MAXTON — Music and dance helped tell the story of the Lumbee people Wednesday at the Lumbee Tribe Cultural Center, where an event highlighted tribal culture and traditions while instructing youngsters of that history.

Tribal members and students in cultural classes offered at the Boys & Girls Club of the Lumbee Tribe showcased tribal dances, and explained the meaning and origin of each dance.

“Every time we dance, we always say it’s prayer in motion,” said Jasmine Jacobs, a Lumbee culture enrichment coordinator.

The Healing Dance, which is often seen at powwows, is performed with prayer, she said. Often people who are sick are invited to join the dance.

“Back in the day, the only type of dance the women could do was traditional,” Jacobs said.

The Women’s Traditional Dance is dignified, graceful and slow, she said. The dance typically is performed by Lumbee Ambassadors.

Students clapped and cheered as Stevie Lowery and Nakya Leviner performed an interactive dance called the Smoke Dance.

The dance originates from war dance songs. As the dance is performed, dancers must keep up with the increasing tempo of the song. It can be performed at powwows in a contest style, according to Kaya Littleturtle, a cultural enrichment coordinator with the tribe.

Symbolism within the dances was explained.

Jacobs said when the women dancers raise their feather fans to the sky during a dance, it is an act of thanking their Creator. Littleturtle explained that some floral patterns worn by male dancers symbolize medicines used by ancestors.

The final dance began with students joining hands with dancers in a circle to perform the Friendship Dance. The dance begins with a circle that coils into the shape of a snake. The dance invites all to join, regardless of culture or race, Jacobs said. Schools Superintendent Shanita Wooten and other representatives of the Public Schools of Robeson County Board of Education took part in the dance.

The event also featured a wigwam, longhouse, the making of pottery and jewelry, and demonstrations on cooking and the making lye soap.

“It was an amazing experience,” said Jonathan Gabino, a student in Robeson Community College’s Early College program.

Gabino said that as an Hispanic he enjoyed learning more about the Lumbee culture and finding similarities between the two peoples.

“There’s things we share,” he said.

They include the use of lard, and the way that pork and turtle are cooked, he said.

Littleturtle told the students that they should celebrate their culture and heritage.

“Every single one of us comes from a beautiful culture,” he said.

Wooten said it’s important to understand and respect every culture.

“Once we learn to respect other people, then we can come together as a community,” she said.

Students from Red Springs, Fairmont, and Purnell Swett high school, and RCC’s Early College program attended the event.

“Thank you for coming out,” Tribal Chairman Harvey Godwin Jr. said. “I want to thank Superintendent Shanita Wooten with her continued work with the Lumbee Tribe.”

Wednesday’s collaboration between the schools and the tribe is one of the events in November celebrating Native American Indian Heritage Month, said Andrew Davis, social studies supervisor for the Public Schools of Robeson County.

Connecting youth to their culture and identities helps cultivate a healthy self-esteem and gets them involved in positive activities, Littleturtle said.

“In today’s society we are losing our youth to drugs and violence,” he said. “Culture saves lives, and that’s what we’re trying to promote.”

Godwin also invited students to return in May for the Dance of the Spring Moon Powwow.

Contractors will begin repairs to the dam around the Cultural Center’s lake the first week of December, he said. Those repairs are anticipated to be completed in May before the powwow takes place. The project is made possible by a $4 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Purnell Swett High School student Aniya Stackhouse crafts a heart-shaped bowl Wednesday at the Lumbee Tribe Cultural Center on Terry Sanford Drive in Maxton. Stackhouse was taking part in an event that celebrated Lumbee culture as a part of National American Indian Heritage Month.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_culturalcenter1-1.jpgPurnell Swett High School student Aniya Stackhouse crafts a heart-shaped bowl Wednesday at the Lumbee Tribe Cultural Center on Terry Sanford Drive in Maxton. Stackhouse was taking part in an event that celebrated Lumbee culture as a part of National American Indian Heritage Month.

The Tobacco Road singers perform Wednesday at the Lumbee Tribe Cultural Center, part of an event that celebrated Lumbee culture as a part of National American Indian Heritage Month. The event featured Lumbee songs, dancing, the making of pottery and jewelry, a wigwam, longhouse, and demonstrations on cooking and the production of lye soap.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_culturalcenter2-1.jpgThe Tobacco Road singers perform Wednesday at the Lumbee Tribe Cultural Center, part of an event that celebrated Lumbee culture as a part of National American Indian Heritage Month. The event featured Lumbee songs, dancing, the making of pottery and jewelry, a wigwam, longhouse, and demonstrations on cooking and the production of lye soap.

Jessica Horne

Staff writer

Reach Jessica Horne at 910-416-5165 or via email at [email protected]