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Dancers at the Nanticoke Indian Powwow sport traditional regalia. The 2021 edition of the powwow moved to Hudson Fields near Milton.

Coastal Point | Susan Canfora

As he encouraged those attending this year’s powwow to join dancers from the Nanticoke and other tribes for the Round Dance, emcee Keith Colston promised, “If you come in with a smile, you’ll leave with a smile.”

“Talk to the person next to you. Don’t give up any Social Security numbers, but the rest of that information is good to go,” he said with a smile as he sat on a platform, microphone in hand, explaining that the Round Dance symbolizes unification, and urging even the tentative attending the Nanticoke Indian Tribe’s 44th Annual Powwow to hold hands with others and step to the beat of the drum.

“Come on into the circle. Take advantage of this opportunity. You’ve been sitting in those bleachers and chairs. Please take advantage of this beautiful day, good-looking people all around you,” Colston said.

Later, at the event at Hudson Fields near Milton — a new location for the powwow this year — he introduced dancers who displayed their talent by using multiple hoops, first laying them on the ground then picking them up with their feet, ducking under them, dancing through them and making them into spheres.

“This is one of the most difficult dances done,” Colston said, complimenting the men’s agility.

Drummers and singers provided music, and dancers moved in celebration of their heritage at the powwow, where the types of dance demonstrated included fancy, straight and jingle. This year, the beat came from drum groups Red Blanket of New Jersey and Stoney Creek of North Carolina, both nationally known Native American drum groups.

After being canceled last year due to the coronavirus, the…

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NANTICOKE — Pauline Bailey still waits for her daughter’s remains to be found so she can have her properly interred ad she can visit the gravesite to hopefully find some closure to the nightmare that began in February 2004.

Bailey’s daughter, Phylicia Thomas, was 22 when she went missing — her mother and family and friends believed she was murdered at a party in Hunlock Township. Her remains have never been found and the case remains unsolved.

On Thursday, Phylicia’s family and friends planted a silver maple tree across the street from Bailey’s Loomis Street home. Two benches will sit on either side of the tree, giving Bailey and her family a place to go and pray and reflect on the last 17 and a half years in hope of a break in the case.

“All I want is for Phylicia to be found so I can bury her,” Bailey said. “I just wish somebody would come forward to tell us where she is so we can go and find her and bring her home.”

Bailey said she has heard nothing new in the 17-year-old case, but she remains hopeful that her daughter’s remains will be found and those responsible will be brought to justice.

Judy Lorah Fisher, a friend of Bailey’s who has taken a major role in trying to locate Phylicia, said the sugar maple tree area will provide a place where they can put flowers and sit on the bench next to the tree and celebrate Phylicia’s life.

“Phylicia used to go run in a field and hug a tree and she loved nature,” Fisher said. “She would stay in a field for hours looking for four leaf clover‘s and say everything was alive.

Fisher said the Phylicia’s sister,…

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[]Tree planting held for Phylicia Thomas, still missing after 17 years | WOLFPlease ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes ofwebsite accessibility” } ], “datePublished”: “2021-09-16T18:18:14+00:00”, “dateModified”: “2021-09-17T10:34:02.000-04:00”, “author”: { “@type”: “Person”, “name”: “Melanie Zayas” }, “publisher”: { “@type”: “Organization”, “name”: “WOLF”, “logo”: { “@type”: “ImageObject”, “url”: “https://static-25.sinclairstoryline.com/resources/assets/wolf/images/logos/wolf_email.png” } }, “description”: “Earlier this evening, a tree planting was held for Phylicia Thomas, a presumed murder victim who lived in Nanticoke, that went missing almost two decades ago. Her family and members of the community planted it right across from their home. She was 22 at the time of her disappearance that happened in February 2004. 17 years later, the family of Thomas still wants to shed light on the cold case that is still unsolved. Her body was never found and no arrests have been made in the case.” } ]]>

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