Wolf Creek Indian Village and Museum

WCIV New General Manager begins August 29th

2011-08-20T16:46:00.000-04:00

Sam Wright -Former General Manager

This was going to be a very picturesque entry about Sam Wright's Farewell Party. But we are having camera battery problems and there are no pictures. Use your imagination. Stephanie Johnson, Jo Phillips and La Shae Hall (assisted by her daughter Raine) made this a really fun time with balloons, a cake, speeches, good food, family and friends. We saw Sam off in grand style and he's missed around here. Well...everything except the drum beating and the bull horn in a small space being used as motivational tools!

Sam Wright begins his new career (one he really was striving for when he came to WCIV) teaching school next week. We wish him well and are sure we will see him back from time to time. This place is just special like that.

We now look forward to our new General Manager Sherri Dillow and a new phase for Wolf Creek Indian Village & Museum. Read about Sherri Dillow to manage Wolf Creek WCIV is growing and just keeps getting better!!! We ask all our family and friends of WCIV to welcome Sherri and come by and say hello.

Denise Smith for WCIV

IS THERE ANY HELP FOR SAM?

2011-07-25T09:56:00.000-04:00

Is There Any Help for Sam?

(by Indian Jo Phillips)

The day fast approaches,

When Sam will bid us adieu,

The village isn't complete,

What can we do?

We seek help for our "physically challenged" Friend,

A "Volunteer Week" has been planned.

Would you please attend?

Give us a call,

Become part of the gang,

And let's send Sam off with a Great Big Bang!

WHERE: Wolf Creek Indian Village

WHEN: AUGUST 3rd - AUGUST 6th 10 AM - 5PM
PARTICULARS: Need good, strong, able bodied people to help Sam finish as much as possible in reconstructing what can be finished before Sam's leaves us for his teaching job. He plans on returning next summer to help us on the Gate houses.

Bring extra tools if you have them, (we only have one set) hammers, saws, sawhorses, drills etc.

Bring a lunch daily.

A Thank You SAM party is planned at 4 PM SATURDAY AUGUST 6th in the village. It is pot luck, bring a covered dish or meat to cook on an open fire. Eating utensils will be provided.

If you are not strong enough or able to volunteer please come by Saturday and thank Sam for all his hard work in getting the village to come back to life!!

FOR MORE INFORMATION: CALL Volunteer Coordinator "Indian Jo" at 276-688-3438 Monday-Saturday 9 am - 4 pm.

Boy Scouts Discover More Brown Johnston Artifacts in Dig

2011-07-23T15:19:00.000-04:00

The Brown-Johnston site is still alive. Here is the last find named for the two boy scouts that discovered it in our Dig. This is known as the Mason-Viskup collection. The flint drill is a real find.
I will post pictures and more info later. Camera was on the blink that day.
Thanks to the Boys Scouts for helping us out here. The boys both earned their Archeology Merit badge at the dig.

The Wishes Made at Wolf Creek Indian Village & Museum Come True

2011-01-23T17:56:00.001-05:00

The small pond at Wolf Creek Indian Village & Museum was built by former employee and now volunteer Eddie Atwell. It was a way to take advantage of a low lying, sort of marshy area, in the landscaped grounds and place a feature that visitors could enjoy. It became a wishing well. Visitors began tossing coins in it and making wishes. Little did we know how much it appeared to affect people. Time and time again visitors who had tossed a coin, made a wish, kept coming back to tell us over and over that their wish has come true.

One we remember well was a young couple who made Wolf Creek Indian Village their first date. On the way out to the parking lot they both stopped, tossed a coin and made a wish at the pond to find their special someone.  (With hopes that maybe it would be each other.) A year later the young man came in to set up a special surprise. The following Saturday he would bring the same girl who was now his longtime girlfriend back to Wolf Creek Museum, the site of their first date, and ask her to marry him.

We set up the engagement ring in the Gift Shop in a jewelry case with the question of "Will you marry me?" Thank goodness the answer was yes.

Other stories have came through such as asking for answers for troubles and health for themselves or family members by tossing a coin making a wish. Visitors returned to tell us their wishes came true. Now we can't verify any of this. It is just what visitors tell us. Maybe it is because it is just their want to believe or maybe it is that Wolf Creek Museum is a special place. What ever it is we want to save the wishing well.

But we have had problems with the wishing pond.  We are on the fourth water pump and the coins tossed oxidize making them not much appreciated when we we clean the pond to gather them and put them in bank rolls. They also put metal chemicals in the water. Not very healthy for the tadpoles that appear every year. With something that has been appreciated by visitors so many times to do away with it just doesn't seem right.

This year, Eddie Atwell has pledge to sponsor a new wishing well in honor of his family. Justin Miller, a master stone mason has offered to donate his skills to build a wishing well safe for tadpoles and still with the ability to possibly grant wishes for those that believe in tossing a coin and making wishes.

