From New Zealand, a cultural exchange

By Jennifer McBride/Leader Staff

The Two Eagle High School students, staff and families got a little taste of tribal culture, although it was from a culture located thousands of miles away.

Women and men wearing the traditional garb of the New Zealand Maori aboriginal tribes came to dance and share their legacy with local people. The students, ages 15 to 21, waved poi balls, threw sticks and offered songs of war and love to a packed audience. Though most of the members were from New Zealand, three Tribal members from across the U.S. also danced with the Maori as part of a cultural exchange.

John Paul, team coordinator of Dramatic Influence, added comments that offered inspiration along with the entertainment. He compared the suffering of the Maori with the oppression of American Indians.

"I see a day when great leaders will emerge from among you," Paul said. "I see a day when you will no longer by governed by the white man."

After the first half of traditional music, Dramatic Influence's members performed skits and moves from a more modern era, choreographed by the young entertainers. One of the dancers free-styled her own composition. She, like many of the members, said Dramatic Influence helped her restart her life after she started drinking and using drugs. Another student said that Dramatic Influence had saved him from joining gangs.

John Paul used the young people's situations to demonstrate his theory that nobody was hopeless, and that the light of the Creator could bring redemption.

"Never give up on your families, never give up on yourselves, never give up on life," Paul concluded.