About The Native Circle and Its History
The Native Circle continues to be an enormous success in Oswego County.
Promoting cultural unity by embracing diversity is so important in an increasingly global marketplace. When people from a diverse range of backgrounds, heritages, and talents come together to celebrate, to listen, to educate, and to share something truly magical happens.
This is especially true with music. People tend to forget their individual differences because the shared experience of listening to music unites them. Music has the ability to bridge perceived diversity, and naturally provides the opportunity for individuals and families to learn how to bond. The wider the community that can be reached, the better the dialogue would be so that a deeper understanding can take place.
It starts with an open forum, creating a dialogue through which our unique cultural differences and traditions can be explored and shared.
Our Mission: Use Indigenous music, wisdom, arts and culture to promote Cultural Unity and Embrace Diversity through performances and interactive educational programs.
We believe the Native Circle: Touch the Earth Festival is that forum.
History of the Native Circle
In 2006, the Lake Ontario Bird Festival (LOBF), a nature-based celebration of the migratory birds living in Oswego County, expanded the scope of the festival to include two new events, the Native Circle and a campfire story-telling event. The 2006 Native Circle was founded by Laura K. Vannah, M.A., and introduced children and adults to Native American spirituality, culture and music. It featured workshops on Native American Animal Totems; the Thunder Hawk Singers, a local Native American drumming group; and David Searching Owl, a Native American flutist from New Hampshire.
The goal in adding the Native Circle was an intentional effort to expose local and visiting youth and adults to a different culture, that of Native America, and it seemed to be a natural fit with the nature based festival.
With the success of these events in 2006, the LOBF decided to expand this event in 2007 to include a well-known GRAMMY™ nominated award winning flute player, Joseph Firecrow. The 2007 Native Circle was such a big hit with the LOBF festival goers that they expanded it in 2008 to include Native Storytelling, while bringing back all the performers from the previous years.
After much agonizing on the part of the LOBF organizing committee, they decided to cancel the 2008 LOBF for the first time in over eleven years.
On May 25th, 2008, the Native Circle stepped out from under the Lake Ontario Bird Festival (LOBF) umbrella to overwhelming success and became a festival in its own right.
Laura K. Vannah, M.A., Founder and Executive Producer of the Native Circle, Betty Green and Sandra Scott, Co-Presidents of the Friends of Mexico Point Park, decided to continue the legacy of the LOBF by holding the first annual Native Circle: Touch the Earth Day. The Friends of Mexico Point Park graciously offered Mexico Point Park to help keep the Native Circle going.
The Festival had over 250 people attend the concerts that day, which quadrupled the number of festival attendees over the previous years under the LOBF umbrella. We saw many visitors to the 2008 festival that have attended since its inception at the LOBF in 2006.
On May 31, 2009, over 250 people again attended the second Native Circle: Touch the Earth Day at Mexico Point State Park in Mexico NY.
- The 2009 Award-winning Thunder Hawk Singers opened the festival with traditional Mi’kmaq and Northern Cheyenne music.
- The Storytellers and Sacred Winds, two groups from New Hampshire, combined their talents to create A Touch of Native America,an entertaining and informative production of Native American song, storytelling and flute music.
- Corn Bred, from the Onondaga Nation, delighted our festival goers at the end of the day with their unique blend of rhythm and blues,rock and traditional American Indian music.
And those were just the performers! We also had many presenters, vendors, and demonstrations by local organizations.
In the past four years, this free family oriented-event has brought award winning Native American Artists 
from New Hampshire, Connecticut, Syracuse, Pulaski, and Mexico NY:
- Thunder Hawk Singers, 2009 Native American Music Award winners
- Joseph Firecrow, GRAMMY™ nominated award winning flute player
- The Storytellers, 2008 Native American Music Award winners
- Corn Bred, winners of the 2007 NAMMY™ for Best Blues Jazz Recording
- Sacred Winds, Silver Arrow Award winners
Educational presenters have included:
- Laura K. Vannah’s “Totem Spirits” workshop
- Nancy Kaiser’s interactive Wild Spring Edibles lecture and nature walk
- Richard & Leslie LaCrosse’s Native American pre-contact wigwam camp site
- Kenvyn Richard’s wood-carving demonstrations
- The Salmon River International Sport and Fishing Museum walk-in displays
- An interactive hands-on demonstration by Narrow Gate Farms of the many stages wool takes to become a usable product
- Vicky Shenandoah, from the Oneida Nation, demonstrating traditional bead-working
Visitors of all ages loved these presentations and demonstrations because they were able to participate in these activities. They gained knowledge and understanding of Indigenous culture and wisdom through these educational programs.
