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The Cheroenhaka Nottoway Tribe held its annual Corn Harvest Powwow this weekend in Courtland, where the tribe is headquartered.
The Cheroenhaka are one of Virginia's state-recognized tribe, but hasn't achieved federal recognition yet. That designation makes certain federal funding and programs available to them.
The tribe operates a nonprofit entity and the powwow is the main fundraiser. This year, the tribe plans to put proceeds toward a cultural center.
The Cheroenhaka Nottoway Tribe’s flag flies alongside the American flag at the 30th Annual Corn Harvest Powwow on Nov. 5, 2022. The tribal flag shows the translation of the tribe’s name, “people at the fork of the stream.”
Members of the Cheroenhaka Nottoway tribe stand during the powwow’s Grand Entry. They wear fringed buckskin regalia and hold feathered prayer fans.
A woman takes part in the dancers’ raffle. She wears a jingle dress, whose distinctive sound and look originates in Ojibwe culture.
Another dancer in a jingle dress makes her way through the dancing circle. Jingle dresses are a relatively new tradition, only popularized in the last 100 years.
Lead dancers Taylor Mullin (Lumbee) and David “Spirit Hawk” Brown (Cheroenhaka) lead visitors and tribe members in a friendship dance. Mullin wears a jingle dress and intricate beaded regalia in her hair. Brown wears a feathered headdress and bustle with a turtle shell incorporated into the design.
Mullin and Brown dance during the Inter-Tribal dance. Mullin, who is Lumbee, hails from North Carolina. Brown, the son of Cheroenhaka Chief Walt “Red Hawk” Brown, is from Franklin.
A woman holds a baby at the center of the friendship dance. “He’ll remember the sound of the drum,” said emcee Joey Cruchfield. “It sounds like his mother’s heartbeat.”
