A human rights advocate from the Delaware/Mohawk Nation of Ontario, Canada, will lead the Peace Tree ceremony at noon Tuesday, Oct. 14, on West Virginia Universitys downtown campus.
Tim Brown, whose Indian name is Wut-tun-nee, will be the guest of honor at the annual event. Prior to the ceremony, members of the Middle Island Creek Band of the Shawnee and WVU s Organization for Native American Interests will perform on Indian drums. The Peace Tree stands between Elizabeth Moore and Martin halls.
Brown will also give a lecture,”Mitakuye-Oyasin: We Are All Related,”at 4 p.m. in the Mountainlair Shenandoah Room.
Both the ceremony and lecture are free and open to the public. WVU s Native American Studies Program is sponsoring both events.
Brown has an extensive background in traditional teaching and healing and has conducted numerous ceremonies over the years. An eagle feather carrier, he has been a student of many noted and revered native elders. He has received several awards for his efforts to promote human rights, especially those of mentally and emotionally challenged children. He has also taken a strong leadership role in working to improve the conditions of aboriginal laborers in his home country of Canada.
His afternoon presentation will focus on the Sacred Medicine Wheels symbolism of the connections between all living things, such as the four seasons, the four geographical directions, the four elements (earth, wind, fire, and water) and the four states of being (physical, emotional, mental and spiritual).
Brown will meet with students and faculty and offer a classroom presentation while on campus.
The WVU Peace Tree was planted Sept. 12, 1992, to commemorate the University’s commitment to the rediscovery of Americas Indian heritage. Vandals cut down the tree in August 1996, and a second tree that stands today was planted Oct. 19, 1996.
According to Haudenosaunee oral tradition, the creator sent a peacemaker to unite the warring Seneca, Cayuga, Oneida, Mohawk and Onondaga nations by planting the original Tree of Peace at Onondaga about 1000. The tree marked the formation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.