A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE — Aaron Carey, left, and Christian Allen shared music and other aspects of Native American culture Saturday at the Brooke County Historical Museum and Culture Center. — Warren Scott
WELLSBURG — As special guests Saturday at the Brooke County Historical Museum and Culture Center, Christian Allen and Aaron Carey offered a perspective on the Native Americans who lived in the Ohio Valley many years before the first European immigrants set foot in this region.
Christian Allen, a Greensburg, Pa., resident of Shawnee descent, said it’s customary at such gatherings for Native Americans to deliver “the words that must come before all else.”
Also known as the Thanksgiving Address, they express gratitude for many things, including family — which includes the many creatures with which they share the earth — Mother Earth, water, “the blood of Mother Earth;” and all of its plant life.
Allen said the latter includes plants that grew wild and those they had domesticated, such as corn and sunflowers.
He said sunflowers were originally clusters of small buds resembling the large head for which they are known today, producing tasty seeds and oil used in cooking; while corn was bred from wild grasses.
“These were genetically modified but it was done naturally through breeding over many years,” said Allen.
“As a chef, I could talk for days about all of the things you can make with corn,” he said.
He added thanks also are given to the sun, stars and other celestial bodies.
Allen said in addition to serving as the basis of various tales, constellations served as a guide at night.
“On a clear night, we may get confused but we never get lost,” he said.
Allen added thunder was seen as a protector rather than something to be feared.
“The earth needs to cleanse herself with weather,” he said, and thunder serves much like a modern road construction sign.
Allen noted tomatoes and chocolate were produced by the native people of North and South America before they were taken back to Europe, where they became staples of many kitchens and part of many cultures up to today.
He said Native American influence extends beyond food.
Allen noted Native Americans are behind the names of many places, including the Mingo tribe that settled in Ohio in the mid-18th century.
He added the constitution of the Iroquois Confederacy, which united five Native American nations, was among influences on the U.S. Constitution, which brought together 13 independent former colonies.
Allen noted the Shawnee were among many Native Americans who were relocated by the U.S. Government to reservations in the West and the impact of their culture has been nearly forgotten.
“For many years the dominant culture has discounted the native culture as backward and silly,” he said.
But Allen said Native Americans believe everyone has a responsibility to be good stewards of the earth, which existed before them and will remain after they are gone.
“If you’re borrowing something from someone, you make sure it’s in good working order when you give it back,” he said.
Allen said language is a big part of one’s culture, with its values influencing the way things are said.
He said the number of Shawnees who could speak in the native tongue had dwindled to 18 until Glenna Wallace, chief of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; and others established the Shawnee Language Immersion Program in 2020, from which 168 students graduated last year.
Prior to Allen’s talk, Carey performed music drawn from or inspired by the Native American culture on guitar and flute.
A Wellsburg resident and music instructor at Bethany College, Carey said he and Allen met as heavy metal rock performers but found they shared an interest in their Native American heritage.
Vicky Gallagher, president of the museum’s volunteer board, said Allen and Carey have presented programs there in the past to great response and they were happy to have them back.
She encouraged attendees to suggest ideas for future programs.
Fellow board member Bobbie Elliott said an open house at the museum planned by the Wellsburg Chamber of Commerce for last week was canceled because of the recent flooding, but there are plans to reschedule it.
Last weekend marked the opening of the museum for the warmer months, and it has resumed regular hours of 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. each Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Visits during other hours may be arranged by calling (304) 737-4080.
Source link