Drums boomed, jingle dresses jangled and native languages filled the air Tuesday during a presentation celebrating Native American Heritage Month at Shawano Community Middle School.
A number of middle school employees had recommended to Principal Mary Kramer that the school have some sort of celebration of Native American tribes and cultures. With the help of the College of Menominee Nation, the school’s presentation featured a number of dancers and speakers who explained their cultures and beliefs.
Gina Giese said the celebration was the first schoolwide event observing Native American Heritage Month in the 14 years she has worked there.
“Any time there’s an opportunity for a new experience or something for the kids to see, that’s a wonderful thing for all of us,” Giese said. “The message here was just phenomenal.”
About one in five SCMS students are Native American, according to Kramer, so the presentation helped the other 80 percent of the student population understand why some of their classmates wear medicine pouches or follow tribal customs.
“This was perfect timing, because now they’re going to spend the next five days with their families, and it’ll be a chance for them to talk about what they learned while they were here,” Kramer said.
Three Shawano students were also part of the presentation, helping to showcase the fancy dress dance. Eighth-grade cousins Katelyn and Elise Wilber, along with seventh-grader Angel Waupoose, had never performed in front of their schoolmates before but have performed at powwows on the Menominee Reservation. They’ve been dancing since age 3.
“I first started with traditional (dance), then went to jingle and then to fancy,” Katelyn Wilber said. Elise and Angel followed the same path.
CMN was eager to bring tribal culture to the middle school for the day, according to Holly Beyer, who has lived in Shawano County her entire life and is currently a senior at the college. She and Sally Hill, another CMN senior and president of the CMN Student Government, volunteered and provided an hourlong program of speeches, dances and other lessons about cultures, including Menominee, Navajo Nation and the Standing Rock Sioux.
“The president of the college told us this would be a good opportunity for us to provide a community service, so we put together a little program for them,” Beyer said.
Hill, who was Miss Comanche in 1987, noted that presentations like the one held Tuesday were vital in a time when some tribal members are moving away from the old ways and assimilating into an American way of life.
“We have been here in the United States since the dawn of time,” Hill said . “It’s important we showcase our traditions and heritage and show the Native American people are still strong, that we’re still here.”
Shane Webster, a member of the Menominee and Oneida tribes and one of the drummers Tuesday, noted that the drum beat is the heart of many Native American tribes. Without the drums, there would be no dancing, he said.
“Through these cultural exchanges, we find ourselves. We find something that is not there, something that is missing,” Webster said. “My heartbeat and your heartbeat are the same. My heartbeat is that drum.”
Hill noted that drum songs usually are not written, as many tribes use oral history to teach their ways and stories to younger generations.
Hill was dressed in tribal garb; Beyer was not. She explained she dressed in American style to show that, while the dances and drums are an important piece of Native American culture, they do not define their entire lives.
“I think the powwows are a beautiful part of our culture, but it’s important for you to know that not all natives dance, and not all of us have Indian names,” said Beyer, who went back to school after working for 25 years in the gaming industry and plans to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in education. “We are also business people. We are students. We are administrators. We are lawyers.”
After the presentation, Beyer and Hill received positive comments from the students.
“A lot of the students came up to us afterwards and said, ‘Thank you. We got a lot out of it,’” Beyer said.
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