RSVP : Graceful Melding of Two Worlds
“It’s not the cavalry and the Indians anymore,” said Caleb Shields, acting chairman of the Council of Energy Resource Tribes at his organization’s black-tie fundraiser Wednesday at the Sheraton Grande.
Shields was referring to the relationship between Native Americans, whose tribal lands hold a third of all U.S. coal and 40% of its uranium, and the people who buy those products. CERT advises 57 tribes on protecting and managing their assets.
Because of these extensive energy holdings, seated in the Sheraton Grande’s ballroom were representatives of a veritable Who’s Who of fuel and power companies, including Arco, Chevron, Peabody Western Coal and Southern California Gas Co.
Their support for CERT makes its annual American Spirit Award dinner the most successful Native American education fund-raiser in the country. This year more than $300,000 was raised for Native American students pursuing careers in fields related to energy resource management.
The program began with the posting of an eagle staff, to a drum and chanting accompaniment, at the same time the American flag was brought into the room.
“This ceremony affirms that Indians are still a thriving part of American society,” said CERT communication intern Felix Sanchez-Edsitty.
There was invocation in Cree, and award presentations to actor Wes Studi and Arizona Public Service Co. CEO Mark DeMichele, as well as a Crow dance performance by Zia Pueblo Indians. John Bryson, CEO of Southern California Edison, was presented with a Navajo silver belt buckle for his efforts in hosting the dinner.
Midway through the evening, after a video clip on CERT’s scholarship program, there was an “honor song” with accompaniment by the Red Tipi drum group.
“This helps us remember those who have passed on,” Shields said. “It celebrates their lives and contributions as well as those who are among us in this world.”
What stood out in the evening was the graceful mixing of Native American and corporate cultures. “Between these two worlds, if you chose to call them two worlds, this is a way of melding because they have the same interests,” Studi said.
