Bahweting Drum and Dancers invited to Washington

NEWS RELEASE

SAULT TRIBE OF CHIPPEWA INDIANS

************************* Bahweting Drum and Dancers invited to Jamestown 400th anniversary celebration

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI - The Bahweting Drum and Dancers will be traveling to Washington, D.C. and Hampton, Virginia to represent the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in several special performances.

These appearances will begin on July 19 with a morning exhibition at the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of the American Indian followed by evening presentations at the Vietnam and Korean Veterans Memorials.

On July 20, the group will be in Hampton, Virginia where it will spend three days participating in the American Indian Intertribal Cultural Festival.

The Bahweting Singers Drum, the official drum of the Sault Tribe, was formed in 1996 as a way to help tribal youth.

The volunteer group offers its services for various occasions such as graduation, naming ceremonies, weddings, memorials, as well as healing ceremonies in hospitals.

The drum also participates in pow wows in Michigan, Wisconsin and Canada and is an integral part of the Sault Tribe.

The American Indian Intertribal Cultural Festival is part of the Jamestown 2007 observance marking the 400th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in the United States.

This 18-month commemoration has already been visited by a number of dignitaries including President Bush, Vice-President Cheney, and Queen Elizabeth II of England, who was also present for the 1957 Jamestown anniversary.

The American Indian Intertribal Cultural Festival is being hosted by the eight state-recognized tribes of Virginia and will consist of an array of cultural experiences including programs provided by visiting tribes meant to emphasize what makes each tribe unique and also where the similarities lie between them.

The festival will include music, dancing, craft demonstrations and story-telling.

The Sault Tribe is one of only nine other out-of-state tribes participating in the event.

Other tribes taking part in the cultural exchange are Jemez Pueblo from New Mexico, Lumbee from North Carolina, Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara from North Dakota, Nez Perce from Idaho, Osage from Oklahoma and the Seminole from Florida.

Being asked to participate at an event of this magnitude is a great honor for the Bahweting Singers Drum.

Drum keeper Bud Biron said: “The drum represents the history of our tribe since 1972, which points to our growth and the success of the tribe, keeping in balance with our cultural beliefs and traditions.”

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