Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 28, 1995 TAG: 9504280042
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KIMBERLY D. DAVIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A powwow this weekend, called the Return of the Monacan Indians to Natural Bridge, is but one more page in that story.
On Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and on Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., about 15,000 people are expected to gather at Natural Bridge to help Monacan descendants reunite and reclaim their heritage.
"This is not a show," Whitewolf said. "It's a change in culture."
Some money from the powwow will help the Monacans in their efforts to establish a museum and purchase land on a sacred ancestral site, Bear Mountain near Amherst.
The Monacans hope to pay for 111 acres of the 2,400-acre mountain by the end of the summer.
To raise money, Whitewolf is bringing together Native Americans from all over the world. Continuing the tradition of other Whitewolf-produced powwows, such as the one at Big Island in Bedford County in July, this weekend's powwow will include Indian craftspeople, storytellers, musicians and dancers performing and competing in full dance regalia.
The cuisine will be authentic: buffalo stew and burgers, Indian tacos, fry bread and corn soup. Those without adventurous palates needn't worry, though; under parental pressure after the first few powwows, Whitewolf added hot dogs and hamburgers to the menu.
Terry Lee Silverchain, a Mohawk, wants to teach Native American culture at the powwow.
Although he was born in Pennsylvania, his home is "wherever the Mohawk people are," and right now, they are in Ontario, Canada, he said.
"It's my culture," he said. "I'm a native, so naturally I'm drawn to native things."
His Iroquois longhouse, made of birch bark, is but one aspect of native culture to be shared at the powwow.
Natural Bridge seems like the natural place to hold this piece of living history.
Monacan legend holds that the Natural Bridge arch appeared when the Monacans prayed for a way to cross Cedar Creek and escape Powhatans and Shawnees who were attacking them.
Indians have been telling that story of the Natural Bridge for "thousands of years," Whitewolf said.
"We're telling you our own story," he said. "We're not letting the white man tell it, because he tells it wrong. He tells his story."
People should come for the pure enjoyment and beauty of the event, Whitewolf said, and "learn about America's real past."
"First come, last served. That's us," he said. "We're here to dispel the myths of John Wayne."
Native Americans will teach about a "real, more natural way of life," Whitewolf said. "What you see here, basically, this is the way most of us live."
Natural Bridge is 40 miles north of Roanoke on U.S. 11. Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for children 6-12. Children 5 and younger get in free.
by CNB