Wade Kingfisher wants students to know American Indian tribes are not all the same.
Kingfisher, who is a Minnicoujou Lakota, said people tend to think all American Indians are the same.
“We’re not just brown,” Kingfisher said. “We have seven different bands in our tribe. We’re just all totally different, even amongst the bands.”
Kingfisher said Minnicoujou, which means “camps by the water”, is the band of Lakota he is in. Lakots is a tribe located in South Dakota.
Possibly the most well-known Lakota was Crazy Horse, who was in the Oglala band and participated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in June 1876.
Nichole Boyd, president of the Native American Student Organization, said she contacted Kingfisher to come to SIUC and speak for Native American Heritage Month because he has experience teaching about his American Indian heritage.
Kingfisher helped kick off Native American Heritage Month Monday with Iron Necklace, a traditional American Indian drum and dance group that performed throughout the day at different dining halls. The performance was the first of 13 events taking place this month.
Gordon Green, a member of Iron Necklace who comes from the Chippewa in Michigan, said the dances and songs they performed were chosen to invite everyone to join in.
“Anybody who wants to join is welcome during intertribals,” Green said. “It’s a really big part of our culture. Those particular songs didn’t have any words to them; it’s more about the feeling you get from the melody.”
Green said the intertribals are dances that invite anyone — American Indian or not — to express themselves through drum and dance.
Kingfisher said he knows more than 1,000 songs, ranging from ones sung when a girl gets her ear pierced to ones for the first time to when a tribe member prays in a valley.
“We have some real sacred and spiritual songs that most people will never hear,” Kingfisher said. “We’re not allowed to sing them except for a certain area at a certain time.”
Kingfisher said he began learning the different songs when he was about 5 years old, and his grandfather would often quiz him on them.
Green said his goal for his visit to the university is to field questions from students who want to learn more about American Indians.
“I would like for people to feel comfortable enough to approach us and ask us intelligent questions about our culture,” Green said. “I like it when those from the younger generation ask questions, because then they’re getting it not out of the book, not from a teacher. They’re getting it from us.”
Green said he could end many of the stereotypes and misinformation about American Indians just by fielding questions from students.
Boyd said she wants students to realize that American Indians are still all around.
“I want students to understand that native culture is still alive and well,” Boyd said. “We are on this campus. There are natives on this campus that you would just pass by.”
Boyd, who is part Blackfoot and part Comanche, said if she could help one student break down American Indian stereotypes, then everything she has put into events for the month is worth the work. Boyd organized many of the events going on for Native American Heritage Month.
Kingfisher said there is a lot of misinformation about the American Indian culture.
“I read a lot of books about my tribe, and they’re all wrong,” Kingfisher said. “I’ve yet to see anything that’s written about us that’s really true.”
Kingfisher said Monday’s activities were representative of everyday life for American Indians. He said students walked by and maybe stopped and looked for a minute, but did not have the desire to learn about their culture.
Kingfisher said his tribe’s culture is not written, but is passed by word of mouth from generation to generation.
“There’s nothing written,” Kingfisher said. “I’ve never seen an actual songbook. Everything that we do is always evolving. We’re always learning them.”
Green said he made his 10-year-old daughter, Lydia’s, first regalia, which is an important symbol for his tribe.
“The floral part of it comes from our culture, the way we survived, the way we fed our families,” Green said. “A lot of these flowers are fruit bearing or used for medicinal purposes. There’s a reason certain types of flowers are on certain patterns.”
Gordon Green said the regalia consists of five main pieces; moccasins, legging, skirt, vest and shaw, and is used for ceremonial occasions.
Green said he began teaching his daughter the traditional Chippewa dances when she was a year and a half old.
“We made her her first regalia and brought her into the circle with the right type of ceremony when she was 3 years old,” Green said.
Kingfisher said he does not understand how the university can have a Native American studies course when there are so many tribes.
“Which one are you studying?” Kingfisher said. “How are you going to know what the East Coast tribes are doing compared to the West Coast tribes?”
Stile Smith can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 259.
