Bahweting Drum and Dancers Invited to Jamestown

The Bahweting Drum and Dancers have been invited to travel to Washington, D.C., and Hampton, Virginia, to represent the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in several performances this month. These appearances will begin Thursday, July 19, with a morning exhibition at the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of the American Indian, followed by evening presentations at the Vietnam and Korean Veterans Memorials. Friday, July 20, the group will travel to Hampton to spend three days participating in the American Indian Intertribal Cultural Festival, part of the observance marking the 400th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in the United States at Jamestown.

The Bahweting Singers Drum, the official drum of the Sault tribe, was formed in 1996 as a way to help tribal youth. The volunteer group offers its services for various occasions such as graduations, naming ceremonies, weddings, memorials, and healing ceremonies in hospitals. The drum also participates in powwows in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Canada, and is an integral part of the tribe.