To make this happen in the next month or so what is needed is a source of our native field stone at least 3 to 5 inches thick to add to the stone we will use from the old pond. Do we have anyone out there that has a source of field stone maybe piled up in their farmland fields that you would like to contribute to this project?  Please call the museum at 276-688-3438 or email us at info@indianvillage.org.

Green Corn Festival Canceled for 2011, Resume for 2012

2011-01-22T16:56:00.002-05:00

News Release January 16, 2011

Annual Green Corn Festival in Bland, VA Canceled for 2011, Resumed for 2012

Wolf Creek Indian Village & Museum in Bastian, Virginia has decided to cancel the All Nations Green Corn Festival for 2011 in order to focus on village reconstruction and museum improvements. Sam Wright, General Manager of WCIV states, “ We are focusing all our resources on the rebuild of the replica of the 500 year old Indian village that once existed here. We are also working to obtain funding to enhance the trails, and increase parking. Our plans are to resume the festival for 2012.”
Denise Smith, Museum Programs Coordinator, stated, “I think this is a good move to postpone the festival to next year, so we can focus on rebuilding the entire village. Our thoughts for the future are to rebuild the village and get more parking here so we can hold events such as the All Nations Green Corn Festival at the sight of a recreated 500 year old First Nation's village. It would be an awesome development to have American Indians dancing with drums here at the village for the Green Corn Festival. It is their history.”

There are several festival events scheduled in the region for 2011 that the Green Corn Dancers, and vendors may be found attending. A representative of Wolf Creek Indian Village will attend the Strong Sun Powwow July 8-10, 2011 in Winston-Salem, N.C. and Drums of Painted Mountain Powwow September 16-18, 2011 at Southwest Virginia Community College in Cedar Bluff, VA. Information links will be posted at http://www.indianvillage.org/.

In addition to the village reconstruction, museum staff are busy developing new exhibits in the museum and also programs to benefit the local community. An exhibit for the 150th Sesquicentennial of Bland County will focus on Native Americans and their part in the Civil War.

April 2nd 2011, is our opening for the season. We have a Blessing Ceremony and an open house for the museum plus a 5k run in the works.

“Selu's Garden” is a new program to benefit the local community that will donate excess produce from the gardens at Wolf Creek to the Bland Ministry Center's food program. “We use non-hybrid seed just as the First people did and this produce, if you want to save the seed, you can and grow it again next year. There will be instructions with the produce on how to do that for those that receive it. Even if you don't plant a garden you can grow produce in a pot.” explains Denise Smith. The museum is also looking to develop after school programs in the future for the community.

Renewed Investigations of the Brown-Johnston Site

2010-11-21T11:40:00.002-05:00

Nick Asbury BOS and Boy Scouts

We have been digging for clues and even had a Bland County Board of Supervisor's member help us out.
Pictures by Goldie Kiser. Story Dan Kegley and Denise Smith For additional photos see our Facebook page- Wolf Creek Staff- or Wolf Creek Indian Village & Museum

Members of the Archeological Society of Virginia’s chapters in the southwestern portion of the state renewed investigations at the Brown Johnston Site at Bastian Nov. 6 and 13. The site, occupied around 1500, is popularly known by its re-creation at the Wolf Creek Indian Village and Museum.
Their project examined topsoil, or back dirt, removed by heavy machinery from the late Woodland period village site and deposited in a long, low pile nearby in the full site excavation more than 41 year ago.

November 13th Group photo

The back dirt was never formally examined for artifacts it may have contained when late archaeologist Col. Howard MacCord excavated the Brown Johnston Site in 1970. Instead, MacCord focused on locating and excavating important archaeological features beneath the topsoil. Such features reveal the locations of dwellings, burials, storage pits, hearths and the palisade that surrounded the village.

Construction of Interstate 77 in 1970 required the relocation of Wolf Creek to allow construction of the Bastian interchange. Before the creek’s realignment destroyed the prehistoric village site, construction paused as MacCord worked to retrieve as much data from the site as possible to construct a picture of life in the village.
The relatively small number of artifacts recovered from the site and other indicators led MacCord to conclude the site was occupied for only four to five years.

Dan Kegley of ASV examining pottery sherds

The research goal of this project was to sample the back dirt to examine it for the presence of artifacts like stone tools, projectile points/knives, and pot shards whose number in the topsoil would either support or challenge MacCord’s interpretation.
With the help of Boy Scouts and Bland County high school history students, and under the professional supervision of Tom Klatka, archaeologist with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, the ASV members used quarter-inch mesh screen boxes to sift the back dirt.

Boy Scout's participating were Troop 12 Bland County; Pack 460 Pembroke, VA; Troop 1 Princeton, WV; Troop 264 Pembroke, VA and Troop 1335 Oak Hill, WV

November 6th Group Photo with Message for Sandra Bowling

"The Archaeology Merit Badge for Boy Scouts is usually taught with a "mock dig". Our scouts were able to participate in an actual dig supervised by experts who were very willing to share their expertise with them." Goldie Kiser BSA Mountain Dominion District Advancement Co-Chairman

"After shoveling and sifting dirt all day on the first Saturday, we actually had several boys show up to do it all over again on the second day! The boys were fascinated by the sifting process, the layers of earth, and the rocks they found." Scoutmaster Randy Kiser Troop 12 Bland County. The Group also showed their appreciation for Ms. Sandra Bowling, a beloved history teacher in Bland County in a rehabilitation hospital in Atlanta.

