PAVCS Newsroom

Paige Zellner and her family have been involved with the Native culture for the past 14 years. One of her favorite native ceremonies "the sing" is held twice a year once in the fall and once in the spring. The native group called the Haudenosaunee, also know as the Iroquois, are located on reservations all over New York and Canada. Each year one of the 6 nations will host “the sing.” The Six Nations of the Iroquois include: the Onondaga Nation, the Oneida Nation, the Seneca Nation, the Tuscarora Nation, the Mohawk Nation, and the Cayuga Nation. One year Paige and her family drove for over 14 hours to attend a ceremony. 

"The sing" is a one-day event and starts before noon and they play native songs in native language till about 7 p.m. Each nation has their own singing society, which takes turns singing about 2-3 songs, it may be a group of women or a group of men but will never be mixed. When the rounds are all done the nation that hosts the ceremony puts on what they call a feed with all native dishes and desserts. This is provided this to everyone attending. After dinner, they do the social dancing again, and the singers all take turns playing traditional instruments consisting of water drums and rattles only. Instead of sitting and listening to the music, they all dance in a circle in the longhouse.

For the last five years, during fourth weekend of July, Paige and her family have attended the Grand River Powwow in Chiefswood Park on the Six Nations reserve near Brantford, Ontario. There are over 400 competitors at the powwow, and about 100 vendors selling handcrafted jewelry, clothing, crafts, books and music. The ceremony opens with the Grand Entry of Elders who carry the flags and the eagle feather into the circle. Prayers are offered to the Creator, and the audience collectively honors the ancestors. The opening procession could last over 2 hours until everyone has entered the opening circle. Soon, the competitions commence and the drum tempos rise and fall while voices chant. Dancers dress in traditional feathers, beads, leather, and shells, all artistically woven by hand. One the most fantastic dance displays is the "jingle dress", made up of hundreds of tiny silver cones that "jingle" when the dancer moves. Paige has participated in the Fancy Shawl dancing, where up to 175 people can be dancing at once. These shawl dancers seem to paint the tunes on the air as their colored fringes streak by. 

In addition to attending PAVCS, Paige has been learning about the traditional art of native beading. She has is very thankful for her experiences learning about native culture. These experiences have given her a strong sense of spirituality and admiration for what has provided to her in life.