Smoke Signals

Articles and News Wanted

 

Attention all little braves and parents.  We’re always looking for interesting articles and ideas for inclusion in the Smoke Signals.  Little braves are encouraged to submit stories about their Indian Guides experiences or items about Native Americans in general.  Tribal information or meeting reports are also more than welcome.  As a matter of fact, your tribe will receive 20 White Buffalo points for each story from a little brave and 30 points for tribe meeting/information reports.  Articles can be submitted to the Sand Painter either in hard copy or via e-mail to ahamrick@insight.rr.com.  You can hand your hard copy to your tribal chief who can then turn it in at any Indian Guide event or at a longhouse meeting   Remember – this is your Smoke Signals!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adena Longhouse

Calendar of Events  2002-2003 Season

 (as of August 23, 2002)

 

                                                                     

 

Month/Date	Event	Location	Time	Sponsor Tribe
August 7	Longhouse Meeting	Westerville Library	7:00 pm
September 4	Longhouse Meeting	Westerville Library	7:00 pm
September 23	Rally for New Members	Annehurst Elementary	7:00 pm	YMCA
September 25	Rally for New Members	Robert Frost Elementary	7:00 pm	YMCA
October 2	Longhouse Meeting	Westerville Library	7:00 pm
October 5	Induction Ceremony	Hoover Reservoir	7:00 pm
October 11-13	Fall Campout	Camp OtyOkwa		Huron
November 6	Longhouse Meeting	Westerville Library	7:00 pm
November 16	Turkey Shoot	Grand Slam USA	9:00 am	Shohsone
December 1	Christmas Parade	Westerville	1:00 pm
December 4	Longhouse Meeting	Westerville Library	7:00 pm
January 8	Longhouse Meeting	Westerville Library	7:00 pm
January 25	Bowling	Columbus Square	Noon	Miami / Chickasaw
February 5	Longhouse Meeting	Westerville Library	7:00 pm
February 7-9	Winter Campout	Camp Willson		Mowhawk
March 2	Penny Carnival	YMCA North	1:00 – 5:00 pm	YMCA
March 5	Longhouse Meeting	Westerville Library	7:00 pm
March 15	Pinewood Derby / Family Fun Night	YMCA North	5:00 – 10:00 pm	Cheyenne
April 2	Longhouse Meeting	Westerville Library	7:00 pm
April 18-20?	Spring Campout	TBD
May 7	Longhouse Meeting	Westerville Library	7:00 pm
May ?	TBD			Cherokee?
June 4	Longhouse Meeting	Westerville Library	7:00 pm
June 6	Clippers Game	Cooper Stadium	7:05 pm	YMCA

      
Welcome from Chief Medicine Bear

 

 

As the dog days of summer are coming to a close and the green corn moon shines bright in the night sky, it is once again that time of year to renew the bond between parent and child and reunite as members of the great Adena Longhouse.  I would like to welcome each of you to another fun and exciting year of the Y Indian Guides Program.  I am honored to be chief this year of the mighty Adena Longhouse, and I am looking forward to participating in our traditions and all the events that we have planned for this coming season.

 

One of the goals this year of our longhouse council is to boost our membership.  Not only we would like to recruit new families to fill vacancies in our existing eight tribes, we would like to be able to enlist enough new members to create two additional tribes!  To meet this goal, we need your help.  As parents in the Y Indian Guide Program, we all know that this great organization was founded and has been built through volunteer effort.  Therefore, we need you to get the word out about the Adena Longhouse to all your friends and cohorts, throughout your neighborhood, church and work.  Let them know that we will be hosting two rallies for new members: September 23rd at Annehurst Elementary and September 25^th at Robert Frost Elementary.  Although these rally dates will be promoted through all the elementary schools by the YMCA via a take home flyer, we need our existing members to get the word out.  If you would like extra copies of the YMCA program flyer to pass out personally, get in touch with me or any other longhouse officer or tribe chief.  The roster of Adena Longhouse chiefs and officers is enclosed in this issue of the Smoke Signals for your reference.

 

Following our new member rallies in September, we will be having in the month of October our Longhouse Induction Ceremony on Saturday October 5^th, followed by our great Fall Campout at Camp Oty’Okwa in the Hocking Hills on October 11^th-13^th.  I know everyone is looking forward to the beautiful fall colors, the hiking trails, and creating our pumpkin totems.  Check out the calendar of events inside this addition of the Smoke Signals, and make sure you mark these dates down on your family calendar.  If your household is anything like mine, you know that if an event isn’t listed on the family calendar, it doesn’t exist.

 

Again, please get out the word about our recruiting rallies in September and I hope to see everyone at the Induction Ceremony (for current and new members) in October.  In addition, if anyone has suggestions for our longhouse council, please share them with your tribal chief or see me.

