This Saturday marks the 33rd annual Pow-Wow organized by Native Americans at Dartmouth. The event will last two days and will feature an array of Native American dances and vendors selling traditional food, arts and crafts.
According to Michael Hanitchak '73, director of the Native American Program, the event has grown considerably since its conception in 1971, and over a thousand people are expected to attend during the celebrations.
The Pow-Wow was part of former president John Kemeny's attempts to reaffirm Dartmouth's commitment to Native American culture. Starting as a ceremony near Occom pond and then migrating to the Bema, the event outgrew both locations and has now found a home on the Green.
The Native American gathering is one of only six events held on the Green each year, with others including Homecoming and Winter Carnival.
"The Pow-Wow is a Pan-Indian celebration. [It] began on the plains and it has spread throughout Indian country with native music and dancing," Pow-Wow chair Josh Clause '05 said of the event.
The two-day celebration is a time for Native American students at the College to connect and remember a familiar tradition.
"For a lot of us it's a way for us to [come together] being so far away from home because as a community it's something familiar," Clause said.
However, the Pow-Wow is not limited to Native American students. A great deal of the people attending the events are non-affiliated members of the College community as well as people from the Upper Valley.
The event's creators hope non-Native-Americans will partake in selected dances and experience a different culture first hand.
"The only interaction they have is through the Pow-Wow and it's a good time to [experience] our culture actively," Clause said.
Jesse Sixkiller '06 noted that the indigenous Pow-Wow dancing can be as popular as its modern counterpart which takes place in the NAD Affinity House.
"I know it is hard to believe, but there is better dancing at our Pow-Wows than at our annual winter term Red Light Special and spring term Booty Quake dance parties at the NAD House," Sixkiller said. "It's a soothing transition from the usual snaggified grinding to the much more appreciable and vibrant native dance styles found at our Pow-Wows."
The Pow-Wow has grown into a larger regional event marking the start of the broader New England Pow-Wow season. Due to the increased popularity of the event, well known musicians have come to the Pow-Wow from around the country.
"This year, we have Midnite Express and Zotigh and they are really well-known drum groups on the Pow-Wow circuit," Clause said.
This year's event coincides with first-year family weekend, and organizers are hoping for an even larger crowd than usual.
