Post by blackcrowheart on Jul 3, 2008 12:52:59 GMT -5
Strawberry ceremony returns to Meherrin Nation after two centuries
Posted: June 30, 2008
by: Bobbie Whitehead
Indian Country Today
Meherrin Nation -- The Meherrin Nation of North Carolina
participated in the first Strawberry ceremony held in more than 200
years on their tribal grounds, with Michael Jock (Kanaratanoron),
Mohawk, and Joe Logan (Sky-yoh-wee-yoh), Oneida/Onondaga, leading the
ceremony. Logan stood with James Lewis, Meherrin; Jock; and Meherrin
Chief Wayne Brown (Sha-goie-watha). WINTON, N.C. - More than 50 Meherrin
Nation tribal members, dressed in traditional Iroquois regalia from the
Snipe and Turtle clans, participated in the first Strawberry ceremony
held in more than 200 years in North Carolina.
Kanaratanoron (Michael Jock), of the Bear Clan People of Mohawk
Territory in Akwesasne, N. Y., and Sky-yoh-wee-yoh (Joe Logan), of the
Wolf Clan of Oneida Territory, led the ceremony on Meherrin Nation
grounds May 31 in Winton.
In his first visit to meet the Meherrin Indians in North Carolina, Jock
said he came to lead the ceremony to carry a message from the Tuscaroras
of New York.
''The message is to bring our people together and to unite our people
together under the Great Law of Peace,'' he said in an interview after
the ceremony.
The strawberry is the first fruit of the year; therefore, it is the
first thanksgiving observed among several thanksgiving ceremonies held
throughout the year, according to the Iroquois lunar calendar, said
Meherrin Nation Chief Sha-goie-watha (Wayne Brown).
''The ripening of the strawberries in North Carolina is a month ahead of
our season,'' Jock said.
He conducted the ceremony prayer in the Mohawk language, and each person
at the ceremony received a copy of the prayer written in Mohawk and
English.
''The celebration gives thanks, in general, to the strawberry and, more
specifically, to the Creator for giving the fruit for the good of all
men,'' Brown said, adding that Jock and Logan explained to the Meherrins
''when and how each person was to participate in the prayer as well as
to answer in Iroquois when prompted.''
''Images of my forefathers flashed before me,'' he said. ''The melodious
words and the beat of the turtle rattle resonated all over the grounds''
as Jock recited the Strawberry Thanksgiving Prayer in Mohawk, a language
linguistically similar to the Meherrins' language. ''I was pleasantly
astonished to hear the 50 or so voices responding in unison to the
prayer.''
Brown also said he could feel the presence of his ancestors during the
prayer and ceremony.
''It is simply beautiful to hear my people speak the Iroquois language
again.''
After the prayer, sacred songs and the Great Feather Dance were
performed.
''This is a day that I have dreamed about, for some of our Iroquois
brothers to come to lead us back to the old way,'' Brown said. ''I feel
the presence of my mother, Arlene Brown, who went to be with my father
in September of last year.''
Brown said when he saw his mother's sisters, Mamie Mercardo Franklin,
87, and Yvonne Baker, 73; and his mother's cousins, James Lewis, 75, and
Michael Reid, 72; participating in the Feather Dance, for a ''fleeing
moment'' he said he could see his mother leading them and looking back
with a smile of approval.
''I felt that all my Meherrin ancestors were with us.''
Jock plans to return to visit the Meherrins in the fall to recite the
Great Law, an event that he said takes 10 days and is a function in
which everyone has a voice.
''When I met the Meherrin people for the first time, I stood back, and I
took a look at the people who greeted me, and I could see that our
people have been scattered across this continent,'' Jock said. ''I felt
a strong, strong connection with the Meherrin people. We all connect -
every nation. I'm grateful to the Meherrin people, and I was very proud
of the Meherrin people.
''They all wore Iroquois clothes; there was not a one that wasn't
wearing Iroquois clothes. There wasn't a one who wasn't willing to
listen.''
Brown said Jock told the Meherrins that they had made history with the
Strawberry ceremony and that ''this day shall be written in the history
of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.''
''I have an agenda here that I need to fulfill before I go to the spirit
world,'' Jock said. ''We're in 2008, and we need to prepare our people
for what's coming.''
Adding that he's willing to share this message with any nation that
wants to hear the message of the Great Law, Jock said he saw the
uplifting of the Meherrin people.