Chief Peery "Grey Wolf" Wilson & Tom Klatke

Chief Peery "Grey Wolf" Wilson also visited the site and spoke with Tom Klatke of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources on the importance of the Wolf Creek site to the history of his people.

Chief Grey Wolf and Boy Scouts

He spoke to the Boy Scout Troop members and had his picture taken in the new meeting lodge before the day's work November 13th.

Sampling from two excavation units in the back dirt pile recovered one projectile point, two small pot shards, and a small number of chert and chalcedony flakes left from the manufacture of stone implements.
While the sampled soil is a small percentage of the soil removed from the site, the low number of artifacts found in about 10 hours of screening supports MacCord’s interpretation, said Dan Kegley, ASV president-elect and president of the Abingdon-based Wolf Hills Chapter of the ASV.

Their work may add to MacCord’s interpretation. Kegley said geologist Dr. Charles Bartlett, a founding member of the Wolf Hills Chapter who worked at the site Nov. 13, noted the site is underlain by Devonian shale that weathers into poor quality soil lacking nutrients to support sustained agriculture. By the late Woodland period, prehistoric people like those on the Wolf Creek relied on crops to supplement hunting and crops failure after two or three years might explain the short occupation of the site.

Museum Director Denise Smith said an interpretive garden grown today in the village struggles in the poor soil as a demonstration of prehistoric agriculture. Perhaps its portrayal is in fact accurate for the site.

Smith told Kegley and his chapter members about the unscreened topsoil in April that was brought to her attention a year ago by an excavation participant, and Kegley began the preliminary work of securing professional oversight and the endorsement of the ASV board.

“It was such an honor to follow Howard, even these decades later, on a site and to work at enhancing the understanding of the site that he left us in his journal and his published paper,” Kegley said. “Howard died two years ago. He played a large role in eastern U.S. archeology, particularly in Virginia.”

After photographing the artifacts and writing a paper on the project for the ASV’s Quarterly Bulletin, Kegley will return them to the museum for curation.
Smith plans to open the topsoil sampling work to visitors to the village who would work under supervision.

Contributed photos by Goldie Kiser

Wolf Creek Indian Village in the Fall 2010

2010-10-14T08:16:00.000-04:00

It has been a very busy time for us at Wolf Creek Indian Village & Museum. Our fall school groups are in full swing. We enjoy the children so MUCH!! Also it is a break from the remodel too when they come for a visit and we get to play, i.e. show how to make rope or tools or fire. We just love it.

But our priority is getting as much of the village as we can reconstructed before winter sets in. Also recreating the displays that make it interesting and turn it into a living museum. We have a place and a need for volunteers. If you are interested contact the museum at info@indianvillage.org

This post will have to be short. We wanted to share pictures of the fall colors and our structures. We now have four standing and set up for visitation. They are not completely finished mind you. Coverings are still being applied and displays are still being built but it is a real experience now. The village is talking and showing us things we had never thought of. Such as we now can clearly understand that the front gate was the gate towards the creek in how they placed the structures. When we finish adding all the structures you can see that the gate visitors now enter into the village can be seen to be better protected by how the structures were built. You won't be able to just walk into the Plaza of the village without walking through a structure first! The creek side gate was protected with a large guard house. It's like having a front door and a back door.

We are so excited but in the mean time enjoy the pictures.

Oval Pit inside Pottery

Doorway to what we call Cooks & Gardens Structure

7 mystery poles. Have several of these in structures that have nothing to do with support of roof. Interweaving to see what that looks like.

View of another doorway of Cooks & Gardens looking towards Pottery

Latest Baskets being set up

Cooks and gardens inside

Side door of Baskets

Looking out of Baskets towards lodge

IT'S FALL

Designing a Replica Village for a Flood - Update on Rebuild

2010-09-30T07:01:00.000-04:00

We are at the beginning of our Fall school groups. Very excited to have our students back. Our teachers who have brought their students back every year since we opened Wolf Creek Village are nothing but pleased with our rebuild results. We have 3 of the new round house structures open with a 4th structure opened by next week. With a crew of 2 working on the rebuild, available staff and many dedicated volunteers to which we owe a debt of gratitude, the village is coming back to life.

Sorry we have been slack on updating the blog....little busy. As I review the pictures to place on the blog, tropical storm Nicole is passing through. The rain falling outside always concerns us at Wolf Creek Indian Village. The village is situated along Wolf Creek and when the creek waters rise, the village floods.

I often wonder if the Virginia Indians who lived here 500 years ago had to endure a couple of floods a year as we do and what did they do? Our small docile creek can turn into looking like the Mississippi with strong currents and churning water. We count on at least 2 floods a year on a regular basis. When it floods we hope nothing floats away and every structure still stands. We just clean up, open the village back up and move on.

