Iron Hill powwow honors local woman's 'lasting legacy'

As director of the Iron Hill Museum, Maureen Zieber has for several years organized an annual Native American powwow on the museum's Old Baltimore Pike grounds.

This year's event, however, took on special significance for Zieber, who organized it in honor of her mother, Linda “Mother of Birds” Zieber, who died last year.

She explained that in Indigenous culture, a powwow is often used to celebrate a loved one's life.

“Every time that someone of importance passes away, you have to do something in remembrance of them,” Maureen said. “So some people will do private ceremonies, but other people, like us who follow powwow traditions, we do them in a memorial dance. So this is basically in memory of our mom. It's like a memorial dance for her instead of a standard memorial that other cultures have.”

The daylong event drew a steady crowd to the Iron Hill Museum on Saturday. Dancers from around the region performed traditional dances, vendors sold Native American crafts, and volunteers from the Circle Legacy Center in Lancaster, Pa., cooked and sold traditional fry bread.

“It gives us that opportunity to honor our mom in a good way, and then just carry on with our lives,” Maureen said. “This is kind of like an ending of a chapter, but opening a new chapter.”'

Her twin brother, Silver, concurred.

“In a way, this is our funeral service,” he said. “This is our closure.”

Linda was a regular attendee of powwows all over the mid-Atlantic area for decades.

“She left one of those lasting legacies,” Maureen said. “Any powwow person that came today, everyone has a Linda story.”

Raised in Marcus Hook, Pa., and Claymont, Linda had Nanticoke, Lenape and Oneida heritage.

“She was very outspoken. She talked all the time, and you could not get a word in edgewise,” Maureen recalled, laughing. “She was a constant chatterbox but she always had advice for everyone, whether you wanted it or not.”

Silver remembered his mother's unique style of dancing.

“I miss that,” he said. “But we're carrying on her legacy of dancing and keeping with the traditions and teachings that she enabled us to learn.”

Their father was of German and Polish ancestry, and although they “walk in two worlds,” Linda always made sure they learned about and embraced the native side of their heritage, Maureen said.

“For us, it's a major way of our life. It's not something we can take off and put on,” she said. “We are Indigenous people. I'm a museum director, but I'm an Indigenous museum director”

“And I'm a library assistant but I'm an Indigenous library assistant,” Silver added.

At the end of the powwow, Maureen and Silver held a giveaway in honor of their mother, letting attendees take home items that belonged to Linda as well as other items donated by friends.

“A part of her goes with everyone who takes an item from the giveaway,” Maureen explained.