Recent Events
At Mantle Rock Native Education and Cultural Center

2006

2005

2004

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2003

Lewis & Clark Celebration Mantle Rock Center participated in the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Celebration observance in Paducah, KY on November 11. The activities included unveiling a monument to the expedition, which traveled down the Ohio River in 1803 before crossing by land to St. Louis, Missouri. The St. Charles Lewis and Clark Discovery Expedition Re-enactors set up camp at the Paducah riverfront, offering tours and a glimpse of life 200 years ago.      The expedition, commissioned by President Jefferson, traveled 8,000 miles to the Pacific and back. Although the expedition failed in its quest to find a Northwest Passage of navigable waterways to the Pacific, it succeeded in making peaceful contacts with many First Nations retrieving information about the people, geography, plants and animals of the unexplored West.

The former deputy principal chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma heads a team of traditional teachers who will conduct workshops on Cherokee culture and history on November 7 and 8 in Marion, KY. Hastings Shade is a full-blooded, fluent Cherokee speaker from a traditional Cherokee community, who was elected deputy principal chief in 1999. His term recently ended.

Shade is also a descendant of Sequoyah, who devised a writing system for the Cherokee language in 1821, allowing much of that nation's history to be recorded and preserved. He is devoted to teaching and preserving the unique Cherokee language and the oral traditions it conveys.The visit, sponsored by the Mantle Rock Native Education and Cultural Center, is part of an ongoing outreach by the Cherokee Nation to present an accurate version of Native American traditions at a time when misinformation abounds. The workshop, entitled "Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Cherokees But Didn't Know Who To Ask," has been well received in Oklahoma, California, Indiana, and other locations nationwide. It will included presentations on Cherokee history, language, spirituality, crafts, and health practices.Advance registration for the Friday evening and Saturday classes (including Saturday lunch) is $30, and $40 at the door. Seating is limited.

 

"Native Days" Art Competition Students in Crittenden and Livingston counties displayed their work in an art competition stressing Native American themes. The event, sponsored by the Mantle Rock Native Education and Cultural Center, was described by competition director Tony Konstanty:"The goal of this competition is to encourage the students in art, and to make them more aware of the Native American culture and history that surrounds them."     The artwork was judged and displayed at the Heritage Days celebration in Marion, October 17 and 18, 2003, and at the Mantle Rock Native American Festival at Birdsville on October 25 and 26. Cash prizes were awarded.

 

Just a few years ago, we were concerned how a sudden influx of Native Americans would be received in Crittenden County, Kentucky, as part of an effort to re-establish a Cherokee presence in the area of Mantle Rock. Not only have the people of the county and the town of Marion welcomed our return with open arms, but now the state has given its approval in the form of Kentucky's most famous honor.
      "Momfeather" Erickson, founder of the Mantle Rock Native Education and Cultural Center in Marion and a member of the state Human Rights Commission, was given the honorary rank of colonel in the state militia. A native (and a Native) of eastern Kentucky, Momfeather moved to Omaha, Nebraska a few years ago, and returned to Kentucky in December 2002. The presentation was made on May 19 by State Representative Mike Cherry on behalf of Governor Paul Patton.
      The first Governor of Kentucky, Isaac Shelby, gave his son-in-law, Charles S. Todd, the title of Colonel on his staff. Shelby issued commissions to all who enlisted in his regiment in the War of 1812. Later Governors commissioned Colonels to act as their protective guard; they wore uniforms and were present at most official functions. The "Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels" was founded in 1932 by Governor Ruby Laffoon and has since been officially incorporated as a charitable organization. Perhaps most importantly, as the author of several Native American cookbooks, Momfeather now has equal rank with Colonel Sanders!

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2002

Momfeather lunched with the Lord Mayor of Brighton, England, when she spoke at the Creativity & Cultural Diversity International Conference at the University of Brighton in September 2002.