MCC to Celebrate Native American Heritage Month

MADISONVILLE, Ky. (10.29.2010) Madisonville Community College will celebrate Native American Heritage Month on November 10 from noon to 1 p.m. with an informative presentation by Hawk Laughing, from the Mohawk tribe, and his wife Regina, a Cherokee.

Hawk and Regina will share the culture of their tribes during a presentation at the Brown Badgett Center quad room on the north campus.

Hawk is of the Mohawk tribe from what is now northern New York. His interest in the history of his people was sparked by living on the Iroquois Reservation with his grandmother. There, he learned about the traditions and values of being a Mohawk.

He shares his culture by storytelling, flute playing and dancing the dances of his ancestors. He has a degree in Native American studies.

Regina was born in Georgia and belongs to the Cherokee tribe. She was brought up like any modern American and only learned about the history of her people in the last 12 years.

She has made an effort to learn about her traditional values by speaking with the elders of her tribe. She says she has been given a second chance in life to pass the traditional values of her people to her children so that they can pass it on to their children; in this way, the culture will never die.

Hawk and Regina will also bring a display the regalia they wear when they compete across the country at pow-wows and will demonstrate the different types of dances from different North American tribes that are seen at these gatherings. Hawk specializes in being a southern straight dancer, which is a gentleman s dance, while Regina is a northern buckskin dancer.

The public is invited to attend the event.