These diverse and talented performers and presenters have increased the quality of our programming each and every year. Read all about our amazing performers and presenters by clicking here.
Since the inception of the Native Circle: Touch the Earth Day at the Lake Ontario Bird Festival in 2006, people have attended from as far away as Binghamton, New York City, and the Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne, and from as close as the Oneida Nation and Syracuse, plus many local visitors from Mexico and Oswego County.
Visitors to the Native Circle have commented yearly on the talent, quality, and diversity of performers and presenters, the collaborative partnerships that have been built, the beauty of Mexico, NY, and, most importantly, the message of cultural unity through appreciation of diversity that this festival and its committee members are committed to promoting. One gentleman from the Mohawk Nation said that "it was such a pleasure to see more people bringing Native American Culture, Spirituality, and Music to this area."
Collaborations & Partnerships
In 2010, Ms. Vannah formed an advisory board to help expand the festival. The Native Circle Advisory Board includes Laura K. Vannah, M.A., Founder & Executive Producer; Betty Green and Sandra Scott, Co-Presidents of The Friends of Mexico Point Park; Brian Leary, owner of Lake Shore Hardwoods and member of the Pulaski Chamber of Commerce; Dr. Mira Ingeman, Psychologist at SUNY Oswego, and Vicky Shenandoah of the Oneida Nation. The diversity in backgrounds, knowledge, skill, and heritage of this advisory board sets the tone and models the message of embracing diversity.
Publicity
The Native Circle Advisory Board publicizes the event on multiple websites, the Greater Mexico Chamber of Commerce, www.greatermexicochamber.com, the Mexico website, www.mexicony.net and links that web site to the official Oswego County Tourism website. Promotion includes news releases about various aspects of the festival and recognize sponsors. Besides being posted on the county website, news releases are sent to the greater Syracuse area media sources, including daily and weekly newspapers, radio and television stations, and cable television. The Eagle Newspapers are sent releases in an effort to reach beyond central New York. Children’s activity news releases will also be sent to the Syracuse New-Times, and to Watertown and Fort Drum. The festival is also listed on the official Oswego County calendar of events. In keeping with the tradition of the Lake Ontario Bird Fest, the Native Circle festival will be a not-for-profit event and free to the public.
The Native Circle hopes to promote understanding of, and respect for, the indigenous people, history, and culture within the Central New York community, with these collaborations and partnerships through interactive education, by building collaborative relationships, and encouraging shared experiences.
Expanding the format to two days in 2010 and including more performers and presenters to bring a greater appreciation of Indigenous culture, storytelling, music, and dance, a respect for one’s self, others, and the environment, and a deeper understanding of cultural diversity through which unity can be achieved.
Visitors to this festival will receive a very ‘real’ experience shared from this aspect of Indigenous ways of life through song, storytelling, dance, and interactive educational programs.
By sharing in and exploring those differences we are able to experience the common threads that unite us.
This family-oriented, educational festival is a not-for-profit event and free to the public. That is only possible with the generous financial support from area corporations, merchants and people who volunteer their time and expertise to organize and conduct an event like this.
Please send your contribution today!
Your contribution will help ensure that the Native Circle continues to provide educational and family oriented events at no cost to the public!
We are very excited about continuing the Native Circle and have a wonderful festival planned this year! With the success of the past four years since the birth of the Native Circle and how many people have commented on how much they've enjoyed it, we really hope to be able to put together another 'smashingly successful' event this year as well.