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23rd Annual Festival and Pow Wow Held on June 4-5, 2005.

Piscataway Heritage Featured at Community Coffeehouse

Natalie and Maurice Proctor of the Cedarville Band of Piscataway Indians were among the featured
performers at "Songs with Spirit, Stories with Heart" on Saturday, March 12. The Community
Coffeehouse event, co-sponsored and organized by Patuxent Friends (Quaker) Meeting and the
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, was held at the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center in
California, MD. The Proctors performed traditional Piscataway song and dance to a crowded room
of all ages. Other performers included singer and songwriter, Joseph Norris; Carol Marcy, a poet
trained in the Cherokee and Lakota traditions; and Tom Wisner, Chesapeake songwriter and
singer/poet. The purpose of the event was to increase awareness of local Native American heritage
and culture and raise funds in support of the Piscataway Indian Museum for its educational programs.

Piscataway Indian Festival and Pow Wow Held on June 5-6, 2004

Despite heavy rains on Saturday that soaked the pow wow grounds
at the American Indian Cultural Center, cancelling the day's dancing
and singing, more than two thousand visitors returned on Sunday to
warm, sunny skies. The mood was festive and the spirits high as skies
brightened and dancers in full regalia from across the East Coast
danced to the beat of the drums of Cedar Tree (various nations),
Falling Water (Rappahannock), and White Oak (various nations).
Head dancers Keith Anderson (Cherokee) and Danielle Bradby
(Chickahominy) lead all dancers in this 22nd annual traditional pow
wow. Vendors from across the United States, from Florida and the
Carolinas to Arizona, and from the South American countries of Ecuador
and Peru, displayed their arts and crafts. Other activities included pony
rides for children, Native flute playing, wetplate photographer, Michael Piechocinski, and local metal artist, Jim Pollock.
The Master of Ceremonies was Keith Colston (Tuscarora), while the flag bearers were Glen Canaday (Chickahominy),
the POW flag, Daniel Proctor (Piscataway), the American flag, and Maurice Proctor (Piscataway), the Native staff.

The Cedarville Band of Piscataway Indians wishes to thank all volunteers and those that participated in making this a
successful pow wow. We look forward to hosting next year's festival and pow wow, which will be held on June 4-5,
2005. So, mark your calendars!

Indian Artifact Day at AICC

Under warm, sunny skies, the American Indian Cultural Center held its first Indian Artifact Day on Saturday, April 24.
Guests were treated to a variety of exhibits and lectures on stone artifacts, some dating back hundreds and even
thousands of years, as well as demonstrations on soapstone bowl carving, flint knapping, and the popular atlatl spear
throwing, lead by Mr. Dan Sappington of Baltimore. Local archaeologists participating in the event included: Dr. Richard
Hughes, Chief of the Office of Archaeology at the Maryland Historical Trust; Ms. Carol Ebright, President of the
Archaeological Society of Maryland; and Dr. Virginia Busby of the University of Virginia, who led a discussion on her
team's excavations at the village of the famed Nanticoke Emperors on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Also in attendance was
Ms. Suzanne Almael, a member of the Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs.

Round Dance, March 2004

With friends and guests from as far away as southern Virginia, the American Indian Cultural Center played host to a
Piscataway Round Dance on the evening of Saturday, March 20. The event included a potluck dinner and featured
traditional songs and dances, with Maurice Proctor, Jonathan Proctor, and Jason Rich on the drum.

Spirit Dancers perform at Calvert County's 350th Anniversary Celebration

The Piscataway Spirit Dancers performed in the Arts Council of Calvert County's "Sundays of Note" series on Sunday,
April 25 at the Great Hall of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Prince Frederick, MD. As part of Calvert County's
celebration of its 350th anniversary, this program featured the music and dance of Piscataway culture as it has spanned the
centuries. Dressed in their traditional regalia, the Spirit Dancers offered a performance summoning the "voices of the past,"
while tribal chairwoman Natalie Proctor revealed the history of Piscataway art. Spirit Dancers members include Maurice
Proctor, Natalie Proctor, Missy Proctor, Crystal Proctor, and Julie Hill.