FORT STEWART, Ga. - In order to celebrate National American Indian Heritage Month, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division hosted a National American Indian Observance Program at Marne Garden on Fort Stewart, Nov. 3.
The event featured Voice in the Wind, a group of Native Americans or individuals interested in Native American history that created crafts for the group and performed for audiences in order to teach them about Native American history.
"I think it's neat that [3rd ID] wants to bring diversity to the Soldiers and show them a little something about Native-American history," said Billy Lacy, with Voice in the Wind. "Everybody here treats us great. It's an honor for us to come here and do this. I get to teach something. Teaching is a big part of who we are. The creator gave us these abilities, so that is something I feel we should share."
The event featured a demonstration of Native-American drum making when Soldiers got to watch members of the group make drums used in performances. They also got to see Native American weaponry and got to use some of the weapons.
The main event was a demonstration of Indian music and dancing when members of Voice in the Wind put on a dance show to demonstrate some of the customs of the tribes they represented.
At the end of the show Soldiers participated in a dance where the participants moved around in a circle and, in addition, some Soldiers got to play Native-American instruments with the dance.
Brigadier General Jeffrey Phillips, deputy commanding general - rear was in attendance.
He thanked the group for putting on the show and reminded those in attendance of their history and what it means to Americans.
"Even as we in the military are the inheritors of, and in turn the enrichers of a legacy, we as Americans must remember that we inherit a land once occupied by others," he said. "We inherited a rich place endowed with natural resources, abundant rain, a beautiful environment, and as we saw today a magnificent culture, a culture worth inheriting, worth treasuring, worth celebrating and worth valuing as part of who we are."
After the event, Soldiers spoke with members of Voices in the Wind to learn more about Native-American culture.
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