Event #1: Pow Wow, Whose Land Is It?

Powwow is a North American indigenous people’s sacred gathering or festival. I had the opportunity to attend a powwow event on the UCLA campus. There were dancing, drumming, food stands with native foods, and stores selling turquoise jewelry and other sorts of merchandise. There are essential powwow etiquettes when attended these events. These include standing respectfully during special songs and dances (opening, flag songs, veteran songs etc.), referring to the dancer’s outfits as “regalia” and not as “costume,” not touching the regalia, not picking up dropped feathers from the ground, and others (Hernandez)! I was glad that I read through some of their etiquettes before attending!

 

The sounds of the drums are like the heartbeats of the event–they are crucial, and there is no event without the drums. They are the music and the soul to the entirety of the performances. “The Drum” refers to the group of musicians playing the drums. Songs are led by the head singer. All the songs and dancers listen to the beats from the Drum. Men and women have different dance styles. Men’s dance styles include Chicken, Grass, Fancy, Traditional, and Straight. Women’s dance styles include Buckskin, Cloth, Jingle, and Fancy Shawl (Pow Wows). They dance in a circle. In one dance I observed, there were an inner circle and an outer circle. The two circles of dancers step on different rhythms while progressing slowly. These steps are intended to mimic the motion and movements of a four-legged animal in nature (Peradotto). The tribes are closely tied to nature, much like the Tongva tribes which we discussed in class. Some people also state that these slow dancing movements represent the long hours that the women and the children wait while the men go out on their hunting trips (Inspirations Dancewear). 

 

Here is a photo of the Drum group practicing (Scoville).

HNRS 17 Event 1 The Drum.png

Here is a photo I took at the UCLA Powwow event of the dancers in a performance.

HNRS 177 Event 1 Dances.png

 

Another great thing about my visit to this event other than learning was the food! I had fry bread for the first time! Fry bread is a Native American food that was created in 1864 with the flour, salt, sugar and lard which the United States gave the Navajo tribes as the United States forced them to make a 300-mile journey from Arizona and relocate in New Mexico. This simple food then became part of the Navajo culture. Fry bread does not contain yeast, as yeast was not available 150 years ago to the Native Americans. It seems a bit contradicting and possibly confusing to some that the Native Americans celebrate a food that has such a brutal past. Indeed, some Native American tribes rejected it as they thought that it was a sign of colonialism. On the other hand, fry bread is very common in most powwow events. They are also very popular, as observed by the long line of people waiting patiently to get their food. Food is a very important aspect of any powwow event. Fry bread also represented the unity the Navajo tribes had, as it did sustain them on the long journey. It was already integrated in their culture, so it was difficult to rip fry bread from their lives (Miller). I ate fry bread as a way of remembering the past, and because it was very delicious.

 

Here is a picture of fry bread at a Navajo powwow event (Miller).

HNRS 177 Event 1 Fry Bread.png

Overall, I spent a fun day at this event along with a lot of money. I highly recommend this event to anyone at UCLA. It is essential to remembering about those that came long before us on this land that we now call our home, and this event is a great way of reminding us that!

 

 

Citations:

 

 

Hernandez, Estela. “Pow Wow Etiquette.” Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion, 30 July 2021, https://diversity.utah.edu/pow-wow-etiquette/. 

 

“Indigenous Northern Traditional Powwow Dance - Cultural Dance Spotlight.” Inspirations Dancewear Canada, Inspirations Dancewear Canada, 18 June 2018, https://inspirationsdancewear.com/blogs/dance-news/indigenous-northern-traditional-powwow-dance-cultural-dance-spotlight. 

 

Miller, Jen. "A frybread meal at a Navajo powwow." Smithsonian Institution. 1 July 2008. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/frybread-79191/.

 

Miller, Jen. “Frybread.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 1 July 2008, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/frybread-79191/. 

 

Peradotto, Nicole. “Pow Wow Time Indian Dancers' Steps Tell Stories.” The Lewiston Tribune, 15 Oct. 1993, https://lmtribune.com/northwest/pow-wow-time-indian-dancers-steps-tell-stories/article_788f8b5a-6046-5076-aab2-4b6f4ef30631.html. 

 

“Pow Wow Dance Styles: Types of Native American Dancing.” PowWows.com, 27 Feb. 2020, https://www.powwows.com/main/pow-wow-dance-styles/. 

 

Scoville, Alex "The Colorado Crew drum group practices at the Denver Indian Center." CPR News. 7, March 2019. https://www.cpr.org/2019/03/21/the-denver-march-pow-wow-tells-the-story-of-dance-and-tradition-prayer-and-perseverance/