FIRST NATION TROUPE TO DANCE AT WICKLIFFE

WICKLIFFE, Ky. -- The largest crowd to visit Wickliffe Mounds last year came to see the First Nation Dancers, a St. Louis-based troupe of Native Americans who say their mission is to bridge the gap between native and non-native people.

The First Nation Dancers will perform again Saturday and Sunday at the Wickliffe Mounds Research Center.

Performances are scheduled at 10:30 a.m. and at 2:30 p.m. both days, but the group members will be teaching and talking informally with visitors throughout the days. Native American crafts booths also will be on the premises.

The First Nation Dancers bridge gaps through traditional Native American dances and storytelling that, Victoria Fortner says, "shows the wealth of culture and information we still maintain."

Fortner, who is Shawnee, helped form the company four years ago along with Frank Wolfe, an Omaha, and Kathy Baird, who is Crow. In 1993 they danced before 2,000 people at the Kentucky State Fair and last year performed at the Illinois State Fair.

The name First Nation is the term used for Indians -- politically correct only among older generations, Fortner says -- in Canada.

She learned the dances as a child and at powwows. She often carries babies with her as she dances. "Kids are not excluded in our traditional way," she says.

Neither are elders. Two of the people coming from St. Louis are Sam and Dorothy Blatchford, who are beloved by members of the Native American community there, Fortner said.

"Native people do not put aside the older ones."

Urban Native Americans have the most difficulty retaining their culture, Fortner says, adding: "They are totally inundated by Euro-American culture."

A herbologist and lecturer, Fortner is married to George SpiritHawk, a Shawnee who is a pipe-carrier and member of the Tribal Council. They have a son named WhiteHawk who is being raised in the way of the traditional Shawnee people.

Fortner's support group in the Indian community is a mix of people from different tribes, and she considers them part of her family.

"You always increase your wealth by increasing your family," she says. "You are wealthy not by what you own but by how many people love you."

That's just one of the concepts Native American culture can impart to "non-natives," she says.

"There's a lot we can offer that might help other people relate a little bit better."

Wickliffe Mounds is on U.S. Highways 51/60/62, four miles east of the Kentucky-Illinois border. The center is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily from March through November.

Admission is $3.50 for adults, $3.25 for seniors, $2.50 for ages 6 through 11 and free for children younger than 6.