Keeping a culture alive
Minorities emphasize their uniqueness in a world surrounded by whites
By Cindy Kimbrough__
Clydia Nahwooksy tells of a Sioux
holy man who looked to the fu
ture and saw a broken hoop.
The holy man knew it was fore
shadowing the future—the people would
be scattered across the nation, never to be
the way they once were.
And they were scattered. More than
half the population relocated to the cities
in the 1950s to find employment.
Because it was difficult to keep the old
ways alive in the city, moving away from
a community-based culture, their chil
dren and grandchildren did not grow up
with the traditions. Many Native Ameri
cans lost the pride they had in them
selves.
But now American Indians are looking
to “heal the hoop,” and renew the pride in
themselves that was lost for a time.
One of the best ways to do this is
through promoting their culture and
learning their past, Nahwooksy said.
And Nahwooksy is not alone in her
beliefs.
Several members of minority cultures
in Lincoln said that promoting culture
and folklore was important for minori
ties, although at times it may be difficult.
Representatives of American Indian,
Hispanic and African American organi
zations in Lincoln said this cultural edu
cation is necessary for the people to bet
ter understand themselves and rebuild a
.sense of pride that was injured by the
majority’s culture.
Nahwooksy, a folklorist, said this
is the major focus of the Lincoln
Indian Center, where she works,
“to help people to claim their in
tellect, their skills, their knowledge, their
history and their importance in the crea
tor’s plan.”
And the center is aiming to help heal
the hoop and promote American Indian
history through a program entitled
“Healing the Hoop.”
The “Healing the Hoop” symposium of
fine arts, scheduled for October, is a very
significant event for promoting Ameri
can Indian culture because it will bring
together a large number of Native Ameri
cans from a large range of tribes for
mutual encouragement and support, she
said.
She said “Healing the Hoop,” along
with numerous other arts and crafts shows,
theater presentations and Indian history
seminars were meant to bring together
Native Americans from the area and show
them their culture in an educational way.
To bring more cultural education to
Lincoln about the American Indian, the
center is adding on a new Plains Indians
culture center, as well, she said.
In addition to the shows and presenta
tions, powwows, an American Indian
tradition for many tribes, still take place,
but more as social events, she said.
Nahwooksy said the powwow, which
features danci ng, arts and crafts, visiting
and story telling, was now more of a tribal
homecoming — a time to return to one’s
home and see old friends and family.
But, she said she was saddened that
some Americans have turned the pow
wow into a commercial enterprise to bring
money into the city.
The powwow in Denver was a prime
example of what is happening across the
nation, she said. It started with a small
group that brought in Native Americans
from the rural areas to support those in
the cities. But now, it is a gigantic event,
bringing in a great deal of money in
tourist trade.
But Nahwooksy said, most other pow
wows still contain some traditional ele
ments that are important to their cul
ture, such as honoring, naming or other
religious ceremonies.
“The powwow plays a significant part
of the culture of many tribes,” she said.
• ’nr
Dave Badders/DN