Smithsonian honors tribe on Native American Heritage day

WASHINGTON – On a day many spend with family, the Comanche tribe is sharing its
heritage on the National Mall.

On Native American Heritage Day, visitors flock to the National Museum of the
American
Indian. On its most attended day, it’s also celebrating a milestone. It’s the
museum’s 25th birthday.

“It’s part of our mission is to really talk about contemporary lives of native
peoples of tribes, communities throughout the hemisphere. So we like to invite
different tribes here to present their culture,” says Leonda Levchuck with the
museum.

This year, the Comanche tribe of Lawton, Oklahoma, was invited to share its
music, art, culture, even its food at the Smithsonian. The menu has been
modified for the weekend to include corn soup, cowboy bread and other
traditional and contemporary Comanche dishes.

“Representing our nation is always a good way to spend any holiday or any day,”
says Raquel Ramos of the Comanche tribe.

Greeting visitors are a handful of teens wearing intricately beaded traditional
dresses.

We haven’t been here before … We’re one out of a lot of tribes and it’s a huge
honor,” says junior princess Tristen Wauqua.

Guests can attend the free multi-day festival and enjoy dance performances,
singing, films and food demonstrations.

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