Local native american leaders gather for a smudging ceremony to christen the downtown Janesville mural of the Sauk war leader Black Hawk.
Billy Bob Grahn of the Bad River Chippewa Tribe brought together the group that played a traditional drum and sang in front of the mural Monday afternoon.
Grahn said they sang the traditional flag song, two native thank you songs and a special honor song they wrote for the ceremony.
Native Americans from the Potowatomi, Menomonie, and the Red Cliff Chippewa tribes, among others, all came together to honor Black Hawk.
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“We kind of think of ourselves as the ‘all nation’ drum,” Grahn said. “For all of us to agree that this is worthy of bringing out the eagle staff is another one of those miracles.”
They honored the artist, Jeff Henriquez, with a sacred arrowhead necklace and allowed him to sit in the drum circle.
An Apache woman from the crowd thanked him after the ceremony and embraced him with tears running down her face.
“This is the biggest production ever for this kind of thing,” Henriquez said. “I’m really happy, and I’m humbled by it.”
Elder Skip told the history of Black Hawk, and you can hear his story from the ceremony below.
