in search of precious metals and a legendary kingdom of great wealth called ‘Chicora’.  Diaries detail encounters with friendly Indians, but reports state that no gold or silver was found.  This well documented meeting with the Chiscas was long before Captain John Smith set foot in Jamestown in 1607, and decades before Pocahontas was born.

MOMA  -  Paleo Casting

MOMA - Paleo Casting

Chemist and professor emeritus from Virginia Tech, Jim Glanville, explains, “The presence of Native Americans in Saltville is the earliest recorded in Virginia’s history.  It is well chronicled in Spain’s archives through letters, testimony and diaries.  A 1584 petition to King Carlos V of Spain by a Spanish soldier named Domingo De Leon tells of the bloody incursion and destruction of the village of Maniatique by a Spanish sergeant named Hernando Moyano in April of 1567 under orders from the explorer Juan Pardo and,” he emphasizes, cheerfully upsetting colonial historians’ apple cart, “that was forty years before the British landed at Jamestown.”  By the time English-speaking settlers reached Saltville 175 years later all the local tribes were gone.

Glanville’s research, prompted by a Google search, pieces together evidence that, “the first Native American woman to be named in Virginia was not Pocahontas [as is commonly accepted] but Luisa Menendez, a resident of Saltville, who as a teenager married a Spaniard and later testified to the Spanish governor in St. Augustine, Florida her knowledge of the destruction of Maniatique.”

Saltville has many remarkable stories to tell along with mysteries and ancient artifacts yet to be revealed.  During my stay I stopped along the town’s salt ponds to get directions from a boy and his friend out for a leisurely day of fishing.  We spoke for a while of the many artifacts housed in the museum.  He assured me that many more are still found close to town.  He knew for a fact, he said, because whenever he needs pocket change he goes out and digs them up.  Just remember if you decide to go fossil hunting on Gum Hill, keep your eyes wide open.  You may catch a glimpse of the elusive bigfoot staking his claim as Saltville’s next chapter in history.

Where to stay

The historic General Francis Marion Hotel is a beautifully restored 80-year old grand hotel in nearby Marion.  Complimentary continental breakfast.  Lunch and dinner served in the hotel’s Black Rooster restaurant. www.gfm.com

Where to Eat

The Town House in Chilhowie serves upscale, locally sourced American Modern cuisine just off I-81 on the way to Saltville.  Open for dinner only.  Reservations highly recommended. www.townhouseva.com

In Marion the charming Handsome Molly’s Bistro and Small Wine Shop across from the hotel serves soups, salads, paninis and pizza.

In the area

The Museum of the Middle Appalachians, Saltville.  Noted paleontologist Dr. Blaine Schubert of Eastern Tennessee State University conducts archaeological digs open to the public in summer.   Visit www.museum-mid-app.org for dig opportunities and museum hours.

Saltville is on Virginia’s Crooked Road music trail and Friday nights are for old time bluegrass and gospel music.  From 7 – 10 pm at the Allison Gap Ruritan & Community Center.

The Lincoln Theatre in Marion is one of only three Art Deco Mayan Revival theatres in the country.  The $1.8 million dollar renovation has placed it on The National Register of Historic Places.  For a schedule of events visit www.thelincoln.org

ICTMN magazine article – Click Here   http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/02/12/the-most-fascinating-two-square-miles-in-the-eastern-united-states-95733

“A Song For The Horse Nation” Exhibit at the National Museum of the American Indian

Jordan Wright
November 26, 2011
Special to Indian Country Today Media Network

Crow War Pony painting by Kennard Real Bird, Crow

Crow War Pony painting by Kennard Real Bird, Crow

Out of the earth
I sing for them,
A Horse nation
I sing for them,
out of the earth
I sing for them,
the animals
I sing for them.

Sung by Lone Man of the Teton Lakota – From the book “A Song for the Horse Nation”, edited by Emil Her Many Horses (Oglaa Lakota) and George P. Horse Capture (A’aninin).

As much poem and prayer as personal tribute, this song shows the respect and reverence American Indians have accorded the horse. For the past three centuries this noble beast has been indispensable to their existence during times of war and peace, altering the landscape of daily life for its caretakers.