As I was looking at the new rebuild pictures I realize in the decade I've been here how much that flooding has influenced our rebuild. We used the archeology map for the original design of where pole placements are but the materials we choose in the modern day are choosen with the hope they will last a while in more modern terms or can easily be replaced.

The Virginia Indians in this area were definitely an example of a Native American working community though semi nomadic. They stayed in an area as long as the resources held out to support the village and then moved. If these structures were waddle and daub and it flooded then the walls would have to have repairs or replacement of clay. If the untreated wood rotted from being wet it would have weakened and needed replaced fairly often.

Without Lowes or Home Depot available to truck resources in it could explain why this village moved within 10 years and remained undisturbed until 1970. That is an assumption as to how long it existed and also what the environment was. It might not have flooded as much 500 years ago because the virgin forest would still have been intact and the run off from the interstate didn't exist. But it definitely floods now and we have changed what we are building versus what they had available so we can remain in one spot. We are using treated wood and materials at ground level that can be easily replaced.

We are not the only site plagued by how to build to make it last using more modern materials. Other reconstructed sites such as Town Creek have used a sort of concrete fiber glass colored material in place of clay for their waddle and daub round houses. We are thinking of an experiment to do one small structure to see how it withstands a flood from Wolf Creek. Concrete can absorb moisture and weaken. It can also freeze and crack during a winter flood.

Yet this reconstruction has given real insight into how the people lived 500 years ago just by how the village was set up. The entire placement of the village structures tells a story. I will update this post in the next day or so with new photos and explain that. These photos are from 2 weeks ago and more of the rebuild has been accomplished. Hope those that have been here before will come see us. It's truly amazing how the architectual elements stand out from the older reconstruction.

Inside meeting lodge. 2 foot flood allowance. We will add something that can be removed quickly in case of flash flood warnings.

Cooks & Gardens River Cane wall matting being applied.

Second Largest structure that we demonstrate Pottery in.

Meeting lodge ready for Flexibark. Another material we are using for longevity.

Inside Cooks & Gardens

Another View of inside Cooks & Gardens

Meeting lodge looking at eastern door and benches

Village Raising August 20th 2010

2010-08-13T23:56:00.002-04:00

It was a wonderful All Nations Green Corn Festival. Thank you to all our volunteers, donors, sponsors and those who came out to support us. It gets better every year! But now back to the reason Wolf Creek Museum exists. It is this archeology site that was discovered in 1970. A map of an entire palisaded village. A village we are building back. At the end of this blog pictures of the rebuild currently.

Folks may ask why would it be important today to rebuild a replica of a village that existed 500 years ago? First of all this is a village that existed in Appalachia! In many historic records and on many maps this area is listed as "the unknown tribes" or only referred to as "hunting grounds" for the Native Americans and early colonists. Our question is why would anyone want to settle and live where people were not thought to live before Europeans arrived? Archeology sites such as ours tell us a different story, a story of a people who called this home, the story of the "unknown tribes" of Appalachia. A people cannot plan for a future, if they don't know their past.

The village is teaching us quite a few lessons. We are placing posts in the ground to mimic the archeology map. We are reproducing all the storage and fire pits and it is showing us another way these folks could have lived in this valley long before anyone knew they once existed. Granted we are using modern techniques and modern materials (mostly to survive the rebuild in a flood plain that require adjustments to hide later), but the integrity of what it was like to live in such a village and the means by which they could have used to support people can and will still be seen.

Structure known as Old Gardeners through the front gate being built.

It was thought this village could have been home to as many as 100 people. There are times we wish we had that many to build and maintain it today. Alas we have a dedicated crew of 7 and if the village is to rise from the ground we will need some help. We are asking for a few volunteers to join us the weekend of August 20th for a VILLAGE RAISING (much like a barn raising) to get the first five structures in working order before school groups. We are looking for folks with strong backs and construction skills. We have 6 signed on and would like to have at least 6 more. Volunteers can camp on site at the museum and we will feed them. It begins Friday August 20th and ends Sunday August 22. If you are interested please call the museum at 276-688-3438 and ask for Denise Smith. Or email her at dsmith@indianvillage.org

The structure wall posts are already in place. We are looking for volunteers to help with the roof of each structure and the inside shelving and replication of the pits. These are pictures of the structures yet to be completed. The Old Gardeners Structure now has it's base roof in place as of this week. But there is much more work to be accomplished.

This is stage one of 3. If you would like to donate food, tools, (we can use another generator, YES we are using modern tools for an ancient village, 7 people all the help they can get!) materials to the project please contact the museum. Or if you would like to make a monetary donation please mail your donations to Wolf Creek Indian Village & Museum, 6394 N Scenic HWY, Bastian, VA 24314 stating Village on your donation. All donations are appreciated!! Thanks

Structure known as old Cordage

Structure known as Old Tanners

Structure known as Old Pottery

Structure Known as Old Gardeners getting a roof.

