Natchez Powwow 2023 returns to two-day tradition

Event set for March 25 and 26 on the Bluff 

/ ListenUpYall.com
Roscoe Barnes III
Mar 8, 2023 | 8:00 AM

This photo was taken at a May 2022 Native American dance in Texas. From left are Lance Harris, longtime powwow participant; Dr. Charles Borum, chairman of the Natchez Powwow; and David Kelly, member of the Osage Nation.

NATCHEZ, Miss. -- The 2023 Natchez Powwow is returning to its two-day weekend tradition. This year’s event will be held on Saturday and Sunday, March 25 and 26, on the north end of the Natchez Bluff near North Broadway and High streets, announced Dr. Charles Borum, who chairs the event. The cultural festival is free and open to the public.

Last year’s powwow, a single-day event, was held for the first time on the Bluff. It proved to be surprisingly successful, drawing about 1,500 visitors, according to Borum. He said the extra day this year will allow for greater attendance. Traders, food vendors, and the dancers prefer two days, he said, adding the two-day time frame is what attendees are used to having.

“Everything went well last year, and everybody had a good time,” Borum said. “We wanted to play it safe by starting with one day. But when it was over, we found that we had better attendance than we had expected.”

Longtime powwow participant Lance Harris was not surprised by the attendance or by Borum’s dedication. "Chuck Borum has been bringing some of the finest American Indian powwow singing and dancing to the Miss Lou area for over thirty years,” he said. “The Natchez Powwow is an event not to be missed."

Fun for whole family

The Natchez Powwow is an annual event that celebrates the culture of Native Americans. In addition to dance and music, it includes Native American food, arts, and crafts. The Natchez Powwow was started by Borum in 1988. In 2018, the Natchez Powwow was listed as one of the top 20 events of that year by the Southeast Tourism Society.

Borum said the powwow is a wholesome, fun-filled experience for the entire family. “It’s something you have to see and experience in order to fully appreciate what it’s all about. You just have to be there.”

Visitors will hear songs that are up to 300 years old. They’ll also hear the sound of 20 men hitting the drum. The colorful, cultural regalia, which can cost over $1,000, is a popular feature. Borum said a lot of the outfits are specialized. A pair of beaded moccasins will cost from $700 to $1,000, he said. However, some of the clothes are passed down from grandparents.

Reflecting on last year’s powwow, Borum said one of the things that stood out to him was the stick ball game. Students from Adams County Christian School, who played soccer, played a game of stick ball against a Choctaw team from Philadelphia, Miss.

 “That was a neat little exchange,” he said. “The students were excited to play.”

Finding his Osage family

Borum has also been encouraged by the participation of his friend, David Kelley of Natchez. Kelley is a member of the Osage Nation. About two years ago, he contacted Borum for assistance in learning more about his Native American culture.

“He was Osage, but he did not know about the Osage ways,” Borum recalled. “Since then, he’s gotten connected with the Osage family, and this year, Osage relatives plan to come and be with him at this dance. In May, he’s going to Oklahoma where he and his family will be given Osage names.”

Kelley said he is now all into this journey. Growing up, he and his family had their Osage membership, but “no one handed down the culture.” As he got older, he started wondering, “What is out there?”

“I reached out to Chuck because I had a desire to touch base with my Osage family,” Kelley said. “I didn’t know how to go about it. He has a lot of connections and lot of understanding of Native American culture.

“I offered to help with powwow in exchange for him assisting me. I was surprised that he took me under his wings and showed me things to help me with my dance regalia. He blessed me tremendously. He put me in touch with the leadership in Osage Nation. I am so grateful to him.”

While attending Lone Star War Dance in Granbury, Texas, Borum introduced Kelley to Otto Hamilton, a legislator in the Osage congress, and he in turn helped connect Kelley with his relative, Jodie Revard, who is also a legislator with the Osage legislature. 

Kelley said that he and his family are looking forward to being given their Native American names. Having the names will give them a place of honor in the nation, he said. “I’m happy and excited about this. It’s on my mind all the time. My family is super excited, and they want to build their regalia.”

