30th Peace Tree Ceremony celebrates Native American culture

Sep. 22—MORGANTOWN — The 30th Annual Peace Tree Ceremony was held outside at West Virginia University and open to the public for the first time since 2019.

"We thank the Creator to be outside — not in the Gluck Theatre or online — and enjoying the sunshine and nature," Coordinator of the Native American Studies Program Bonnie Brown said.

The ceremony was held in front of the Peace Tree, which was planted in 1996 and across the street from the Mountainlair on West Virginia University's downtown campus. In 2020, the ceremony was not public and only seven people participated. In 2021, it was held in the Gluck Theatre in the Mountainlair and some participants attended in person in masks and others on Zoom.

The ceremony is held as a way to celebrate culture and peace and bring the community together. The Native American Studies Program was developed in the early 1990's in part as a way to support Native American students at WVU and bring distinguished Native American guests to the campus, Brown said.

"The ceremony commemorates a 30 year long history. Back in 1992, when some places in the Unites States were commemorating the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Columbus in the Americas, some visionaries at WVU, along with the administration, decided this is the perfect time to refocus the attention on the first peoples of this land — the first nations," Brown said.

Nationally-renowned contemporary artist Marie Watt was the guest speaker. She is a citizen of the Seneca Nation and, in collaboration with the Canady Creative Arts Center, she held a public presentation of some of her collections titled "A Shared Horizon (Western Door)," and "Storywork: The Prints of Marie Watt."

During the ceremony, she talked about her tribe and connections — the way humans are connected to nature and each other, among other things.

"For me, the work of peacemaking is about repairing relationships and storytelling. It is about sharing a table together and setting a table where everybody's voice is equal and heard," Watt said.

Other speakers included Bob Pirner, a Native American Studies Faculty and 2021 Morgantown Human Rights Award Winner, who talked about land acknowledging; Danny Trejo, a Morgantown Human Rights Commissioner, who gave a four directions prayer; Meshea Poore, vice president of WVU's Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Gregory Dunaway, dean of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and Ellesa High, former WVU Native American Studies program director. Tim Hairston, WV State Human Rights Commissioner, was the staff bearer and John Block, traditional singer of the Seneca Nation, performed two songs.

Dunaway talked about how peace can be practiced.

"This peace tree ceremony comes at a much-needed time, for society continues to experience deep divides in trust, respect and civility. And sadly, this is often manifest through acts of hatred and violence. So we, again gather with need and urgency to express our desire for peace over conflict. It is right that we honor the wisdom of our Native American ancestors, who well understood that all of us are connected by a common humanity. And now is the most appropriate time for us to come together and reflect on the virtue of peace," Dunaway said.

High focused on the strength of the peace tree itself.

"I'm just struck by the power of this tree. It's so full of life. I think it's important to remember that here at WVU, this tree was planted in the heart of campus," High said.

The ceremony concluded by inviting participants to tie a ribbon onto the peace tree and were given tobacco to sprinkle at the bottom, for good luck. While guests participated in the ceremony, Block performed a closing song.

On Saturday, Sept. 24 at the Paw Paw Festival at the Core Arboretum, Native American Joe Candillo will present a talk on Native American ecology, as 60% of the world's food is derived from crops that came from Native America, Brown said.

For more information on the Native American Studies program at WVU, visit their website.

Reach me at sshriver@timeswv.com or 304-367-2549.