Last night we sat on the front lawn of the Florence Library to watch a celebration of Native American heritage, culture, and history.
The performance featured musician Arvel Bird (Paiute) and storyteller Amy Bluemel (Chickasaw). The event was sponsored by the Oka Kapassa Festival, the Alabama State Council on the Arts, and the Florence Public Library.
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| Arvel Bird (Piaute) |
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| Arvel Bird (Piaute) |
A Native Dancer
Amy Bluemel, a Native American storyteller, entertained us with a story about Flint the Giant.
About how a small Indian boy overcame his fear of the giant.
She also told a story about fire and how each animal tried to retrieve an ember.
The buzzard attempted to retrieve the fire, but it burnt the feathers off his head. The Crow tried to recover the ember, but he swallowed it, and he lost his voice.
The opossum attempted to retrieve the ember, but it fell off his furry tail.
Grandmother Spider weaved a basket and returned with the ember of fire, but no one wanted to attend the fire, so it burned out.
Amy is a registered member of the Chickasaw Nation and she performs at schools, libraries, camps, and museums.
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| Amy Bluemel, a Native American Story Teller |
If the stories fall silent, who will teach the children? Chief Dan George.
We also saw a tribal dance performed by a young American Indian.
The performance lasted until 7:00 P.M. We stopped at Wendy's for a fifty-cent chocolate frosty.
