I am a fan of powwows. A big fan. If I owned a car, I would have one of those bumper stickers that said "On the Powwow Trail." I am not even Native American. (Well, maybe like 1/32nd or less...) But there is something about a powwow that gets my spirits soaring and my heart pumping.
My first powwow experience was in Maggie Valley, NC. A Cherokee group was having a powwow at the old Ghost Town amusement park. Up to that point in my life (I was about 14 or 15) I had never really seen a Native American person. And as much as I love powwows now, that first experience was not a great introduction to contemporary NA life. I plugged my ears because the drums were too loud and the singing just sounded like screaming and moaning. And the ladies traditional-dance just looked like a bunch of old women walking as slowly as possible in a circle. I think I laughed. I am pretty sure I insulted a few people. And for that, I am now TRULY sorry.
Later in life, I attended the U of M "Dance for Mother Earth" at Cristler Arena in Ann Arbor, MI. And I fell in love with the powwow scene. I ate my first piece of fry bread. I bought a beaded bookmark. I contemplated buying moccasins, but realized I wouldn't really wear them. And I learned about Pine Ridge, SD for the first time. From that moment on, I was hooked. I was an advocate for NA equality.
I attended the Chicago powwow in November, 2008. That is how I got involved with the American Indian Center. And I re-focused my anthropological studies on Native American issues. (Primarily on urban communities and powwows as expressive culture.)And I was growing very anxious to attend another powwow. But, since Chicago isn't exactly a great market for powwows, I remembered the U of M powwow. So I looked it up and discovered it was going to be in March. So I planned a weekend trip back to my hometown to attend the event.
I checked the website to see which drums were going to be singing and discovered they rescheduled the powwow for Easter weekend - at Eastern University's field house. So... I rescheduled my plans to go back home for Easter.
This morning, I checked the website again to see what vendors would be there. To my surprise, I found that they have, yet again, changed the date and location. It is now at Saline Middle School on April 4th and 5th. Now, I will be honest with you and admit that I was a little frustrated. Jamie had taken time off at Easter to go back to Michigan. Just for the powwow. Now we have to see if we can take another day off to drive out there for the powwow on a different weekend...
So I was all worked up and contemplating just not going at all. But I read an email from the Native American Student Association to the U of M: it made me cry. I could re-phrase it all and summarize the email for you, but I thought you could just read it yourself.
http://http://www.umich.edu/~powwow/pdfs/committeeLetterToUM.pdfI am so proud of NASA at U of M. I am so happy they have found the courage to take back what is theirs and stand firm in their traditional beliefs and voice their powwow the way they want it, as opposed to the way corporate white people see it. My hear it swelling with pride in my native commrades! I hope you will join me at Saline Middle School on April 4th and 5th and show your support for NASA, Michigan's native community, and their struggle for cultural independence and expression.
Power to the Powwow!
We spent 10 hours at the JJC Powwow yesterday. I now know many of the dancers from my work at the AIC on Tu/Th. It was a very nice way to celebrate their lives and talents.
One lady I work with (above, Barbara) talks non-stop about her little princess granddaughter, Asia (also above). Asia is full of life and a very good jingle-dress-dancer for only being four years old. She calls me "grandma's friend," and gives really warm hugs!
My AIC Food Pantry supervisor, Hara brought her granddaughter, Naya to the powwow. She and Sarah hit it off as friends right away! Naya is teaching Sarah how to jingle-dress dance.
The junior-level Fancy Feather boys dance their little hearts out and are always the favorite of the crowd! These boys are so light on their feet, quick, limber, and very fun to watch!
