Justin Giles owns a degree in anthropology from the University of Virginia and serves as assistant director of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Museum and Cultural Center. So he stays interested in how culture is portrayed and perpetuated. This month, Giles, of Jenks, gets to live that passion when he and four other Oklahomans from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation take part in a cultural exchange in Nicaragua. This is so important because its never been done before where the State Department, through the U.S. Embassy in Nicaragua, is collaborating with two sovereign governments: the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the government of Nicaragua, Giles said. This is a cultural sharing, all in the spirit of youth-driven education and opening up the world to a lot of folks. Giles learned of the opportunity through fellow Tribal member Janet Foerster. She is president of InnerCHANGE WORKS, a nonprofit that has been conducting education, health and economic development programs in schools and health clinics for the past nine years in Nicaragua. Foerster, and her daughter, Jennifer, a Native American poet, will journey to Central America, as well. We hope by making this trip that there will be continual exchanges, Janet Foerster said. Thats our plan. Of the 566 federally recognized Indian tribes in the United States, the Creek Nation is the fourth-largest, with about 77,000 enrolled citizens, Giles said. The Oklahoma delegation is scheduled to leave for Nicaragua on Saturday and return Feb. 14. Other tribal members taking part in the exchange will be William Lowe, the Nations tourism and recreational director; ceremonial leader Bobby Yargee and his wife, Lesah Deere-Yargee, a child development officer; and Giles wife, Cherrah Giles, secretary of the Department of Community and Human Services. While in the country, the group will meet up with Bristows Mickey Moore, who for years has drilled wells on behalf of Rotary Club of Tulsa as part of its Nicaraguan Water Well Drilling Program. The delegation will take part in gift exchanges and roundtable discussion on such subjects as the state of cultural tourism. It also will be on hand for the opening of Centro Cultural Nicaraguense Norteamerican (CCNN) Bi-National Center in Managua. Built with U.S. funds, it will include 40 classrooms, a library, a modern information technology lab and an auditorium that can seat 200 people. The center was designed to teach language classes and promote the exchange of U.S.-Nicaraguan culture, including art, dance, theater and bilingual literary groups. Representatives from the tribal delegation and leaders from indigenous communities in Nicaragua will participate in ceremonial blessings of the center and paying respect to the ancestors and elders of all Native nations. Were very honored to be a part of this, Giles said. This is very special to us. As a museologist, this is something Ive come to love. I dont have a job working for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. I have a lifestyle working for the Creek Nation.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 13:14:26 +0000
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