UMD POWWOW ON PEARL HARBOR DAY INCLUDES RECONCILIATION CEREMONY

The Bridge of Peace Ceremony

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - As part of the 9th Annual Native American Indian Heritage Month Powwow at the University of Maryland at College Park, a "deeply moving" ceremony, called the Bridge of Peace, brought together Native American U.S. military veterans and representatives of Japan, as well as Native Americans and white Americans in friendship and forgiveness. Wounded feelings exist on all sides and the UM rite was meant to address these and initiate a process of reconciliation.

Powwows traditionally honor American veterans. Since this particular event fell on Dec. 7, remembered as Pearl Harbor Day, it was significant that the ceremony included those from both sides of the war. A nine-woman Japanese Choir, some dressed in their traditional kimonos, set the tone for the Bridge of Peace Ceremony by offering a heartfelt song, Hand in Hand. "The Bridge of Peace Ceremony was deeply moving," said Dr. Christopher Lester, director of the college's Office of Multi-ethnic Student Education (OMSE), which put on the powwow. "It deserves to cause a ripple effect for reconciliation far and wide."

The Bridge of Peace Ceremony is the signature project of the Women's Federation for World Peace (WFWP), one of the powwow co-sponsors, which also included UM's American Indian Student Union. "The Bridge of Peace represents repentance, forgiveness, healing, brother and sisterhood, and new beginnings," said WFWP President Angelika Selle. "It has been taken around the world, and over the last 20 years has brought hundreds and thousands of former enemies together here in the U.S., the Middle East, Europe, and Asia."

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