Native American Festival teaches dance, traditions

THURMONT - A group of people held hands in a circle Sunday and started to walk clockwise together, performing what Tomas Eaglebear called a "round dance."
Eaglebear, a decedent of the Warm Springs Apache people who are originally from New Mexico, noticed that some of the participants may have felt a little inhibited by doing a dance in a circle. Eaglebear, who currently lives in Colorado, asked those who were dancing to try their best. He once went square dancing with a neighbor, he said, even though he was not used to the style.
"If I can do it, you can do it," Eaglebear said.
Eaglebear and his group of dancers banged on drums, danced around a fire and spoke about Native American culture at the Native American Festival Sunday at Stone Fence Gardens in Thurmont.
Mare Cromwell, who helped organize the event, said she thought it was important that people learn about Native American culture and become closer with the nature that is around them. She said she was glad there was a decent turnout this year at the festival, which featured various vendors and groups performing traditional dances and songs.
"It's so beautiful to have Native [American] dancers come to educate us about their culture," she said. "...[There is a] beautiful community spirit out here."
Pete FourWinds, who lives in Frederick and is of Mohawk descent, performed a hoop dance at the event. The dance consisted of him collecting and shifting six hoops around his body to make different shapes, such as a crescent moon, an eagle, a butterfly and other shapes. He said his dance was meant to symbolize the story of life from its beginning.
FourWinds said his dance can be interpreted in any way a viewer wishes. Due to a recent shoulder injury, FourWinds performed the dance more slowly than usual, asking the audience what they viewed the shapes he was making with his hoops to be.
He said he usually performs the dance at a very quick pace, picking up new hoops and making different shapes very quickly. FourWinds said he enjoyed the performance and thought the slower pace helped him to explain the dance and it's meaning.
"I took it as a chance to teach a little more," he said.
Jennifer Hudson sang with performers called the Tunsweca Wakan H'oka, or Sacred Dragonfly Singers, in the language of the Lakota people, which has significant populations in South Dakota. Hudson is the executive director of the One Heart One Mind interactive Center in Charles Town, W. Va.
As Hudson sang with three other women, a group of men banged with beaters on a cancega, a drum made with elk hide. The group performed a song to honor the American flag and another to honor veterans.
"Without our veterans, we would not be here," Hudson said.
Hudson said it was important for community members to be educated about Native Americans and their culture, and should not rely on Hollywood and the mass media to shape their views. Many people would not believe that Hudson is of Native American descent, because she is blonde and light-skinned.
Hudson said regardless of how people look, if they are willing to learn the teachings and culture of Native American tribes, then they can participate.
"It's an honor to sing these songs," she said. "They have been around a long time."