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Native American Heritage Month ends with momentous event

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Kat Justen
  • 459th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. --  Native American Heritage Month culminated with a momentous cultural celebration featuring traditional foods, literature, crafts, singing, dancing and storytelling at the 459th Air Refueling Wing auditorium Nov. 30, 2015.

"As with any month of observance, we strive to educate our fellow service members on the heritage of different cultures," said Colonel Thomas "Thom" Pemberton, 459th Operations Group commander and host for the event. "One way to experience cultures is by tasting their traditional foods, listening to their music, observing their dances and learning from cultural artifacts."

Fredricka Joseph of the Kaw nation and director of equal employment opportunity programs at the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs participated in the event with her two children. "These events give attendees an opportunity to see what our traditions and culture are about and to have dialog with those individuals. All 566 tribes are different. Each one of us has quirks to our culture, traditions and languages for example."

The celebration kicked-off with a social where visitors learned about Native American culture from literature, artifacts and guest speakers. Shirley Alvarez, Shashone Bannock tribe member, displayed and discussed the intricate and illustrative beadwork created by her tribe. Kathy Miller, U.S. Air Force retiree and collector of Native American artifacts, displayed an abundance of hand-carved figurines from walrus ivory and elk antler, stone knives and arrowheads, wood clubs, leatherwork, ceramics, fabrics, grass weavings and musical instruments.

The traditional dish of venison stew with fry bread was served for lunch. "I used to go from Vegas to New Mexico and travel through different reservations trying their bread," said Senior Master Sgt. James Callahan, 811th Security Forces Squadron manager. "This fry bread was the best I've had!"

After lunch the beat of a leather drum sounded the transition to the music and dance performances. Members of the Shashone Bannock, Kaw, Cherokee, Pamunkey, Piscataway, Mi-Kamaq, Sappony, Blackfoot and Alaskan native tribes, among others, performed Northern, Southern, Friendship and animal dances. For the Friendship Dance, members of Joint Base Andrews joined hand-in-hand, matched their left foot to the beat and side-stepped their way around the room. The Northern and Southern dances, which are part of warrior culture, are used to instill values in the young tribesmen. "Years ago the United States government forbade us from doing these dances with our feathers but we still had to pass on our stories and heritage," said Andrew Tyler of the Pomunkey and Cherokee nations. "We continued these dances because we had teach our sons, grandsons and nephews what it is to be an upright man in our society."

Joint Base Andrews' own Staff Sgt. Brittinie Alvarez, 811 SFS team leader and member of the Shashone Bannock tribe, received a special honor from her friend and fellow Native American as she is soon to depart to Korea after seven years of service at Andrews. "This is Brittinie's last hoorah here," said Charles Eagle Tail of the Mi-Kamaq tribe. "As a 'thank you' I want to go down to you, in front of your peers and present one of my grandfather's original feathers." According to Alvarez, the feather is the highest honor Native Americans can give each other.

In closing remarks Chuck Tsinnie, 11th Force Support Squadron illustrator and member of the Dineh nation, thanked the volunteers, participants and attendees for coming and voiced a message of unity for all, "I thank my friends here. They are extremely talented. They go around the country and talk. That is our voice: the drum is our voice and this is what brings people together."