The bond between the horse and Native peoples is the focus of the National Museum of the American Indian’s recently opened exhibition, “A Song for the Horse Nation” in Washington, DC. Originally shown on a smaller scale in New York City in 2009, the show has grown to include a sixteen-foot tall Lakota tipi adorned with horse and warrior hand-painted pictographs and fifty additional objects, along with life-size horse and dog statues displaying a Tsisistas/So’taeo’o (Cheyenne) travois ca. 1880, a type of sled made of wood, pigment and hide, commonly used for transporting goods and people.

Rifles belonging to Geronimo (Chiricahua Apache), Chief Joseph (Nez Perce) and Chief Rain-in-the-Face (Hunkpapa Lakota) are also highlights of this spectacular exhibition.

Winter Count on cloth by Long Soldier (Hunkpapa Lakota), ca. 1902. Fort Yates, North Dakota. Muslin cloth.  With the advent of the domesticated horse came an unparalleled defense for the Plains warriors, who could ride great distances as well as provide an expeditious escape from the firepower of advancing troops. It served as a vehicle for transport of possessions and people and allowed tribes to roam more freely during hunting season affording them more leisure time to pursue art, spirituality and philosophy. Primitive pictographs of horses painted on muslin reflect daily life, showing the versatility of the horse for hunting and battle as well as horse raids and courtship.

Horses were bred not only for daily use – the hunting of bison was made considerably easier while mounted on horseback – but also for trade, proving to be an excellent commodity in exchange for food, eagle feathers and tobacco. We learn from the exhibit that in the 1800’s a single horse could be traded for 10 guns, 5 tipi poles or several pack animals.

Though the exhibition features objects predominantly from the 18th and 19th Centuries, two of the oldest objects on display are a Spanish Conquistador helmet from the late 1500’s-early 1600’s, on loan from the Autry National Center, and a Seneca comb from around 1600 made of antler with a carved figure of a horse from the George Gustav Heye collection.

Drawing from the museum’s extensive collection of horse trappings as well as artifacts, artwork and personal accounts, are a Menominee wood saddle carved in the shape of a horse ca. 1875; a Northern Cheyenne quilled horse mask; No Two Horns (Hankapapa Lakota) dance stick; a Lakota hide coat embroidered with horse motifs; and historic photographs from the museum’s archives. Along with elaborately beaded regalia and tribal objects, are also stunning works from contemporary artists.

Glass horse mask, 2008, by Marcus Amerman (Choctaw, b. 1959), New Mexico. Multicolored glass.  Read more:http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/11/26/a-song-for-the-horse-nation-exhibit-at-the-national-museum-of-the-american-indian-63505 http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/11/26/a-song-for-the-horse-nation-exhibit-at-the-national-museum-of-the-american-indian-63505#ixzz1gUiD84Q8

Glass horse mask, 2008, by Marcus Amerman (Choctaw, b. 1959), New Mexico. Multicolored glass.

Glass horse mask, 2008, by Marcus Amerman (Choctaw, b. 1959), New Mexico. Multicolored glass.
Marcus Amerman’s (Choctaw) multicolored glass horse mask is a particularly dramatic piece that echoes the celebratory beaded masks still used in rodeos and mounted parades. The sculpture shares space with “Crow War Pony”, a spectacular photograph by Brady Willette of a war pony, painted in tribal symbols, by artist, rodeo bronco buster and horse whisperer, Kennard Real Bird (Crow) whose family’s ranch lies alongside The Little Big Horn River in Montana, and who is known for his annual reenactment of the Battle of Little Big Horn that draws visitors from around the world. The painted pony is named “Cool Whip”. Trained by Real Bird, the palomino was eventually sold to a family in Minnesota where he has garnered his own notoriety.

It is fitting that Emil Her Many Horses is the curator of this equine exhibit. A member of the Oglala Lakota nation of South Dakota, Her Many Horses is a specialist in Central Plains cultures. His paternal great-grandmother was called Many Horses Woman, meaning she owned many horses, a symbol of wealth and generosity.

“All horses used by Native Americans throughout North America and Canada originally descended from 25 Andalusian horses brought over by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage in 1493 to Hispaniola [now the Dominican Republic] in the West Indies, eventually making their way through Mexico and Florida and into North America where Plains peoples adopted the horse,” he explains.