The Lodge and it's New Eastern Door way

Inside Lodge awaiting benches and shelving and matting

PS I was asked why the roofing is like a regular roof on the lodge. Well the Flexible bark, though it looks like bark is "flexible", not stiff like regular bark and needs that support. You won't see the modern materials when the coverings are completed and we are finished.

All Nations Green Corn Festival & Pow Wow

2010-06-22T15:22:00.009-04:00

The staff at Wolf Creek Indian Village and Museum are very excited about the All Nations Green Corn Festival and Pow Wow July 16-18, 2010 at the Bland County Virginia Fairgrounds, 123 Fairground Road, Bland, VA 24315.

This is the Bland County American Indian Heritage Weekend. This years festival is promising to be an excellent event!! The line up of entertainment is top notch. Our community is coming together to support this event and it just feels great this year. (You know when you plan an event, sometimes you just are not sure whether it will work? Well this year it is just wonderful, we feel it in the air that this is going to be a spectacular event.)

This is the 3rd annual All Nations Green Corn Festival & Pow Wow. It was very special that the drums sounded the first year in the valleys of Bland County, probably for the first time in more than 200 years. Every year it gets better. We hope many who missed it last year will be able to attend! This year, if there is rain, the county has finished the Pavilion at the fairgrounds and we can move the activities inside of the Pavilion.

We decided to update the blog first. It doesn't require a special program! Website will be updated in a day or so. Here are the performers scheduled to appear:

Arvel Bird - "Lord of the Strings"

Fans worldwide call legendary violinist Arvel Bird, “Lord of the Strings” for his powerful talent and artistic passion that draws audiences to his unique fiddling style. Classically trained, Bird calls on his Native American and Celtic heritage to create a repertoire that ranges from classical, new age, Celtic, and folk, to jazz, blues and fusion.
Award-winning violinist, flutist and storyteller, Bird’s charismatic performances extend beyond his flawless music. An expressive storyteller, he weaves stories of Native American spirituality with haunting melodies to give vision to his music. He speaks of Native American wisdom, the sacredness of Mother Earth, the environment and the sacred totems of the animals with whom we share this planet. Bird’s messages resonate with today’s audiences often feeling overwhelmed by today’s hectic, fast-paced world.
Bird’s energetic and alluring stage presence and blend of classical and foot-stomping fiddling are what make him one of the most sought-after Native American musicians on tour today. With 25 CDs and 2 DVDs under his belt, Native American Artist of the Year Arvel Bird released his latest album in January, 2010, Ride, Indian, Ride.

His breakthrough album, Ride, Indian, Ride combines a hard-hitting, raw blues/jazz sound with the Native American/Celtic rhythms that have made Arvel Bird’s music so popular worldwide." We are sure Arvel will have copies for sale at the Festival but if you would like to purchase a copy on line visit Arvel Bird's Website

Bird Chopper Bird

Host Drum - The home of Bird Chopper is Qualla Boundary. It’s better know as the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina. Previously called Blue Earth (1975-1996) the drum was renamed in honor of Ric Bird’s grandfather, Bird Chopper Bird. Until the loss of Nan in 2004, there were four generation of singers. Today, two families have three generations who continue the traditions of both drum and dance. Bird Chopper sings Northern and Southern and they also have their own Cherokee songs. They were the first drum to introduce the Cherokee Flag Song to the Pow Wow circle. Ric Bird - lead singer for Bird Chopper, is known professionally as “Ric Youngblood” “Cherokee Warrior” – professional Wrestler (1978-2005 (Retired) Ric held 4 World Titles during his wrestling career. Along with Ric, all of their singers are champion dancers – Fancy; Grass; Straight; Traditional; Hoop.

Dry Creek Medicine

Dry Creek Medicine Drum – Native American Drumming and Dance Performance Group.

Dry Creek Medicine is a Southern Style Native American Drum Group. Three of their members are enrolled members of the Edisto Tribe of the Natchez-Kusso Indians from Ridgeville, South Carolina. One member is Cherokee, and one member is Creek-Cherokee.

Ramona Moore Big Eagle

Storyteller

Ramona Moore Big Eagle, M.Ed. (Tuscarora/Cherokee) is an Oral Historian and Legend Keeper of the Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina. An enrolled member of the Nation, Ramona has served on the Tribal Council and in various other capacities for the Tuscarora. She earned a Master of Education Degree from East Tennessee State University in Reading and Storytelling and a Bachelor of Art Degree in Psychology from Catawba College. As the Director of Heritage School, Ramona taught students for over ten years. Ramona travels throughout the United States and Canada as a Motivational Speaker, Cultural Educator, Consultant, Workshop Facilitator and Storyteller. Her workshops and programs of American Indian culture and history delivered through the art of Storytelling, authentic artifacts, music, drumming, dance, and crafts have been educating and empowering audiences of all ages since 1976.

