HANNAHVILLE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Friday afternoon, community members gathered at Hannahvillle Indian School for a special annual tradition.
The Spring Round Dance is a celebration of the transition from winter to spring. People of all ages danced together to welcome the new season. Attendees also enjoyed a feast centered around the four sacred foods.
In the event’s fifth year, school board member and elder Vicki Dowd says it is important to pass these traditions down to the next generation.
“Native people celebrate life in general,” said Dowd. “In our heritage and our culture, we celebrate all of what God, the Creator, has given us. Our children, teachers, education, the language. We have to celebrate things to keep them moving in this circle, in this life.”
Students enjoyed the opportunity to leave the classroom and participate in the event.
“The first time when I danced, I was scared,” said second grader Grayson Jackson. “When I went to the second one, I was having fun!”
“I think it’s important because it reminds us of all the things that the Native Americans have done for the world,” said Monroe King, an eighth grade student.
Many students made their own moccasins for the Round Dance, continuing another tradition.
