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Marketing and University Communication UW-Green Bay, CL 815 2420 Nicolet Drive Green Bay, WI 54311-7001 (920) 465-2626 E-mail: hildebrs@uwgb.edu Last update: 9/26/07 |
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In
the News Archive - Year:
April 15, 2007 Native Americans come together for music, dance UWGB group hosts its 15th annual traditional powwow By Paul Srubas
Participants and spectators numbered in the hundreds at any given time throughout the daylong event, which featured live music and dance, raffles, arts and crafts sales, and Native American food.
But the primary focus was on the traditional dance, drumming and singing.
Drum groups Str8 Across, Duck Creek Crossing, Niwiwan, Wind Eagle and Spirit Bear took turns pounding out the rhythms and singing the traditional songs while dancers in full traditional regalia stepped to the beat in a parade-like route that took them in a huge circle around the center of the gymnasium.
At some powwows, these dancers would be in competition, scoring points against one another based on the quality of their dance steps, the ornateness of their beadwork and feathers, the color and cut of their clothing. But this was a traditional event, meaning some participants wore full regalia, while others wore part regalia and even more wore jeans, sweatshirts and street clothes.
"This is entirely informal," said Apesanahkwat, former chairman of the Menominee Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, who was participating as a dancer. "People don't need to wear their regalia. They don't need to be judged."
Apesanahkwat, who also does competitive dancing, chose to wear the full traditional regalia, which is part of what he enjoys about such events. It included feathers of a golden eagle and beads fashioned from porcupine quills.
"The golden eagle is the mortal being that flies closest to God, which is why its feathers are so revered," Apesanahkwat said.
People versed in the culture would be able to tell a lot about Apesanahkwat by the details of his outfit. It includes symbols showing he is a military veteran, a combat veteran, a former Marine, a Menominee, and even that he was his parents' first-born son.
During the dinner hour, while dancers and drummers took a break, Marcos Padron, who belongs to the Otomi and Oneida tribes, did bead work. Padron makes his own outfits and recently learned to do beading to enhance his traditional look as a grass dancer.
"I like doing it — it's an art form," said Padron, 27, a Milwaukee native who lives in Green Bay.
Steve King, an Oneida living in Carter, enjoys competitive dancing, but he also likes the informal, social aspects of the traditional powwows.
"At these, you don't have to dance all the time. You can sit down when you want," he said.
Although he was wearing a baseball cap identifying him as a grass dancer, King wears full regalia when he dances, even at informal, traditional events like Saturday's.
"I was born and raised in Chicago, but that's the way we were taught — you must wear your full regalia when you're dancing," he said.
Years ago, King competed as a "fancy dancer," the most physically demanding of all the types of Native American dance, but now he sticks with "grass dancing." Traditionally, the grass dancers go first, to flatten the tall grasses of a field before the Grand Entry comes in to mark the start of a powwow, King said.
Dawn Noack of Green Bay didn't come to dance but to sell the traditional Ottawa baskets she and her mother make for their business, Feathers Ancient Artwork.
For her, this powwow is an enjoyable time to visit with friends and to absorb the sounds of the familiar songs and rhythms of tribal custom.
"It's an inner feeling," she said. "I grew up hearing Native American music, the drums, and I really enjoy it."
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