Native American Fraternity Looks to Teach Culture, Bring People Together
This slideshow is about ethnic fraternities and sororities, the Native American and African American fraternities and sororities. Elisha Kirkman did the work on the African American fraternities and sororities.
Epsilon Chi Nu Native Fraternity - PowerPoint 2003 File
———————————————-
This article describes the Native American Fraternities and Sororities
For twelve years, Joey Crutchfield has been elder chief of Epsilon Chi Nu Native Fraternity with one goal in mind . . . to bring different cultures together.
“(I want to teach the members of the fraternity) to be inclusive. There’s nothing magical about being Native American. (I want to teach them) to respect the Creator, tradition, the earth, and each other,” said Crutchfield.
An ECU graduate of 1980, Crutchfield became a member of the fraternity when it began as a club in 1995. He became elder chief a year later.
“(Founders) Matt Chavis and Quinn Lowry came to me about (the position) and I thought it would be a good idea. They were looking to me for guidance and came up with a position for me,” said Crutchfield.
As a Monacan American Indian, Crutchfield faces stereotypes and hopes to rid of them with his leadership in the fraternity.
“(I want) to let people know that Native people are here year round, not just in November for powwows . . . we are more like people as human beings. We don’t fit that stereotype in Hollywood,” said Crutchfield.
Along with ridding stereotypes, Crutchfield and the rest of Epsilon Chi Nu Native, or EXN, want to teach non-natives of their culture. The fraternity has about 100 members including alumni, current members, and chapters at N.C. State and UNC-Pembroke. However, not every member is Native American.
“The different ethnic groups include African-American, Caucasian, Native American, Hispanic and Middle Eastern,” said Crutchfield.
The fraternity has members from each tribe in North Carolina. These tribes include the Eastern band of the Cherokee Tribe, Haliwa-Saponi Tribe, Lumbee Tribe, Coharie Tribe, Meherrin Tribe, Waccamaw-Siouan Tribe, Indians of Person County, Tuscarora Tribe and Occaneechi-Saponi Tribe.
With different cultures coming together, the fraternity does a number of things for the community.
“We co-sponsor the Cabrina Cummings Scholarship, which is given to ECU students and blankets are given to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. We also do community service and roadside cleanup,” said Crutchfield.
EXN also holds powwows in the fall and spring to give people a taste of their culture.
“I believe people should become involved with powwows so that they can experience a culture different than their own. We as a people are very proud of our culture and we are happy to share it with others . . . if more people attended powwows then the stereotypes will lessen and people will gain a better understanding of Native Americans and pass it along to future generations of non-natives,” said Crutchfield’s son and member of the UNC-Pembroke Chapter, Josh.
To help give a better understanding of the Native American Culture, numerous dances are performed at powwows.
“The dances I have danced are Traditional, Fancy and Grass. Traditional is slower and more in tune with the earth . . . Fancy Dance was originally known as the War Dance. It is a very fast pace dance and is used to test the stamina of the warrior or dancer,” said Crutchfield.
Crutchfield also has some personal goals to achieve.
“My personal goal is just to see that the fraternity continues to grow and eventually start on campuses outside of North Carolina. I want people to gain a better understanding of the Native American people. Growing up, I dealt with a variety of stereotypes by people who just don’t understand Native Americans . . . It frustrates me to see the Cleveland Indians have a huge red Indian with a cheesy smile and feather sticking out of his head. Many kids are going to grow up thinking that all Native Americans look like that or that we paint our faces up and holler for no reason,” said Crutchfield.
Other members share Crutchfield’s views.
“I want to increase the knowledge of our Native American heritage and do community service to show people that (we) are still here and are proud of our traditions that have lasted through many generations,” said Corey Hunt, a member of the ECU Chapter of EXN.
Joining EXN has even been a learning experience for the members.
“The main things I learned were commitment and brotherhood. My brothers and I had to be committed to the fraternity in order to see that it was successful on campus . . . we are all a family, if there is anything that they need I would not hesitate and the same goes for me,” said Crutchfield.
However, learning experiences do not come without challenges.
“I think the challenge for continuing growing is to keep native and non-native people interested. It’s all about brotherhood and coming together,” said Joey Crutchfield.
List of Sources:
- Joey Crutchfield- Contacted him on November 11th at 5:01 p.m. Interviewed about 20 to 30 minutes by phone. Prior to the interview, he e-mailed me a week before allowing me to talk to him.
- Josh Crutchfield- Contacted him on November 13th at 9:14 a.m. He answered back at 4:28 p.m., through Facebook.
- Corey Hunt- Contacted him on November 7th at 1:04 p.m. He answered back on November 8 at 9:43 p.m., through Facebook.
Filed under: Convergent Community News