2008 Woodie Awards
Local Native American community gains support
Marc Larocque
Issue date: 9/24/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 2 next >
|
Those who peeked through holes in the tall, graffiti covered wall could see grown men adorning colorful feathers and tribal dress, pounding the ground in a circle.
These rituals, however, are not foreign.
Three hundred Native Americans gathered this weekend to draw support for the North American Indian Center of Boston (NAICOB) at the fifth annual Gathering of the People Pow-wow. About 40 local college students attended as well.
"I got off at the wrong T stop and saw the sign saying everyone's invited," said Dany Shaffer, a middler anthropology major at Northeastern. "I'd seen the place before walking around Jamaica Plain and always wondered about it. This is my first pow-wow."
Shafer said Northeastern featured a Native American anthropology class, but has not offered it in a while.
In 2003, former governor Mitt Romney decided to sell off "excess property" so the state would "extract the maximum value" of the land, according to the Jamaica Plain Gazette. Although NAICOB serves 6,000 constituents from 40 North American Indian nations a year with counseling, day care, health services, counseling and job training, it faced an impending deadline to sign a take-it-or-leave-it deal and move from the state-owned site.
Along with availability of food, Shaffer said he went to the pow-wow to enjoy the culture and learn about the community. He was surprised to hear that the gathering could be the last one on the ceremonial grounds.
"It was kind of a struggle to have this pow-wow," said Cemelli de Aztlan, editor of the Eagle Whistle, NAICOB's quarterly newsletter. "We had to publicize it at the last minute. Since there is a new owner of the land, this could be the last pow-wow here."
With the support of the Jamaica Plain community, the leadership of NAICOB advocated support for the center at the State House and was able to secure the building for another 99 years and by paying dollar a year, but lost 1.1 acres of the original 1.8 acres.
The land that was lost was where the local Native American community held wedding ceremonies and fire circles. They also invited community members to pow-wows and sweat lodge events.
Be the first to comment on this story