In honor of Native American Heritage Month, N.C. State’s Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Native American Student Association hosted Native American Culture Night on Wednesday.

Performers and students showcased their heritage through song, dance, drumming and storytelling at the event.

Mike Frady, a junior in education, contributed with a traditional Native American Lakota-style flute performance.

“It is important to share with other people the Native American heritage and to break some of the stereotypes and stigmas that surround it,” Frady said.

Frady said he lived on a reservation for part of his life and that it was important to share his heritage with other people in the community.

He said that when people visit reservations, they often come with little knowledge about how Native Americans really live.

“They’re like, ‘Where are your teepees?’” Frady said.

David Anderson, a junior in plants and soil sciences and horticulture and a member of the Native American Student Association, volunteered for the event.

“This will show people a [little] bit about who we are… and will show some different dances, have some storytelling and drum playing,” Anderson said.

Attendees socialized with some of the performers, spoke with current NASA members and learned about traditional Native American dress.

A presentation about the importance of the drum to the culture was shown, highlighting the instrument’s ability to connect both music and dance. There was no live drum performance, but student members played YouTube clips that showed the different beats and rhythms practiced in the Northern and Southern regions of the U.S.

John Taylor, a senior in biological engineering, performed the ceremonious grass dance for the audience.

“A grass dancer would go out onto the plains before the powwow and flatten out the circle with his traditional dress,” Taylor said. 

The dance, which originated in the Northern Great Plains, was named after the tradition of tying grass into the belts of the dancers.

“We dance to the Northern song,” Taylor said. “It’s a two-step and you have to hit the beat each time. What I do may not look simple, but it is.”

Cynthia Oxendine, a performer at the event, demonstrated the Southern Straight dance in her traditional dress, which was handmade.

As the former titleholder of Miss Indian Oklahoma, Oxendine wore a crown to represent her position in correlation to the Native American community.

Oxendine’s dance was followed by a flute performance from Frady and Megan Jones, a junior in environmental engineering.

“The reason why I have this flute is because my grandfather gave it to me when I graduated from high school,” Jones said. “I just started playing a couple of years ago.”

Both performers said that the art of flute playing is an emotional and spiritual experience.

“When I play it just comes from the heart,” Jones said. “It is nothing I have written, it is nothing that I have practiced;  it just comes from what I am feeling.”

Potential member recruitments were also welcomed to learn more about the Native American Student Association program and its impact on campus.