Cape Tribes Join Rites at The Mall
WASHINGTON – The procession of more than 400 Indian tribes stretching nearly the entire length of the National Mall, patiently and proudly snaking toward the opening ceremony of the National Museum of the American Indian, temporarily stalled.
CheeNulKa Pocknett, a 19-year-old Mashpee Wampanoag and a student at Cape Cod Community College, emerged before his tribe in full traditional regalia.
With some members beating on handmade drums and others simply chanting in a deep tone, the joint Wampanoag tribes of Mashpee and Aquinnah provided a cadence while Pocknett danced.
When the procession started again, a wave of applause followed the roughly 80 Wampanoags, a group that included several generations. The Wampanoag tribe is well-known for hosting the Pilgrims of Plymouth Bay Colony at the first Thanksgiving in 1621.
“I told him, ‘Go out there and represent yourself,’ ” said David Pocknett, CheeNulKa’s father, who brought three children to Washington to celebrate the opening of the museum, a tribute to this hemisphere’s native people that he said is long overdue.
Those who came to the mall this week are “a minority in a minority,” said Pocknett, 51, who was raised in Mashpee by his grandmother and has closely cherished the Wampanoag traditions she instilled in him. “It’s time we make something that will be there for generations to come.”
Event organizers called the procession’s estimated 20,000 participants yesterday the largest tribal gathering in history. The massive march launched a weeklong celebration of the completion of the Smithsonian’s $220 million National Museum of the American Indian.
Set on the National Mall between the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum and the Capitol, the earthy limestone building, with a smoothly curving exterior, was designed to model a rock formation carved over time by nature. While it houses many ancient artifacts, the museum also focuses on the evolution of native traditions.
Beverly Wright, chairwoman of the Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay Head on Martha’s Vineyard, called the event “an experience of a lifetime” but agreed with David Pocknett that the museum should have been built earlier.
“We’re the first Americans,” Wright said, “but the last people to get a place on the mall.”
A highlight of Wright’s week will be a breakfast meeting tomorrow at the White House with President Bush. She also enjoyed a sneak preview of the museum at a reception yesterday and called the building’s interior “very impressive.”
Glenn Marshall, president of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council, was not as eager to see the president. He said that presidential administrations over the years in both parties have been too slow to address the needs of native populations.
“This has been our home for centuries,” Marshall said, clutching a corner of the Mashpee Wampanoag banner as the delegation moved toward the Capitol. “And this is a big lobby. This vote alone could change the outcome of November’s election.”
The procession yesterday ended with an opening ceremony at the foot of the Capitol that included traditional native music and remarks from a range of dignitaries, including Alejandro Toledo, the president of Peru, and Sens. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., the son of a Northern Cheyenne, and Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii.
Throughout the week, the National Mall will host outdoor music and dance performances and feature traditional Native artisans and storytellers. The museum also will welcome its first visitors.
Vernon “Silent Drum” Lopez, chief of the Mashpee Wampanoags, called the event a “great happening.”
“We’ve been to some pretty big powwows,” Lopez said. “But nothing like this.”
