Saturday, June 23, 2012

Native American ceremony greets the first summer sunrise in Lower Windsor Township

By BILL LANDAUER
Daily Record/Sunday News


Ken "Ironfist" Hayden of York Township performs the pipe ceremony to honor the presence of the creator during the Summer solstice celebration at Highpoint Scenic Vista at sunrise on Thursday, June 21, 2012. (YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS--JASON PLOTKIN)  Before dawn Thursday, 50 people climbed a hill in Highpoint Scenic Vista in Lower Windsor Township. They wore jeans and polos or T-shirts and shorts. Atop the hill, they surrounded a paved circle with a compass at its center.
They watched as Evelyn Hayden of York Township and her husband crouched on the compass and lit sage fronds ablaze with kitchen matches.
It was the annual ceremony to mark the first day of summer, said Francis Velazquez, manager of education for the York County Department of Parks and Recreation. Local Native Americans, like the Haydens, and curious onlookers come to Highpoint in the wee hours every June 21 to watch the first sun of the season climb out of the Susquehanna Valley.
There is singing, drum playing and traditional Native American fare. Or the 21st-century version, anyway. On Thursday, it was corn bread muffins and juice boxes full of Boppin' Strawberry Hi-C...Continue reading...

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