Celebrating Native American dance
The 28th annual Powwow mixed tradition with modern-day dance Friday and Saturday.
Powwows are held for a number of reasons, one of which is to celebrate the beginning of new life, an event that usually happens in the beginning of spring, according to the event’s program. Traditionally, powwows were also held for dropped eagle feathers. In 1920, tribes started adding the competition aspect to powwows. Dancers are judged on skill, regalia, sportsmanship and body, but mainly on their footwork. The person with the most points is given prize money at the conclusion of the powwow.
These dancers dance to the rhythm of drum groups, which are the sacred heartbeat and set the mood for each dance. Usually eight to 10 drummers make up a drum circle. A lead singer does most of the singing, if not all of it. The songs all follow a similar structure, the lead singer will sing a phrase and other singers will repeat that lead phrase and all singers sing the melody, according to the program.
Most drummers were from the northern regions because Cache Valley is an old Shoshone Bannock land. The drummers wanted to dance here to have some sort of tie with the land, said J.R. Capitan, powwow head coordinator.
The powwow also includes booths set up surrounding the area where the dancers perform. There is usually a requirement that each booth have some sort of authentic artifacts for sale to get into the powwow, said Derald Rowland, sales associate for the Dakota Star Quilts.
“I am making money for my reservation,” Rowland said. “All the dream catchers that are sold are made by Lakota Sioux from my reservation in Pineridge, S.D. and my quilts are made by my mother, aunts and sister.”
The powwow also included food and drinks, including Navajo tacos – fry bread with refried beans and lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. Fry bread was also available with honey on it.
The powwow was not just for Utah State University students. In fact only three dancers were from USU. People come from all over the country to compete, some from as far east as South Dakota and as north as Canada, Capitan said.
“We advertise and do a good job of getting people together and coordinating the different categories of the Powwow,” Capitan said.
This cultural event includes many different costumes, depending on the type of dance the dancers are competing in. There is the Men’s Traditional, where they wear a more subdued outfit with bead and quill work. The men also wear a circular bustle of eagle feathers, representing the cycles and unity of everything in nature. They carry shields, weapons and honor shafts.
“The traditional dances are usually done by the older men and women,” Rowland said.
There is also the Men’s Grass and the Men’s Fancy. In the Men’s Grass, the dancers are entirely covered from shoulder to ankle in vividly covered yarns and ribbons that replace grasses. The Men’s Grass represents dancers flattening out areas to hold meetings, and the dance is performed to distract fallen warriors from their pain and help them stay conscious.
Women have traditional dances like the men, but it means a different thing. They do the dance to symbolize the arrival of their warriors. They wear dresses decorated with ribbon work, elk’s teeth and shells as well as knee-high leggings, beaded or concho belts and various necklaces. They will at times carry an eagle or hawk feather fan or just a single feather.
The Women’s Jingle Dress dancers wear dresses made of cloth with an abundance of metal cones or jingles made from the lids of chewing tobacco cans. The Women’s Fancy Shawl dancers wear a knee-high cloth dress, beaded moccasins with matching leggings and a shawl, which they twirl around when they dance.
Every powwow starts off with the Grand Entry, lead by a color guard and powwow veterans. The dancers dance around in circles and everyone in attendance is asked to stand. This progression, as well as the entire event, is lead and announced by a master of ceremonies. He announces what is going on before every dance and which dancers are dancing keeping everything on schedule. There is also an arena director who ensures the dancers are ready and coordinates every session with the master of ceremonies. This creates less confusion for the audience.
“This is considered a traditional powwow because everything is free,” Capitan said. “You don’t have to pay to get in or pay to register as a dancer.”
The powwow is not just about competing or dancing, it also gives the Native American dancers the opportunity to reunite with family and close friends and hear news about the Native American people across the country. It is also an event of unity for many family members, said dancer Sammaripa Pearl.
“All of my family is involved in the Powwow,” Pearl said. “My husband dances, my son in law is a drummer, my daughter and her daughter and son both dance.”
Though one can read about powwows, it is better to experience them on their own and actually attend one and get more involved. The Native American Student Council is willing to work with others to make the Powwow more successful so that one day it can be held in the Spectrum or Stadium, Capitan said.
“We want Cache Valley to get involved with the culture by coming and learn from us so everyone will know what the Native American culture is all about,” Capitan said.