Navajo Dance Troupe Returning to Grave Creek Mound
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The Navajo Dance Troupe will return to the Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville after the original performance date in June was rescheduled.
The group is slated to perform at 4 p.m. Saturday at the complex's auditorium, located at 801 Jefferson Ave. in Moundsville. The free event will kick off with a lecture by Shawn Price, Dine'Tah Navajo Cultural Program director. Jeremy Kohus, Grave Creek Mound Archeological Complex site manager, said Price's lecture would cover President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal program he enacted.
After Kohus's lecture, the troupe will take the stage at 5 p.m. Kohus said the performance will wrap up at 6 p.m. Photography or recording of the performance is not permitted.
Saturday will mark the third time the dance troupe has performed at the Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex. The performance this year was originally scheduled for June 22, but Kohus said the event had to be rescheduled due to the group having a "traveling problem."
Kohus said the rescheduling worked in the event's favor, as the performance will now tie into the museum's American Indian Heritage month programming in November. He noted the museum held Native Peoples Heritage Day at Grave Creek Mound last Saturday, Nov. 2, which provided attendees with opportunities to learn about Native heritage in West Virginia.
"I'm very glad the scheduling worked out this way," Kohus said. "We had an event last Saturday (Nov. 2) to recognize American Indian Heritage Month and now the Navajo Dance Troupe this weekend, so everything actually worked out for the best."
Kohus added the last two times the troupe visited the Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex, the museum auditorium was "standing room only."
"It's very rare for people to see and experience Native culture," Kohus said.
Kohus also noted the importance of the Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex hosting the event. The site was once a burial ground for members of the Adena culture, a pre-Columbian Native American culture found in the central Ohio River valley.
"We're really making an effort as a Native American site to get involved in Native American history and culture," Kohus said. "It's very important for us to do."
Kohus said he hopes the Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex will continue building its relationships with both the Moundsville community and the Native American community to host similar events in the future.