Ken Watson - Flute player Update: Ken won't be able to join us as he is GETTING MARRIED! (Hey, we are on Indian Time, you do things when it's right to to them!) We wish he and his new wife blessings and hope to see both of them next time. We are lining up a replacement as we speak.

Ken Cloudwalker - Arena Director

Ken “Cloudwalker” and his wife Celeste “Spiderwrulf” started Six Directions Traders over 10 years ago. It began by providing a service for the people, by having items that they could not readily find. To this day we strive to continue this by the Will of The Creator, Service and items we provide for the People.
We were Volunteer Firefighters for 8 years before moving to Florida. In 2001 in the United States of Native America, we realized that Police, Fire and EMS were our Warriors at home and were welcomed into the Grand Entry behind the Veterans. This was Very moving for us. Ken was often asked to Smudge people before they went into the circle, especially if it was not provided at the pow wow. Eventually he was asked to be Arena Director and/or Keeper of the Circle at pow wows throughout Florida. During our travels over summer, through the Southeast, Ken was picked up as Arena Director in many other states.

“I believe we are all One People and I’m Always Honored to Serve”

Mike "Thunder Dancer See's The Ground" Cranford

Lead Male Dancer

"Thunder" is Cherokee, Male Traditional Bustle Dancer. He dances at up to 40 pow wows per year, often serving as male head dancer or circle director. "Thunder" is a Vietnam Air Force Veteran. He is owner of Cranford Gun Works, Cranford Tax Service and a member of the Native American Better Business Bureau. " I am honored to be chosen as head dancer and looking forward to the event. I will strive to do the best job possible"

Jeanie "E Nah Dah" Cranford

Lead Female Dancer

"E Nah Dah" is Cherokee, a Southern Female Traditional Dancer. She dances at as many as 40 pow wows per year on the east coast. E Nah Dah dances toshare her culture and educate all people. School, group and civic presentations are also included in her focus to share her culture and educate others. "It is always such a great honor to be selected as head female dancer. I take the job very seriously and strive to represent all Native Americans in a positive way".

Admission:

Adults $6
Children - ages 4-16 $4
Veterans & Seniors - $4
Veterans with Veterans Feathers - Free

Educational, Luck of the Draw, Traditional Powwow
All Dancers, Drums and Singers Welcome

Hours:
Friday - July 16, 2010 - Gates Open 1 PM - 8:30 PM Grand Entry 2 PM
Saturday - July 17th, 2010 - Gates Open 11 AM - 8:30 PM Grand Entry 12 Noon
Sunday - July 18th, 2010 - Gates Open 1 PM - 8:30 PM Grand Entry 2 PM

Bring a blanket and/or chair, an umbrella for rain or shine and join us.
No Guns, Gossip, Drugs or Alcohol
For more information: Call 276-688-3438 or email info@indianvillage.org

Yo-Na Invitational Tournament, Bastian, VA

2010-04-27T04:40:00.000-04:00

Wolf Creek Indian Village & Museum is a proud sponsor of the Yo-Na Invitational Tournament this week in Bastian, Virginia. Yo-Na translated is Bear in the Cherokee Iroquois language. We encourage our friends and colleagues to come out this week in supporting our local regional Baseball teams and wishing them the best of success.

Tournament Schedule April 27th
http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x563634792/Yo-Na-Invitational-Tournament-schedule

You can keep track of the results at the Bluefield Daily Telegraph on line.

Blessing Ceremony Opens Wolf Creek Indian Village & Museum

2010-04-09T21:43:00.003-04:00

Members of the Delaware (Munsee) Nation performed a traditional Blessing Ceremony April 1st at this years opening of the Wolf Creek Indian Village and Museum in Bastian, VA.

The traditional ceremony led by Chief of the Turtle Clan, Jack "3 Bears" Eisel and assisted by Chief of the Turkey Clan, Darrell "Two Wolves" Schwarz was held in the recreated Village site.
Chief "3 Bears" said of the Indian Village, "This is all sacred land. We are still here and we are still using it."
"First People were here long before the white men came, said Chief Two Wolves, "The ancestors would be very unhappy if they were forgotten."

Joyce Cheekis Eisel, said, "Everyone should be taught about the First People of Virginia, that is the importance of the village."
"When we pray, we all pray to the same creator," Penny Plummer, Retail Sales Manager said. "We just have different ways of expressing that."
For her part of the prayer, Denise Smith, Museum and Village Manager, noted that people will enter the village from all walks of life. "I prayed the blessing to help people have a positive experience in the village and leave with new knowledge."

“We are pleased to be extending our hours of operation to include Monday this year and are excited about the rebuilding in progress” said Willie Howlett, Bland County Administrator. “This is truly a unique destination for both local residents and visitors to Bland County.

Members of the Delegation were Peggy "Goodwin" Cornell, Tim Cornell
Jack "3 Bears Eisel" Darrell "Two Wolves" Schwarz, Jaime "Golden Otter" Booher, Roy "Red Hawk" Jones, Karen "Grandma Spirit Woman" Jones, Joyce Cheekis Eisel, Lois, "White Dove" Goodwin, Oscar "Lost Wolfe" Goodwin, Raymond "Lightfoot" Goodwin and Carolyn Tomey.

