Published: September 13, 2009 11:14 pm      

Bringing the past back to life

Cross portrays Chief Koh-Koh-Mah during annual event.

One weekend a year for the past eight years, Joe Cross has portrayed the Miami Indian chief who gave the city of Kokomo its name.

During the rest of the year, Cross, 56, works for the Howard County Health Department. But on the weekend of the Koh-Koh-Mah encampment, he becomes Chief Koh-Koh-Mah to help people go back to a time when Indiana first became a state.

“It’s the only event that I do,” Cross said of the yearly re-enactment. “A lot of people do it as a hobby during the year, but for me, it’s the one weekend.”

When Bob Auth decided to start the Koh-Koh-Mah event in 2001, Cross said, Auth recruited different people to do different roles.

“He knows I like to read a lot and have an interest in history,” Cross explained. “I went to the public library and got as much information about Koh-Koh-Mah as was available.”

Cross said the information was about the Miami Indians in general, and Koh-Koh-Mah was reported to have been a member of that tribe. He said there is a lot of conjecture on whether Koh-Koh-Mah was actually a chief.

However, Cross said, there is little doubt that Koh-Koh-Mah existed.

The time frame portrayed at the annual encampment is the mid 1700s, and Cross tries to accurately depict what a member of the Miami Tribe, considered woodland Indians, would have looked like at that time.

“I wear a calico shirt,” he said. “They were not wearing buckskin and wore comfortable cloths. By that time the Miami Indians had been trading with the British and French for about 50 years for more comfortable clothing.”

Cross’ costume includes woolen leggings, moccasins and a breechcloth with a sash around his waist. The items were purchased from people who make replica clothing of the time period.

“The outfit is ready to go,” he said of preparations for the encampment. “I cut my hair short, shave off my facial hair and use bronze-colored sunscreen.”

He also owns a Buffalo robe that was passed down to him from a great-grandfather.

“I really enjoy an attentive audience,” he said of his portrayal to schoolchildren. “I explain how the Miami Indians came to Indiana. I did a lot of studying and learned there were war and civil chiefs. I portray a civil chief. A civil chief would keep the traditions alive and teach and educate the members of the tribe. They would pass down the stories of the tribe.”

Cross said, during his portrayal, people ask about other famous chiefs like Little Turtle and Tecumseh.

“I try to explain the integrity of the Indians,” he said. “How the women of the tribe were respected. I explain that if a white boy or girl was abducted, after a few years they wouldn’t want to leave the tribe because they were treated so well.”

Cross said people participating at the encampment have become like family, pulling together and caring about each other.

“I put my heart into it,” he said of the re-enactment. “My attitude has changed. Indians were more rooted in living with nature; our roots are to exploit nature.”

Cross said the first Koh-Koh-Mah re-enactment scheduled to take place three days after the terrorist attacks in 2001, and Auth was considering canceling the event.

“People were wondering what it would be like,” he recalled. “We’re Americans, let’s go ahead. The terrorist attack was on everyone’s mind, but having it was exactly what we should have done. It was good medicine.”

Cross said every year the event gets a little bigger and Koh-Koh-Mah has received good reviews from people who grade these types of events.

“I promised Bob [Auth] I would do this for 10 years,” he said when asked how long he would continue to portray the Indian chief. “I’ve done it so long, I learn I little bit every time I go.”