By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Members of the Seminole nation from across the hemisphere gathered in Del Rio over the weekend to celebrate their history and community.
Organized by Tony “Thomi” Perryman of Los Angeles, Calif.,, chief of the United Warrior Band of the Seminole Nation-John Horse Band, the 2nd Annual International Indigenous and Native American Indian Gathering began with a series of lectures on aspects of Seminole history on Friday.
The event culminated with a celebration honoring military veterans at the Del Rio Civic Center on Saturday.
Anastasia Pittman, former state senator for Oklahoma and a Seminole descendant, welcomed those attending Saturday’s ceremonies by saying, “We are very pleased and proud to host this event in Del Rio, Texas. We are honoring our military legacy, and we are so proud to have representatives of our military and our veterans here, and we will honor them throughout the evening, but we also represent the Seminole Negro Indian Scouts, and not just them, but all of our military veterans, and we salute you.”
After the posting of the colors by the Laughlin Air Force Base Honor Guard and the playing of the National Anthem, dignitaries attending the event entered the Pecan Ballroom in the civic center to measured drumbeats.
The procession included Texas Rep. Eddie Morales Jr. (D-Eagle Pass) and Del Rio Mayor Al Arreola, who both carried memorial wreaths to the stage, and representatives of a number of tribal groups, families and organizations, many in full ceremonial regalia.
At the start of the event, permission was sought and gained from a female elder to proceed.
Del Rioan Carmen Gutierrez, who helped Perryman organize local aspects of the event, introduced Arreola.
“Thank you to the Warren Perryman Foundation for Native American Research for organizing this event. We are gathered here to pay tribute to our U.S. and Native American military veterans,” Arreola said.
Lupita De La Paz, executive director of the Casa de la Cultura, introduced the Casa’s folkloric dancers, who performed several dances, followed by a pair of Aztec dancers.
Morales also spoke to the group and presented a flag that flew over the state’s Capitol to Perryman, saying it was a shame that many Texans did not know the rich history of the Black Seminole Scouts of the area, which he termed “truly incredible.”
Also speaking to the audience were Mexico Consul Paloma Villasenor Vargas, a representative of the Guatemala consulate and Col. Kevin A. Davidson, wing commander of the 47th Flying Training Wing at Laughlin Air Force Base.
Perryman presented traditional gifts of blankets to Morales, historian and teacher Michelle Bowlegs and to De La Paz.
Myrella Arreola, wife of Mayor Arreola, was presented with a decorative bone choker, and Arreola, Murry Bruno Jr., Davidson and Gutierrez were presented with plaques of appreciation.
Pittman and local elder Rafaela Lozano Brown presented a blanket to one of the event’s main speakers, retired U.S. Army Maj. Manester Bruno.
Pittman spoke to the audience about her work in researching and preserving the Seminoles’ history, and Bowlegs, a teacher and tribal matriarch from Andros, the Bahamas, spoke about her ancestor, one of the Seminoles’ fiercest war chiefs, Billy Bowlegs and of the Seminoles’ history in the Bahamas.
Perryman also included an honorary speech remembering the victims of the Uvalde school shooting.
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