“A display map shows California horses going up North, and then the French and Dutch to the East Coast later. With the Pueblo Revolt horses came into Native hands, and then it would be the Navaho, the Arapaho, the Pueblos and the Commanche who have horses. Then they are traded up North, but the Commanche are known to also trade them up to the Shoshone.

I think what we tried to show was really the impact of horses and hunting, because with horses you were able to secure more game such as buffalo and if you could secure more game you had more resources. Since if you didn’t have horses you were hunting buffalo on foot. So the thing that happens is that tipis become bigger because you have more time to make a tipi.

In warfare, other communities who may have been an ally in the past, if they had this resource and you wanted it, it would cause conflict with people that were once allies. But horses also helped in preventing the onslaught of the cavalry and settlers. It kept them at bay.

Possibly Chief Eagle of the Salish (at right), with an unidentified woman on horseback, ca. 1905, St. Ignatius, Montana, on the Flathead Reservation.

Possibly Chief Eagle of the Salish (at right), with an unidentified woman on horseback, ca. 1905, St. Ignatius, Montana, on the Flathead Reservation.

Horses also would have an impact on how you traveled. It was either the woman or the dog that would have to carry the material while the men were guarding as they moved camp, because at any time they could be attacked by an enemy scouting party. So it was either the dog or the woman that would carry the material. But when the horses came it made for a swifter getaway. You could be out of there much quicker than to try to wrangle a dog.”

When asked what he hoped visitors would take away from this exhibition, he offers, “It really is the close association with horses that we still have today. For some the horse is very vibrant, still a part of their communities. For some of us it will always be a part of us through our stories, our culture, and our artwork even though we no longer own any horses. But they’re still rich in our culture, our memory and our knowledge.

“A Song for the Horse Nation” runs through January 7, 2013 at the National Museum for the American Indian in Washington, DC. For more information visit www.AmericanIndian.si.edu/exhibitions/horsenation.

Into the Woods: An American Indian Festival in Patuxent River Park, Maryland

Jordan Wright
October 27, 2011
Special to Indian Country Today Media Network
 

Opening ceremonies at Patuxent River Park's American Indian Festival - photo credit Jordan Wright

Opening ceremonies at Patuxent River Park's American Indian Festival - photo credit Jordan Wright

On an autumn afternoon with the sun at its apex in a clear blue sky, we traveled down a country lane to Maryland’s Patuxent River Park.  Silhouetted against the deep green of the pines and American holly, the trees had begun their brilliant burst of color, the crimson of the dogwood, the lemon yellow of the tulip poplar and the pumpkin orange hue of the sugar maple.  A tantalizing aroma of venison stew and fry bread hung in the cool crisp air, and cars had begun forming long rows in the freshly mown fields.

Park Service Naturalist Beth Wisotzsky with baby owl - photo credit Jordan Wright

Park Service Naturalist Beth Wisotzsky with baby owl - photo credit Jordan Wright

Set on 7,000 acres of protected woodland and watershed, the park meanders along twelve miles of the Patuxent River – a picture of wild natural beauty set on formerly owned Piscataway Indian lands.  At the park’s Visitors Center are Indian projectile points, axe heads, and artifacts from colonial times that have been uncovered throughout the sanctuary.  As part of the site the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary with its lush vegetation and noted bird sanctuary is a haven for naturalists, especially during fall wildfowl migration.

Primitive Life Skills instructor, Daniel "Firehawk" Abbott teaches friction fire - photo credit Jordan Wright

Primitive Life Skills instructor, Daniel "Firehawk" Abbott teaches friction fire - photo credit Jordan Wright

The event, billed as 3rd Annual American Indian Festival is not what you’d call a traditional pow wow.  It has been created as a promotion and celebration commemorating American Indian and Alaskan Native Heritage Month.  The Maryland Natural and Historical Resource Division, who hosted the festival with the Clearwater Nature Center and Watkins Nature Center, directs its attention to non-Natives, reaching out through teaching and hands-on instruction in traditional and modern Native American dancing, artisanal crafts, sports and music.  Over 2,000 attendees had gathered, eager to learn everything from weaving and archery to tips on how to research their Native American roots.

