I'm an American Indian (or Native American, if that's better for some. Personally, I'm not very politically correct in the least. I grew up playing cowboys and Indians, not cowboys and Native Americans, so the words don't mean a whole lot to me, especially since neither reference is actually correct anyhow) and I have put together a short video aimed at generating a greater concern over one of my Tribes' sacred burial grounds.
Too often, the burial grounds are ignored due to people's hectic lives today, but reverence of our dead has always been a prominent trait of my Tribe, the Nanticoke Indians of Delaware. In fact, we were known to keep our dead in what were called chiacosone bundles, kept in sacred temples we built and also stored underground, and whenever we relocated we would disinter and collect these bone bundles and carry generations of our dead with us to our new location.
In an effort to promote a greater awareness and sense of care of these long-dead ancestors of ours among the Nanticoke tribal members, I filmed one local tribally-owned site known as Indian Mission with my Typhoon H Pro, where the remains of our ancestors are buried and where our Methodist Church was established in 1881. What I came up with is a kind of PSA about these grounds, which I am sharing here. FYI: I am not a Church attendee. My Church is wherever I walk, outside for the most part. My focus here is on the human remains buried here.
I don't quite know how to embed a video here or post them properly in good resolution, so I am using Dropbox to share this video I shot (link is at bottom). Comments are welcome.
The soundtrack is a Sweat Lodge Ceremony Song recording I made a couple of years ago - using synthesizers for every sound except, obviously, my voice, drum and rattle - and the words are in Nanticoke. In reality, this video is really aimed at anyone - regardless of race, nationality or color - who would care to pay their respects at this sacred space since all are welcome to. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for watching.
Walk (and fly) In Beauty
Dropbox - Indian Mission.mpg
Too often, the burial grounds are ignored due to people's hectic lives today, but reverence of our dead has always been a prominent trait of my Tribe, the Nanticoke Indians of Delaware. In fact, we were known to keep our dead in what were called chiacosone bundles, kept in sacred temples we built and also stored underground, and whenever we relocated we would disinter and collect these bone bundles and carry generations of our dead with us to our new location.
In an effort to promote a greater awareness and sense of care of these long-dead ancestors of ours among the Nanticoke tribal members, I filmed one local tribally-owned site known as Indian Mission with my Typhoon H Pro, where the remains of our ancestors are buried and where our Methodist Church was established in 1881. What I came up with is a kind of PSA about these grounds, which I am sharing here. FYI: I am not a Church attendee. My Church is wherever I walk, outside for the most part. My focus here is on the human remains buried here.
I don't quite know how to embed a video here or post them properly in good resolution, so I am using Dropbox to share this video I shot (link is at bottom). Comments are welcome.
The soundtrack is a Sweat Lodge Ceremony Song recording I made a couple of years ago - using synthesizers for every sound except, obviously, my voice, drum and rattle - and the words are in Nanticoke. In reality, this video is really aimed at anyone - regardless of race, nationality or color - who would care to pay their respects at this sacred space since all are welcome to. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for watching.
Walk (and fly) In Beauty
Dropbox - Indian Mission.mpg
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