There are some kinds of medicine that do not come from a bottle or require a prescription. Sometimes, medicine can be found in the beat of a drum, the movement of a dance, the sharing of a tradition or simply in people coming together.
That is the kind of “medicine” Coharie Tribal Administrator Greg Jacobs has spoken about, and anyone who experienced the 56th Annual Coharie Pow Wow this weekend could understand exactly what he means.
There was an energy surrounding the celebration that is difficult to capture with words alone. It could be seen in the pride of the Coharie people sharing their culture and heritage, as well as in the representatives of other tribes who came to celebrate alongside them. It could be felt in the camaraderie, hospitality and fellowship that filled the grounds as generations came together for something much larger than an annual event.
Perhaps one of the most meaningful sights was watching traditions pass between age groups. Elders who have spent decades preserving their culture stood alongside adults carrying those traditions forward, while children and young people were given an opportunity to learn not only what their people do, but why they do it.
That passing of knowledge matters. Traditions survive because someone takes the time to teach them and another generation values them enough to learn. In a world where so much can be forgotten from one generation to the next, there is something powerful about watching culture remain alive rather than simply reading about it as history.
Yet, there is another lesson from the Coharie Pow Wow that deserves equal attention: You do not have to be Coharie, or Native American at all, to experience it.
There can sometimes be a misconception that a tribal pow wow is an event intended only for members of that tribe or for Native people. The reality could hardly be more different. The Coharie Pow Wow is an open invitation for neighbors, friends and visitors of every background to come, learn, listen, eat, fellowship and experience a culture that has been part of this community for generations.
That openness is part of what makes the gathering so special. People from different tribes, races, backgrounds and walks of life can stand together around the same circle, hear the same drums and share the same experience. Nobody has to surrender who they are to appreciate who someone else is.
There is healing in that.
Our communities spend plenty of time talking about the things that divide us. Political disagreements, social differences and even old wounds can sometimes make those divisions seem larger than everything we share. Events such as the Coharie Pow Wow remind us that unity does not require uniformity. We can celebrate our differences while still recognizing one another as neighbors.
For the Coharie people, the weekend was understandably an expression of tribal pride, history and perseverance. For everyone else who attended, it was an opportunity to witness that pride, learn from it and be welcomed into the fellowship surrounding it.
Maybe that is exactly why “medicine” is such an appropriate description.
For a few days, people gathered not around what separated them, but around culture, family, tradition and community. They danced, laughed, learned, ate and visited together. Elders shared with the young, tribes celebrated alongside other tribes, and Native and non-Native neighbors occupied the same space in fellowship.
In times when communities can always use a little more healing, that kind of medicine is worth taking home with us.