ohio pow wow

[redfox]

Mingo Nation of Ohio
1st annual spring festival
hardin co. fairgrounds, kenton oh
fri-sat 10am-9 pm sun 10-7
anyone going? Two saponi will be on the host lumbee drum.

[Linda]

Lumbee in Ohio? Do they live there now?

[redfox]

forgot the date http://winwinworld.net/SaponiForum/UBB/frown.gif May 11-12. There are three groups of lumbee's in ohio. We are not members. We are saponi just enjoy there company.

[Linda]

How big are these groups? Have they lived in Ohio long?

There are somee people in my mother's home town who would be called Lumbee if they hadn't left NC 150 years ago, but other than that I haven't heard of any Lumbee communities outside of Robeson county before. Just curious.

[Coharie Roy]

Actually, since right after WWII, there's been a large Lumbee community in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Maybe about 3,000 persons (or more). I'm a part of that community.

[tasheaka]

Hey folks,
There will also be a large pow-wow on Memorial Day weekend in Columbus, Ohio. There is usually a very large crowd and much dancing, singing, and drumming. I have the information if anyone would like it.
tasheaka

------------------

[mrspatino]

I always miss the Ohio Pow Wows!
I will be in Wisconsin for the Memorial Day Ho Chunk Pow Wow! Singing my Little Heart out with Tree Town! All are welcome up that way!

Getting to the Lumbee dicussion there is a debate in my family between my Father and Uncle, My Father says we are Blackfoot/Cherokee and my Uncle says Lumbee/Cherokee and as some of you know most of my ancestors are Northern-WVA, All Over-OH and South Central-PA people.
So as I always say "Keep an open mind" Very interesting... I say Blackfoot,what it means to be Blackfoot(Eastern), I identify with.
Miss Y'all good to see the boards hopin again.

[Linda]

Please let us know how that pow wow goes. Wish we could travel that far.

Roy, how cohesive is that community in Baltimore? Hasn't the pressure of city life caused people to drift away, you know people in cities become more self-absorbed and private. Don't keep up social ties the way they might out in the country. Has that happened?

[mrspatino]

I wish you could travel up here too! I will definetly let you know how it goes!

[Coharie Roy]

The Baltimore comminity is third generation now, and yes, we're nowhere near as cohesive as we used to be. In fact, the focal point of the community, The Baltimore American Indian Center, has fallen on hard economic times and is barely able to open its doors. However, the two or three predominately Indian churches in the area are still flourishing. Most folks have moved out to the burbs though, and live quiet middle class lives. About the only time us non-church goers ever see one another is during summer pow-wow.

[Linda]

Has anyone ever thought of an intentional suburban community for Lumbee folks? We've pipedreamed about something like that on Kerr Lake -- a Saponi intentional community, part residential, part vacation rentals. We'd build it in the woods, just taking out the minimum number of trees to fit the homes. We'd have an Ati for stomps, etc., a sweat lodge and theme the place to evoke the right atmosphere. It's amazing how much a geodesic dome covered in cedar shake siding looks like an ati. . .

Why did so many people decide on Baltimore?

[Coharie Roy]

Re: A Lumbee intentional community - I hear some advocates for it. I've never really thought about it too much. No disrespect, but given the choice, I'd rather have federal recognition and tribal land rather than an ersatz reservation.

Re: Why did so many Lumbees wind up in Baltimore?

Good question. I don't know. Probably a thousand and one reasons. I have my own theories though. If I had to make a guess, I'd give the main reasons (and their respective percentages) as follows: (A) Better economic opportunities/jobs [ 60% ], (B) Better schools/desegragated schools [ 15% ], (C) Less racial discrimination [ 10% ], (D) Running from the law [ 5% ], (E) Running away from a spouse [ 5% ], and (F) Running away from a girlfriend/boyfriend [ 5% ].

In my parent's case, it was A, B, C, & F.

[Linda]

That's interesting. I'd much rather have privately held nearby land than a reservation. My husband's family has a lot of "heir" property, meaning the land belongs to all of the heirs of the original owners. Every heir is free to live on it, but hardly any do, because you really can't build much of a house on land that isn't part of the title. It's just kind of laying there. We've joked that it's like reservation land. But it gives me a clue as to why reservations are so poor.

In the suburb my family still lives in in Chicago, Indians (from India) and Arabs have moved in in such numbers that a good many of the specialty stores are theirs. They're keeping up their language. People grumble that they're "taking over."

You see women at Walmart in saris and veils, their kids stay in the neighborhood because they can find work there, and intermarriage with outsiders is low. It's not an ersatz reservation. It's just another Chi-town ethnic neighborhood.

[Coharie Roy]

Here's a pretty good newspaper article about the Baltimore American Indian Center. It's a year and a half old but still accurate.
http://www.bluespringscdc.com/lumbee_center_files/lumbee_center.htm

p.s. - I was the center director (and I might add that I was an ineffectual failure as director) for about six months during early 1972.

[Linda]

Do you know Celest Lucas? I know she's involved there. That's my husband's cousin. We'll see her tomorrow at the Occoneechi State Park Pow Wow in Clarksville, VA.

[redfox]

RE: pow wow of mingo
On Sat the munsee delaware,shawnee,mingo re-join as one. A wampum belt was presented. this historical event hasn't been seen in about 200 years. congratulations!!!
***
The drums were alsome too! All drums during one song joined, the next drum and began singing making ; the heart beat as one!!!(delware,lumbee,mingo)it was amazing seeing all the drums in unison.

[redfox]

RE: Mingo pow wow
On sat a wampum belt was presented to the lumbee. The munsee delware,shawnee,and mingo's rejoined as one!! This hasn't been seen in about 200 years. Congratulations.
***
The drums were great. During one song it was amazing The first drum started, the next one joined and then the third all became as one heart beat never missing a beat. Great job!!(mingo, delaware,lumbee)

[redfox]

correct order of drums: mingo, delaware, lumbee.

[Barbara Melton]

Hi Linda, I'm sitting here in Cedarville OH with Margaret Jones at my side. She shared the video tape of the dances, that you sent to her. What a wonderful morning we have had. Margaret just showed me how to get to the Saponitown site. I'm going to have great fun here. Just stopped to say "hello".

And also about the Lumbee's in Ohio. I do genealogy for hire, and a while back, I had a customer who was searching for a gr gr gr grandmother, last name, Locklear, in Gallia County OH in l820. If I recall correctly, she was married to a Viney. I was not able to take on the work at the time, and haven't been in touch with her since. I suppose I could go back thru my history of emails and search her out, without a lot of trouble. But there seemed to have been a migration of Native Americans thru the SE Ohio Valley way before the Trail of Tears. Hope to speak with you in the near future. Barbara Melton

[Linda]

Hello, Barbara, nice to meet you, and glad you found your way here. I'm sure you will have invaluable contributions to make with your expertise. Welcome!