holiday guide 2016 - cherokee phoenix · national youth choir. the cherokee national youth choir...

2016HOLIDAY GUIDE

MAKING IT HAPPENIt takes around 200 individuals

working together for a year to pull off one of Oklahoma’s largest festivals.

This labor of love – the 64th Cherokee National Holiday – will run Sept. 1-4 at various locations in and around Tahlequah.

This year’s theme is “Stewards of Our Land,” and the yearlong preparation starts days after the present-day celebration ends.

“We work on it (Cherokee National Holiday) all year,” Donna Tinnin, Cherokee Nation Community tourism manager, said.

All the hard work culminates in September during Labor Day weekend to commemorate the signing of the Cherokee Nation Constitution in 1839.

After the Cherokee National Holiday is over, committee members meet and discuss what worked and what didn’t work, she said.

No event was left off the calendar of events this year, but some activities were tweaked, Tinnin said.

There are 50-plus coordinators, 75 volunteer coordinators and 100 operational workers that pull together to create a fun and educational family event.

“Most of the work is done by Cherokee Nation employees and are done outside the normal work hours,” Tinnin said.

The main attractions, the parade and the principal chief ’s State of the Nation Address, are held at the Cherokee Courthouse lawn in downtown Tahlequah. This is also the performance platform for the award-winning Cherokee National Youth Choir.

The Cherokee National Youth Choir performs traditional songs in the Cherokee language. The choir was founded in 2000 with the intention of keeping the tribe’s youth interested in Cherokee language and culture.

The choir is made up of 40 young Cherokee people from northeastern Oklahoma communities and is comprised of students in grades 6-12.

People come to the Cherokee National Holiday for several reasons, but it all depends on individual personalities, Tinnin said.

While some come for the art shows, others come to play the games, and most visitors like to dive into the traditional food of hog meat, fried potatoes, brown beans, fry bread and grape dumplings, Tinnin said.

“The one thing we want people to walk away from the Cherokee National Holiday is to have the experience they expected,” she said. “Whether it is winning at bingo, shooting a tradition bow or learning the family’s genealogy.”

An online map will help visitors to know where all the destination sites are located and a trolley will help getting to all the different venues, Tinnin said.

“There is something for everyone,” she said. “This year there are more events for the children and more children’s activities.”

An estimated 100,000 people from the United States and around the world will attend the four-day event, which celebrates the Cherokee Nation’s heritage and future.

And it’s not just the Cherokee Nation or vendors that benefit financially from the event. Local businesses from restaurants to hotels also see upticks.

“The total economic impact estimated based on expenditures and attendees is $2.84 million during the course of the Cherokee National Holiday,” Tinnin said.

SHEILA STOGSDILLspecial correspondent

64TH ANNUAL CHEROKEE NATIONAL HOLIDAY

AUGUST 6• Little Cherokee Ambassadors Competition: 5 p.m., Armory Municipal Center

AUGUST 20• Jr. Miss Cherokee Leadership Competition: 6:30 p.m., Armory Municipal Center

AUGUST 26• Softball Fast Pitch & Co-ed Tournament: 6 p.m-1 a.m., SHS Softball Fields• Homecoming Art Show & Sale Awards:7 p.m., Cherokee Heritage Center

AUGUST 27• Softball Fast Pitch & Co-ed Tournament: 9 a.m.-1 a.m., SHS Softball Fields

• Homecoming Art Show & Sale: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Cherokee Heritage Center• Men’s Stickball Tournament: 10 a.m., SHS Football Field• Miss Cherokee Leadership Competition: 6 p.m., Cornerstone Church

AUGUST 28• Softball Fast Pitch & Co-ed Tournament: 9 a.m.-10 p.m., SHS Softball Fields

AUGUST 29• Homecoming Art Show & Sale: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Cherokee Heritage Center



SEPTEMBER 1 • Golf Tournament: 9 a.m., Cherokee Springs• Homecoming Art Show & Sale: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Cherokee Heritage Center• Cherokee National Treasures Recognition: 6 p.m., The Place Where They Play

