He used to assist with the Archery In the Schools program when the kids were little. The stories he could tell....

You've probably heard about how the government used to steal Native American children and put them in government funded boarding schools where their entire culture was forbidden so that they could learn to be "white" productive citizes. He lived it. And still managed to retain his cultural identity.

He & his wife started Native Dawn here in Lburg 15 years ago & it did fairly well but the location wasn't ideal & they had to put up with a lot of racism that couldn't be blocked out. People screaming obscenities at them as they drove past. Throwing things at them. Screaming that they needed to "go back where they belong."

Some guys even attacked Fred & his wife as they were coming out of the local WalMart one evening. Ironically, not because they were Native American but because the damn fools thought they were Mexican!!!!!

Anyway, Native Dawn shut down for a few years due to all of that but were finally able to find a home at Fort Harrod State Park in Harrodsburg KY. The park area is blocked off so they don't have to fear drive bys and the area is just beautiful.

Maybe this year I can go again. (Ancestry.com says I have no Native AMerican blood in me but I grew up believing that I was part Cherokee based on stories my mother told me about her great grandmother who was full Cherokee and married a big tall red-headed Scotsman....)

A few pics from one of the last times it was here in Lburg - I couldn't stay long and most of my pics were from a group of dancers from a South American tribe: