From the Qualla: Irish, Cherokee work to build cultural ties

Irish, Cherokee work to build cultural ties through song, dance

photo: Jill Ingram/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Cherokee princesses stand on stage Monday night in Cherokee. From left, they are Miss Cherokee Emra Arkansas, Senior Miss Cherokee Judith Welch, Teen Miss Cherokee Kara Martin, Junior Miss Cherokee Kennedy Hornbuckle and Little Miss Cherokee Peri Arizona Wildcatt.

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Members of the Cherokee Warrior Dancers perform Monday night in Cherokee. They are in traditional war paint. Photo by Jill Ingram, staff photographer.
Citizen-Times Photo
Jan 24, 2005


Irishwomen perform traditional dance Monday as part of cultural exchange and show of friendship in Cherokee. Photo by Jill Ingram, staff photographer.
Citizen-Times Photo
Jan 24, 2005


Cherokee princesses onstage Monday night in Cherokee. From left, they are Miss Cherokee Emra Arkansas, Senior Miss Cherokee Judith Welch, Teen Miss Cherokee Kara Martin, Junior Miss Cherokee Kennedy Hornbuckle and Little Miss Cherokee Peri Arizona Wildcatt. Photo by Jill Ingram, staff photographer.
Citizen-Times Photo
Jan 24, 2005


A Cherokee man sings and drums in the traditional style Monday in Cherokee. Photo by Jill Ingram, staff photographer.
Citizen-Times Photo
Jan 24, 2005


Members of the Cherokee Warrior Dancers perform Monday night in Cherokee. They are in traditional war paint. Photo by Jill Ingram, staff photographer.
Citizen-Times Photo
Jan 24, 2005


Hoop dancer Daniel Tramper, a national champion, performs Monday night in Cherokee.
Citizen-Times Photo
Jan 24, 2005



By Jill Ingram
STAFF WRITER
January 25, 2005 6:00 am

CHEROKEE - In an evening of juxtapositions that included traditional drumming and bagpipes, kilts and loincloths, and war cries and jigs, the Irish and Cherokee nations celebrated their friendship Monday night with a celebration of their respective cultural traditions.

John, The Lord Alderdice, who sits in London's House of Lords and is a former speaker for the Northern Irish Assembly, was guest of honor at the event, which Cherokee Principal Chief Michell Hicks said was a year in the planning.

"It's the coming together of two nations that have both been through oppression and transgression," Hicks said. "Now we are circling back around to renew a friendship."

Speaking to about 450 spectators in the auditorium of Cherokee High School, on the Qualla Boundary of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, Alderdice told the group he was "hugely impressed" with the Cherokee commitment to social and economic issues and education.

He had a "deep appreciation that the first people across the world have much to give and much to teach," Alderdice said.

The visitors also included other native people from places including Canada, California and Oklahoma, and religious leaders from across the country. The visit wasn't for the purpose of proselytizing but there was a religious quality to the evening.

"The Cherokee are known for their spiritual heritage and there is a lot of healing that needs to take place," said Ada Winn, a Cherokee from Tulsa, Okla., who traveled with the delegation.

The visit was the follow-up to a trip that members of the Eastern Band made to Ireland a year ago. The forgiveness and healing many referred to Monday night has to do with the treatment of the Cherokee and other native people at the hands of the English, Scots, Irish and their descendants in America. There were apologies, exchanges of gifts, and, of course, the dancing.

The singing and dancing began with the Cherokee national anthem, sung in Cherokee, then proceeded with dances that were in turn traditional Irish and Cherokee. The Cherokee Warrior Dancers, a troupe of men in traditional warrior garb and war paint, were the first onstage. They were followed by a quartet of women performing traditional Irish dance. Daniel Tramper, an Eastern Band member, wowed the audience with his championship hoop dancing.

Marci Johnson, 12, a member of the Anikuwih (Mulberry) Dancers, children from an extended family that perform traditional dance, said she was happy to be part of the event.

"We're supporting our tribe," she said.

The delegation will be in Tennessee today, where Alderdice will address Indian residents at the Capitol building in Nashville.

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