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This was the 32nd year that the Native American Festival has been held in Vienna to celebrate over 10 different tribes coming together. The event, held by the Nause-Waiwash Band of Indians, is the only powwow held on the Eastern Shore.

“We are celebrating our ancestors, our culture, our history. It is a fellowship for everybody and all the surrounding tribes. We have tribes here from up and down the East Coast,� said Donna “Wolf Mother� Abbot, chief of the Nause-Waiwash.

Abbot mentioned many tribes that had come Saturday with their own dance steps and stories, including the Piscataway, Nanticoke, Choptank, Lumbi, Lakota, Leni Lenape, Zuni and Mohawk.

“So much of our history was lost in Dorchester County,� Abbot said. “There were maybe four generations that wouldn’t acknowledge their indigenous bloodline because it was disgraceful and it wasn’t taught to them.�

She mentioned keeping the oral history alive and documenting it so it doesn’t disappear. These dances and songs and outfits keep the story alive.

Tatanka Gibson danced until sweat came down his brow.

“I am a Eastern Woodland dancer, and I guess I am a traditionalist because I sing social dance songs and live in a longhouse,� Gibson said. “My dancing is telling about life ways, telling about traveling, and most of the time we are going for peace. It is an expression of our life and expression of who we were back in the day and who we are still today through dance.�

He said that powwows and dancing for the public is a new thing. That his great grandparents would dance at “socials,� not in this current forum.

Mike Harmon of the Nanticoke Indian Tribe in Delaware, found a place in the shade to watch the dancers.

“It has been a great day with all the different native nations. It is really exciting to see all the different dance styles today and to see all the tribal nations come together and have a good time,� he said.

Harmon danced as well. He does a southern straight dance that originated in Oklahoma.

“I like to see the happy faces on the children, our younger generation. We dance for our ancestors, but at the same time we set the example for the little ones. To watch the kids get excited about the dancing styles and the traditions and culture, that is really cool,� Harmon said.

Husband and wife Dorothy and Schirra Gray are from the Piscataway Nation. They have performed at the Museum of the American Indian. Schirra said they were doing a mix of contemporary and traditional dance forms.

“We have been dancing our whole lives,� Dorothy said.

“The most important part of today is sharing our culture with others, to let people know that Indians still exist in this country. We want to break down stereotypes and show that we are alive,� Schirra said.