When we first moved up to Bailey, Colorado after 9 years in the living death that is Phoenix, Arizona; I made the decision that I would throw myself wholeheartedly into small town life. I was going to follow the high school sports teams, attend local theater, help with volunteer organizations, you name it. However, after two years as a resident, I'm ashamed to admit that my contribution to the local social scene has been virtually non-existent. Oh, I've sunk a few beers in the local hostelries, don't get me wrong, but I've attended very few of the local events.
To be fair, this isn't entirely my fault. The fire danger was so extreme during our first summer that many events were cancelled and by the second year, I was so immersed in my work that there was very little time or energy remaining for fun stuff. But this summer's going to be different, you hear? There's a lot going on even in a small community such as this and I intend to do my bit to support it. To that end, this afternoon I went to my very first Pow Wow.
There are several versions of the story as to how "pow wows" began what the term actually means. Some say it refers to a healer or a priest although over time it came to mean a ceremony or event for religious or healing ceremonies. With the help of Hollywood, the name "pow wow" has come to mean a council or a meeting. There is evidence pow wows were held in the spring as a celebration of the new stage in the cycle of life. Not only were they opportunities for people to get together, sing, dance, make new friends and meet old ones; they were also used for naming, honoring and memorial ceremonies; events of deep significance to many Native Americans.
This particular pow wow was being hosted by one of our local churches; Deer Creek United Methodist Church in Pine and I'm ashamed to admit, this almost put me off going. My own religious beliefs tend towards the pagan and while I grew up in a semi-Christian environment, I'm afraid the behavior of many so-called Christians has somewhat soured me on that particular faith. I wasn't sure why a Methodist church would be holding a pow wow and I rather expected to find a bunch of white people trying to imitate the native traditions. Sort of like a boy scout camp for grown-ups. However like I said, I want to support the local events, so along I went.
And I was most pleasantly surprised. This was indeed a legit pow wow; part of a circuit which sees dancers and drummers traveling around the country for most of the summer entertaining crowds and competing for small cash prizes. There were two or three dozen dancers ranging from toddlers, barely old enough to stand on their own, to gap toothed old men, also barely able to stand on their own. I saw people from the Apache, Lakota, Chippewa, Pawnee, Sioux and Dakota Nations although I'm sure there were more.
Each was wearing traditional regalia, not "costumes" as we were advised by the emcee. Some, like the Apache were dressed in comparatively simple outfits, white jackets and pants with only a few decorations; others were wearing more elaborate regalia with fine beadwork and detailing, which must have taken many hours to produce. Apparently a full set of regalia can take years to complete. The Chippewa dancers were dressed in wildly extravagant concoctions of ribbons, bells and feathers. As the two of them were extremely enthusiastic dancers the whole effect was one of swirling color and light. Many dancers wore feathers and leather which was obviously very old and no doubt fragile so not surprisingly, it’s an extreme breach of etiquette to touch anyone's dance regalia without permission.
On the subject of etiquette, as the afternoon wore on I learned I committed a couple of faux pas myself. To begin with, you're supposed to bring along your own seating; lawn chairs and whatnot but as usual I hadn’t though of it. So once the dancing started, I simply followed the lead of several others and plopped myself down on one of the straw bales conveniently located around the circle. It was only later I learned these were actually part of the circle itself and weren't supposed to be used as butt rests by lazy people like me.
Secondly, entranced as I was by colors sparkling in the summer sun, I spent a large part of the afternoon with my camera pressed to my face, trying to capture the theater in front of me. Part way through, the emcee took a moment to remind us that many native people are uncomfortable having their photographs taken and it's simple common courtesy to ask first. Of course, as they were several dozen people in the circle, I'm not sure how practical that would be, unless I was looking for individual portraits. The camera went back to the car.
Pow wows follow a structured program, beginning with a Ground Blessing, to consecrate the arena, then Gourd Dancing throughout the morning. The Grand Entry, the official start to the pow wow, was in the early afternoon and fortunately, I arrived in time to see this. We spectators were asked to rise as the Eagle staffs and flags representing the visiting tribes were brought in. The drums began a grand entry song, while the dancers entered the arena, led by a color guard of veterans. As the emcee reminded us, Memorial Day was last weekend and one of the dancers had just this week returned from Iraq, an honored warrior. The men, women, teenage boys, then girls and finally the tiny tots, children aged six and under until the arena was filled with dancers, each performing in their own unique style.
At one point, someone was heard to complain that the arena was too dusty and as if in answer, the black clouds rolled in and Colorado received a much needed soaking. It didn't stop the dancers although the vendors all had to scurry to protect their wares. Although the showers continued all afternoon, they never lasted more than a few minutes at a time and the sun was always along shortly after, to dry everyone out and make the colors sparkle.
