Indigenous Peoples Day: Cornel Pewewardy
Lawton Indigenous Peoples Day was celebrated on Monday, October 9, at City Hall in the morning and at Cameron University during the afternoon.
The morning events featured opening ceremonies by the Comanche Indian Veterans Association (CIVA). CIVA Princess Arlene Schonchin attended, as well as Lawton Mayor Stan Booker and Kiowa Tribe Chairman Lawrence SpottedBird.
Vice Chairman for the Comanche Nation Cornel Pewewardy, and one of the founders of Indigenous Peoples Day, said the first Indigenous Peoples Day was celebrated in 2018 and the second year at Cameron University (CU).
He said the importance of the celebration in Lawton is to make the invisible visible.
“What I mean by that metaphor is that we are many times not seen in the media, newspapers and television, and if it is our image, it’s usually not good news,” Pewewardy said. “We’d like to put out good news about the strengths and resilience of our people, that we were here first in this community before the city of Lawton ever was an idea. And so many of us that are descendants of Comanche, Kiowa and Apache, we celebrate this opportunity to not only embrace our history because our future is our history to share it with our generations that are yet to come but also our allies. Those that we partner with in the schools and universities and those in political spaces here in Lawton, Oklahoma, so we can grow together and we can celebrate together, such as these days with our relatives and our partners.”
Pewewardy said the day is about the festival and resilience of the Indigenous Peoples' history and storytelling through songs, dances and food.
“We celebrate food sovereignty,” he said. “So, we educate not only ourselves about the sovereignty within our nations, but also the respect that we have in who we are as Comanches, Kiowas, Apaches, Wichitas, Delawares, Ft. Sill Apaches, Caddos; there’s so many nations that are a part of southwest Oklahoma, so we share that history, and it’s rich because it’s all about resilience, it’s all about defending ourselves to be who we are in this day and age that tries to make us be like everybody else.”
Pewewardy said the day replaces the Columbus Day legacy.
“The Indigenous Peoples Day is not only a day to celebrate, but also, we replace a legacy called Columbus Day because many of us that know the story about Columbus and where he came from and what he tried to do that we were never discovered; we have always been here,” he said. “And we’re trying to celebrate our history and that we are able to not to replace Columbus Day, but to make an imprint in the consciousness of the community.”
Pewewardy said the day is for everybody to participate.
“Especially the school children that are here and are yet to be born,” he said. “That they can make an imprint about whose history that is here that we celebrate. ‘Whose land was it before the city of Lawton?’ ‘Whose land before Ft. Sill Oklahoma?’ It’s many of the nations that came here voluntarily, and some of them involuntarily. And so, we want to tell that story not only for our children but also those that are relatives that we take on as we move on. But the song and dance is for everybody. Not only us that are human beings but for the animals for the birds, the water beings, and all those that are relatives; we sing for that reason. And the season shifts into the wintertime as we think about why we’re here in the here and now. So, we celebrate every day as Indigenous Peoples Day.”
Those who attended the afternoon celebrations could see Mexican Folk dances, a Hindu singer and participate in Kiowa, Comanche and Wichita hymn singing. There were also Comanche dances and a hoop dancer.
Comanche Nation Princess McKenzi Sovo and Walters Service Club Princess Kyleigh Davidson also attended the Indigenous Peoples Day event at CU.