SEPTEMBER 2• Cherokee Nation Foundation Open House: 8 a.m.-4 p.m., 800 S. Muskogee Ave.• Arts & Crafts: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Cherokee Heritage Center• Golf Tournament: 9 a.m., Cherokee Springs• Homecoming Art Show & Sale: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Cherokee Heritage Center• Quilt Show: 9 a.m.-6 p.m., SHS Old Gym• Cherokee Nation Gift Shop Art Show: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Gift Shop Lobby• Cherokee Nation Museums: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., National Prison, Supreme Court and John Ross museums• Plants and Cherokee Culture: 12 p.m.-5 p.m., Osiyo Training Room• Cherokee National Holiday Art Show: 1 p.m.-8 p.m., Armory Municipal Center• One Big Family Reunion: 1 p.m.-6 p.m., Tribal Complex Main Foyer• Arts & Crafts: 4 p.m.-10 p.m., One Fire Field• Arts & Crafts: 5 p.m.-12 a.m., Cultural Grounds• Intertribal Powwow: 5 p.m., Cultural Grounds• 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament: 5 p.m., Markoma Gym• Stickball Social Game: 5:30 p.m., Markoma• Bingo: 6 p.m., One Fire Field• Children Fun Days: 6 p.m.-10 p.m., One Fire Field• Gospel Singing: 6 p.m., One Fire Field• Softball Slow Pitch Tournament: 6 p.m.-1 a.m., SHS Softball Fields

SEPTEMBER 3• Cornstalk Shoot: 7 a.m., One Fire Field• 5K Holiday Run: 7:30 a.m., east of Tribal Complex• Jason Christie Children’s Fishing Day: 7:30 a.m.-11 a.m., Pond east of Tribal Complex• Cherokee Nation Foundation Open House: 8 a.m.-4 p.m., 800 S. Muskogee Ave.• Arts & Crafts: 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Courthouse Square; 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Cherokee Heritage

Center; 9 a.m.-10 p.m., One Fire Field• Golf Tournament: 9 a.m., Cherokee Springs• Homecoming Art Show & Sale: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Cherokee Heritage Center• Marble Tournament (Finals): 9 a.m., Cherokee Heritage Center• Plants and Cherokee Culture: 9 a.m.- 5 p.m., Osiyo Training Room• Quilt Show: 9 a.m.-6 p.m., SHS Old Gym• Softball Slow Pitch Tournament: 9 a.m.-1 a.m., SHS Softball Fields• 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament: 9 a.m., Markoma Gym• Volleyball (Co-ed): 9 a.m., One Fire Field• Holiday Parade: 9:30 a.m., Downtown• Horseshoes Pitch: 9:30 a.m., One Fire Field• Cherokee National Holiday Art Show: 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Armory Municipal Center• Cultural & Traditional Activities: 10 a.m.-7 p.m., One Fire Field• Cherokee Nation Gift Shop Art Show: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Gift Shop Lobby• Tribal Complex Open House: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.• Cherokee Nation Museums: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., National Prison, Supreme Court and John Ross museums• One Big Family Reunion: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Tribal Complex Main Foyer• Veterans Open House: 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Veterans Center• Bingo: 11 a.m., One Fire Field• State of the Nation Address: 11:30 a.m., Courthouse Square• Blowgun Contest: 12 p.m., Cherokee Heritage Center• Children Fun Days: 12 p.m.-10 p.m., One Fire Field• Elders Fun Day: 12 p.m.-5 p.m., The Place Where They Play• Fiddlers Contest: 1 p.m.-5 p.m., Job Corps• Traditional Indian Foods Cooking: 1 p.m.-6:30 p.m., One Fire Field• Ross Family Reunion: 1:30 p.m.-5 p.m., American Legion on Allen Road• Cherokee National Youth Choir: 2 p.m., Armory Municipal Center• Arts & Crafts: 2 p.m.-12 a.m., Cultural Grounds• Intertribal Powwow: 2 p.m., Cultural Grounds• Nancy Ward Reception: 2 p.m.-5 p.m., Tribal Council Chambers• Veterans Reception: 4 p.m.-6 p.m., Veterans Center• Gospel Singing: 6 p.m., One Fire Field• Stickball Exhibition Games: 6 p.m., SHS Football Field

SEPTEMBER 4• Cornstalk Shoot: 7 a.m., One Fire Field• Arts & Crafts: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Cherokee Heritage Center; 9 a.m.-5 p.m., One Fire Field• Car Show: 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Cherokee Casino• Homecoming Art Show & Sale: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Cherokee Heritage Center• Softball Slow Pitch Tournament: 9 a.m.-6 p.m., SHS Softball Fields• Cherokee National Holiday Art Show: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Armory Municipal Center• Cherokee Nation Gift Shop Art Show: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Gift Shop Lobby• Cherokee Nation Museums: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., National Prison, Supreme Court and John Ross museums• Sunday Morning Worship: 10 a.m.-12

p.m., SHS Chapel• Bingo: 11 a.m., One Fire Field• Free Feed: 12:30 p.m.- 3:30 p.m., SHS Cafeteria• Traditional & Cultural Activities: 1 p.m.-6 p.m., One Fire Field• Children Fun Days: 1 p.m.-6 p.m., One Fire Field• Quilt Show: 1 p.m.-4 p.m., SHS Old Gym• Native Games Championship: 1 p.m., One Fire Field• Fireworks Show: Dusk, Behind the Cherokee Casino

Holiday events, times and locations are subject to change. For more information, call 918-453-5992. To report incidents to the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service, call 918-207-3800.

