Personal Narrative: My Native American Culture

Though I am Native, I have minimal knowledge about my own culture and have not ever participated in events that are often associated with Native American life. Powwow’s, stickball demonstrations and Native pageants are something rather foreign to me, so when I attended the Choctaw fair on April 19th I was quite surprised to find I had never been involved in any of these events before. It was a lively and enriching environment, one that I found to be rather enjoyable. My experience here was unlike any other that I have had before, for my only previous knowledge of my Native heritage was found only through talks with my grandfather. Though my grandfather and I were Cherokee, I found many similarities within the Choctaw regalia and weapons that

This lady had weaved most of the baskets that were displayed and explained that each basket varied in time to make, depending on the pattern. It seemed like a dangerous job because you have to be careful not to get cut from the sharp side of the rivercane, she said her hands were cut many times the first time she made her own basket. I then noticed a similarity between all of the baskets: the pattern in which they were dyed as seemed to resemble a diamond from the diamondback snake. I discovered that the diamondback snake is actually sacred in Choctaw culture because thought they are very dangerous, they killed and kept the varmints away from the crops. I found this to be particularly interesting because the venomous diamondback snake is typically seen as a very dangerous animal to most people, and understandably why. But, they didn’t see it in that way because they understood and appreciated its purpose. The baskets and the meaning behind them was quite beautiful and I was happy to see such harmony found between the Natives and the

I mentioned that my grandfather often worked with a lot of leather and asked how much more difficult it was to add on the beads. After talking to him, it proved to be a very tedious task. For you have to count each bead and make sure that everything is identical if you are making a pattern or shape, or else the whole thing would be off. It was obvious that it took a great amount of patience, so I asked how long it took him to make this picture of a woman he had on one of his bigger necklaces. That woman actually turned out to be his mother and was meant to be a sort of remembrance and something to honor her. It was beautiful and of course, took many months. I was happy to find that with some of the simpler beaded necklaces that you could wear them whenever you please, it wasn’t just for ceremonial purposes. The larger ones on the other hand, were obviously made for ceremonies, as they were very big and very beautiful. Each piece was special and could stand or be used for different occasions and I found that to be a wonderful aspect about the beadwork. In addition to jewelry, the beads are often found on the regalia which makes me wonder how much time that takes. Also displayed was regalia worn to a wedding, which had immense and colorful beadwork for both the groom and bride. It was amazing and if I get another chance, I plan on asking why the colorful beads are so often incorporated. Obviously it’s for