Published: Wednesday, Sep. 02, 2009 / Updated: Thursday, Sep. 03, 2009 10:41 AM
Catawba members vist Indian Land
INDIAN LAND --
A buzz of excitement swept around the Indian Land Middle School gymnasium as students filled the bleachers.
“Look at that man!” said Caleb McClimen, a sixth grader, as a man walked into the gymnasium in full Native American dress.
The buzz and excitement was just what Principal David McDonald hoped to generate with his first Warrior Time assembly of the year, a presentation by the Catawba Indian Nation.
Warrior Time is a new program implemented at the school for all middle school students. Warrior Time will be a twice monthly, hour-long program. At least one hour a month will be a special assembly or project for the students to help them become involved in extracurricular activities during the school day, McDonald said.
Last week, the program opened with a traditional Catawba “Calling Song,” a mixture of beating drums and chanting.
Beckee Garris, medicine woman of the Catawba Indian Nation, shared with the students a bit of history of both the Catawba people and their land, which included parts of Fort Mill and what is now known as Indian Land.
Where Sun City Carolina Lakes now stands was once a Native American village, she said.
“This was Indian land before it was ‘Indian Land',” said Garris.
Pottery was a key in helping the Catawba Indian Nation survive and thrive throughout the years, Garris said. The students saw the process of making Catawba pottery and some of the tools that are used to make the pieces, including deer antler that is used to scrape and smooth the clay. Catawba potters get their clay from a “clay hole” in Lancaster County, Garris said, a location they've used for more than 4,500 years.
Traditional Catawba Nation dances were the highlight of the program for many students, with Ronnie Beck performing a traditional grass dance. The dance was used hundreds of years ago to mat down grass, Kristine Carpenter, program director for the Catawba Cultural Center, explained to the students.
“There were no John Deere tractors,” Carpenter explained. “And you couldn't burn the grass because there was no fire department to keep you from burning down everything.”
He also performed the hoop dance, a dance involving multiple hoops that he used throughout the dance to form images of birds, snakes and other animals.
McDonald was excited to present his students with a bit of history about the community. This was the first time the Catawba Indian Nation has made a presentation at the middle school, he said.
“I'm not sure we've ever just talked about the history,” McDonald said. “Our name is Indian Land but we had never talked about what that means.”
For McClimen, the history lesson taught him about his new community. McClimen moved to Indian Land from Rock Hill this year and didn't know about its Native American history.
He sat through the presentation, captivated by the dancing and discussion.
“Awesome,” McClimen said. “This is awesome.”
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