The Native American Festival, presented by the Multicultural Center took place on Friday, Sept. 22.  This festival gave insight and taught the Native American lifestyle, culture and even how to dance in a Powwow.

“The initial impact of the Native American Festival is to introduce the culture, customs, language and the people to the campus and students, and to also provide students the opportunity to learn about a different part of history,” said Nathaniel Tadesse, the mentor and coordinator in the Multicultural Center.

Photo of individuals performing and learning dances at the Native American Festival. (Dora Mercado/East Tennessean)

This annual festival started in 2016 and has been growing over the last seven years. The idea of the festival started when a group of students wanted to bring and introduce Native American life to campus. Since then, the festival has occurred every year, bringing in Cherokee natives to elucidate on the lifestyle and customs.

The festival that took place on Friday, gave the audience the opportunity to connect and dive deeper into different aspects such as dancing and languages. From learning to count to five in Cherokee to joining in on traditional dances such as the Grass dance and the Medicine dance, the Native American Festival took on its role of getting students involved and knowledgeable about different practices.

Photo taken at the Native American Festival. (Dora Mercado/East Tennessean)

“There is great potential for some professor’s classes to align the event with their classes, which can naturally enhance the student’s learning if they are engaged,” Tadesse states.

With a few challenges, such as timing issues, Tadesse and other members have come up with ways to improve these issues like creating a way to allow high school students to join and reestablish an organization for the Cherokee and the community. The Multicultural Center and the Cherokee natives are ready for next year’s festival and eager to share new ways to make the festival informative and enhance Native American life.

“I want to make sure students, and everybody is getting the chance to get to know them and are appreciating the diversity on campus and the diversity in this region,” said Tadesse.

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