Family, Relations, Heritage - Native American Powwow embraces core values

The Children of Many Colors Native American Powwow returns to Moorpark College the weekend of July 18 for its 15th annual celebration. It is a gathering that welcomes the public and prides itself in being a family-friendly, affordable event (there’s a $2.00 per vehicle suggested donation, with no passenger limit), and the powwow is not just for children.

What is a Powwow?

A powwow is an intertribal gathering, where Native American people from many tribes or nations come together to dance, sing, celebrate their cultural heritage and share that heritage with others.

The origin of the powwow as we know it today is generally attributed to the changes that occurred to the Native American way of life when reservations became the primary homeland of many nations. Forced into confinement, often with other tribes and on unfamiliar (and unproductive) territory, native people adapted what were previously tribal ceremonies into a form of song and dance that could be shared with people from other nations and, eventually, with non-Indian people.

The Role of Urban Powwows

Southern California holds the second highest population of multi-tribal Native American people in the United States. The “Termination Act” of the 1950s sought to end the reservation system by moving Indian people into major urban centers and assimilating them fully into mainstream society. Like previous attempts to “kill the Indian and save the man”, the program was only partially successful in separating native people from their land, culture and heritage. It created a whole new segment of Native American society; people who were never truly assimilated, and were equally unable to fully maintain a connection to their cultural values, heritage and home.

The powwow is a vital link to that heritage, both physically and spiritually. It is a gathering where, for several days, native people can be themselves, find themselves, and be among like-minded people. It is a place where cultural practices; songs, dances, crafts, languages, stories and traditions, can be learned, practiced, taught, and thereby kept alive. A culture dies the moment it is no longer practiced. It is only through active participation that native people can maintain a living, vibrant, viable cultural connection.

The urban powwow serves a second vital function. It is a gateway for learning, understanding and tolerance for non-native people. What most Americans know about native cultures, the indigenous people of this land, is limited and usually inaccurate. That Native American cultures are still alive is often a surprise to those who visit a gathering. They sometimes ask if they are witnessing a reenactment; if the people dancing are really Indian, or at the opposite end of the spectrum, if they speak English.

The Children of Many Colors Powwow

“Every woman is a mother, and every man an uncle, to every child,
no matter what color they are.”

These words, spoken at Claremont College by Oren Lyons, Native American Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy, were the vision for Redbird’s powwow.

Today’s native youth are participating in their traditional ways and culture, but they are also influencing it. They bring to each gathering their contemporary reality, as well as their connection to the past. They become the mentors to other youth.

On Saturday July 18, a contest will be held to choose Redbird’s next princess. Ava Trepepi of the Yaqui nation will surrender her reign to a new princess; Redbird’s first powwow princess, Katianna Warren of the Navajo nation, will be assisting with choosing the next crown bearer.

While the concept of a powwow princess is a contemporary innovation, the criteria for eligibility are based on time-honored standards. Does the contestant know their native language? Are they responsible and disciplined students? Involved in their community? Are they familiar with powwow protocol and do they know their style of dance, its meaning, its variations, its use in celebration and in ceremony?

In addition to a weekend of singing and dancing, there will also be some thirty vendors selling everything from Indian tacos and fry bread to Navajo and Zuni jewelry, pottery, clothing, handicrafts and craft supplies.

The powwow takes place outside on the athletic field. There is seating for spectators o the arena. The canopies set up around the arena belong to the singers and dancers; visitors are welcome to bring their own chairs and canopies and spend the day.

More information can be found at http://www.redbirdsvision.org/manycolors.htm