''They have a powerful nation, and I respect that.''
Posted: June 30, 2008
by: Bobbie Whitehead
Indian Country Today
Meherrin Nation -- The Meherrin Nation of North Carolina
participated in the first Strawberry ceremony held in more than 200
years on their tribal grounds, with Michael Jock (Kanaratanoron),
Mohawk, and Joe Logan (Sky-yoh-wee-yoh), Oneida/Onondaga, leading the
ceremony. Logan stood with James Lewis, Meherrin; Jock; and Meherrin
Chief Wayne Brown (Sha-goie-watha). WINTON, N.C. - More than 50 Meherrin
Nation tribal members, dressed in traditional Iroquois regalia from the
Snipe and Turtle clans, participated in the first Strawberry ceremony
held in more than 200 years in North Carolina.
Kanaratanoron (Michael Jock), of the Bear Clan People of Mohawk
Territory in Akwesasne, N. Y., and Sky-yoh-wee-yoh (Joe Logan), of the
Wolf Clan of Oneida Territory, led the ceremony on Meherrin Nation
grounds May 31 in Winton.
In his first visit to meet the Meherrin Indians in North Carolina, Jock
said he came to lead the ceremony to carry a message from the Tuscaroras
of New York.
''The message is to bring our people together and to unite our people
together under the Great Law of Peace,'' he said in an interview after
the ceremony.
The strawberry is the first fruit of the year; therefore, it is the
first thanksgiving observed among several thanksgiving ceremonies held
throughout the year, according to the Iroquois lunar calendar, said
Meherrin Nation Chief Sha-goie-watha (Wayne Brown).
''The ripening of the strawberries in North Carolina is a month ahead of
our season,'' Jock said.
He conducted the ceremony prayer in the Mohawk language, and each person
at the ceremony received a copy of the prayer written in Mohawk and
English.
''The celebration gives thanks, in general, to the strawberry and, more
specifically, to the Creator for giving the fruit for the good of all
men,'' Brown said, adding that Jock and Logan explained to the Meherrins
''when and how each person was to participate in the prayer as well as
to answer in Iroquois when prompted.''
''Images of my forefathers flashed before me,'' he said. ''The melodious
words and the beat of the turtle rattle resonated all over the grounds''
as Jock recited the Strawberry Thanksgiving Prayer in Mohawk, a language
linguistically similar to the Meherrins' language. ''I was pleasantly
astonished to hear the 50 or so voices responding in unison to the
prayer.''
Brown also said he could feel the presence of his ancestors during the
prayer and ceremony.
''It is simply beautiful to hear my people speak the Iroquois language
again.''
After the prayer, sacred songs and the Great Feather Dance were
performed.
''This is a day that I have dreamed about, for some of our Iroquois
brothers to come to lead us back to the old way,'' Brown said. ''I feel
the presence of my mother, Arlene Brown, who went to be with my father
in September of last year.''
Brown said when he saw his mother's sisters, Mamie Mercardo Franklin,
87, and Yvonne Baker, 73; and his mother's cousins, James Lewis, 75, and
Michael Reid, 72; participating in the Feather Dance, for a ''fleeing
moment'' he said he could see his mother leading them and looking back
with a smile of approval.
''I felt that all my Meherrin ancestors were with us.''
Jock plans to return to visit the Meherrins in the fall to recite the
Great Law, an event that he said takes 10 days and is a function in
which everyone has a voice.
''When I met the Meherrin people for the first time, I stood back, and I
took a look at the people who greeted me, and I could see that our
people have been scattered across this continent,'' Jock said. ''I felt
a strong, strong connection with the Meherrin people. We all connect -
every nation. I'm grateful to the Meherrin people, and I was very proud
of the Meherrin people.
''They all wore Iroquois clothes; there was not a one that wasn't
wearing Iroquois clothes. There wasn't a one who wasn't willing to
listen.''
Brown said Jock told the Meherrins that they had made history with the
Strawberry ceremony and that ''this day shall be written in the history
of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.''
''I have an agenda here that I need to fulfill before I go to the spirit
world,'' Jock said. ''We're in 2008, and we need to prepare our people
for what's coming.''
Adding that he's willing to share this message with any nation that
wants to hear the message of the Great Law, Jock said he saw the
uplifting of the Meherrin people.
''They have a powerful nation, and I respect that.''