PowWow celebrates future of tradition

By Linh Tat

Daily Bruin Staff

Adorned in traditional feathered headdresses and brightly-woven
garments of their tribes, Native Americans from across the country
came together in celebration of UCLA’s 15th Annual PowWow
Saturday and Sunday.

Sponsored by the American Indian Student Association and the
American Indian Studies Center, the organizations adopted the theme
of “Approaching a New Dawn” for this year’s event
in honor of the millennium.

“This is to honor the vision of the future,” said
AISA President Tiffani Devine.

Added AISA Secretary Crystal Roberts, “It’s a new
beginning for our people and our strive for self-determination and
sovereignty.”

Organizers said their goal was to bring 20,000 people to the
PowWow, which was held on the North Athletic Field.

“This is the one event that brings us all together,”
Devine said. “It’s important to keep people informed
because a lot of people who go to school here weren’t raised
to understand this.”

Many who attended the event agreed that this was an occasion to
celebrate the community.

“The Native Americans need a lot of support,” said
Veronica Beltran, a first-year undeclared student.
“It’s great for the PowWow to be at a place like UCLA
where there’s so many resources. The showing of culture and
tradition brings awareness (to the campus).”

The two-day event featured inter-tribal dancing, invocation of
spirits and dance competitions. Singing groups from Canada and
Oklahoma led the northern and southern drum performances,
respectively.

During the grand entry, participants entered the dance arena
““ which had been blessed as sacred ground ““ for the
flag song ceremony.

For Native Americans, eagle feathers are the most sacred, and a
pole with feathers is their version of a flag, Devine said. At the
head of the procession, one man carried the Native American flag
followed by two other men who carried a flag of the United States
and California.

Sammy “Tone-Kei” White, who emceed the event, said
the PowWow helped people realize the diversity of North American
tribes.

“Most people here seem to think we talk the same language
and sing the same songs,” White said. “They don’t
realize there are 550 tribes in the U.S., and we all speak our own
language and sing our own songs.”

Lining the athletic field were vendors selling crafts, beads,
books and paintings. People also stood in line to buy Indian tacos
and fry bread.

Among those with products to sell was James Perkins, a member of
the Choctaw tribe, and an artist who paints portraits of famous
Native Americans on wood.

In a penciled drawing titled “The First Family on Native
American Soil ““ 1992 B.C. (Before Columbus),” Perkins
depicted a Native American family of three with Mount Rushmore in
the background. He said he created the drawing in 1992 ““ the
500th anniversary of Columbus’ arrival in North America
““ to remind people that Columbus was not the first to
discover America.

“We’ve got indigenous people who were here
first,” Perkins said “We’ve always been here and
we’ll always be here.”

The depiction of Mount Rushmore in the background symbolized a
“shrine of hypocrisy,” Perkins said, explaining that
the government has been wrong to say Columbus discovered
America.

“I’m doing my own interpretation and setting the
story straight,” Perkins said of his art.

Also present at the PowWow were workers from the U.S. Census
Bureau who had a booth with free promotional items to remind people
to complete census forms.

Native American tribes who did not take part in the census were
hurt in the past because the government could not appropriately
allocate funds without an accurate representation of the community,
said Daniel Fizz of the Census Bureau.

“We want (the Native Americans) not to be distrustful of
the government, but to believe that their participation is
effective,” Fizz said.

The weekend’s event was the culmination of months of
planning by a group of 10 people, Devine said.

“This is our big event of the entire year,” Devine
said. “As soon as this ends, we start planning for the
following year.”