GASTON -- Dressed in Native American regalia, Kay Facer wiped sweat from her brow Sunday as she explained the importance of the eighth annual White Buffalo Society Pow Wow, a weekend-long event at the Gaston Lion's Club Fairgrounds.
"It's called education," she said.
Temperatures in the mid-90s by afternoon thinned the crowd, organizers said. But the heat didn't deter Facer, 57, who came from her hometown of Indianapolis to serve as the event's lead female dancer.
About 120 people were in attendance Sunday afternoon as those bestowed with the lead-dancer positions passed gifts to the crowd in a ceremony to give thanks for the honor.
The event featured dancers, a tee pee and 30 vendors from as far away as Florida. They sold everything from drums to beaded jewelry to ice cream.
Organizer James Fisher, whose wife is Cherokee, noted that the White Buffalo Society and its powwow are for anyone who is interested in the heritage and spirit of Native Americans, whether Native Americans are part of one's family tree or not.
"This is just a history lesson," Fisher said. "The country had Native Americans before white man came in."
Next year the powwow will also include a health fair to promote awareness of common Native American problems, such as diabetes, Fisher said.
With genealogy becoming more popular, those who thought themselves to be of only European descent are finding otherwise, Fisher explained.
The discovery of one's Native American heritage can sometimes explain a kinship with the wilderness, said Bill Satory, friend of the society and spiritual leader.
"You get a cold chill and in the back of your mind you go, 'Where did that come from?'" said Satory, who is of Delaware and Miami descent.
"Regardless of whether you are American Native or Scotch or Irish or a mutt, the point is you still have to walk on the earth as a good human being," Satory explained.
