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FROM: INDIANZ.COM WEBSITE

_http://64.62.196.98/News/2005/010419.asp_
(http://64.62.196.98/News/2005/010419.asp)

Oneida Nation Recognized For Cultural Efforts

Thursday, September 22, 2005

The Oneida Nation of Wisconsin received a gift of wampum for its efforts to
preserve tribal culture and language.
Members of the tribe accepted the wampum, which represents success, at a
ceremony in New York. The Iroquois Confederacy recognized the tribe's
proficiency in Oneida language and ceremonies.
The tribe uses gaming profits to fund its language and cultural programs.
Get the Story:
_Oneida honored for cultural revitalization _
(http://64.62.196.98/my.asp?url=http:...22682129.shtml) (The
Appleton Post-Crescent 9/22)
Relevant Links:
Oneida Nation of Wisconsin - _http://www.oneidanation.org_
(http://64.62.196.98/my.asp?url=http:...idanation.org/)

Copyright © 2000-2005 Indianz.Com
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FROM: THE POST-CRESCENT NEWSPAPER

_http://www.wisinfo.com/postcrescent/news/archive/local_22682129.shtml_
(http://www.wisinfo.com/postcrescent/...22682129.shtml)

Posted Sept. 22, 2005



Tribe at a glance
The Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, which operates as a sovereign
government, has about 16,000 enrolled members, some 3,500 of whom live on a
65,430-acre reservation carved out of Brown and Outagamie counties in northeastern
Wisconsin. An additional 2,600 tribal members live in the two counties but
outside the reservation. A smaller concentration also live in the Milwaukee
area.
What’s wampum?
Wampum was not Indian money. Wampum, beads made from the shells of mollusks
such as quahogs found off the East Coast, were commonly strung into belts
with meanings varied according to the design.
American Indians, especially in the Iroquois Confederacy, used wampum, which
carried the authority of the spoken word, to call a council meeting, seat
council members, speak at the council, elect a chief, depose a chief, during
mourning, as record and deed, and as gifts or ornaments.
Source: Oneida Indian Nation Web site, www.oneida-nation.net


Oneida honored for cultural revitalization
Gift ceremony recognizes tribe’s efforts for past 20 years
By Steve Wideman
Post-Crescent staff writer
ONEIDA — The quarter-inch-long white shells of quahog mollusks strung on
nine strands of string appear simple in their makeup.

But to members of the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin the stringed
shells, also called wampum, represent success in turning back a 200-year-old
threat to their ancient culture.

Earlier this month in New York State, at a ceremony called “getting the fire”
or “kalihwiyo,” a delegation of Wisconsin Oneida accepted the wampum from
peers in the Iroquois Confederacy in recognition of gaining proficiency in
the Oneida language and ceremonies.

The ceremony marked a significant page in Wisconsin Oneida history, one
turned after 20 years of cultural revitalization efforts, said tribal historian
Loretta Metoxen.

“Bringing the fire to Wisconsin signifies that the chain of events for
ceremonies has always been with us. It was not lost as some people said, but it
was always and is still with us,” Metoxen said. “It (cultural knowledge) is
part of what makes the Oneida people.”

Leander Danforth, the designated Wisconsin tribal member who accepted the
wampum strands Sept. 11, is a leader in the Oneida’s Language House, where
tribal members learn the native tongue.

“This is a big piece of history,” said Danforth, who would not allow
photographs of the wampum.

“That’s not what it is meant for,” he said. “It is to help our people.”

When colonial expansion pushed the Oneida from their New York homelands in
the early 1800s, tribal language and customs began a slow decline, accelerated
in later years by assimilation, a process in which non-Oneida forced a
nontraditional way of life on the tribe.

This month’s ceremony was the first recognition that the Oneida are on a
journey back to assure their culture never dies, said Ron Hill, cultural
wellness facilitator for the Wisconsin tribe and a keeper of the faith for its Bear
Clan.

“Receiving the fire symbolizes the spirit of our ceremonies … that we are
continuing on with how the creator intended us to be … continuing on with our
ways,” Hill said.

Followers of the longhouse, or traditional way of life, have led the
cultural revitalization, which Hill said “is a significant part of what our
community has been doing for the past 20 or so years.”

“It’s a recognition of our work, but also a recognition that there is much
more to learn,” he said. “At the ceremony, we were told of our
responsibility to pass our culture on to future generations.”

Hill said Indian gaming, which has provided money to fuel a large part of
the revitalization, will continue to be an important part of efforts to
strengthen the culture.

The General Tribal Council, who grants the funding, approves the tribe’s
annual operating budget, which stood at $350 million in 2004.

“If that funding would stop, it certainly would have an adverse effect on
revitalization efforts, although those efforts would go on,” Hill said. “We
were involved in cultural revitalization before gaming.”



Steve Wideman can be reached at 920-993-1000, ext. 302, or by e-mail at
swideman@ postcrescent.com

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Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear... just sing, sing a song.