As for the dance, Kelley said it’s hard to explain. Once he got the timing of the drums with his feet, and he experienced the movement of the dance, he found there’s something spiritual about it.

“You feel it deep inside and it gives you a rush,” he said. “I feel connected with the people and the drums. It makes me feel happy and exhilarated. It’s more than just a dance, it’s a connection to something deeper … like your ancestors.”

This year’s program

This year’s program will feature Tim Tallchief, Osage nation of Jones, Okla., who will serve as the master of ceremonies, and Darsh DeSilva of Round Rock, Texas, who will serve as arena director. The late Mike Shawnee, Quapaw nation of Owasso, Okla., is listed on the program as “head singer southern drum” following a request by his friends, according to Borum. “His friends asked us to leave his name on the program,” Borum said. “They will honor him at the drum by fulfilling his obligation as head singer.”

Other participants include Stan Smith, Ponca nation of Muskogee, Okla., as head man dancer; Kristal Glass, Quapaw nation of Stillwater, Okla., as head lady dancer; and Jeffrey “Dude” Blalock, Absentee Shawnee-Peoria of Miami, Okla., as head gourd dancer.

Visitors are asked to bring their own lawn chairs. Alcoholic beverages will be prohibited in the powwow area, as well as the trader and food vending areas.

Saturday’s schedule

9 a.m. -- Food and Craft and Farmer Market Vendors open

11 a.m. -- Traditional Stickball Game

1 p.m. -- Gourd Dance

2 :30 a.m. -- Grand Entry and Intertribal Dancing

4 p.m. -- Camp Feed for Singers and Dancers and family/friends

6 p.m. -- Gourd Dance

7 p.m. -- Grand Entry and Intertribal Dancing

9 p.m. -- Closing

Sunday’s schedule

9 a.m. -- Food and Craft Vendors open

1 p.m. -- Gourd Dance

2:30 p.m. -- Grand Entry and Intertribal Dancing

For more information, visit https://www.natchezpowwow.com, or send email to Powwow Chairman Dr. Chuck Borum at cborum@hotmail.com.

 

2023 Paper on Anne Moody

On Thursday, March 2, 2023, I had the honor of presenting a paper on Anne Moody at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Mississippi Historical Society. My presentation was titled, “Bringing Her Home: Commemorating Anne Moody in Southern Public Culture.” Event was held at the Two Museums in Jackson. Many thanks to Mississippi Humanities Council for the photo.

 #AnneMoody

The 2023 Natchez Literary & Cinema Celebration in Natchez, Miss.

I'm grateful to Ms. Betty Jo Harris of Co-Lin for inviting me to assist with this exciting program with two distinguished authors.

I must also give a shoutout to Mississippi Humanities Council for its support.

Alcorn Prof. J. Janice Coleman to trace the writing of 'A Raisin in the Sun' to the Hansberry Family’s roots in Gloster, Miss., at Feb. 28 meeting of the Natchez Historical Society

Dr. J. Janice Coleman
Professor of English, Alcorn State University

NATCHEZ, Miss. – J. Janice Coleman, professor of English at Alcorn State University, will be the guest speaker at the Natchez Historical Society meeting Tuesday, Feb. 28, at Historical Natchez Foundation, 108 S. Commerce St., Natchez. The program starts at 5:30 p.m. and the presentation at 6 p.m.

The event, which is free to the public, is being presented in recognition of Black History Month.

Coleman will speak on the topic, “The Road to A Raisin in the Sun: The Link Between the Hansberry Family of Gloster, Mississippi, and Alcorn A & M College.” She will trace Lorraine Hansberry’s critically acclaimed play, "A Raisin in the Sun" (1959), to the influence of the cherished home library of her grandfather, Elden Hays Hansberry, of Gloster, Amite County, Mississippi.

“Professor Coleman is an expert in, among other things, the early history of Alcorn in the Reconstruction period as well as American literature, and specifically, ‘A Raisin in the Sun,’” said Alan Wolf, a director of NHS and chairman of its programs.

