‘This Land Is Our Land’ | Annual Native American festival returns to Tri-Cities for third consecutive year

The Standing Peachtree Native American Festival & Powwow showcases the rich tapestry of the nation’s Indigenous culture through music, dance, food & more.

“This land is your land, and this land is my land
From California to the New York island.” - Woody Guthrie

EAST POINT, Ga. — Some of you may vaguely recognize this quote as the opening lyrics to a song that many of us may (or may not) have had to mumble through during our adolescent school years — begrudgingly.

Fewer people may even be humming the folksy melody of this eighty-five-year-old de-facto American anthem while thinking of Redwood forests or Gulf Stream waters.

Either way, the main takeaway intended by the Oklahoman-born musician, Woodrow ‘Woody’ Guthrie was to instill the notion upon all us Americans who listened to the song was simple and earnest.

This land was made for you and me.

As Thanksgiving arrives signaling (for many of us) the beginning of the holiday season and the end of yet another November, it’s important to remember that not every American citizen has had the same experience as others.

And just how powerful a point of view can influence our perception of the world, not to mention our place within that world.

Particularly, in regards to those that may identify as Native American, American Indian, or Indigenous here in the United States.

For those unaware, November is National Native American Heritage Month. It was implemented on a federal level in the early 1990s by a joint congressional resolution signed by President George H.W. Bush, designating November as National American Indian Heritage Month.

Although the roots of advocating for national recognition of Native American heritage can be traced back over a century ago. The first holiday ever acknowledged was American Indian Day, in New York on May 1916 after a member of the Blackfeet Nation, Red Fox James set out to personally lobby the governments of 24 states – on horseback no less.

While the U.S. government’s efforts to fully embrace much less celebrate the numerous achievements of the American Indian across the diaspora, some incremental advancements have been made.

Here in the Tri-Cities back in 2022, The East Point Public Art Division partnered with Georgia Indigenous Diversity Consulting, LLC, to create the Standing Peachtree Native American Festival & Powwow.

The term ‘Powwow’ stands for ‘meeting’ or ‘get-together.’

This two-day festival, held during late summer, is designed to showcase the myriad of Native American culture, music, traditional garb, as well as, food, arts & crafts, and more.

Since its inception a few years ago, the Standing Peachtree Native American Festival & Powwow has become one of the largest Native American gatherings held in South Fulton County.

“We're so thankful that people are taking interest in Indigenous cultures, and the people whose land we're walking on, in this case, the Muskogee people,” affirms Carmen Halagahu, co-owner of the Atlanta-based Turtle Island Trading.

“I just like to say it's about time. That's all I have to say about it.”

Guests who attended the Standing Peachtree Native American Festival & Powwow event were treated to activities such as, but not limited to; Tribal Singers, Dance Troupes, Storytellers, Living History, Drum Circles, and much more.

When asked by Vox Pop ATL about his takeaway from the festival, East Point's Cultural Arts Director, Christopher Swain had this to share.

"People are finding out that we're more alike than we are different."In America, we must always acknowledge the land upon which we stand. The land upon which we stand today is the land of the Muskogee Creek Indians, as is most of Fulton County.

"We (East Point) have people coming from as far away as Oklahoma and South Dakota to participate in this event."

Back in Washington D.C. in 2008, following in his father’s footsteps, President George W. Bush signed a law passed by Congress to make Native American Heritage Day after Thanksgiving (better known as) ’Black Friday’

Another criticism is that Native American Heritage Day falls on Black Friday, which is seen as a day that tends to celebrate American capitalism and greed.

Thanksgiving is known as the National Day of Mourning for many Native Americans, as they believe it celebrates events correlated with the displacement and murder of Natives.

Just last month on Oct 25, 2024, President Biden formally apologized to Native American citizens during a press conference for the inhumane treatment from the early 1880s through the 1970s in the form of Federal Indian Boarding Schools.

The sole purpose of these ‘boarding schools’ was to culturally assimilate American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian offspring, often forcibly, by stripping the children of their families, languages, communities, religions, cultural practices, and more.

The following are the names of several Native American tribes that occupied the State of Georgia before the forced migration of the Indian Removal Act of 1830:
Muskogee
Oconee
Miccosukee
Cherokee
Apalachee

For more information about the Standing Peachtree Native American Festival & Powwow, or other future Powwows click here.

For all the news that’s fit to click? Visit the Vox Pop ATL website and like us on Facebook.