2 CHEROKEE PHOENIX • HOLIDAY GUIDE Ewf #>hAmh 2016

WHAT, WHEN EVENTS

HOLIDAY GUIDE • CHEROKEE PHOENIX 3 2016 Ewf #>hAmh

AND WHEREMAP


The Cherokee National Holiday is held Labor Day weekend in and around Tahlequah, Oklahoma, to celebrate the Sept. 6, 1839, signing of the Cherokee

Nation’s Constitution following removal to Indian Territory.“It is a celebration of our heritage and culture, a reflection

of our accomplishments as a sovereign nation and looking forward to everything that is in store for the future of the Cherokee Nation,” CN Community Tourism Manager Donna Tinnin said.

According to the August 1993 Cherokee Advocate, if it weren’t for the Tahlequah Chamber of Commerce and former Principal Chief Bill Keeler, the holiday might never have been. Martin Hagerstrand, Oklahoma Historical Society co-founder, said in the 1993 article that Keeler advocated the holiday’s creation because, at that time, groups of Cherokees seldom met and discussed issues relevant to the tribe.

“When anything of importance happened in the old Cherokee Nation capital area before Oklahoma became a

state, Cherokees from all over the Cherokee Nation would gather at the capitol and make a holiday out of the occasion. After Oklahoma statehood, this practice stopped and such visiting became limited to local community gatherings, church gatherings or smaller affairs,” Hagerstrand said.

According to a past Cherokee National Holiday guide, the holiday began in 1953 and marked the first time since statehood in 1907 that a “large official gathering of Cherokees was organized.” That crowd was estimated between 1,000 and 3,000. The holiday guide also states that in 1993 an estimated 25,000 people attended the celebration. Now in its 64th year, the event has grown into one of the largest festivals in Oklahoma, attracting approximately 100,000 people annually.

Along with celebrating tribal heritage and cultural awareness, it reunites families with many attendees being CN citizens, citizens of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in Cherokee, N.C., and the United Keetoowah Band, also based in Tahlequah. Thousands of other visitors from across the United States and abroad make the pilgrimage to the historic CN capital to celebrate the Cherokee spirit.

Events were added as the holiday continued. The cornstalk shoot made its first appearance in 1954. According to a past holiday guide the intertribal powwow began in 1971, and

Cherokee marbles debuted in 1988, according to that year’s holiday guide. The holiday hosts other cultural and artistic events such as stickball, horseshoes, softball tournaments, rodeos, car and art shows, the Miss Cherokee pageant, the Cherokee National Holiday parade and the State of the Nation address by the principal chief.

Also, hundreds of vendors and crafts people set up booths where visitors may view and purchase authentic Native American-made products and foods. Music lovers can enjoy events, including gospel and bluegrass music, a fiddler’s contest and a concert from the Cherokee National Youth Choir.

“For our citizens, it is a homecoming. Whether they have lived here or their family is from here…it is still home. They come to revisit family, participate in traditions passed down from generation to generation and to glimpse in to the future of our Cherokee Nation,” Tinnin said.

TrAvIS SnELLassistant editor

EVOLUTION OF THE CHEROKEE HOLIDAY Principal Chief Bill John Baker delivers his 2015 State of the nation address at the Cherokee national Holiday. Seated is State Secretary Chuck Hoskin Jr.

leFt: Miss Cherokee 2014-15 Sunday Plumb, center, and Junior Miss Cherokee 2014-15 Chelbie Turtle listen to the 2014 State of the nation address. riGHt: Members of the 2015 “remember the removal” bicycle ride are honored during the State of the nation. From left are Tristan Trumbla, Alexis JoLee Watt, Wrighter Weavel, Caleb Cox, Billy Flint, Tanner Crow and Shawna Harter.

HISTORY


TRADITIONAL GAMES’ INS AND OUTS

RULES

CORNSTALK SHOOTEach person competing gets two shots

or two chances to shoot at a 4-foot tall stack of cornstalks 85 yards away. After the competitors shoot, they walk to the target and count how many cornstalks the arrows that struck the target penetrated. The number of stalks penetrated is the score given to that shooter. The first shooter to score 50 points wins the shoot.

HATCHET THROWCompetitors thow a hatchet at a regular-

size playing card 21 feet away. The hatchet should make one rotation on its

way to the target. If a person can’t get it to turn over all the way, then he or she can go back farther to where it will turn over by the time it hits the target.

The first person to hit the target five times wins the match.

HORSESHOESCompetitors can compete in three ways.

They can “bring a partner,” “draw a partner” or play in a singles tournaments.

