"This particular Pow-Wow is a way to share a variety of cultures with the surrounding community, for Native Americans to participate and for people to visit," said Michael Hantichak, director of the Native American Program.
Many different dance and song competitions took place during the two-day long Pow-Wow, in which men and women of many different tribes dressed in vibrantly colored regalia.
The Native Americans at Dartmouth honored Dean of the College Jim Larimore as well as Samson Occom, a member of the Mohegan Nation who helped Eleazar Wheelock found the College. The Pow-Wow also celebrated Mother's Day by inviting all mothers to join in a dance.
Various vendors sold food such as fry bread, buffalo meat and rice, as well as jewelry and T-shirts over the weekend. One commonly sold T-shirt read: "Homeland Security: Fighting Terrorism since 1492."
Although the Pow-Wow was held inside Thompson Arena instead of on the Green this year because of rain, over 2,000 people still attended the event, according to co-organizer Sam Kohn '09. He said student turnout was less than what he had hoped it would be, but that this was likely because of Thompson Arena's location far from the center of campus.
Nevertheless, many students, including some without any Native American affiliation, said they still appreciated the impact of the event.
"I think there is a widespread assumption that Native American culture has largely faded away. It was really interesting to see that certain rituals are alive and well, even among the children and teenagers," Heather Hughes '07 said.
In conjunction with the Pow-Wow, the music group Pamyua performed in the Hopkins Center on Thursday night. Music professor Steve Swayne also invited the group, which combines modern and northern indigenous music, to his class on American music to provide his students exposure to Native Americans.
Dartmouth's Pow-Wow, which began in 1973 and has consistently grown since its initiation, cost over $34,000 to arrange. NAD members Kohn, Precious Benally '08, Cory Cornelius '07 and Maggie Rice '06 were the event's primary coordinators this year.
"A lot of people only discover the connection between Dartmouth and Native Americans during the Pow-Wow," Hanover town manager Julia Griffin said. "I would venture to guess that a lot of people don't realize how many Native Americans are here, but there is a sizeable number."
Over 450 students from 120 different tribes have attended the College in the past 30 years.