Recreating the Past

2010-03-31T02:54:00.002-04:00

The goal of Wolf Creek Indian Village is to tell the story of the people who once lived in this valley 500 years ago. The rebuilding of their homes in the village is a large part of that story.

But how were they constructed? What materials did they use? Using the only evidence we have, the actual map of the archeology site, the artifacts found, and scholarly thought of what is believed to have occurred is our only recourse to tell the story.

In the first recreation of the village in 1996 the new village was mapped out according to the archeology map. It was decided to create wigwam structures. Research at that time said wigwams were the only structures they could have been since lines of post holes were in a round on the ground on the original site. The diameter of the circles were copied as well as the placement of the structures.

Then materials to use became a matter of concern. Wigwams were thought to be covered by mostly bark but matting could also be used as in this picture of an Objiwe home in 1880 from the Library of Congress collections.

These were Eastern Woodland Indians. 500 years ago they most likely had more resources for bark but today bark is not an easy material to acquire. It also is not a long lasting material but would need to be replaced every few years. Instead the first construction were created with frames of wood and a more modern covering. These structures did not mimic pole for pole of the map but in diameter it was correct. The coverings chosen for the new Wolf Creek Indian Village was fiberglass with a resin coating shell attached to a wooden frame. The structures allowed for natural light. The structures constructed the way they were, in the beginning the village was magnificent. You felt the size and form of the original village.

Alas we learned later there were structural problems in the construction that could not be sustained by the way they were built. The weight of the fiberglass and the size of the wigwams caused within 5 years the structures to begin to collapse. This picture was taken in 1999 and you can see through the gate the fiberglass beginning to buckle and split.

In rebuilding the village we started once again with the archeology map. We began constructing a model of the largest structure which we call the meeting lodge. We copied the map post by post and then by taking small limber sticks of wood we tried to construct a proper wigwam like this:

But we discovered there were too many post molds on the map.

Archeologist said they could have been rehabilitated posts. Perhaps, but over the years American Indians visiting Wolf Creek Indian Village would comment that our structures were very large for a wigwam and some mentioned that a wigwam in their tradition was not that permanent a structure for a village.

A search for another type of structure that they "could" have built showed us that the First People were not stuck with just one type of housing structure in the east. Illustrations of the wigwam above and round house are from the book, "Virginia Native Peoples" by Karla Smith (Heinmann State Studies Series 2003)

We also liked the illustration of the Crab Orchard site meeting house below. You can see this meeting lodge on the left of the drawing has a long rectangular annex attached to it, but the round part looks familiar. These structures began to make sense to us with what we had from the archeology site map.

The artist illustration of Crab Orchard site in Tazewell County, VA is from the book "First People: Early Indians of Virginia," by Keith Egloff and Debra Woodward. We consulted many more sources the book "Native American Architecture" by Peter Nabakov was vital too.

So we restructured the meeting lodge as a round house and the model built in this manner we had no problem using every pole.

Once we had the basic design we found we had to discover materials we could use that would mimic what could have been used 500 years ago that would not be hard to obtain. The walls would have to be covered and also the roof. The roof could have been thatched or bark. Bark is still not much of an option. But we found a synthetic bark called Flexibark that would last 30 years or more. For the walls, many round houses had intertwined materials and were daubed with clay or had matting.

Two years ago, a visitor mentioned she had been studying the uses of river cane among Native American populations in the east. We call river cane "North American Bamboo. She mentioned all of these uses first people found for this versitile plant. Matting, baskets, in construction of homes, flutes, blow guns, etc. and it peaked our curiousity. Could it have been used here?

Research showed that River Cane would have been a plant our village would have known. We found county records that stated members of the Clear Fork community in 1804 came together to clear out the river cane to make way for a bridge across the creek. Further searches on the internet confirmed this was a plant that was here in abundance. It was depleted out to clear for farm land along with the filling in of wetlands. There was a recorded cane brake in Eastern Kentucky that spanned 15 miles!!

River cane looks very similar to bamboo. We have a small patch of river cane started in our wetland but not enough to cover 13 structures. We found small bamboo can be purchased and that is what we are using.

The outer wall of the round meeting lodge was put in place this week. The flexibark will be delivered Friday. The inner walls will have a matting and you won't even see the posts.

Here are pictures of our progress.

We know these structures mimic the archeology map of the Brown-Johnston site more accurately. We could never know for sure what they had built for the original structures or what materials they used, but this construction will last much longer than the wigwam design as well as mimic the materials they could have used.

Re-building the Village

2009-10-03T14:13:00.011-04:00

There is quite a bit of excitement here at Wolf Creek Indian Village. We are rebuilding the village and “growing poles”. Much research and thought has been put into how to rebuild the village. In honesty no one can know exactly how the village was built by the inhabitants 500 years ago. All we have is the remainder of post holes in the ground. This gives us the size and the shape on the ground but so many questions arise as to how they were built above ground.

