Media Contacts:
Chief Walter Vickers
Nipmuc Nation
Office- 508-865-9800
Ken Crater
Grafton Land Trust
[email protected]
(508) 839-7402, Ext. 7
John LaPoint
350th Anniversary Press Contact
[email protected]
508-839-3367 or 508-735-5316
The New Face Of Tourism In Grafton On Display
As Near Record Audience Attends 51st Annual Nipmuc Pow Wow
GRAFTON, MASSACHUSETTS: A near capacity attendance of over 1,100 people
came
to Grafton on Sunday afternoon for the 51st edition of the Nipmuc Nation’s
Native American Indian Fair, held at the Hassanamisco Nipmuc Reservation
on
Brigham Hill. Attendance was strong throughout the day from the time
the Grafton
Lion’s Club parking lot opened at 9:15 AM, and the Indian
Fair itself got
underway at 10:00 AM. Automobile license plates were observed from
five of the six
New England states, including Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut,
Rhode Island
and Massachusetts. Nipmuc Nation officials reported that the official
attendance of 1,135 has been exceeded only once in recent memory.
The morning weather on Brigham Hill was cool and rain free as early
arrivals
at the Fair spread throughout the historic four acre Nipmuc Reservation
site,
visiting vendors and later watching as Chief Natachman Walter Vickers
of Northb
oro presided over a Naming Ceremony for four Tribal members, including
two
grandsons of Chief Suncloud.
Around 1:00 PM the Medicine Fire was lit. Traditionally, Native
American pow
wow’s were needed to help drive away sickness, ensure
success in battle,
interpret dreams, or to help individuals or tribes in other ways. Prayers,
singing, dancing, and drumming were all used by pow wows in those ceremonies,
and
wherever Native American people gathered there was feasting, socializing
and
trading. In modern Native American pow wow’s the spiritual
center is The Circle, a
place of respect and honor, and a place blessed by a spiritual leader.
The
circle is entered only from the East (where there is an opening) and
dancers
travel in the same direction as the sun. Singing is a gift and praise
to the
Creator, and the drum is the heartbeat of the People.
Even Grafton’s weather must have been inspired at this
point because about
1:30 PM, as Nipmuc Nation Tribal Council Member and Master of Ceremonies
Bruce
Curliss was getting everything prepared for the Grand Entry ceremonies
and the
large audience was filling the hillside surrounding The Circle, the
sun broke
through and began to shine brightly on everyone present.
The Grand Entry was lead by Chief Vickers and over thirty-five Native
Americans in full dress regalia. Master of Ceremonies Curliss, who
had flown into
Boston earlier that morning from a business assignment, offered a very
moving
Thanksgiving Prayer. (Invocation) Chief Vickers conducted the Calumet.
(Pipe
Ceremony) The a very moving ceremonial dance in honor of Native American
war
veterans, was done to the accompaniment of special music referencing
all wars, was
performed by the group “Big Hill.�
The afternoon’s music was also provided
by The Quabbin Lake Singers, marking their return appearance in Grafton
after
the May 14th Hassanamesit Anniversary Opening Ceremonies on Grafton
Common.
Grafton Selectman Susan Mills offered Officials Greetings from the Town
and
Ken Crater, on behalf of the 350th Anniversary Hassanamesit Committee,
detailed
the schedule of the upcoming series of 350th Anniversary events.
A special part of the afternoon ceremonies was the appearance of Chief
Strong
Horse of the Narragansett Nation, who was introduced as having attended
Native American POW Wows at Hassanamisco, both public and before that
private,
since 1930. Chief Strong Horse lead those assembled in the festive
Welcome Dance.
The afternoon included visitors going around to many Native American
vendor
tents and tables, refreshments including succotash and corn bread,
and more
traditional “native American fare� such as
hot dogs and hamburgs. At one point
in the afternoon Master of Ceremonies Curliss asked for a show of hands
as to
how many were attending the Nipmuc Reservation Pow Wow for the very
first
time, and approximately half the large audience sitting around The
Circle raised
their hands.
The Nipmuc Native American Indian Fair is the second in a series of
events
promoted this year by Grafton’s 350th Hassanamesit Anniversary
Committee. The
Committee consists of representatives of the Nipmuc Nation Tribal Council,
Grafton Town Officials, members of the Grafton Land Trust, Grafton
Historical
Commission, John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage
Corridor
Commission, The Trust for Public Land, Worcester Historical Museum,
Troop 107 Boy
Scouts, and local civic, cultural and youth groups.
The 350th Anniversary Committee would like to thank the Nipmuc Nation
and
their guests, the Grafton Lions Club, The Grafton Police Department,
and the
Grafton Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) for their participation
Sunday.
The next 350th Anniversary Event is scheduled for Saturday, September
18th -
“Grafton Discovery Day,� a program devoted
to identifying and cataloging
individual and family treasures and possessions related to the history
of the Town of
Grafton and its many families. The program, cosponsored by the
Worcester
Historical Museum, uses digital photography to “preserve�
these privately owned
historic treasures, heirlooms an artifacts for the enjoyment of all.
The
event will be held at the Brigham Hill Community Barn on Wheeler Road.
The next
planning meeting of the 350th Anniversary Committee will be held on
Wednesday,
August 18th, at the Brigham Hill Community Barn at 7:00 PM. All are
welcome to
attend. For further information on the 350th Anniversary Hassanamesit
Committee and its activities, contact Ken Crater of the Grafton Land
Trust at
508-839-7402 Ext. 7.