Here is another great guest post form Jessica Stark, she has kind of become my unofficial wedding writer:) Today's post is about incorporating your Native American Heritage into your wedding ceremony. This is such a great idea, I wish I would have thought to incorporate my Puerto Rican heritage into ours to honor my Granny. Hope y'all get some neat ideas, and please share with your soon to be married friends.
From
Irish blessings to Italian toasts, people have many ways of blending their
heritages into their wedding ceremonies. While many Americans have such
European ties, many also have ties to their present country. By blending your
Native American heritage into your wedding ceremony, you can pay homage to your
history as you look toward your future.
Something Old, Something New
Incorporating
your Native American heritage into your ceremony doesn’t mean you have to have
an old-fashioned wedding. If you want modern attire, modern music and modern
vows, go for it. It’s your wedding.
The
beauty of some popular Native American wedding blessings and rituals is the
ease with which you can integrate them into any type of wedding ceremony. You
could, of course, follow all the traditions of your tribe, such as blessing the
spot of your ceremony for seven days and exchanging food instead of rings, as
in Cherokee
wedding tradition,
or you could choose a few aspects of that tradition and work them into the
ceremony. That way, you get the best of both your worlds.
Something Borrowed
One
of the simplest ways to incorporate your Native American heritage into your
wedding ceremony is to borrow a few words, either by incorporating a
traditional blessing or having a friend recite a blessing or prayer in the
language of your tribe.
To
ensure authenticity, consider getting help in researching traditional
blessings. You can do this by visiting a cultural center dedicated to the
history and traditions of your tribe, such as the Chickasaw
Cultural Center,
the Cherokee
Heritage Center,
or the Muscogee
Nation Cultural Center, or by contacting the center if you don’t have the
opportunity to visit. The mission of these centers is to promote the culture of
their tribe, so they’ll be happy to help you with your wedding.
Something Blue
If
you would like to incorporate your Native American heritage in a more prevalent
way, add a traditional ritual to your wedding ceremony. One popular ritual,
known as the blanket ceremony, is a beautiful visual expression of the marriage
rite. Each party wears a separate blue blanket, representing the trials and
sorrow of their pasts, until the blessing of their marriage, upon which they
exchange the blue blankets for a single white blanket that wraps around them
both.
Another
cross-tribal ritual is The Rite
of Seven Steps.
In this ritual, the couple takes steps around a fire, reciting vows back and
forth between each step.
Finishing Touches
The
inclusion of your Native American heritage doesn’t have to stop with the
ceremony. Consider traditional dress or music in your ceremony, or ask your
family to prepare a few of the traditional dishes passed down from your
ancestors for the reception.
When
you incorporate your Native American heritage into your wedding day with small
touches, you leave room for the other strands of your ancestry. Few of us
Americans stem from only a single culture. Your wedding is the perfect
opportunity to meld your roots to design a ceremony that encompasses every
aspect of the unique individual you are.
