By Kaleigh Zierk | Echo
When driving through the streets of Upland, Ind., one may expect to find gas stations, a town hall, small diners, a post office and other typical businesses and places that are part of small towns. But just off of the main road resides a blue building with the sign "Holdridge Leather Company." Not only does the business offer custom leather goods, but it's stocked with a variety of Native American artifacts and is owned and operated by a Native American family.
Paul Plant has lived in Upland for seven years and is the master leather craftsman at Holdridge Leather. His grandfather established Holdridge Leather in 1930 to encourage and create commerce for people on the Tuscarora Reservation in New York. Plant, born and raised in New York, inherited the family business.
However, being a leather craftsman is only an extension of what he has done his entire life. Inside Holdridge Leather, Plant displays an assortment of artifacts and items he has made by hand, ranging from naturally-dyed turtle shells to hides and furs.
After moving to Upland, Plant was introduced to LaRea Slater, president of the Matthews Area Chamber and member of Our Town Upland, Inc., by George Dicken, writer for the Chronicle-Tribune. Slater lent a huge hand in securing a building to operate Holdridge Leather and helping the business grow to provide economic opportunity in Upland.Plant officially retired a couple years ago, but he's using his passion for the Native American culture to create a Native American encampment in Indiana. He is currently in the process of pursuing funding, but many plans are in store for the future.
The broad purpose for the encampment is twofold. The first aspect is to bring awareness and preserve the Native American culture, and put to rest misconceptions and inaccuracies that have formed throughout society. The second is for it to be a nature preserve.
It will be an encampment that represents five geographical areas of North America: the Plains, Southwest, Southeast, Northwest and Northeast. Each area will have about five families living as if it were the 1600s.
"These people aren't gonna be dressed in regalia . . . and living that kind of life 24/7," Plant said, chuckling. "They are somewhat actors, even though it's our own culture, it's our own heritage, we are still doing something out of the norm . . . These individuals will be living 1600s style, making jewelry, clothing, farming, raising livestock, processing hides, meat, food, medicinal herbs, plants, that kind of thing."
Plant explains there are many areas of the encampment, but described a couple pertaining to nature and way of life. "We will remove all invasive species, non-native species, plant and animal, and repopulate with the traditional native plants, herbs, that kind of thing . . . The traditional methods of hunting, gathering, processing will be incorporated into the educational area. In that way, there is gonna be an excess . . . of materials that can then be sold to the general public through a number of ways."
The encampment will also have educational value. In addition to the living history, there will also be classes offered that will cover a wide range of aspects of Native American culture.
Not only will the encampment benefit society as a whole, but possible opportunities for college students may also be made available.
"To expand on the educational portion of it, this facility, which will become an institution, is a phenomenal opportunity," Plant said. "An internship program, if it can be accredited through the school, would be of great value to the students that would be majoring in anything from economics to business administration to anything that would apply."
Plant also hopes to see visitors from outside Indiana. "We're going to bring people from across the country. We are anticipating, and realistically we will have visitors coming to the facility internationally, as well," Plant said.
Slater has also been heavily involved in the development of the encampment.
"The Native American culture is fascinating and it needs to be preserved," Slater said. "Paul's plan for a Native American encampment . . . would educate schoolchildren and adults alike about the true Indian culture. The authentic pow wows give visitors a taste of what such an encampment might be."
Plant is equipped with much knowledge and passion for the Native American culture, and is eager to educate people across the world, but the purpose goes beyond education.
"I can't really answer how I started this or what I intend to accomplish through it, other than saying it's going to fix a lot of wrongs for a lot of people, and is going to create opportunities and economic development for a lot of people," Plant said.
