Cape Native Americans lead effort to establish cultural center

When Bill Brown was a little boy, his grandfather wanted him to know of his Cherokee heritage, but he also wanted the child to keep it quiet.

"Shhh," said Brown, now 76, holding a finger to his lips, recalling what his grandfather used to tell him when he worried that the boy would be teased. "Don't tell people you're Indian."

But a group of American Indians in Southeast Missouri, including Brown, now are working to create a place to celebrate their culture. They're trying to open the American Indian Center of the Heartland, planned as a cultural nonprofit and educational organization to reach American Indians in parts of five states.

A Cape Girardeau couple, Michael and Glinda Ladd Seabaugh, have led efforts for the center. They own Cherokee Trails, a gift shop that sells original art, books, drums, jewelry and other items relating to American Indians.

Last year, the Seabaughs bought an American Legion hall in town while the legion was developing a new facility. They moved their store into the front of the building in April, and held their first organizational meeting Nov. 15 for the cultural center, which will be open to all who are interested, they said.

Glinda, 51, comes from a Cherokee family and those who know her well call her Pitter. Michael, 55, also known as Grizzly, had Cherokee, German and Swedish ancestors.

Losing land

They said in the past Indians feared they could lose their land in Missouri if their heritage was known. Many families talked about their ancestry among themselves but refrained from talking about it to outsiders.

"They had to go underground with who they were and what they stood for," said Michael Seabaugh.

The Seabaughs had relatives who taught them about Indian beliefs and traditions, but when their own children were in school, they realized how much misinformation still existed about American Indians.

Their children's teachers asked them to speak about their background. Word would spread to other teachers, and before long scouting groups and community organizations were asking them to give presentations about Indian history, arts and culture.

Glinda Seabaugh, who has been involved in Indian politics, said she thought the cultural center would be helpful because it wouldn't be political, but a place to socialize and educate.

"There's a thriving, vibrant Indian community in this area, but there wasn't a place for people to come and feel welcome," Michael Seabaugh said.

The Seabaughs know of no such Indian gathering place from Memphis to St. Louis. They think Cape Girardeau is uniquely situated to draw in visitors from their own state, Southern Illinois, northeast Arkansas, western Kentucky and Tennessee.

The hall is a modest space, still in need of fixing up, but with a large room upstairs for gatherings. There's a kitchen where Glinda Seabaugh said they're planning an American Indian "fried bread dinner," a fund raiser where they'll cook an American Indian meal for visitors. They're also working to hold a powwow, an intertribal gathering for American Indians and others.

They hope over time to bring in speakers, hold art shows and organize efforts to help needy families.

"After we got the building, we started seeing a dream realized," Glinda Seabaugh said.