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Boys and Girls Club brings back Native American tradition

By Brent Stewart, The Southern

Thursday, April 19, 2007 6:41 AM CDT

It was an important meeting of the council. Many great leaders were in attendance to discuss an issue of great distress.

When the meeting began, the leading elder held an elaborately decorated stick firmly in his grip, while the other members listened intently.

As he finished, the stick was passed to the next member who began to speak.

Many years later, a room is darkened while a group of teenage students sit around a candle. A similarly decorated stick is produced and given to the first student who begins to talk about problems he is having at home.

It is passed to the next student, who talks about a fight he got into with a friend. Each student speaks and their peers listen without interruption.

The talking stick is a Native American tradition that has recently been rediscovered by Randy Osborn, the executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Carbondale.

"It was one of those overnight ideas that took seven years to develop," he said.

This simple idea has turned into the "Shawnee Talking Wand Project," a unique and creative collaboration with different youth- and nature-oriented groups in the area. The initiative combines whimsical magic wand features with the ceremonial talking stick function and artistic sculptural appeal

It's an educational opportunity, an instrument for conflict resolution, artwork and conservation project all rolled into one.

Sunday, Blue Sky Vineyard will host the Boys and Girls Club's "First Circle" celebration, a fundraiser for their summer programs and an introduction to the project.

Besides live music by Loose Gravel, Carter & Connelly, Jasper Street Singers, Kathleen Shaffner, and Grant Harp, the main feature will be a display, exhibit and silent auction of the first generation of Shawnee Talking Wands.

There will also be a wand-making workshop where attendees will have the opportunity to learn the craft themselves.

Raw material for the talking wands is the Japanese Bittersweet Vine, an invasive plant that is doing severe damage to sections of Giant City State Park, and is on a list for eradication.

"The fact is, for every vine we cut out, there's a tree that's breathing easier back in the park," said Osborn.

"They're destructive, they're clustered, they're out of control, but also they're beautiful."

The bark is grey to silver with varied texture. The wood is soft and vanilla-cream colored underneath the bark, and lends itself to whittling, painting, wood burning, ink and marker, drilling, carving, beading and most anything else the teen artists have in mind.

"One of the processes in developing these is that a lot of people say, 'well, I'm not artistic,'" Osborn said.

"I'm taking it down to the fundamental components. Anybody can string beads, anyone can tie feathers, and anyone can paint."

The wand project helps not only the club and provides a creative outlet, but it's also opportunity to help Giant City park and a creative outlet, but perhaps its most important use is as an instrument that can be used by counselors in discussions and in conflict resolution.

Jeff Jones, the Recreation and Volunteer Coordinator of the Boys and Girls Club, has already began using the talking wand with a group of kids in their Friday night discussions.

"A lot of it is personal life issues and the struggles that they're dealing with," he said.

"I brought the wand in as something to focus on and I think it's something I'm going to really start to use."

Just like the Native American tribal elders used the stick to mediate their issues in a civilized manner; this ancient tradition may have an appropriate place in the 21st century.

"It's something we lost over time," said Jones, "hopefully that we can bring back."

brent.stewart@thesouthern.com

351-5074

Who: Boys and Girls Club of Carbondale

What: "First Circle" celebration, a fundraiser for the club's summer programs and an introduction to the "Shawnee Talking Wand Project." Music by Loose Gravel, Carter &Connelly, Jasper Street Singers, Kathleen Shaffner, and Grant Harp

When: Noon to 4 p.m., Sunday.

Cost: $5 at the door

Contact: 457-8877