Were any of the posts rehabilitative? Possibly but it was thought this village was not occupied very long to need many replacement posts. Which ones were angled to give us an impression of being a wigwam? How tall would they be? With all the experts, and all the study in the world can really only give us a dim view. In the interest of creating a village in the modern day as true as we can to the site we have decided because of the size of some of the structures to err on the side of caution. To create a more sturdy structure. We are creating post & beam round houses for those over 18’ in diameter. Those under 18’ will be wigwam structures.

Regardless of any debate, we decided our structures will be true to the site map. Where they put a post, and it’s marked on the site map, we put a post. Even if we don’t know why that post existed. The goal is six structures framed before winter. Our first goal was to build what is called feature #32. The largest structure found on the original site. It is 25.8 feet in diameter. The poles are in place for the walls and the features found inside stated on the site map have been recreated for this structure.

The fire pit was oval, which would allow for a longer log to be burnt.

There was a small bell shaped pit near the regular fire pit with charred stones and charcoal in it.

And a storage pit lined with stones.

The whole feel of the new structure is different and it’s wonderful. We are learning so much just from this experience. It is as if the ancients are teaching us a better way to build just by using the site map.

These flags mark the posts as indicated on the original archeological site map of other structures waiting to be built.

Once our frames are up then of course the coverings will have to be acquired. The plans for the post & beam round houses eventually are for reed coverings on the bottom outside walls, flexi bark (a material that looks just like bark) for the roof and a woven pattern matting similar to a piece of matting known to be made by Eastern Woodland Indians for the inside walls. The coverings of course will depend upon funding availability.

A nice picture of the creek.

Happy Accident

2009-08-05T16:13:00.003-04:00

I discovered upon entering the village that one of the wigwams that had the fiber-glass removed from it by an exceptionally strong wind earlier this Spring had accidentally become a brilliant trellis. Some gourds and squash that had been donated to the village germinated at the base of the wigwam. The dome shape kept deer and other pests from reaching the squash as well as keeping the ground shady and moisture in the soil and since the vegetables are kept off the ground there is less chance of rot or blight.

Rebuilding a Village

2009-07-21T15:50:00.007-04:00

Wolf Creek Indian Village and Museum has been open for thirteen years. The village has survived through blizzards, droughts, floods, and heat waves. It is now getting a face-lift. Some of our wigwams have taken heavy damage and are currently being repaired.

When the wigwams were originally built they were made from bent saplings and fiberglass with a resin coating. They let in light and were quite beautiful from the inside but were extremely hot in the summer and inaccurate in design. The new dwellings will be made from a combination of old and new materials. We're replacing the fiber glass with Flexi-bark. (For those wondering why we're not using real bark: It's because it must be replaced every few years and we are trying to be conservative with our resources.) The bottom of poles for wigwams and the palisade are charred to ward off insects and help keep moisture from damaging them.

This model represents the frame of one of the new dwellings. It is accurate according to the archaeological dig's specs. (And there is some Flexi-bark right behind it. WHOA. Looks like real bark!) In the top-most photo you can see Sam hard at work repairing the palisade wall. Later this summer we will have vines and saplings interwoven into it to make a protective wall around the village.

We're currently accepting donations to help finish the village. :) Anything you can donate to us will really be appreciated! Things we can use are:
- all sizes bamboo poles (or river cane- dry or alive)
- tanned animal hides
- matting from natural materials
- hand tools for gardening
- hand auger
- stones for tool-making (flint, obsidian, etc.)

Introduction to Wolf Creek

2009-07-21T14:48:00.010-04:00

Wolf Creek Indian Village & Museum is located in Bastian, Virginia in Southwest Virginia. We are a museum based upon an actual archeology site known as the Brown-Johnston site. The site was discovered in 1970 during the process of construction of Interstate 77.Our recreated Indian village was first built in 1996 using a combination of man made and natural materials. The village structures were placed according to the actual site map. A combination of weather and size eroded the structures over the years.

We are now “rethinking” the building of the village. The first reconstruction did mimic size, but it did not mimic all the actual features or the posts of each structure. Through new research about American Indian architecture we are rediscovering our village site in a different light in the second reconstruction. We are taking each and every feature and post and place them to have the village teach us how it was built. Though we cannot know for certain how it was exactly built, we can say we have each and every post or feature represented.

It is looking at our site with new eyes. We hope to have the village reconstruction completed in 3 years if funding and volunteer muscle can be found.

To get to the village from the museum you must take a little walk down the hill. On your way you can see wildflowers, chipmunks, various trees (some labeled for your education), and upon crossing the bridge - a glorious patch of skunk cabbage.

The inside of the pottery wigwam contains everything needed to make clay pipes, bowls, beads, and more. The best part of making pottery is getting into the creek to collect the clay. :)

Bethany weeding one of the small gardens inside the palisade wall.

Wolf Creek in the winter time.