Ohio's Indigenous People Program

At the May 2007 JWCB meeting, Richard Lashhorn, aka "Tracker Grey Fox" and his son "White Buffalo" spoke to the clubwomen about the different Indian tribes that lived along the Ohio River.

Tracker Grey Fox explained the meaning of his tribe's tribunal dress, color arrangements of their belts and head dress. He also talked about how their weapons were created, and their cultural significance. Both gentlemen told us of their tribe's challenge in preserving traditional crafts.

Tracker Grey Fox emphasized the importance of a strong oral tradition in passing down cultural values and identity, as well as an understanding of the spiritual need to live in harmony with nature and the world-at-large. He described tribe members who maintain their identity while living today in a white society through the storytelling of Leonard Crow Dog, who was brought up with the knowledge and the mission of preserving the ways of a Sioux medicine woman. His presentation promoted an empathy among clubwomen attending for the struggle of maintaining one's culture through native arts.