Ceremony to mark tribal perspective

By Keli Clark

Published: November 4, 2007

As Statehood Day nears, there is a feeling of excitement in anticipation of the largest celebration of our state's first 100 years. Leading up to this special day, numerous fun-filled Oklahoma Centennial events have occurred over the past several months, including parades with marching bands, colorful floats and dignitaries, and home-town festivals with their local entertainment and enticing food aromas that fill the air.

On Nov. 15, the eve of Statehood Day, there will be one ceremony that was especially created to showcase the deep roots of the state's American Indian heritage and to highlight the important role these citizens have played in the rich history of the state.

On that date, many of Oklahoma's Indian tribes will come together for a sunset ceremony on the west-facing steps of the Scottish Rite Masonic Center in Guthrie, Oklahoma's first state capital.

The purpose behind this symbolic ceremony is to close out a chapter of history as the sun sets on the first 100 years, and optimistically move forward to the next century.

This once-in-a-lifetime ceremony was created from a series of meetings and idea-gathering sessions between the Guthrie Centennial Committee and the American Indian Cultural Center.

"The Guthrie committee understood that the centennial could be a very difficult time for native communities,” said Shoshana Wasserman, marketing and public relations director for the American Indian Cultural Center. "They really wanted Native American participation in their commemorative events.”

The initial meeting resulted in the appointment of an additional 25 community members who were tasked with planning the appropriate level of participation from the American Indian community. The group met monthly for the past year.

"We had some meetings where we all sat around and people would cry, literally, as they would tell their own personal accounts of their family history. The Guthrie committee began to understand the breadth of how significant this time is for native communities and why the native people had such a different perspective on statehood. It became a wonderful two-way communication and learning experience,” Wasserman said.

The Nov. 15 ember 15th, event will begin with an informal gathering, or Calling of the Tribes, at 3 p.m. The calling songs sung by various tribes are meant to bring everyone together, including all non-American Indians in attendance.

At 4 p.m., the actual ceremony begins. Legislative members who will be present for the special session at the center that day will be seated and welcomed. A flag song in the native language will honor all tribal flags along with the Oklahoma and American flags.

Immediately following the flag song, a Cedar Blessing Ceremony will take place. Before this event begins, officials will ask that any video or still cameras or audio gathering materials be turned off, since it is a traditional ceremony.

"This is a way that tribes speak to the Creator, and this will offer prayers for those that perished on the route coming to Oklahoma,” Wasserman said. "Most of the tribes that are here today are not indigenous to Oklahoma. They had a homeland somewhere else, and they all have a story of journey.”

She said, "These prayers are offered in memory of a past of those that endured hardships so people today could have their rightful place in society. But this is also a prayer to bring all people together as Oklahomans to come together in a cooperative spirit.”

After the blessing ceremony, the Chata Ulla Choctaw Children's choir will sing. Then remarks will be made by three generations that will offer different perspectives of their lives as American Indians. They are Mary Lou Davis, an elder from the Caddo tribe, Russell Tallchief, a member of the Osage Nation, and Ayla Medrano, a Kiowa-Comanche-Muscogee (Creek) youth. Tribal leaders will offer remarks, and Otoe-Missouria War Mothers will be honored, followed by a memorial song and a moment of silence.

As the sun sets about 5:20 p.m., guests will be asked to stand up and face the west to bear witness to the setting of the sun, paying homage to the past 100 years with the anticipation of the next 100 years.

As this happens, flutes will be played in unison by Terry Tsotigh, a Kiowa tribal elder, and Me-way-seh Greenwood, an Otoe Missouria-Ponca and Chickasaw youth.

The closing prayer will be offered in native language by the Rev. Eddie Lindsey, who is Seminole and Muscogee (Creek). After the prayer, guests will be dismissed.

In addition to the sunset ceremony, the American Indian communities will be present at the centennial parade to be held at noon Nov. 16 in Guthrie. Some participants include tribal color guards, Cheyenne and Arapaho peace chiefs, tribal royalty, elders and dignitaries, and the Kiowa Indigenous Horsemen.

"These events impact the state in a beautiful way and really give Oklahoma a story to tell that is a story that cannot be told by any other state in the United States,” Wasserman said.

Keli Clark is marketing assistant for Oklahoma Parks, Resorts and Golf.

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