Andersontown Powwow celebrates Native American traditions, culture

Sep. 10—ALEXANDRIA — Brilliant late-morning sunlight broke from behind a bank of clouds, prompting Tim Deane to smile as he shared what brought him to the Andersontown Powwow from eastern Tennessee.

"I've been here for the past 10, maybe 12 years, and ... it's got a good feel about it," Deane said as he attached feathers to a large cane. "(There are) lots of great people here, great drums, folks that will come here and dance, who actually know their stuff."

Deane practiced his craft outside a 10-foot-tall teepee as passersby peeked inside at his collection of Native American artifacts and other memorabilia. He began collecting items and getting involved in Native American culture demonstrations more than 30 years ago.

"My kids began to dance, my wife began to dance, I began to dance and sing," Deane said. "That's where things began with me."

As his collection grew and he continued to attend Native American gatherings and festivals, Deane said a sense of purpose began to develop for him. There was a message he wanted to make sure he shared with his friends and those he met at these events.

"They had lost their past, and if you lose your past, you will lose your way," he said.

This year's Andersontown Powwow, hosted for the second time at Beulah Park as a water infrastructure project at Anderson's Athletic Park made that facility unusable for the event, featured many traditional favorites.

Among them were Native American dancing and drum demonstrations, a market featuring native-inspired kids crafts, and interactive talks featuring native birds and food demonstrations.

Organizers said in the days leading up to the weekend event, powwow participants fanned out across the county to bring cultural awareness programs to elementary schools in Anderson, South Madison and other districts.

"It educates our children on their community's heritage," said Debbie Webb, chairwoman for the Anderson Powwow. "It exposes them to different cultures, so they can understand the traditions and the things that are important to different cultures."

Jim Sawgrass, a member of the Florida Muskogee tribe, returned for this year's event to reprise his popular presentation involving stories emphasizing his Creek Indian ancestry. Dressed in hybrid post-European regalia, Sawgrass cooked chicken, vegetables and peppers over a small campfire as he waited to give a talk about the instruments and weapons assembled beneath a nearby tent.

"If we don't pay attention and learn our history — the right history — then we'll forget it, and we'll repeat it again," Sawgrass said. "This is a celebration of life, of an ongoing culture that didn't stop when Columbus came. It didn't stop when John Wayne showed up in the movies. It evolved, and it's still evolving today."

Webb said this year's powwow carried special significance as it coincided with the year-long celebration of the county's bicentennial. Among the featured native artists was Michael Pace, a descendant of Chief William Anderson of the Delaware tribe for whom the city of Anderson is named.

Pace and Dwight Gallian, a longtime historical interpreter at Conner Prairie, gave talks detailing the lives and times of settlers who arrived in the area in the early 1800s.

"It's a chance for people to see people honoring their own heritage and celebrating that," she said.

Follow Andy Knight on Twitter @Andrew_J_Knight, or call 765-640-4809.