So, not only my first local event, my first pow wow. But it won't be my last.
"Mitakuey Oyasin" - "We are all related"
To be fair, this isn't entirely my fault. The fire danger was so extreme during our first summer that many events were cancelled and by the second year, I was so immersed in my work that there was very little time or energy remaining for fun stuff. But this summer's going to be different, you hear? There's a lot going on even in a small community such as this and I intend to do my bit to support it. To that end, this afternoon I went to my very first Pow Wow.
There are several versions of the story as to how "pow wows" began what the term actually means. Some say it refers to a healer or a priest although over time it came to mean a ceremony or event for religious or healing ceremonies. With the help of Hollywood, the name "pow wow" has come to mean a council or a meeting. There is evidence pow wows were held in the spring as a celebration of the new stage in the cycle of life. Not only were they opportunities for people to get together, sing, dance, make new friends and meet old ones; they were also used for naming, honoring and memorial ceremonies; events of deep significance to many Native Americans.
This particular pow wow was being hosted by one of our local churches; Deer Creek United Methodist Church in Pine and I'm ashamed to admit, this almost put me off going. My own religious beliefs tend towards the pagan and while I grew up in a semi-Christian environment, I'm afraid the behavior of many so-called Christians has somewhat soured me on that particular faith. I wasn't sure why a Methodist church would be holding a pow wow and I rather expected to find a bunch of white people trying to imitate the native traditions. Sort of like a boy scout camp for grown-ups. However like I said, I want to support the local events, so along I went.
And I was most pleasantly surprised. This was indeed a legit pow wow; part of a circuit which sees dancers and drummers traveling around the country for most of the summer entertaining crowds and competing for small cash prizes. There were two or three dozen dancers ranging from toddlers, barely old enough to stand on their own, to gap toothed old men, also barely able to stand on their own. I saw people from the Apache, Lakota, Chippewa, Pawnee, Sioux and Dakota Nations although I'm sure there were more.
Each was wearing traditional regalia, not "costumes" as we were advised by the emcee. Some, like the Apache were dressed in comparatively simple outfits, white jackets and pants with only a few decorations; others were wearing more elaborate regalia with fine beadwork and detailing, which must have taken many hours to produce. Apparently a full set of regalia can take years to complete. The Chippewa dancers were dressed in wildly extravagant concoctions of ribbons, bells and feathers. As the two of them were extremely enthusiastic dancers the whole effect was one of swirling color and light. Many dancers wore feathers and leather which was obviously very old and no doubt fragile so not surprisingly, it’s an extreme breach of etiquette to touch anyone's dance regalia without permission.
On the subject of etiquette, as the afternoon wore on I learned I committed a couple of faux pas myself. To begin with, you're supposed to bring along your own seating; lawn chairs and whatnot but as usual I hadn’t though of it. So once the dancing started, I simply followed the lead of several others and plopped myself down on one of the straw bales conveniently located around the circle. It was only later I learned these were actually part of the circle itself and weren't supposed to be used as butt rests by lazy people like me.
Secondly, entranced as I was by colors sparkling in the summer sun, I spent a large part of the afternoon with my camera pressed to my face, trying to capture the theater in front of me. Part way through, the emcee took a moment to remind us that many native people are uncomfortable having their photographs taken and it's simple common courtesy to ask first. Of course, as they were several dozen people in the circle, I'm not sure how practical that would be, unless I was looking for individual portraits. The camera went back to the car.
Pow wows follow a structured program, beginning with a Ground Blessing, to consecrate the arena, then Gourd Dancing throughout the morning. The Grand Entry, the official start to the pow wow, was in the early afternoon and fortunately, I arrived in time to see this. We spectators were asked to rise as the Eagle staffs and flags representing the visiting tribes were brought in. The drums began a grand entry song, while the dancers entered the arena, led by a color guard of veterans. As the emcee reminded us, Memorial Day was last weekend and one of the dancers had just this week returned from Iraq, an honored warrior. The men, women, teenage boys, then girls and finally the tiny tots, children aged six and under until the arena was filled with dancers, each performing in their own unique style.
At one point, someone was heard to complain that the arena was too dusty and as if in answer, the black clouds rolled in and Colorado received a much needed soaking. It didn't stop the dancers although the vendors all had to scurry to protect their wares. Although the showers continued all afternoon, they never lasted more than a few minutes at a time and the sun was always along shortly after, to dry everyone out and make the colors sparkle.
So, not only my first local event, my first pow wow. But it won't be my last.
"Mitakuey Oyasin" - "We are all related"
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