AKRON, Ohio _ Jramayne Williams made history last Monday.
Jramayne was among about 200 students from three schools who gathered for a symbolic walk along the Portage Path Trail _ one of the oldest landmarks in Summit County. The walk was part of an event to unveil signage along the path and a mobile app created by students from Northern Cheyenne Nation in Montana, Lippman School and Portage Path Community Learning Center. The app provides information about the trail, including its history, maps and the birds and trees found along the path. The marker displays a QR code that directs walkers and cyclists along the path to the app.
"I was surprised and excited. I had no idea I was going to get to unveil it," said Jramayne, an 8-year-old third-grader at Portage Path in Akron. "I was a little nervous, but I can look at that sign and always know I was a part of it."
Lippman School has had an ongoing relationship with the Northern Cheyenne tribe for six years. Each year, tribal members and students come to Akron. And every other year, students from Lippman travel to Montana.
"We hope that the ceremony will lead to a much larger recognition of this historic place in Akron and will highlight the tribal communities in our country that we just don't get to see much in our area. Our hope is that this becomes an annual event," said Sam Chestnut, head of Lippman School.
The ceremony occurred on the traditional Columbus Day holiday, which in some cities is celebrated as "Indigenous Peoples Day" to honor the original inhabitants of the continent before the Europeans arrived. It included traditional Northern Cheyenne drumming and singing.
"The drum beat represents the heartbeat of Mother Earth and the heartbeat of our nation and the grass dancers did a dance to revive and bless the Portage Path. We believe that when people watch the dance, they receive a blessing," said Burt Medicine Bull, a teacher of the Cheyenne language and culture at Chief Dull Knife College in Lame Deer, Mont.
"I am so glad the young people are picking up and seeing our traditions. I hope that by being here today, all of the children will see that it is important to show pride and strengthen their self-identity," Medicine Bull said. "These three communities and two nations came together and did something great to bring attention to an important landmark in this community. They made it happen together _ it's love."
The Portage Path, an eight-mile trail that connected the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas rivers, was originally created by American Indians who used the route in ancient times to transport their canoes over land from one river to the other to travel by water from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.
Local history guru and former Deputy Mayor of Akron David Lieberth said the trail was in use hundreds, maybe thousands of years before the Europeans came to the area. He and former Akron Mayor Jeff Fusco, who asked the two local schools to find a way to honor the Portage Path, participated in last Monday's event.
The existing Portage Path is only a portion of the original trail, which was regularly used by tribes, including the Shawnee, Mingo (Iroquois), Ottawa, Wyandot, Huron and Miami. The trail was mentioned in the earliest treaties between the settlers and the natives, which is an indication of its prominence in history.
Last Monday's event was sponsored by the Summit County Historical Society, which in 1999 marked the trail with monumental sculptures. Two bronze statues mark both ends of the historic portage and 50 arrowhead markers outline the entire trail.
Matthew Garfinkle, an eighth-grade student at Lippman, said he was happy to be a part of the effort to keep the history of the Portage Path alive.
"We spent time a lot of time learning about the significance of the path and put a lot of hard work into creating an app that will be one of the best ways for people to learn about it," said Matthew, 13. "I hope the ceremony brought attention to this important part of our history and that more people will be encouraged to walk the path."
The app project, which can be accessed at www.walkportagepath.org, was supported by an Educator Initiative Grant from Akron's GAR Foundation.
