LAURINBURG — To celebrate Native American Heritage Month, which is November, the Arts Council of Scotland County (ACSC) held an Indigenous Heritage Celebration on Saturday.
The event featured local Native American artisans, dancers, and drummers mostly from the Tuscarora Tribe.
Bear Cave Crafts and Things was selling hand drums and jewelry like beaded necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. Val’s Desserts and Canning had jars of home-canned sweet and dill pickles, chow-chow, mango pepper, and kiwi pepper jelly. Pecan poundcake and lemon poundcake slices were also available. Ladies from the Scrubs Club were selling Minnetonka Moccasins and key chains.
Malery Oxendine was selling hand-crafted bows and arrows, blowguns, darts, and quivers. His pieces are made just as the ancestors made them with local elements like river cane and wild turkey feathers, though he admits to using some modern tools to craft them. In between the dancing and drumming, he was scheduled to give a demonstration of Native American hunting techniques with a blow gun.
The dancers, resplendent in their regalia, were led by Marcus Dunn. Dunn told the crowd they were honored to share their heritage because, “It used to be illegal for us to share our dances.”
The dancers represented three of the seven clans of the Tuscarora Nation. Members of the Wolf Clan, Bear Clan, and Snipe Clan were present.
They demonstrated dances such as the welcome song and dance of people of the long house, stomp dance, women’s dance, fish dance and robin dance, and many more.
Dunn described the significance of each of the dances. For example, according to legend, the Women’s Dance was the first dance done on Mother Earth while the Stomp Dance was often performed before a battle or journey. He also explained the instruments used such as the water drum, hand drum, and horn rattle.
John Wesley treated spectators to a session of Native American drumming and singing before the event closed out with another round of dancing.