Hailing from cities across the nation, more than 1,000 people attended the College's 24th annual pow-wow this weekend to witness the largest performance in the College's history.
This year's pow-wow, held in Thompson Arena, "had many more dancers and a few more vendors than previous years," said Native Americans at Dartmouth President LaWanda Johnson '97.
She said the caliber of the drum groups attracted more performers.
In a celebration of Native American culture, many participants wore traditional Native American dress and danced in the center rink of Thompson Arena.
Vendors of Native American jewelry, trinkets and clothing set up booths around the upper level of the rink. Outside the rink, visitors dined on Native American foods like buffalo burgers, venison sausages and fry bread.
"It went really well," Pow-wow Committee co-Chair Deanna Dick '96 said. "We got a lot of compliments from the people who attended."
"We had a really good turnout," Johnson said. "We got a lot of positive responses from the spectators and the drum groups that came."
Last year, the event also drew more than 1,000 people.
Earlier this month, members of the committee had petitioned the College to allow this weekend's event to occur on the Green.
The petition will be re-presented to Dean of the College Lee Pelton again later this week, Dick said.
"The petition was at the pow-wow so that people there from the surrounding communities could sign it," she said.
The petition requests that the College change its "policy for holding events on the Green for their annual Dartmouth pow-wow."
At the last minute the College permitted last year's pow-wow to take place on the Green in celebration of the opening of the Native American House. In previous years, the event took place in the Bema and in inclement weather was held in Thompson Arena.
This year the event was scheduled to take place in Thompson Arena rain or shine.
"The pow-wow was planned in Thompson because the Bema is too small," Johnson said. "This year there were many more dancers and a few more vendors."
Thompson was a good location for this year's pow-wow, Johnson said. "The layout looked very good for the vendors and the dancers."
But Johnson said she still wished they had held the event on the Green.
"I wish the College had let us use the Green just to, again, signify the fact that this College was founded for Native American and Indian education ," Johnson said.
"An outdoor pow-wow is so much better than inside," Dick echoed.
Johnson said the record turnout was a result of the committee's promotional efforts.
"There was great publicity," she continued. "We handed flyers out whenever we went to different pow-wows in different places."
Johnson cited the caliber of the drum groups as the magnet that attracted many more people this year.
Organizers of the pow-wow succeeded in attracting a large variety of drummers and dances to this year's event by distributing fliers at pow-wow's attended throughout the year by NAD, Dick said.
"There were Hawaiian dancers from the campus as well as a Hoop Dancer exhibition," she said. "The dances ranged from the Women's Buck Skin to the Men's Fancy. Everything was out there."
Work on the pow-wow began in the fall, said co-Chair of the Pow-wow Committee Anna Tsouhlarakis '99.
"We have the biggest budget ever this year," she said. "We had to apply for a Bildner Grant. We have had a lot of support and a lot of money."
Dick said the committee also received funding from some academic departments, student organizations and local contributors.