“We like to have a lot of hands-on participation and no competition, just cooperation and the sharing of knowledge and lore,” says Karen Marshall the event’s coordinator in Prince George’s County for the National Park Service. “The park service makes sure that all activities are staffed and directed by members of the Indian community,” she adds.

Fry bread taco - photo credit Jordan Wright

Fry bread taco - photo credit Jordan Wright

Steven Hill stirs the Ojibwe Corn Soup - photo credit Jordan Wright

Steven Hill stirs the Ojibwe Corn Soup - photo credit Jordan Wright

A large central stage held two groups of performers who sat facing each other in small circles while the Buffalo Hill Singers chanted in unison to the throbbing drumbeats of the Youghtanund and Turtle Creek Drummers, their incantations giving rhythm to the movements of the hoop and jingle dancers.  The audience gathered around tapping and bobbing along to the beat.

During the day several nationally known Native Americans were featured in the program including emcee and hoop dancer Dennis Zotigh, of the Kiowa Santee Dakota and Ohkay Owingeh tribes; author and horse trainer Dr. Ray Charles Lockamy Cherokee; genealogist and family historian Margo Lee Williams, Cherokee; and NMAI advisor and local Native American tourism promoter Rico Newman, Piscataway Conoy tribe, who demonstrated the art of beading and finger weaving. Families wandered around the exhibitions or sat near the stage enjoying traditional foods, storytelling and bareback horse riding demonstrations.

Awaiting entry to the tipi - photo credit Jordan Wright

Awaiting entry to the tipi - photo credit Jordan Wright

Dr. Ray Charles Lockamy weaves tales of his youth - photo credit Jordan Wright

Dr. Ray Charles Lockamy weaves tales of his youth - photo credit Jordan Wright

“It’s very important to have a first person interface with those that are knowledgeable in tribal practices and lore and to learn about Indians where they are rather than watching TV or reading books,” advises Dennis Zotigh who works with the National Museum of the American Indian on Native cultural events.

The Clearwater Natural Dye Group brought a spinning wheel to spin wool from the oldest breed of sheep in North America.  And there were samples of the Navaho Churro sheep’s wool tinted with natural plant dyes that had been extracted from Osage oranges, achiote and onion skins to create a myriad of soft-hued colors for the weaving of clothes or blankets.

A former dairy barn became a rustic backdrop for park service naturalists and their “Birds of Prey” exhibit featuring a tiny owl, an American bald eagle and a kestrel along with other local species.  Scattered around the grounds were long tables staffed by Scout troops and a host of volunteers teaching families how to make cornhusk dolls, weave baskets and string beads as keepsakes.

Head Dancer - photo credit Jordan Wright

Head Dancer - photo credit Jordan Wright

Contributing to a day rich in culture Daniel “Firehawk” Abbott, of the Nanticoke Tribe of Eastern Maryland, a teacher of primitive life skills at Historic Jamestowne in Virginia, was in period deerskin clothing.  Encamped beside a wooded area he demonstrated the technique of friction fire and other native skills while families, perched on hay bales, listened raptly.  Abbott brought his astonishing private collection of Mid-Atlantic Coast artifacts reflecting an extensive array of museum-quality prehistoric tools, weaponry, animal pelts, basketry, ceramics and model prehistoric shelters for visitors to marvel at and to experience hands on.

Cantering through a field on his chestnut horse, Dr. Ray Charles Lockamy pulled up sharply and dismounted before his awaiting audience.  He began to weave stories of his upbringing and the horse in Indian life, explaining its use as both protection from danger (by crouching under its belly) and its use in hunting.

While atop a grassy ridge, an archery range was popular with bow and arrow fanciers who lined up to receive instruction, children waited their turn to clamber inside a tipi.  Bob Killen of the Pocomoke Indian Nation, builder of the 14-foot tipi, patiently answered questions about Indian life in the Chesapeake region.  Storytellers Zak “Between Two Worlds” and Joseph “Stands With Many” invited others to join them around the fireside with Native-spun tales of how bats came into our world and other curious descriptions of the origins of animal life.

