Native American Regalia

Hi all,

I've read the posts on using Native American regalia in cub ceremonies
with considerable interest. Let me state up front that I have used
such regalia in cross-over ceremonies the last two years. I have not
used Native American regalia in ordinary advancement ceremonies.

I found Ted Burton's post on this subject to be very thoughtful and
useful, and I agree with most of his comments. I would add, however,
Ted, that there is a Native American thread in cubbing--Chief Akela
and the Webelos tribe! Now, obviously, such a tribe and chief do not
exist, so copying a tribal culture as to clothing and so forth is not
possible. Therefore, when Chief Akela has shown up in my pack--he
only puts in an appearance at cross-overs--I have used such colorful
and well-made non-specific Native American regalia as I could get. I
have been fortunate to have had access for the last couple of years to
a magnificent collection of handmade regalia items by a now-deceased
scouter in our district.

I wore these items of regalia--primarily war bonnets--in what I
thought and intended to be a respectful manner. I always included in
my remarks at the beginning of the ceremony that Chief Akela only
shows up at our most important pack events (i.e, crossovers).

I also have heard a giggle occasionally from a parent when I make my
appearance (with reddish hair, a moustache, and glasses, I don't look
much like a Native American), but I find that I can nip that in the
bud by pointing out that Akela is wearing this magnificent head-dress
out of respect and admiration for the many noble qualities of a proud
people who have been tragically misunderstood and misused throughout
our history. By wearing regalia, we honor them, as well as the young
men who are crossing over to boy scouts. This stops the occasional
giggling cold.

Now--I realize that the regalia I have used is not true to the local
tribes which once existed in northern Virginia. However, the Webelos
tribe does not exist! One is faced with a dilemma as to what to do.
One can thus either ignore a large chunk of cub scout culture and lore
and never have chief Akela show up, or one can try to use Native
American regalia for very special occasions, in an effort to make the
ceremonies memorable and a real event in a young cub's life.

I agree that tribal-specific regalia is the only way to go in an OA
ceremony. But I don't think it is unreasonable to use non-specific
regalia in cubbing. After all, the Webelos tribe and chief Akela are
mythical; there's no Webelos tribal culture to honor. Therefore,
using non-specific regalia in cub ceremonies honors our country's
Native Americans in general. Aren't we honoring all Native Americans
when Chief Akela shows up? I can say that on the three occasions when
I've used Native American regalia for cross-over ceremonies, that has
been my intention and I have made that very clear to the audiences.

YiS,

Pete Farnham
CM, Pack 1515
GW District, NCAC
Alexandria, VA

• Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ]
• Next message
• Previous message
• Next in thread