A celebration of native culture
The Running Water Powwow Cherokee Homecoming and Ripe Corn Festival in Ridge Ferry Park this past weekend was more than just a typical fall festival. It’s almost a sacred celebration of the fall harvest season for Native Americans of many different tribal backgrounds.
“You know corn was a big staple in the lives of the Cherokee people, and this is the time of year we give thanks,” said Rick Bird, the Master of Ceremonies from Cherokee, North Carolina. “That’s what this is all about, to honor God the Creator and giving him thanks for all of his blessings.”
This was Bird’s 29th year at the festival in Rome.
“Everybody comes here. They don’t come here for the contest money, they come to dance for their heart and to honor God,” Bird said. “When we come to Rome we feel right at home.”
Bird used to do festivals like the Ripe Corn Festival 50 weekends out of the year, but he’s cut back his schedule now that he has six grandchildren that he is helping to raise.
Steve Thomas, a Lanape native from the mid-Atlantic region, who has also been coming to the Ripe Corn Festivals for more than 20 years, was introduced to Native American dancing by his grandfather when he was a small child. “I’ve been doing it all my life,” Thomas sad. He didn’t feel like there were quite as many dancers in Rome this year as there have been in years gone by.
Robin Jumper, the Head Man Dancer from Robbinsville, North Carolina, said that being chosen to serve as the Head Man Dancer is a big honor.
“Getting to bring the dancers out here, it’s a big honor to represent all of our people back home,” Jumper said. “This is the only way of lot people can identify native people by coming out here to see the dances. They won’t recognize us in regular clothing in today’s time.”
This year’s festival marks Jumper’s 18th visit to Rome. He said that one big change he’s noticed in recent years with people who have some native blood in them is that a lot of younger people used to come out to see the dances and learn about the culture.
“Back in the 80’s a lot of people were coming out to honor their people, now they’re coming out here to represent their people,” said Jumper.
Dale and Kim Arrowood, with Winged Ambassadors out of Sharpsburg, had a crowd around their tent most of the day Saturday as the couple showed off their birds of prey, including Lady Liberty, a 6-year-old American Bad eagle. The eagle suffers from cataracts and is not able to hunt on its own, so it is now part of the Winged Ambassadors education program.
Czar, a Eurasian eagle owl, was also among the half-dozen raptors the Arrowoods brought to Rome this year.
Both eagles and owls have significant influence in Cherokee culture.
The eagle is often a symbol of love, friendship, honor, bravery and mystical powers. Since eagles are the essentially the highest flying of birds, they were typically revered and thought to the closest to the Creator.
On the other hand, they believe that evil spirits, ghosts and witches can appear in the form of an owl. In the Cherokee language, the word “skili” can mean witch or great horned owl.