Sun., Aug. 1 marked the 1 year anniversary of the Native land acknowledgment + blessing ceremony held at Dorothea Dix Park, as a way to recognize an important piece of the park’s history, amid the plans for its future.

There were a number of tribes in NC before Europeans arrived on the continent, Kerry Bird, president of the Triangle Native American Society told RALtoday. The land that is currently Dix Park isn’t pinpointed to one specific tribe, since Raleigh is a central location and tribes moved around for things like trade + hunting.

In the early 1900s, Dorothea Dix Hospital (the psychiatric hospital that was located on the land but closed in 2012) began admitting Native American patients, Kerry said. Several Lumbee individuals are buried in the hospital’s cemetery.

Through initiatives like the new historical signage program, Dix Park is aiming to help inform the community about the history of the land.

Though last year’s ceremony was not open to the public due to COVID-19 precautions, Kaya Littleturtle — member of the Lumbee Tribe — dressed in traditional regalia reflective of southeastern tribes and gave the land blessing, said a prayer + sang a traditional drum song.

Kerry, who is a member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of SD, with ties to the Lumbee Tribe as well, also spoke at the ceremony — and said it was the first of its kind in Raleigh.

For Kerry, the land acknowledgment ceremony was a way to increase the visibility of the Native population group.

“I think it's very easy for us to be a minority of minorities,” he said. “And so we're often overlooked or not acknowledged. So just that recognition that we're here, that we exist, that we're important.”