THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 18, 1995 TAG: 9506180048
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DENISE WATSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: JAMESTOWN LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
Being Native American, Thomasina Jordan has become accustomed to comments like the one she heard Saturday - ``My, you speak English so well.''
``I ask them, why shouldn't I speak English? It's my native language,'' said Jordan, a member of the Wampanoag tribe of Massachusetts now living in Alexandria.
``They ask me why Native Americans named their tribe after the Algonquin national park. I ask them, `Who was here first, the park or the Indians?' ''
The confusion is one of the reasons why Saturday's Virginia Indian Heritage Festival has become a necessary event in Jordan's eyes. In its sixth year, the festival drew hundreds of visitors - and at least 25 representatives from tribes across the country - to the Jamestown Settlement to witness Native American dance and customs.
``But this is the place to learn; you can't get upset when people say such things because they really don't know,'' Jordan said. ``I hope they realize sooner or later that we're all connected.''
The festival was dedicated to Pocahontas, the famed 17th century Powhatan Indian who helped bridge the cultural gap between the Powhatan Indians and English colonists.
For the Martin family from Pennsylvania, the festival was achance to learn more about the Indian maiden who's become popular with the release of the ``Pocahontas'' Disney film.
``I wanted my children to see that she was a real person,'' said Shirley Martin. ``They'll want to stock up on Disney stuff, but there's more to Pocahontas than the face on a T-shirt.''
But for Angel Soriano, the festival offered something else.
``This is the chance to keep the culture alive,'' said Soriano, a member of the Meherrin Indian tribe, which is based in North Carolina. Soriano and her father drove from Ahoskie to sell silver jewelry, beaded necklaces and toy drums.
``It's popular now with the public. You can go to Wal-Mart and see all the Southwestern stuff. But there's more than that.''
The 23-year-old spends most of her time educating people over the table of Indian wares and in schools that invite her to speak.
``Where I live, people assume you're either black or white. And if you say you're Indian, they say, `` `Oh, she's calling herself Indian because she's ashamed of being black,' '' Soriano said.
``I hope people take from this (festival) to be proud of who you are and to get rid of the stereotypes.''
The heritage festival began several years ago to bring the state's eight recognized tribes - Chickahominy, Eastern Chickahominy, Mattaponi, Upper Mattaponi, Monacan, Nansemond, Pamunkey and United Rappahannock - and the public together to mingle in the varying cultures.
Visitors formed thick rings around the dance circle and vendors' tents to look at hand-painted pottery and to buy buffalo burgers and roasted corn.
``It tells me there is interest in our people,'' said Jordan, chair of the Virginia Council on Indians, which co-sponsored the festival with the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation.
``Where else are you going to be able to talk to one another, one-on-one, and learn about one another?''
Keith ``Two Rivers Running'' Smith attends as many festivals as possible to make sure ``the proper information is getting out,'' Smith said.
Smith's father is Cherokee and his mother is Nansemond Indian, but he's often told he can't be Native American because of his red hair, which falls in waves down his back.
``People take a lot of stuff from books and sit around and tell kids a bunch of junk,'' Smith said. ``Festivals like this give us a chance to dispel some of the myths.''
Myths like Indians being the originators of ``scalping,'' which Smith said the French traders started and Native Americans picked up because ``Indians believed that if this is the way you approached us, if this is the way you fought, it must be an honorable thing.''
He said many people don't realize that many Native American cultures were matriarchal, with women owning property and being involved in tribal decisions, including talks of going to war.
``The villages had a perfect balance that worked well,'' Smith said. ``We were a lot more civilized than the English gave us credit for.'' ILLUSTRATION: JIM WALKER/Staff color photos
Tribal dancers perform Saturday at the Virginia Indian Heritage
Festival in Jamestown.
Shirley ``Little Dove'' McGowan shows Amanda McManus, 7, of James
City County how to make rope from marsh grass and tree bark.
by CNB