indian20106 said:
this year the team moral was more about starting a new era. a new age. everyone wanted some rock and roll or rap song for our entrance... we loved cherokee but that just shows you how much is changing.
A new era and a new age is fine for somethings, but one of the things PNG has ALWAYS been known for is their TRADITIONS. In my opinion, Rock and Roll or Rap does not fit in with the Indian/PNG Traditions. :sorry: Everything has always been centered around Cherokee, Cherokee Indians or Indian in general. If PNG ever lost or did away with their traditions, for a new era or a new age, I know they would loose me and a whole lot of other supporters. :nono: Supporters that help mental, physically and financially support PNG and the PNG school district. Throughout the years different classes/era's have set small but new traditions. A lot of them were the old traditions with a new twist. But I just can not picture a Rapping Indian or Geronimo. That is one of the things that is so great about PNG and all the Alumni (old and new) have in common, is sharing some or all of the same traditions. :clap:
For an example NDNMon83 wrote:
Okay, this one will date me back to the days before freshmen were at PNG, but remember the sophomore class being called to the stadium field and having to get on our knees and hold our hands high in the air while reciting "The Creed"....this tradition ended when the 9th grade became part of the high school. ALL these years later I still remember the final part of "The Creed" which said "although, I'm the lowest form of life on the reservation I'm still better than any student anywhere...so help me Geronimo!" then having to bow to the senior class three times. That really brought us together as Warriors and Braves and made us Indians. It was one of those rites of passage that you dreaded happening and then had fun when it did happen. Even when you had to keep starting over, because the juniors and seniors couldn't hear you, lol.
When I was in school we did the same thing but it was on the patio, around the Totem Pole. The Totem Pole in those days was located in the middle of the patio where the Planetarium is now. They had to take the Totem Pole down in 1979 to build the Planetarium,, so that tradition (according to NDNMom83) was still carried on but moved to the stadium field. I remember when we had to bow to the Totem Pole (as it was called back then) the band was out on the patio and all the cheerleaders where up on top of the roof over looking the patio. It was a really big thing to do as a Sophomore. Like NDNMom83 said, it was like you where still a Braves, Warriors or Chief (Jr. High football teams at the time) until you took your Sophomore oath to the Totem Pole. That is when you became one......an Indian!!!! :clap: :clap: :woot:
