‘We’re still here’
American Indian Heritage Day chance to share native traditions
“We still have a strong heritage, we’re still practicing and carrying on the traditions of our elders. We’re not extinct.” — Hope Butler
Natalie Proctor wants to set the record straight about indigenous people. She wants to dispel the years of negative portrayals of Native Americans in Hollywood and showcase the true heritage of the first people of this land. She wants to educate.
On Friday, at an event in honor of American Indian Heritage Day at the Historic London Town and Gardens, she did that through dance. Wearing a billowy, modern polka-dotted blouse and traditional Piscataway headwear, she cheerfully led a group of 30 or so community members in an hourlong dance workshop that featured several different traditional dances and a very successful freestyle session at the end of the lesson.
“Hollywood depicted us as a savage people, dancing around a fire, all kinds of crazy with a certain kind of beat on the drum,” Natalie Proctor said. “If you grew up knowing that, or understanding that to be the way that indigenous people behaved, or danced or socialized, then this allows you to see a different side of what’s been portrayed to you.”
She’s been sharing the Piscataway dances since she was a teenager, she said, and at 60, continues to do so with a patient heart.
“If that is your first education, we want this to be your second education that really tells the truth about who indigenous people are,” Proctor said. “The only way to know people is to hang out with them.”
Ellawynn Boyle, 10, said the dancing was her favorite part. She is homeschooled by her mother, Sara Boyle, through the Collaborative Kids Co-Op, and said she enjoys coming on field trips to events at London Town.
“I felt that especially around the Thanksgiving holiday it was important
to connect with the traditions of the native people and have my children understand and honor them in a real way,” Boyle said.
Thanksgiving can be a complicated day for indigenous peoples, said Crystal Proctor, Natalie Proctor’s daughter.
It’s a day of mourning and reflection, she said. On Thanksgiving, Crystal Proctor
said she prayed for her ancestors, and took a bike ride to Piscataway Park, where she said some of her ancestors are buried.
Crystal Proctor inherited her mother’s passion for education — she founded Conoy Creations, which brings interactive lessons about the Piscataway tribe to schools and organizations that want to dig deeper.
“This is my life,” she said. “To be honest, I feel like this is what I was meant to do.”
Like at the American Indian Heritage Day event, she exposes communities to traditions of archery, ax throwing, leather pouch making, dance and more.
Hope Butler, 51, shared the leather pouch making tradition. She’s a retired school administrator who has been crafting little fringe purses out of deer hide since she was 8 years old.
It’s a way to continue coming out of the shadows, Butler said, explaining how colonization damaged the culture of local indigenous groups.
“After a while we pretty much assimilated — some people had to go underground just to exist,” Butler said. “You don’t see us as often.”
Stereotypical images of Native Americans don’t necessarily represent people from the Piscataway tribe, she said, so sharing the specific traditions, like leatherwork, of the tribe are important for preserving the culture and educating the public.
“We’re giving people an opportunity to go back in time,” Butler said. “We’re showing people we’re still here. We still have a strong heritage, we’re still practicing and carrying on the traditions of our elders. We’re not extinct.”