Local Native American sings for rain over parched Georgia

There are some things you expect to hear at a plant nursery - water running from a hose, footsteps along cement paths.

And then there's nursery in Winterville, where among the perennials and annuals you may find something else that lives off the land.

Or should we say someone?

Meet John Winterhawk. He's a mixed blood, Watkinsville-based Native American who came - via Honda Civic - to the nursery to ask Creator for a little rain for the sun-drenched plants of the nursery.

"I think everybody prays in one form or another," he said, standing among the leafy plants of the nursery dressed in authentic Native American garb. "Prayer is all through our lives, it's really an important thing."

Winterhawk's prayer is a many-centuries-old tribal Creek song that he said doesn't quite translate to English. But he said the meaning is still there: a little bit of precipitation and a lot of thanks for blessings already bestowed.

Winterhawk performed with his wife Anne-Marie and his 16-year-old daughter Sarah-Beth, with the help of the dozen or so people who joined in on the song.

"He seemed like a down-to-earth, regular guy," said Thyme After Thyme Assistant Manager Heather Koepnick, who shook a hollowed out turtle shell filled with small wooden dowels during the performance. "He did have a very warm, welcoming feeling about him."

Winterhawk - who is half Muscogee Creek and half Scottish/Cherokee - was asked to sing after Thyme After Thyme owner Sally Barksdale commented to her new bookkeeper Anne-Marie about the lack of rainfall for her plants.

"I just thought it was fascinating," said Barksdale, who has run the nursery for 25 years. "And of course, that we needed the rain."

Barksdale said she greatly enjoyed the performance, and she's considering asking Winterhawk to return to share his dance and his culture monthly.

"I think the knowledge and information they share is just phenomenal and I think it should be shared," she said.

But does it work?

According to Winterhawk, it does. He said the rain generally falls two or three days after the dance. It's so effective, he said, that he's even been asked not to sing the song several days before special events.

And it's not just rain he asks Creator for. He performs 30 to 40 ceremonies a year at house-blessings, weddings, funerals, births, even a hot rod-blessing - which he said is still doing quite fine.

Winterhawk said he's a Georgia Bulldog fan who watches almost every game. He enjoys coming to Athens and exploring the city. He said the family often eats at an array of downtown restaurants and frequents Clayton Street's . And for this modern Native American, texts and e-mails are the communication route of choice.

The family can often be found at Rock Eagle 4-H Center in Eatonton teaching youngsters the history and culture of the Native American people. Even his daughter joins in on the fun - most of the time. Sarah-Beth said many children embrace the culture and consider themselves Native American, at least for a while.

Growing up with parents like John and Anne-Marie has been interesting, she said.

"It was really exciting at first, now I'm so used to it," she said. "I've never been embarrassed by it."

With a hearty smile and a brandishing a ceremonial hawk's wing, Winterhawk told the group about the stories and spirit of Native American people.

"That's who we are," Winterhawk said. "That's the history right there under your feet."

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