Keeping the tradition alive

Friday, May 3,1996

The 11th annual UCLA Pow Wow not only celebrates the American
Indian culture, but it allows for a more personal look into it.For
some American Indians, stomping and sliding to the beat of a drum
while wearing belts adorned with long strips of leather tells a
story about the culture of plains tribes in years past.

For people not familiar with the ritual, a Cliffs notes version
is readily available.

"Go up to the dancer," advises Alex Jensen, director of the 11th
annual UCLA Pow Wow. "Ask them about certain things, because a lot
of the regalia have special meaning to each dancer."

Audiences will be able to converse and even dance with
performers from thirty different tribes on the Intramural Soccer
field this weekend during an event sponsored by UCLA’s American
Indian Student Association. Festivities will include arts and
crafts, information booths, native foods and, of course,
dancing.

The different styles of choreography reflect the diverse
backgrounds of the performers. In the category of traditional
dance, for example, dancers wear costumes that symbolize their
families, communities and personal experiences.

"I really enjoy the traditional dancers," Jensen says. "They’re
keeping … the traditional spirits alive."

The pow wow will showcase a wide variety of routines, some of
which incorporate elements of modern culture. In the jingle dance,
for example, women attach rolled metal snuff box lids to their
dresses to achieve a unique sound.

Like jingle dancing, the Gourd Dance, in which men relate
exceptional achievements in their lives, has recently gained in
popularity.

"Gourd Dancing," Jensen explains, "started out in the southern
plains and then it spread throughout the southwest."

Not only are the association’s members knowledgeable about pow
wow traditions, but some are dancers themselves.

"I’ve been learning how to do a lot of inter-tribal and a little
‘Fancy Dance’ in the last year and a half," says Molly Springer, a
member of the Cherokee tribe. "Hopefully in the next six months
I’ll start picking up more."

Like Springer, Jensen finds that working on the Pow Wow has been
a learning experience.

"When I came here this year, I wanted to be a part of organizing
it, and it just so happened that I became director of it," he says,
stressing that it has not always been an easy job.

The small office where the association makes its headquarters is
crowded with stacks of papers and posters of men and women clothed
in elaborate headdresses and fringed robes. On Saturday, the
photographs will be replaced by live dancers and the box of
doughnuts on the table will give way to booths selling hot, crunchy
fry bread.

But even as the organizers embrace their ancestry, they plan to
emphasize their roles as students as well.

"This year our theme is ‘Educating our Youth, Striving for our
Future,’" Jensen explains. "The drop-out rate for American Indian
students is really high so we try to encourage students to continue
with their education … There are very few (pow wows) that are at
universities, so we are very fortunate to expose the students to
college life."

He refers to the many American Indian children that earn a
living by traveling the pow wow circuit with their parents. This
lifestyle keeps ancient traditions alive, but doesn’t always allow
for the interaction that Jensen feels would benefit both performers
and people of other cultures.

"A lot of people in the urban setting aren’t exposed to American
Indian culture because a lot of the cultures are staying on the
reservations and are away from the urban sites," Jensen says. "I
think that about American Indian issues in general, UCLA is
behind."

Jensen, however, offers his life as an example of closing that
gap.

"I’ve attended a lot of pow wows across the country because my
father’s also an arts and crafts vendor. He’s a silversmith, so he
travels from place to place as well during the weekends, so I
travel with him sometimes and attend a lot of these events. So I’ve
always been interested in doing the (UCLA) Pow Wow."

He and his fellow association members look forward to this
weekend when American Indians and UCLA students will come together
to fuse centuries of culture through the common and exciting
language of dance.

EVENT: The UCLA Pow Wow, presented by the American Indian
Student Association, May 4 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and May 5 from
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the Intramural Soccer field. Admission is
free. For more info., call (310) 206-7513.

This year’s UCLA Pow Wow festivities include arts and crafts,
information booths, native foods and dancing.The UCLA Pow Wow will
showcase a wide variety of routines, some of which incorporate
elements of modern culture. The pow wow nevertheless remains a
celebration of centuries of culture through dance.The UCLA Pow Pow
takes place this weekend on the Intramural Soccer Field.