The University of Utah recently held its 51st Annual Pow Wow, organized by the Inter-Tribal Student Association and the American Indian Resource Center. The two-day event is a celebration that includes social, competitive and spiritual aspects of Indigenous culture. Each powwow has a theme that touches on the experiences of native people today. This year it was Elevating Indigenous Youth.
Prior to the powwow, dancers were busy getting ready throughout the performance area. Many had small rolling suitcases to hold all of their intricate and culturally significant regalia.
“I think hair is probably the biggest part,” said Geo Ladd as she methodically braided her daughter’s hair. “I mean, making sure your braids are laying flat and everything.”
Ladd is from the Ute tribe. Two of her daughters competed in the junior categories. One performed the fancy dance and the other the butterfly dance. Ladd said nowadays the contest is a big part of the celebration, but the powwow circle is still a healing circle.
“There were times when we would have to powwow, pray and Sundance in secret and hope not to get caught,” Ladd said.
In addition to the spiritual aspects and competition, every year the powwow has a theme to bring awareness to the experiences of native people today. This year it was Elevating Indigenous Youth. It highlighted the impact of the residential school era and recent challenges with the Indian Child Welfare Act, which resonated with Taylor Begay, the powwow’s Master of Ceremonies.
“My grandparents are boarding school survivors and I have many relatives who are in the ICWA system who are having to fight that or who are within the foster system.”
ICWA is a federal law that keeps Indigenous children going through adoption or foster care in homes that reflect their unique culture. Begay said it’s a way for native people to protect their children because colonization isn’t over. It is currently under review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Each session began with the Grand Entry, where military veterans and head dancers led all other dancers to the center circle. Various drum circle groups, which usually consist of five to 10 people, made up the perimeter of the circle.
Dancers in different age divisions joined the circle for specific dances. Each had a number pinned on their regalia. Depending on the song, some jingled with the sound of bells.
Tamara John is Navajo and a descendant of the Ute and Hopi nations. She performed the fancy shawl dance in the adult category. The shawl looked like wings as she waved her arms.
“I dance for those who cannot dance. I dance for my mother especially. I dance for our ancestors,” she said.
John’s mother hand-stitched all the beadwork on her regalia and created the designs through prayers. It features a teepee on her cape with a masked horse.
“She had a vision about when she was sitting in a teepee, when she was having a Native American Peyote Ceremony, she envisioned this horse and she had a mask on.”
At the bottom is a field of flowers. On her back and on her moccasins is a Morning Star. During the peyote meetings, John said they would sing from midnight until early dawn. The star represents a new beginning and is significant because both John and her mother battled cancer.
The powwow celebration was open to both non-Indigenous and Indigenous people. It’s also an intertribal event. Marianne Zhetot Kwe Almero is part of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation of Oklahoma. She flew from New York to volunteer and support her brother, who helped organize the event.
“It’s nice to be amongst people in tribes that are outside of your own because you get to learn so much,” Almero said. “Our philosophies are so much the same across the board, but our means of executing them are so different.”
University of Utah student Dana Yazzie volunteered at the powwow and said it was a nice way to give back.
“This is one thing that we can all enjoy together, especially when we’re off the reservation. Like me as a student, I feel like we’re back home.”
