ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 28, 1997 TAG: 9702280041
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: out & about
SOURCE: DONNA ALVIS-BANKS
"When the white man had warmed himself before the Indians' fire and filled himself with their hominy, he became very large. With a step he bestrode the mountains, and his feet covered the plains and the valleys. His hand grasped the eastern and the western sea, and his head rested on the moon."
Speckled Snake, an honored member of the Creek family, told such a story in 1829 when President Andrew Jackson recommended that the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks and Seminoles move west beyond the Mississippi River.
"Brothers, I have listened to a great many talks from our great father," he said, referring to Jackson. "But they always began and ended in this: 'Get a little further; you are too near me.'"
Speckled Snake was wise beyond his time. He was said to be 100 when he died later that year.
Many "brothers" of the generations that followed found themselves living on Indian reservations in substandard conditions.
Rebirth of a Nation - a committee of local people that formed in 1995 - organized to help close the gaps created so long ago.
"We can't change the past but we can continue to change the future" is the group's precept.
Art Hoover, coordinator of Rebirth of a Nation, said the committee's focus is to help people who live in atrocious conditions of poverty and despair on reservations throughout America. He said the group also recognizes those living off reservations who need help improving their lives.
"This past Christmas we shipped toys, clothing and other nonperishable items to the Porcupine district on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota," he noted, adding that Rebirth of a Nation has also helped many others, from two Cherokee families who lost their homes in fires to a young Lakota woman who needs money for tuition.
Hoover - who spent his earliest years on a reservation - is a member of the Ojibwa tribe. He now lives in Christiansburg.
David Shupe of Draper, a Cherokee descendant, and Ingrid Vaughan of Christiansburg, a Blackfoot descendant, are voting members of the committee. They are supported by others from the community who help organize fund-raisers for their cause.
Rebirth of a Nation will be host to a "Native American Cultural Awareness Day" Saturday at New River Valley Mall in Christiansburg. The event, beginning at noon and running until 7 p.m., features drumming, dancing, native crafts and demonstrations.
Guests include Richard and Berdina Crow of the Cherokee reservation. Richard Crow, who was elected by Chief Wilma Mankiller of the Cherokee Nation to serve as ambassador for life, sells handmade crafts and demonstrates the age-old technique of hunting with blow darts. Crow makes the darts from the blue thistle.
Berdina Crow - or "Mrs. Birdie" - is known for making the best fry bread in North Carolina. The couple will demonstrate the ways of their ancestors at Saturday's event.
Admission to the festivities is free but donations of money, clothes and canned food are appreciated.
In addition to putting on fund-raisers, members of Rebirth of a Nation also visit local schools, libraries and youth groups to promote awareness of American Indian culture. For more information, call Art Hoover, 382-6753, or Ingrid Vaughan, 381-2275.
JUST BE READY... to have some fun!
That's Bill Richardson's advice for anyone who likes to do-si-do.
The Blacksburg Old-Time Music and Dance Group is having its monthly mountain square dance Saturday from 8 to 11 p.m. at Gilbert Linkous Elementary School. Richardson, the group's leader, said the dances don't require experience or even a dancing partner.
Gene Hubert of Durham, N.C., is the caller for this weekend's dance. He will lead participants through all the steps.
Galaxy Way, featuring champion fiddler Greg Hooven from Galax, will play the lively tunes.
Richardson even has advice for those who don't feel like dancing:
"Come on out anyway for some great old-time fiddle music!"
Admission is $5. If you're coming to dance, wear shoes that won't mar the tile floor.
The school is on Toms Creek Road in Blacksburg.
ATTENTION, HUNTERS: Bargain hunters, that is.
The Christiansburg headquarters of Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library is where you'll find the deals Saturday. The Friends of the Library will have a used book sale so you can sniff out great prices on hardbacks and paperbacks.
The sale runs from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the library on Sheltman Street across from Christiansburg Middle School.
For more information, call 382-6965.
20: That's the number of fingers you'll count if you can count fast enough at Monday's concert in Radford University's Preston Auditorium.
Pamela Trent and Caryl Conger are the possessors of the flying fingers.
The two Radford University music professors will present a recital of music for four-hand piano. The program is a celebration of music by Schubert and Brahms for the anniversaries of the composers' births. It also includes pieces by Francis Poulenc and Bernhard Heiden.
The joint recital starts at 8 p.m. Public admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children.
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