 

 

Y-Indian Guides      

 

Adena Longhouse Fall Campout 2001

Camp Oty’Okwa, October 11-13

 

 

Make preparations now for the fall campout.  We will again use the Big Brothers / Big Sisters camp in the Hocking Hills for this fall outing.  This camp facility is a wonderful place for fathers and sons and mothers and sons to spend quality time together.  The leaves should be spectacular; the hiking should be challenging; the time of fellowship should be renewing.

 

The host tribe, the Hurons, hopes that everyone can make this first campout of 2002-2003.  The highlight of the weekend will again be the making of the pumpkin totem poles on Saturday night.  Let’s hope for a year without rain!

 

Items to bring with you include:

For pumpkin carving

Pumpkin (approx. 1 foot in diameter)

Carving knife (serrated works best)

Large spoon for cleaning insides

Candles for inside pumpkin

Matches / lighter

 

For camping

Flashlights

Pillows, sleeping bags, or blankets.

Several changes of clothing

Hygiene items and towels

Hiking boots / shoes (extra pairs)

Snacks, drinks (non-alcoholic)

Rain gear

Bug spray

Tribal property

Indian Guides vest and headband

Indoor/rainy weather games

 

Directions to the camp are enclosed.  If you plan to arrive after dark, you might want to follow a friend who knows the way.

 

The cost is $90 per teepee, plus $20 per each additional brave.  Patches will be sold at the campout for $3.00 ea.

 

A final head count must be turned in with money at the longhouse meeting on October 2.  Please make check payable to Adena Longhouse. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adena Longhouse

Induction Ceremony for New Members

 

Saturday, October 5, 2001

7:00 PM

 

Camp Area “R”

Walnut Bluffs

8111 Schott Road

 

All Indian Guide braves are invited to attend the new brave induction ceremony.  This event is designed to welcome new fathers/mothers and sons to our longhouse.  The ceremony will begin at 7:30 PM.  We encourage braves to begin gathering at 7:00 PM.  Please park on the gravel roads – not in the grass.

 

To assist with the fire extinguishing, we ask that each tribal chief bring a couple gallons of water.

 

Directions: Sunbury Road (along Hoover Reservoir) to Smothers Road (go across the reservoir) turn right onto Schott Road and the camp area is on the right side of the road about ¼ - ½ mile.

 

        

 

 Future Changes Announced for the

Y Indian Guide Program

 

Many of you may have heard from your tribal chiefs this past spring that the YMCA has announced changes are being made, beginning in the Fall of 2003, to the 75+ year old Y Indian Guide Program.  Over the years, there have been sporadic complaints concerning the use of the Indian theme within the program.  An emphasis on proper use of the theme in recent years has helped, but not entirely.  Some complaints are inevitable.  This has caused the YMCA of the USA to bring the whole theme portion of the program in to question more and more.  Even though YMCA publications over the years have repeatedly stated how integral the theme is to the program, and stated their own support of the theme, they now feel that the theme has become a liability.

 

On May 6, 2002, as incoming chief of the Adena Longhouse, I, along with other Adena Longhouse officers and representatives from other central Ohio longhouses, had the opportunity to attend a meeting held by the central Ohio YMCA to discuss the status of the Y Indian Guide Program.  Regretfully, the decision to make changes to the program had already been made by the YMCA and the focus of the meeting was on the transition process.  Although a new theme portion of the program has yet to be developed, program components that will remain the same include: fostering companionship of parent and child; belonging to a small group or tribe; tribal meetings featuring arts and crafts, games and recreation, stories, songs and projects; council gatherings and events such as induction ceremonies, campouts, pinewood derby races, etc.; and wearing of vests with event patches.  The program components that will be changed include: the program name (Y Indian Guides); the removal of all components of the program that involve speaking for, imitating or copying the native American Indian theme (adopting Indian names; use of Indian tribal names; wearing Indian costumes such as headdresses, headbands, and feathers; using Indian paraphernalia such as coup sticks; council officer names such as Chief, Wampum Bearer, and Sachem; and Indian style ceremonies); and gender specific brand names (rather than Indian Guides, Indian Braves, Indian Princess and Indian Maidens, a new single name for the program will be chosen without being gender specific, although Ys may still design programs for father-son, father-daughter, etc.).

 

As more information becomes available through the YMCA regarding the program changes that are scheduled to take effect in the Fall of 2003, I will try and pass along this information in future issues of the Smoke Signals.  Notwithstanding these pending changes, I hope that you will all continue to support the parent/child focus of this program and join with your fellow Adena Longhouse members in celebrating our traditions throughout this 2002-2003 season of the Y Indian Guide Program.  With regard to new members joining the program this season, we understand that the YMCA will make available the current program materials, such as the participant’s manual (“Friends Always”) and headbands, at a discounted price.  In addition, the purchasing of a program vest will remain a worthwhile investment as vests and event patches will continue to be a part of the program in the future.

 

Glen Hackett, Medicine Bear

Chief, Adena Longhouse