He said Coleman’s presentation will include “an illustrative quilt of her own creation and other exhibits to help vivify Hansberrys’ life and time in the larger Natchez area and beyond.”

According to Coleman, Hansberry’s grandfather graduated from Alcorn in 1891, and his two sons, William Leo Hansberry and Carl Hansberry, both attended Alcorn for some years before their interests took them to other places.

Dr. J. Janice Coleman

Coleman said she was working as an archivist for ASU’s sesquicentennial celebration when she became interested in what was at the core of Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun.” “That’s how I got to Gloster, where Elden is buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery,” she said.

Coleman said that her research has implications for students today, especially those at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

“My research shows that anything that students want to accomplish, they can get there from Alcorn State or from any other HBCU,” Coleman said. “William Leo Hansberry once dubbed himself ‘a Mississippi plowboy,’ but he did not allow his former self to get in the way of what he wanted to become.”

Coleman described William Leo as a scholarly man who earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Harvard and became the Father of African Studies.

Carl became a real estate developer in Chicago who brought a case all the way to the Supreme Court that centered on racial discrimination in housing and won,” Coleman said. “Taking what she learned from her uncle’s and her father’s life experiences and teachings, Lorraine wrote ‘A Raisin in the Sun.’”

Hansberry’s play is widely considered a classic of the American theater. According to The Washington Post, “it belongs in the inner circle, along with “Death of a Salesman,” “Long Day’s Journey into Night,” and “The Glass Menagerie.” The New York Times described “A Raisin in the Sun” as “the play that changed American theater forever.”

A native of Mound Bayou, Miss., Coleman is a resident of Vicksburg. Her credentials include a doctorate in English from the University of Mississippi, a Master of Science in secondary education from ASU, a Master of Arts in popular culture from Bowling Green State in Ohio, and a Bachelor of Arts in English from ASU.

 For more information, call 601-492-3004.

 

“The Road to ‘A Raisin in the Sun’: The Link Between the Hansberry Family of Gloster, Mississippi, and Alcorn A & M College"

 

Dr. J. Janice Coleman

I'm happy to announce Dr. J. Janice Coleman, professor of English at Alcorn State University, will speak at the Feb. 28 meeting of the Natchez Historical Society. Program starts with social at 5:30 p.m. and presentation at 6 p.m.

“The Road to ‘A Raisin in the Sun’: The Link Between the Hansberry Family of Gloster, Mississippi, and Alcorn A & M College"
 
Event: “The Road to ‘A Raisin in the Sun’: The Link Between the Hansberry Family of Gloster, Mississippi, and Alcorn A & M College"
 
When: Tue Feb 28th 5:30pm - 8:00pm (CST)
 
Where: Historic Natchez Foundation, 108 South Commerce Street, Natchez, MS 39120, USA
 
Full details at: https://tockify.com/sippevents/detail/3743/1677627000000

#VisitNatchez #BlackHistory #BlackHistoryMonth #RaisinInTheSun #NatchezHistory #NatchezHistoricalSociety

Scott Barretta returning to Natchez to talk about Charles Evers’ Blues Legacy

Scott Barretta

NATCHEZ, Miss. – Blues historian Scott Barretta is returning to Natchez to talk about “Charles Evers’ Blues Legacy” in recognition of Black History Month. He will speak at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, at Historic Natchez Foundation, 108 S. Commerce St.
 
Barretta will present the same lecture at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28, in Dumas Hall, Room 107, at the Lorman campus of Alcorn State University. Both events are free to the public. They are sponsored by the Southwest Mississippi Center for Culture & Learning at Alcorn State University.
 
“Charles Evers is deservedly best known for his contributions to the civil rights movement and his political engagement in the state, but I also think it’s important to recognize him as a pioneer in cultural tourism,” said Barretta. “Notably,” he added, “the annual Medgar Evers Homecoming Celebration concert featuring B.B. King and other blues greats, which brought in people from across the country, predated the Mississippi Delta Blues Festival by five years.”
 
