I couldn't get the powwow.com link to work either. You have to go to the homepage and do a search for grandmother drum. It shows up at
http://www.powwows.com/gathering/native-issues/43892-grandmother-drum-project-whirling-rainbow-foundation.html?=Apparently an Alaska Native going by Blackbear knows exactly what kind of a person she is.
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Blackbear
Gone Fishing
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Alaska
Posts: 9,316
Yes.. I do.. and I've posted about this woman before! She's a flaky, pale white chick with red hair who was claiming Seneca when I first met her but did'nt recognize her "traditional" songs and found out her family was Twyla Nitch.
She is the one that started this grandmother drum project because the natives up here started telling her that women are'nt supposed to be on a powwow drum and I don't think she liked being told she could'nt because she was a woman.
She tries to act all peaceful and serene and she just gives you the willies to stand next to her like most of these really flaked out New Agers.
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Later on he comments about Nitsche:
"Twylah is enrolled with the Seneca Nation of Indians but only becuase she fits the criteria. She's not got a quantum that would impress anyone but she's down a maternal line so she qualifies. She also never grew up with the Seneca, around or involved with them in any way shape or form but passes her new age crap off as traditional seneca spiritualism. And apparently she adopts just about everyone she meets."
"After all her misleading of the whole Seneca culture and misrepresentation.. personally I would have moved to have had her dis-enrolled myself. But I know people who have called the main offices for SNI and they don't deny she's enrolled but don't exactly lay claim to her either."
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Then he answers a post by another member.
03-25-2008, 03:03 PM #18 (permalink)
Blackbear
Gone Fishing
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Alaska
Posts: 9,316
Quote:
Originally Posted by WocusWoman
YouTube - GrandMother Drum White Eagle
I'm sorry, here is the Link of her promotional video. I had a hard time not giggling at it.
"Did you ever meet her? I'd be surprised if you have'nt... she used to "drum" for a short time with that mixed gender drum from Anchorage (who now does'nt let women on the drum) and used to go to all the alaskan powwows until people started telling her to take a hike.
The first time I saw her was on the eating break at the Eklutna powwow in 2000 and she was "entertaining" the lunch crowds with her "traditional" seneca songs that I did'nt recognize becuase they sounded like something Buffy St. Marie would have sang in an unrecognizable language.
The last powwow I saw her at she was trying to fancy dance wearing a fake buckskin dress, using an open poncho for a shawl with head hole framing her red hair and jingle bells sewn to the end of her fake buckskin dress and doing some kind of wierd skipping move. OH and sporting her pentagram necklace."
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More of their conversation:
WocusWoman
N8tiffUmatillaMAMA
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Interior Alaska
Posts: 2,658
I have not personally met her; however... I have several friends both native and non-native who unfortunately went to one of her performances about 3 years ago now and even the non-native friends thought she was hokey or a wannabee. My one good friend, whom is non-native but enjoys volunteering with the powwow here was very offended by this woman. She told the audience how good it felt to be wearing nothing under her buckskin dress, etc. etc.
03-27-2008, 02:26 PM #24 (permalink)
Blackbear
Gone Fishing
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Alaska
Posts: 9,316
Yeah she's really out there... a friend of mine introduced her to me at the Seward Powwow in 2001 telling me she was seneca (second encounter with her) and got sneaky with her asking her questions and you could immediately tell she was not being honest about being Seneca or having Seneca family for that matter. Then she decided to switch the story up a bit and said she was adopted out...trying to make it sound like she was adopted out of the seneca Nation but knew her family but then find out the truth is she was adopted by Twylah in Twylah's way. She's also another one of these folks that thinks indian spirituality is a "sexy" thing.