Cultural Heritage | The Buganda Kingdom and Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma (USA) Exchange Greetings!
By Dr. Abu Ssenkayi – One of the important functions of Kabaka’s Representatives in North America is to foster and promote friendships and cultural exchange between Baganda and other communities residing in North America. Therefore, I was very pleased and honored, as the Kabaka’s Representative for the southwestern USA, to represent the Kingdom of Buganda and to deliver a message of goodwill from the Kabaka of Buganda to the Kiowa Tribe members who attended this year’s Kiowa Gourd Clan celebration during the July 4th weekend ( https://vimeo.com/224594930 ).
The wonderful reception accorded to me and my family by members of the Kiowa Tribe was heartwarming. I would encourage all diaspora Ugandans in North America to visit Oklahoma and experience the Native American culture. There are 66 federally recognized tribes in the region of the US that I represent (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas) and 40 of these tribes are located in Oklahoma.
Therefore, if you really want to experience the sacred traditions of Native American Indian tribes, Oklahoma is the place to go. The best way to experience the Native American culture is to attend celebrations, such as the Kiowa Gourd Clan celebration that my family and I attended in Carnegie, Oklahoma.
We certainly felt the rhythm of the drums and we were awed by the colorful Native American fancy dresses worn by members of the Kiowa Tribe (show photos). Spending time with these wonderful folks and talking with them over lunch revealed to me that there are lots of similarities between the Kiowa and Buganda cultures. It was an eye opening experience. Click on the links below to see videos of the event: https://vimeo.com/224594618 and https://vimeo.com/224594671
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