Cherokee historian and genealogist, Margo Williams - photo credit Jordan Wright

Cherokee historian and genealogist, Margo Williams - photo credit Jordan Wright

Redbird Flutes handmade by Roger Bennett - photo credit Jordan Wright

Redbird Flutes handmade by Roger Bennett - photo credit Jordan Wright

Closer to the artisans and vendors musical strains could be heard from Master Flute Maker, Roger Bennett of Redbird Flutes and well-known performer and flutist Ron Warren.  Shango Chen ‘Mu and ‘Mahdi played a mystical form of World Music with Tibetan bowls, flutes and a modern steel drum called the Hang.

As the day came to a close and artisans packed up their wares, folks drifted back to their modern day vehicles carrying with them their newly made crafts and a wealth of newly acquired knowledge of Native life.  We all left with a stronger sense of community from a peaceful afternoon spent in the woods sharing Native American culture.

For information on Patuxent River Park and the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary in Upper Marlboro, MD visit http://www.pgparks.com/page332.aspx

The Piscataway of Southern Maryland – Fall Getaways

Jordan Wright
October 10th, 2011
Indian Country Today Media Network 

Piscataway Sculpture - Photo credit to Jordan Wright

Piscataway Sculpture - Photo credit to Jordan Wright

When the harvest moon rises over the Potomac in early autumn, it is a slow aqueous climb that silhouettes the shoreline and turns the river’s blue-green waters into the color of molten obsidian.  Under the same amber moon in 10,000 B.C. prehistoric people plied the waters in dugout canoes carved from tulip poplar and built their bonfires along the coastal marshes.  They combed the primordial forests hunting for fish and game not unlike the Piscataway tribes who have called these lands their home for over 500 years and whose history still threads through the region like the rivers and creeks that crisscross the land.

The Beaver Clan, as they are known, inhabit a modern world in an area of Southern Maryland, graced with thousands of protected acres of woodland and coastal waters lining the Potomac, Anacostia and Patuxent Rivers and on out to the Chesapeake Bay.  It is rich with the history of tribal occupation and the early colonists.  Whether you travel by foot, car, bicycle or kayak these are some of the ways the modern explorer can sense, see and relive Maryland’s ancient past while enjoying its fall colors.

American Indian Heritage Day dancers at Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum

American Indian Heritage Day dancers at Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum

Prince George’s County

Late this summer archeologists completed a major dig in the Zekiah Swamp that lies beside Mattawoman Creek, south of Waldorf, MD.  Their stunning discovery was the long-lost Zekiah Fort, built in the 17th Century for the Piscataway by Governor Charles Calvert, the third Lord Baltimore, it was used to protect the tribe from incursions by the Susquehanna, Seneca and Iroquois.

The location of the fort offers living proof of Piscataway existence in the region since 1200 A.D.  The researchers unearthed Native American pottery and glass trading beads side by side with arrowheads made from English brass, a 17th-century English clay pipe, and a silver belt hanger for an English soldier’s sword.  Currently the secret location is under the aegis of St. Mary’s College and the Smallwood Foundation, who as co-sponsor of the excavation, hopes to purchase and protect the 95-acre site.

Along Indian Head Highway just outside the Washington DC area the Bryan Point Road takes you to the Accokeek region where according to Captain John Smith’s map of 1612 the village of Moyaone and Mockley Point the principal place for the Tayac and capitol of the Piscataway Nation.  Along the road you’ll pass the Alice Ferguson Foundation at Hard Bargain Farm Environmental Center where Alice Ferguson began excavations on her property in 1935 documenting prehistoric encampments through cutting tools, axes, “atlatls” (forerunner of the bow and arrow), pottery, pipes, post mold remnants revealing early stockades and over 600 human skulls in a single ossuary.

On the same road are the Accokeek Foundation, stewards of the 5,000-acre Piscataway Park, and the National Colonial Farm alongside the Potomac River with a view to George Washington’s Mount Vernon home on the Virginia side.  Visitors to the farm and park can traverse upland woods and fenced fields dotted with heirloom breeds of cattle, sheep and pigs.  At the river’s edge an historical marker describes the history of the Piscataway whose name translates to “where the waters blend”.  It overlooks a large field with a burial site and sweat lodge beyond used by the Piscataway Conoy Confederacy and Subtribes and accessible across the wetlands by a wooden boardwalk.  Six marked trails provide spectacular views of the river and woodlands.  The foundation hosts monthly events to acquaint the public with Native American and colonial traditions with gardening and cooking classes and environmental film screenings.  The park and the surrounding area are home to beavers, bald eagles, deer, fox, wild turkey, egrets, osprey, great blue heron and many more of the area’s species.  Fishing and boating are permitted at the park.

