is the issue of wannabes,fakes etc important to you??

[steelemagnolia63]

My husband is Lenape, part of the Delaware Nation and he has never heard of this ceremony. I have never heard of it either.

If it didn't feel right to you then more than likely it wasn't right....

[Joe G]

"Is this some of that new age stuff that an elder at a powwow I attended warned me about and not to believe? Is it a real thing that I should be doing? It seems really strange. Somehow, I can't see native americans hitting trees with sticks telling them to wake up!"

It seems to me they should be hitting the attendees with a stick and waking them up!

[Joe's Dad]

Hi everyone. I would like to ask a question.

First I am a decendent of native americans of the Delaware tribe. I have also been to several powwows and find them very interesting.

Last week, I was invited to and attended a Delaware tree awakening ceremony. This happened at sunrise on the first day of spring. I was told that this was something that Chief Tammany did every spring to help the people believe that it would be a good growing season.

What the people who attended did was all join hands around this hugh oak tree. Then the leader said some prayers and asked the tree to wake up. Then he started tapping the tree with a stick as he went around the tree. After that everyone started tapping different trees with a stick. I just stood there and watched thinking that something was wrong. First time jitters I guess. It was just weird and I didn't understand why the trees needed to be woke up. Later as we had a great breakfast and talked, I was told that this ceremony has been done for thousands of years and I need to go home and wake my own trees in my yard.

After I got home, I started searching on the internet for some insite on this tree awakening. The only thing I found was a small topic on some strange website about witches and Celtic beliefs.

Is this some of that new age stuff that an elder at a powwow I attended warned me about and not to believe? Is it a real thing that I should be doing? It seems really strange. Somehow, I can't see native americans hitting trees with sticks telling them to wake up!

Think back here for a minute, Joe...

Did the people at this 'Tree Wakening' ceremony look like Celts?

I'm just an old man, but if I were a tree...

I think I would feel a whole lot better if someone would come whisper to me to wake up cuz it's springtime...instead of beating the SHEIT out of me with a stick!!!

And if I were a tree...I would believe 'the One who created me' would know when it was time for me to wake up. Why in the hell would I need a hooman to tell when it's time?

[Blackbear]

JD.. I was thinking that sounded like an old celt or wiccan thing myself but can't find anything on it.. all I know is in that area, the only tapping on trees that is done in the spring is maple tapping... LOL! But in my search I found two more crackpots....

Moon Lodge and Women's Events
Journeys For The Soul - Kerrie Dancing Butterfly

[Eagle Plumes]

Ive beat on a tree saying wake up many times! But it was while I was whacking my uncle saying wake up! after he pass'd out behind a tree aayyeee.

[Joeindian]

Think back here for a minute, Joe...

Did the people at this 'Tree Wakening' ceremony look like Celts?

I'm just an old man, but if I were a tree...

I think I would feel a whole lot better if someone would come whisper to me to wake up cuz it's springtime...instead of beating the SHEIT out of me with a stick!!!

And if I were a tree...I would believe 'the One who created me' would know when it was time for me to wake up. Why in the hell would I need a hooman to tell when it's time?

The people were dresses as normal as any one. Jeans, shirts, hats, jackets, sweatshirts, you name it. Nothing special, nothing fancy.

I think I'm going to look up this elder I met a powwow last year. I have his business card around here somewhere. The funny part about him is he says he is not an elder but many of the people say he is. If he is not an elder, why does everyone seem to seek him out? Maybe he is just one of those popular guys that seems to always have good advice. We talked last year for about an hour on the tailgate of his pickup after the circle was closed. Nice truck, looked brand new and he seemed really proud of it. He offered me food as we talked. The one thing I took from our conversation is that there are many fakes and weird things that people do that have no real understandable reason. He said that native americans usually have a lot of common sense and if things don't seem right, chances are they are not.

I also think I will stay away from the tree beating people. They call themselves Delaware and are located in east central Ohio.

[steelemagnolia63]

As the Delaware were pushed out of their native lands some of them did land in Ohio...So there are people of Delaware descent in Ohio...

I tried to do some tree awakening research also and all I found were references ti the Celts, and Wiccans.... and neither one of them are Delaware....

[Joeindian]

As the Delaware were pushed out of their native lands some of them did land in Ohio...So there are people of Delaware descent in Ohio...

I tried to do some tree awakening research also and all I found were references ti the Celts, and Wiccans.... and neither one of them are Delaware....

Same here. All I found were small references that were all Wiccian and Celt. Like I said, I'm going to stay away from them. We met at a powwow last year and they said they could help me find my native roots and define them more clearly. From my own research, I have found that my great grandmother was 1/2 Delaware. So that makes me just about nothing.

[steelemagnolia63]

Be proud of whatever amount of Native Blood that you have... No one can take that from you....

[Joeindian]

Be proud of whatever amount of Native Blood that you have... No one can take that from you....

I fully understand that and are very proud of who I am and where I came from. The thing is that I keep reading about people like myself who have very little native blood getting in with the wrong people and leaning false things about my ancestors. I don't want to be like that.

I found the business card of the guy I talked to a the powwow I attended in Logan, Ohio last year. It was under the seat of my van. It's really faded out from the sun and got wet somehow. The guy's name is Ken and he is some sort of audio engineer or an audiologist or something. I can't read the phone number. Hopefully I will run into him again this year. He really seems to know his stuff.

[Blackbear]

Saying they are doing native ceremonies or claiming to be a native group and doing wiccan ceremonies is a pretty sure sign they are Nuagers.

[beeleaf]

I fully understand that and are very proud of who I am and where I came from. The thing is that I keep reading about people like myself who have very little native blood getting in with the wrong people and leaning false things about my ancestors. I don't want to be like that.

Hey, Joe. Welcome.
Yeah, it's a good idea to be cautious, as you continue your search. Something in you was suspicious of the ones you described. I think you can trust that instinct. Can be quite a gift at times.

[Joe's Dad]

Think back here for a minute, Joe...

Did the people at this 'Tree Wakening' ceremony look like Celts?

I'm just an old man, but if I were a tree...

I think I would feel a whole lot better if someone would come whisper to me to wake up cuz it's springtime...instead of beating the SHEIT out of me with a stick!!!

And if I were a tree...I would believe 'the One who created me' would know when it was time for me to wake up. Why in the hell would I need a hooman to tell when it's time?

I was referring to blonde hair, blue-eyed white people posing as 'Native Americans' but I didn't want to hurt anyone's feeling and they get all butthurt!!!

[Joe's Dad]

I fully understand that and are very proud of who I am and where I came from. The thing is that I keep reading about people like myself who have very little native blood getting in with the wrong people and leaning false things about my ancestors. I don't want to be like that.

I found the business card of the guy I talked to a the powwow I attended in Logan, Ohio last year. It was under the seat of my van. It's really faded out from the sun and got wet somehow. The guy's name is Ken and he is some sort of audio engineer or an audiologist or something. I can't read the phone number. Hopefully I will run into him again this year. He really seems to know his stuff.

Stick around...you might find him here!

[Joe G]

The guy mentioneds sounds like TKMJ a frequent poster on this site...