NASIC celebrates Native American Heritage Month

  • Published
  • By Amy Rollins
  • Skywrighter Staff
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  The National Air and Space Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base celebrated the diversity of native peoples in the Americas with a drum and dance demonstration and a food tasting Nov. 7.


The event was held in observance of American Indian/Alaskan Native Heritage Month and was organized by the NASIC American Indian/Alaskan Native Committee. The committee held fundraisers to underwrite the cost of the event.

The event featured a drum group and its drum, "Thunder with the Hands," and the group's special guests, almost three dozen members of the Miami Nation of Indians of Indiana.

The cultural event began with a Cherokee welcome song and a grand entrance song to bring the traditionally garbed dance participants of men, women and children to the drum. The flags of the Cherokee and Miami nations were posted, and the Cherokee national anthem was performed as the audience stood out of respect.

A song, "Soldier Boy/ Soldier Girl," was sung to honor active military, veterans and civil servants like firefighters and police officers.

"Without you we wouldn't be able to do what we're doing today," said Cherokee tribal member Matt Lawson, who has been with the   drum since 2007, singing and drumming alongside NASIC employee Phillip Johnson. "We want to honor and thank you tremendously."

Johnson said he was delighted to demonstrate his culture.

"To be able to share our culture with the leadership and the people I work with was very rewarding. It was very uplifting to do this as there are very few people who even realize that the Native culture even exists and what it represents, especially here in Ohio. The drum is a big part of our culture as it represents the heartbeat of our Mother Earth," he said.

Johnson is of Chickamauga Cherokee descent through his father. He has been with the Thunder with the Hands Drum group for about seven years.

"I try to share and demonstrate our culture every chance I get," he said.

One of the most colorfully garbed dancers, Charlie Keith, said he was a 100 percent disabled veteran.

"It means a lot for me   to look at this audience and see you all in uniform," he said.

Miami Nation Chief Brian Buchanan announced a song about love and friendship, with NASIC employees joining in to encircle the auditorium in shuffling dance movements that women in particular make to demonstrate respect for and connection to the land.

Lawson later explained that in the Miami Nation's society, women are held in very high regard "because they are the lifegivers," he said.

Other songs were sung to honor the elders, celebrate a little boy who loved fireflies, tell of a sneak attack on a tribe and promote healing and easing pain. A final Cherokee tribal song wished all present a safe journey home.

Col. Leah Lauderback, NASIC commander, presented an engraved glass token to the dancers, singers and drummers in recognition of their performance and cultural demonstration.

"Thank you for sharing your culture and your traditions with us today that will take us forward as an organization," she said.

Many audience members moved to the canteen for the food tasting, where a bit of tobacco, to honor the ancestors, was placed on a "spirit" plate filled with the various foods prepared. The foods included chicken and wild rice soup; "Three Sisters" casserole, consisting of green beans, corn and zucchini; Native American bacon that resembled salmon jerky; sliced smoked bison; and grape dumplings. A cake by Peggy DeLorenzo completed the tasting.