Charles County

In the nearby town of Waldorf is the home of the Maryland Indian Cultural Center and Piscataway Indian Museum run by the Cedarville Band of Piscataway Indians and directed by tribal chief, Natalie Proctor and her husband Maurice.  The five-acre museum site is on an original Nike Missile site.  “Moondancer”, a sculpture created by local artist Jim Pollack from old missile parts, reigns beside the fire pit and sweat lodge.  The wonderfully informative museum houses hundreds of artifacts from local as well as national tribes and includes descriptions of tribal life in Southern Maryland.  A longhouse, the preferred habitation of the local tribes, has been constructed inside the museum.  16816 Country Lane, Waldorf, MD.  Visits to the museum are by appointment or during festivals.  Call 240 432-5446.

Indian Head, poised at the confluence of the Potomac and the headwaters of the Mattawoman Creek yields further exploration by kayak, standup paddleboat (SUP) or the pedal-driven Hobie kayak along the banks of the Potomac River or on the 23-mile Mattawoman Creek.  The nearby Indian Head Rail Trail, designed for walking or cycling, is a 13-mile paved trail one half-mile from the town’s center.

Up The Creek Rentals in Indian Head is open weekends or by reservation during the week and rents all the above equipment.  Call 301 743-3733 or 301 743-3506. www.upthecreekrentals.com.

The village of Port Tobacco, once Maryland’s largest seaport and the original site of the Indian settlement of Potomaco is Saint Ignatius Church overlooking the mouth of the Port Tobacco River on a 120-foot bluff.  Founded in 1641 it is the nation’s oldest active parish.  Inside a unique stained glass window depicts the baptism of Chief Kittamaquund (the “Great Beaver”) – the first Native American Chief to be baptized in the Catholic Church.  Piscataway graves can be found in the church’s cemetery and the restored Port Tobacco Courthouse has a small collection of Indian artifacts.

Calvert County 

A few miles west of the Chesapeake Bay is the 560-acre Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum in St. Leonard.  In 2007 the park recreated an Indian village in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Captain John Smith’s landing and exploration of the bay and its tidal tributaries.  The village, situated beside the Patuxent River, consists of four longhouses, a central fire pit and racks for smoking fish and meat.  A cell phone audio tour is available.  Activities such as the making of stone tools and clay pots as well as evening campfires are held throughout the year on “Village Days” and the park’s annual American Indian Heritage Day.

The Maryland Archeological Conservation Lab is also located in the park and open to pre-arranged group tours.  Over 8 million artifacts are housed here where conservators do restoration and preservation work on site.  A Visitors Center provides information on the Paleo-Indians of the region and showcases artifacts from around the state.  To plan your visit go to www.jefpat.org.

Tranquility is Easy to Find at These Resort Casinos

JORDAN WRIGHT
September 18 & 20, 2011
Indian Country Today Media Network

When the urge to nourish the body as well as the spirit comes to us, we should be ready to receive the signal.  Our active lives need periods of rest, relaxation and rejuvenation to stay in balance. When traveling through Indian Country there are plenty of soul-soothing places to choose from, but it’s especially rewarding when a first class spa is found within a deluxe resort.

For the thrill-seeker the casino offers a glittering nightlife and sheer exhilaration – cranking up the endorphins and getting the adrenaline flowing.  Gamblers fine-tuned to the bright lights and all-night action feel their pulse quickened over a roulette wheel, gaming table or bank of slots, yet the call for periods of tranquility that appeal to our inner selves, still resonates.

So whether the heat comes off a lucky streak or an aromatic steam bath, you can satisfy both cravings at one of these four casino resorts designed to combine both excitement and healing under one big roof.

