Native Sons and Daughters at the Jacksonville Icemen Hockey Game
On a beautiful, crisp afternoon, members of the Timucuan Longhouse of Jacksonville strapped on their ice skates and joined the Jacksonville Icemen for an afternoon of professional hockey. Event organizer, Scott “Iron Wolf” Klueppel gathered almost 150 members of the organization who particiapted in the first Longhouse event of the new year.
Once inside the arena, a nip in the air was felt by all in attendance. Ice Hockey is a growing sport down in the deep south and the Icemen are in their first year of playing in the East Coast Hockey League. One by one the braves and princesses saw their faces on the Jumbo Tron as the Timucuan Longhouse was the featured organization for the game. Directly behind me sat the Holger Schmidt family. Shooting Snake (son) and Singing Bird (daughter) danced and shouted to the music as Mrs. Blue Spark joined in the festivities. Many members of the organization were adorned with their tribal shirts and colorful vests.
During one of the intermissions, the extremely popular “Chuck A Puck” occurred. Hundreds and hundreds of foam pucks showered down upon the ice as each participant was anxious to see if they could win the prizes. Much to our joy, our very own Iron Wolf was able to get his puck in the bowl and take home the prizes. We were also joined by one of our Nation Chiefs, Charlie Rocheleau “Crockwater” and his family. His brave, Fast Red Bird and his princess, Dancing Bear were nothing but smiles the entire game.
All in all it was a great afternoon of family entertainment. The Timucuan Longhouse of Jaksonville is part of a National organization called Native Sons and Daughters. The organization is a father/child program geared towards children 5-12 years old which revolves around a structured North American Indian theme. Our focus is forming a lifelong bond between the parent and a child. We complete events where whole families are invited and others (Longhouses) where a parent and child attend. We are not a “drop-off program”. We are one of the few programs that require parental involvement.
— Brian Quirk, Flaming Arrow
