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Home PageDELAWARE NATION BEGINS SYMBOLIC PROJECT AT VAN METER STATE PARK
JEFFERSON CITY, MO., NOV. 5, 2007 -- The first of nine American Indian symbols to be painted for a permanent exhibit will be completed and interpreted on Nov. 17 at Van Meter State Park near Miami, Mo. Sponsored by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the program will begin at 10 a.m. in Missouri's American Indian Cultural Center at the park. It is free and open to the public.
Mike Watkins from the Delaware Nation of Oklahoma will be one of the first artists to paint a symbol on a large bison hide, which is a permanent exhibit in Missouri's American Indian Cultural Center. He represents one of the nine American Indian tribes that once lived in Missouri, all of which will eventually use the hide as a canvas to represent their tribe for the "Introduction to Resident Tribes of Missouri -- Bison Hide" exhibit. Watkins will explain the Delaware Nation's symbol.
Traditionally, American Indians would paint symbols and pictures on a hide to record an important event or tell a story about some aspect of their life. Each tribal council will approve a simple emblem representing their people and appoint an artist to come to Missouri to paint it on the hide. The symbol can either be traditional or contemporary. The other eight tribes interpreted at the center include the Missouria, Osage, Ioway, Peoria-Illinois, Kanza, Kickapoo, Shawnee, and Sac and Fox.
Missouri's American Indian Cultural Center is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday through Saturday and on holiday Mondays during the winter season and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
Van Meter State Park is located 12 miles northwest of Marshall on Highway 122. For more information, contact the park at 660-886-7537 or the Missouri Department of Natural Resources toll free at 800-334-6946 (voice) or 800-379-2419 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf). For more information about Missouri state parks and historic sites, visit the Web at www.mostateparks.com.