Spa Treatment Room at Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino - photo credit Mohegan Sun Resort and Casion

Spa Treatment Room at Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino - photo credit Mohegan Sun Resort and Casion

Mohegan Sun – Connecticut

Situated on 240 acres along the Thames River in Uncasville, Connecticut, the Mohegan Sun is one of the largest casinos in the world.  A member of the prestigious Preferred Hotels Group, that defines its members as an elite group of independently owned properties, the 32-story hotel was established by the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut and is a mere 15 minutes from the scenic waterfront of historic Mystic Country.

The resort’s beauty salon and full-service Spa at Elemis debuted in 2003, occupying the entire third floor in the hotel’s Sky section.  Here guests enjoy signature ancient healing therapies with authentic Mohegan themes.  The Ceremony of the Sacred Sun is a lime and ginger salt glow treatment coupled with a self-tanning treatment that gives an all-over glow to the skin and finishes with a soothing well-being massage.

In the Ceremony of the Strawberry Moon couples enjoy a massage lesson and Exotic Jasmine Flower Bath while being pampered with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. In addition two spacious couples’ suites, Father Sky and Mother Earth, are equipped with massage tables, Jacuzzi slipper bath, sensory dry float bed and shower.

Among the seven different facial treatments and eight types of massage rituals, The Trail of Life Ritual offers an Elemis facial with eye zone treatment and collagen or sulphur compress, jasmine flower bath, pedicure, manicure, frangipani hair and scalp ritual and styling, along with a choice of either reflexology or full body massage.

Separate facilities for men and women, house a private steam room, sauna, Jacuzzi and relaxation room.  The Great Desert Retreat and Great Fresh Water Retreat are among 26 private treatment rooms named for the moons that mark the Tribe’s seasonal changes. An indoor pool and fitness center allow guests to enjoy the spa in all seasons.

For spa reservations outside the hotel call 860 862-4520 or visit www.elemisspa.com. 

Couples Treatment Room at Wo' Po'in Spa at Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino - photo credit Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino

Couples Treatment Room at Wo' Po'in Spa at Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino - photo credit Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino

Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino – New Mexico

At the Pueblo of the Pojoaque Reservation surrounded dramatically by the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico, you will discover the Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino with its exquisite Wo’ Po’ in Spa.  A mere 15 miles from Santa Fe’s historic plaza and set in the Rio Grande Valley, this splendid resort is also an art-centric destination. Throughout the water-themed property and in the spa itself are original works by well-known Pueblo artists and weavers.  A stunning bronze warrior by iconic artist and sculptor, George Rivera, the tribe’s governor, greets you as you arrive at the porte-cochère.

The full-service spa and beauty salon is a serene escape designed to revitalize and renew the body, mind and spirit within 16,000 square feet of sublime sanctuary.  The bright colors and geometric motifs of Native American blankets used in the spa punctuate the soft desert-hued interiors. Featuring thirteen private treatment rooms and a dedicated couples room, the spa employs its signature fragrances and skin care line both of which use indigenous flora. Treatments here are geared to reflect indigenous healing elements of the Pueblo heritage and Pojoaque philosophy that consider the experience a journey, or “poeh” meaning pathway, through past, present and future.

In the Red Earth Cocoon Wrap toxins are cleansed from the system with the application of red mud.  Afterwards a native essence lotion, scented with copal, cedar, lavender and citrus essential oils is applied to hydrate the skin.

The Pueblo people believe that stones from the earth carry the spirit of their ancestors, and the spa’s Flowing Spirit Hot Stone Massage, popular with the resort’s golfers and hikers, follows that ancient tradition with the use of warm desert stones combined with native plant oils for balance and purification.  Reflecting the same attention to sourcing local products, their Flowing River Pedicure employs a seasonal blend of indigenous salts before applying white clay and essential oils with a warm stone massage.

 In the Sacred Earth Cocoon Wrap, a massage is followed by a warm mud application infused with birch, vetiver and juniper oils and culminates in a complete body hydration procedure.  Here, wraps such as the Aloe Vera Body Wrap, can be followed by a Vichy shower for the ultimate in bliss.  Afterwards don a plush terry robe and relax on a lounge among the water-spouting columns beside the indoor pool.

