PowWow

Every year a PowWow is held on the nearby reservation. A PowWow is a gathering much like a family reunion.  It is a special time for family to get together and dance and pay homage to their culture.

Photographs are allowed except during the Peace Pipe Ceremony.  When in doubt ...ask.

Every part of the regalia worn has meaning.  Often times special pieces of the regalia are handed down from one generation to the next.  ( Grandma’s Eagle Feather…Grandpas moccasins etc…)

The Staff and Flag Bearers

Visiting Royalty follows the flag and staff bearers.

There are many colors…these are Jingle Dancers except for the little girl on the left she is a Fancy Shawl Dancer.

This beautiful gal in the turquoise regalia is the daughter of a good friend.

Aqua and orange do go together

A young man  who’s regalia is that of a Grass Dancer

One of the littlest Fancy Shawl Dancers

This gal used some Loon fabric on her regalia.

Older women have time for beautiful beadwork.

We visited with friends and had some homemade French fries for lunch.  It clouded up and threatened rain so we headed home.  We eventually got 4/10 of an inch of rain while I was enjoying an late afternoon nap.

Pow wow 2012

Last evening we headed over to the Pow wow.  We got there just in time to scarf down some homemade French Fries, cheese curds and a hamburger before the Grand Entry.

Just before the Grand Entry is a sacred peace pipe ceremony.  It is not photographed.

The Grand Entry begins with the eagle staffs, then the flags, followed by the royalty.  The men enter next followed by younger men and older children.  Women and small children encircle the men and soon everyone has entered and they are all dancing around the circle.

Traditional men’s regalia with a feather bustle.

Jingle dancers.

My favorite regalia this year was this simple oh so soft looking buckskin dress. This older lady is carrying her eagle feathers in her right hand and carries her buckskin beaded bag on her left arm.

This is one of the littlest Jingle Dress dancers.  She is our friend Edith’s Granddaughter.

We came home right after the Grand Entry.  It was a nice evening..two date nights this week:)

The Powwow

Far Guy and I attended the local powwow.  I can remember attending a powwow as a child. It was on the shores of Shell Lake. I saw my first teepee there..that was more than fifty years ago.  I still recall the warm evening air and the excitement.

The sound of the drums and the chanting.  Of course I didn’t know what they are saying..

It doesn’t sound anything like Hihowareya? Hihowareya? That would be the Native greeting that Far Guy and I use.

Show me the money??

We got there just as the dancing began for the Little Brave and Little Princess competition.  When the competition is down to the last four dancers..people run out with money to honor the dancers.  The dancers are supposed to acknowledge it by dancing on the money.  Elders walk around and pick up all the money on the ground. 

It was quite a dance off between these four grass dancers.

There were lots of young girls dancing.  Far Guys favorite dancer won.

She was a jingle dress dancer…and a pretty cute one at that:)

PowWow at Pine Point

We live just seven miles from the Reservation.  The public is invited every year to the PowWow.  Far Guy and I went over on Saturday evening between rain showers.

No photographs are allowed during the Peace Pipe Prayer Ceremony.  Other than that, you can take photographs.

The Flags are honored in the Grand Entry.  They make one circle around the drummers and then the dancers dance another circle around the flag bearers, who are all men who have been or are in the Military.  The entire PowWow area is made up of circles..everything is done in a circle.

This is the first year I noticed the turtle shield.  I was curious..curiosity should be my middle name.  It seems that there is a story about an Indian Brave who lost a battle, everything was taken from him..even his clothing.  He ran wildly through the woods when all of a sudden he heard his native drum and recognized the singing.  He swam across a river to get there, while he was in the river a snapping turtle attached itself to his arm, he ran screaming into the camp, dancing wildly..since then turtle shields are used during ceremonial dances to remember this great warrior.  In the photo above, the dancer is carrying eagle feathers in his left hand and a deer antler in his right hand..he honors these animal spirits by dancing with them as part of his Regalia.

I also saw a turtle rattle, this is attributed to an Anishinabe Tale of an Indian brave who tripped over a turtle and felt bad because the turtle was just soft skin and bone, he brought two shells and placed them on each side of the turtle and said “Here is your protection, you can carry your home with you always.”  The turtle could live on land or in the water, the shell is like Mother Earth a round hump that resembles hills and mountains.  The turtle can also represent a long life.

The men dancers seemed to outshine the women this year.  Many of the dancers I recognized from last year, it was a very nice way to spend the evening:)