Teresa Busby, the center’s executive director, said Barretta’s talk will address the impact Evers had on the public visibility of the blues in Mississippi. Busby said the presentation will also address Evers’ work as a DJ in Philadelphia, Miss., in the 1950s; a nightclub owner in Chicago and Mississippi; and as the owner for many years of a blues-oriented radio station in Jackson.
 
The first major show held by Evers occurred in 1973 at the Mississippi Fairgrounds in Jackson, Barretta said.  Evers recalled he had first visited this site when it was a makeshift jail where hundreds of civil rights activists were locked up, Barretta said.
 
“Now black and white can walk in there together for an evening of singing and dancing,” Evers noted on the first event. “That’s the way Medgar would have wanted it and he died trying to make that kind of joy possible.’”
 
In 1969, Charles Evers became the first African American mayor in Mississippi since the Reconstruction era when he was elected as mayor of Fayette.
 
Barretta’s last visit to Natchez occurred in October when he presented a talk on “Natchez’s Rich Blues Tradition.” A resident of Greenwood, Barretta is well known as the host of the MPB radio show “Highway 61.” He is a writer and researcher for the Mississippi Blues Trail. He also teaches sociology courses about music at the University of Mississippi.
 
For more information, send email to tbusby@alcorn.edu.

#Blues #VisitNatchez #BlackHistory #BlackHistoryMonth

Rare slave document donated to Natchez museum

Item shows sale of enslaved man for $500 to settler of Spanish Natchez

Bobby Dennis, executive director of the Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture, left, and Richard Burke, Mayor Dan Gibson’s executive assistant, display a scanned copy of an 1828 bill of sale involving the sale of a 21-year-old enslaved man. The document was donated to the museum by an anonymous donor.

NATCHEZ, Miss. -- The Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture has acquired a rare 1828 document showing the sale of an enslaved man to an early settler of Spanish Natchez.
 
The document is a bill of sale by slave traders Warren Offutt and Rice Ballard for the sale of a 21-year-old man named, Aaron, whom they sold for $500 to John Henderson of Natchez. It was purchased in January by an anonymous donor, who delivered it to the office of Richard Burke, Mayor Dan Gibson’s executive assistant.
 
The person who gave it to Burke asked him to insure it was donated to the museum. Bobby Dennis, executive director of the museum, said he was both surprised and very pleased with the donation.
 
The document reads as follows:
 
        “Know all men by these presents that we Warren Offutt & Rice Ballard for and in consideration of the sum of five hundred Dollars to us in hand paid by John Henderson of the City of Natches the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged have bargained sold and delivered and by these presents do bargain sell and deliver to the said John Henderson One Negro Man named Aaron about twenty one years of age and we do hereby warrant the said Negro Man as a slave for life to the said John Henderson his heirs and assigns against the legal claim of all and every person or persons whomsoever and do also warran[t] the said Negro Man to be at this time bound in mind and body.

        “In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals at Natches this twenty seventh day of December 1828. 

        Witness: Warren Offutt, R. C. Ballard”
 
David Slay, chief of interpretation for the Natchez National Historical Park, said the document is significant for several reasons.
 
“It documents the existence of a 21-year-old Aaron and the other enslaved people from the McInnis estate, which will be of value to genealogists in that Aaron and the others likely have descendants in this region,” Slay said. He noted this could be a key piece to someone's ancestry search one day.
 
“It is a tangible artifact of the domestic slave trade in this region,” Slay said. “It is a physical object representing the selling of a man's life in Natchez in 1828, who was bound both ‘mind and body’ to John Henderson.”
 
According to the information provided with the document, on the day of the sale, “Henderson advertised an auction of ten slaves in two families from the estate of Norman McInnis of Concordia, Louisiana, to be sold at auction on January 2, 1829.” However, three years later, he penned a letter to a Washington, D.C. newspaper in which he proposed “a method for the gradual abolition of slavery.”