New for fall, the Turbinado Pomegranate Sugar Scrub ends with a luxurious shea butter goat’s milk hydration massage.

For spa reservations outside the hotel call 505 819-2140 or visit www.buffalothunderresort.com.

Grand Harmony Spa at the Grand Casino Hinckley -photo credit Grand Casino Hinckley

Grand Harmony Spa at the Grand Casino Hinckley - photo credit Grand Casino Hinckley

Grand Harmony Spa – Minnesota

Located amid the farms and fields of eastern central Minnesota, named “The Land of 10,000 Lakes”, the Grand Casino Hinckley is one of two resort hotel properties owned by the Band of Mille Lacs Ojibwe Indians. Within the resort’s 8,243 square feet lies the Grand Harmony Spa – a paean to healing waters.

Opened in 2007 the spa’s woodland theme replete with waterfalls invites guests to partake of a myriad of treatments and rituals designed to soothe and stimulate the senses with Asian reflexology, Swedish massage, hot stone applications, and aromatherapy steam rooms.  Energy-increasing lemongrass or skin-hydrating milk and honey spa baths are complemented by an initial dry brush exfoliation.

Try the Age-Defying Pumpkin Body Masque amped up with antioxidants like cinnamon, clove and caffeine for cellulite reduction, or the Ultimate Body Butter Drench scented with lavender and pine. There is an extensive menu of services including seven different botanically-based facial treatments, five bath rituals and eight separate body rituals using the spa’s premier Hungarian Éminence line of products made with organic fruits like persimmon and cantaloupe.  For facial contouring the spa uses the Zirhafirm line for redefining skin firmness and elasticity with the use of wild jujube and maral root.

Indulge in the refreshing Blueberry Bliss Slimming Body Wrap or Detoxifying Chocolate Wrap.  Couples are invited to share the experience with a dedicated couples sanctuary called the Serenity Suite.  There’s even a Late Night Remedy that includes the chocolate wrap, neck and back massage and express facial followed by a special “hangover” vitamin cocktail.

The spa uses the organic Jane Iredale line of mineral make-up and skin care.  A separate beauty salon is on the resort’s property.

For spa reservations outside the hotel call 320 384-4836 or visit www.grandharmonyspa.com.

The T Spa - photo credit Tulalip Resort and Casino

The T Spa - photo credit Tulalip Resort and Casino

Tulalip Resort and Casino – Washington

Insiders already know the AAA Four Diamond Tulalip Resort and Casino in Seattle, WA through its exceptional dining and stellar wine program.  Surrounded by the waters of the Puget Sound and the Cascade mountain range, the resort is a stunning contemporary hotel incorporating native Salish artwork and The T Spa for men and women.  The 14,000 sq. ft. spa blends woodland and ocean themes using natural product lines such as the organic Aroma Floria; Phiten, a Japanese line; Skinceuticals; Thalgo, a marine botanical line; and the hand-crafted organic and bio-dynamically grown Mi’kmaq Collection, created in the ancient traditions of the Miqmaq elders of the Pacific Northwest.

The T Spa brings nature indoors by the use of river rocks, dark walnut and birch, the symbol of renewal.  The design theme of this full-service spa is carried throughout the elegant space with cedar saunas, eucalyptus steam rooms, and grotto showers.  Sixteen treatment rooms, some outfitted with Italian porcelain jetted Jacuzzis, include three couples suites.  The VIP suite features a fireplace and blankets woven with the Tulalip tribal symbol of the blackfish that grace the massage tables.

Its Lava Shells Massage, popular with golfers, uses cut and polished tiger clam shells encasing a sachet that when heated bursts through spontaneous combustion releasing herbal essences specifically selected to induce a muscle-relaxing warmth.  Sweetgrass oil, hand made for the spa by the Nova Scotian Mi’kmaw tribe, is used in one of the nine massage treatments.  Crushed lavender flowers and juniper berries combine with marine salt crystals in the Deep Tissue Bolus Massage.  Employing an age management approach in one of 13 facials offered, birch bud extract is applied to increase skin energy.  Another technique employs champagne grapes mixed with an aromatic rose essence.

For spa reservations outside the hotel call 360 716-6350 or visit www.tulalipresort.com