The horseshoe finals during the holiday have men and women categories.

For the draw competition, competitors are given numbers and then a drawing is held to determine which competitors have matching numbers. Those matched up partner in the competition.

BLOWGUNCompetitors shoot at a target from about

25 feet using blowguns that are 2-1/2-feet to 3-feet long. Competitors shoot at the target from 45 feet using blowguns 6- to 8-feet long.

The paper target has a center target with circles around it. The center target is worth three points. The inner ring is worth two, and the outer ring is worth one point. The competitors each shoot 10 times and the one with the most points after 10 rounds wins.

CHEROKEE MARBLESThe game is played on a flat surface with

five holes organized in an L shape about 100 feet long. The object is for teams to get their marbles in each hole and then go back through the course. The team that manages to complete the course first wins.

When a team reaches the second hole it can begin to attempt to knock their opponents’ balls out of play to prevent them from completing the course.

The Cherokee Nation hosts a Traditional Games playoffs throughout the year in local communities. Teams or

individuals who advance meet at the Cherokee National Holiday to crown the champions.


ETIQUETTE

POWWOW PROTOCOLAlthough it is not part of the traditional

Cherokee culture, an intertribal powwow is held annually at the

Cherokee National Holiday.Powwows are special events and there are

guidelines that come with them. As the master of ceremonies for many powwows, Archie Mason (Osage/Cherokee) knows them all.

“It is a very serious time, yet it’s a time of joy, a time for playfulness, good humor and good feeling,” Mason said. “If they are there for the first time, it may be music and song and dance they are not familiar with. It may be foreign, but it’s important to be respectful.”

Mason said listening to the emcee can get any visitor through without a faux pas.

Whether held indoors or outside, most powwows have a basic set-up that consists of seating (often benches) placed in a large circle. A drum group with singers is at the center, and the open area around the group is for dancers. There will be seating behind the benches or open space where chairs can be set up. Many powwows also invite vendors to set up booths on the perimeter beyond to sell jewelry, art, specially-printed T-shirts, Native music, crafts, textiles and other Native American-made or themed items. Food vendors may also be located in this area.

The benches outlining the dance area is reserved for dancers and special honorees, such as the head staff. This staff includes the head man and head woman dancers and head singer. Much of the time, dancers are the only ones allowed inside the dance circle unless the emcee invites the audience to enter for dances.

Head dancers, head singers, arena directors, host drum groups, color guard and emcees make up the head staff at many events. They are invited by the host – be it a tribe, local Indian club, student organization or family – to open the powwow with ceremony and to lead it.

Giveaways are breaks between songs and dances when the powwow host group gives gifts to the head staff and others.

One of the most significant moments in the powwow is the ceremonial presentation of colors by a color guard group made up of veterans. As on any other occasion, participants should stand and (for men) remove their hats as the flags and an eagle staff are presented and for any blessings that may follow.

As many powwow events begin to hold dance contests, some dancers look for opportunities to both gain experience and possibly a nice purse to help cover expenses. Dancers wear carefully crafted regalia, never “costumes.”

All that beadwork, patchwork, ribbon work

and skill going into a dancer’s regalia creates a beautiful effect and can be picture worthy, especially the little ones.

It’s always a good idea to a s k a dancer first if it is OK to take their photo. Most do not mind, said Kelly Anquoe (Kiowa/Cherokee), who has served as a powwow emcee. “Some emcees will tell you no photographs during (dance) contests. I don’t, but that’s just me. Some dancers say a flash can distract them.”

As long as shutter bugs stay outside the arena and ask permission, things should be fine. Anquoe added, “If a dancer wants to request money for a photo, personally, I think they ought to pay them.”

From time to time, the master of ceremonies will announce the dance arena open to all for intertribal social dances or for a blanket dance. For social dances, women usually wear a shawl before entering the circle. The host drum group determines the direction of movement. Throughout many Oklahoma powwows, dances move clockwise in southern fashion around the center drum, but it’s not unusual to see a dancer from a northern tribe dancing counter to the flow.

Blanket dances are introduced to raise money for the head drum group. Although they are usually paid for participation, groups can bring many singers to complement the rhythm.

When the blanket is placed on the floor, everyone is welcome to enter the circle. It’s customary to enter from the main entry and walk the direction of the established movement.

Powwows are family and community events, and all participants are expected to behave appropriately so. Illegal drugs and alcohol are banned at many events as Indian people strive to preserve a sacredness of such gatherings. Some outdoor events do not allow pets. It may seem as though there are a lot of “must-nots” involved, but the last thing organizers want is for dancers and visitors to have a bad experience.

rEPrInTED WITH PErMISSIOn FrOM nATIvE OkLAHOMA

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