Members of the Saginaw Chippewa tribe perform the drums before the game agaisnt Jacksonville at the CMU Soccer/Lacrosse Complex, Friday, April 15, 2016.
To celebrate the Central Michigan lacrosse team’s inaugural season, the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe performed a traditional blessing of the field at the Lacrosse/Soccer Complex before the Chippewas hosted Jacksonville Friday at 6 p.m.
The ceremony started with a drum song and a smudging of the field. Smudging is the burning of sacred herbs such as tobacco, sweet grass, sage and cedar. Ceremonies are performed to dissipate negative past experiences, purify and influence positive beginnings.