South Bend, Indiana (AP)

A northern Indiana man took over leadership of a band of the Miami during a religious ceremony the group hasn’t used in a century.

Clayton Pendergrass Sr. became chief of the Golden Eagle Clan of the Miami Nation of Indians of Indiana in a feather ceremony Aug. 29 during which he was presented with the traditional chief’s headdress.

Pendergrass will now stand up for the interests of his clan, a smaller subset of the nation, at the nation’s council meetings.

“His vote will represent more than 300 people. He is their voice in the nation,” said Brian Buchanan, chief of the Peru-based Miami Nation of Indians of Indiana.

More than 50 people witnessed the ceremony at Pendergrass’ St. Joseph County home, in which the nation’s spiritual adviser, Wap Shing, prayed for continued strong leadership in the clan and the nation.

In the ceremony, George Dorin, who had been the band’s chief for two decades, handed the reins over to Pendergrass by passing him the headdress.

Dorin said reviving the feather ceremony tradition is important to keeping alive Miami heritage. “When I was young, it was a taboo to speak of being an Indian,” he said. “Now, we are a proud people, and we are passing that on to our children.”

Pendergrass, who has been vice chief to Dorin for years, said he looked forward to working to build cohesion with other clans within the nation.

“It’s a good feeling,” he said of his new role. “We have a strong heritage, and I believe we are headed in the right direction.”