By Carole Brand

Published: May 4, 2008

The sounds of Native American drums filled the Coffee County Farm Center Friday and Saturday, as Indian dancers performed in a large circle to educate and inform the public on Indian tribal dances.

Vendors with Native American wares and historic displays of how baskets, soap, corn shuck dolls and stone knives were made, first gave elementary school students Friday a glimpse of the past for settlers and Native Americans.

The Thompsons of Paxton, Fla. gave demonstrations throughout the two-day festival of making corn shuck dolls and lye soap. Shelia Mooers of Crestview, Fla., showing the older art of cordage, sat behind a spinning wheel to strip yuka grass to make heavy thread.

“I have used mulberry, cedar and willow bark, sometimes it’s very hard to work with them however,” Mooers said. “But it is interesting to carry on making things that the art may be dying out.”

Handmade knife-maker Stan Payne, known throughout the Southeast for his handmade knives, showed a twin set of 16.5-inch knives. The first of the long handmade knife, a blade made of Tiger Stripe stone and the handle crafted from Pisacco marble, was presented to President George Bush. Bush responded to Payne with a thank you letter from the White House dated June 1, 2005.
Payne said he was in the process of making a large commemorative set for BuckMasters. He was also featured in the magazine in a recent article.

Making more than 158 knives, Payne said, “the twin set made like the President’s knife took 60 hours to complete.”

All knives are signed and numbered with knives made out of Brazilian Agate, marble and various types of stone Payne acquires throughout the United States.

“This is what I do for a living,” he said. “All my knives I make myself. The tanning skins are real, but I do have something else who does the tanning of the skins for me.”

Other vendors showed their wares for the festival, with guest dancers, the Spirit Warrior Dancers from Pensacola, Fla., host drummers, the Shadow Hawk Drummers and singers from Madison and an all-female drum group from Guntersville.

During the Grand Entries, colors were presented by the Warrior Society of the Eagles Nest Clan from Florida.

MaChis Indian Tribal Chief James Wright said he was pleased with the turn-out for the weekend.

“We hosted area school children Friday and introduced them to the Indian dances as they participated in the circle,” he said. “The Indian vendors also had a lot of items that were handmade and showed how early Creek Indians lived. I’m happy about the event because I feel like people caught and saw the spirit of Native Americans.”