By Cassie Shaner, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.
Oct. 21--FOR INFORMATION about Diversity Week 2009, go to dominionpost.com and click on the link.
It takes hard work to promote peace, but about 100 WVU students, faculty and staff were up to the challenge at Tuesday's Peace Tree Ceremony.
They re-created a centuries-old Iroquois tradition by tying colorful ribbons to WVU's Peace Tree -- located across from the Mountainlair, between Elizabeth Moore and Martin halls -- and offering tobacco in exchange for prayers of peace.
The ceremony was part of WVU's Diversity Week celebration. Bonnie Brown, coordinator of WVU's Native American Studies program, said it highlights the university's combined efforts to promote peace, whether it's for someone in a troubled relationship, a family in turmoil or a neighborhood disrupted by crime.
The event also provided an opportunity to honor Carolyn Reyer, a former WVU instructor who founded the university's Native American Studies program 20 years ago. Reyer passed away Sept. 24, at the age of 90.
"It was her deep desire to have Native American studies courses offered here and to enrich our understanding of Native American culture," said Dan McNeil, a professor for the School of Dentistry and Department of Psychology. "Our being here today is a reflection of Lyn's spirit."
Ellesa High, a Lower Eastern Ohio Mekoce Shawnee and member of the Native American Studies program committee, and her students also placed a white garland on the Peace Tree in Reyer's memory. She also led the ceremony, recounting the tale of a Peacemaker sent to unite warring tribes by planting an evergreen white pine tree as a symbol of peace.
The Peacemaker put an eagle on top of the tree to guard it, and Annie, a red-tailed hawk from West Virginia Raptor Rehabilitation Center, was on hand to keep watch over WVU's Peace Tree on Tuesday.
"You have to be ever vigilant to keep peace," High said. "You can't let your guard down."
High asked students to not only pray for peace, but also U.S. troops. Her son will be deployed to Afghanistan later this week, and she said most of those in attendance probably know someone in the military, too.
"Veterans are highly honored in Native cultures," High said. "A warrior is a very important component of peace."
Logan Sharp, a retired chief of the Lower Eastern Ohio Mekoce Shawnee and Native American rights activist, participated in Tuesday's ceremony and presented a lecture at Clark Hall. He encouraged attendees to work hard to make the tree grow and extend its roots.
He also said they shouldn't be discouraged by challenges. WVU's Peace Tree was replaced in 1996, after vandals cut the first one down, but Sharp said there can always be more trees planted and nourished to promote peace.
"When one gets cut down, plant two," Sharp said.
WVU alumnus Lian De Leon, 27, of Morgantown, has been a member of WVU's Organization for Native American Interests (ONAI) since 2004. She said she likes the Peace Tree Ceremony because it brings a variety of people on campus together for a common purpose.
"Our world is in such turmoil now," De Leon said. "It's nice to see a united front."
Kylan Haney, a 19-year-old forensics major from Kingwood, had to attend a Diversity Week event for her freshman orientation class. She opted for the Peace Tree Ceremony because she had seen the tree and wanted to learn more about it.
"It was very nice," said Haney, who prayed for U.S. soldiers when she tied her ribbon to the tree. "It was bigger, and there was more to it than I thought there would be. It was impressive."
ONAI and the Native American Women's Eastern Hand Drum (NAWEH) performed traditional music during Tuesday's ceremony.
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