UCLA Pow Wow offers glimpse of native culture

It began slowly, and with each stroke, the beat got faster and faster, until it settled into an almost hypnotic rhythm.

Seated around the large circular arena, students and members of the Native American community gathered together in a celebration of their culture Saturday and Sunday at the 23rd Annual UCLA Pow Wow, held by the American Indian Student Association.

The event began with a blessing of the field by a spiritual leader of the Tongva tribe as a sign of respect to the tribe that once owned it.

Participants then listened to the large beating drum and the half dozen people around it as they chanted, their voices crying out in unison.

The event, which took place next to the Intramural Field, was spotted with splashes of bright colors from the dancers’ regalia.

Vibrant blues, reds, greens and other colors adorned the dancers’ clothing. Some wore traditional headgear with long feathers extending outward, while others opted for simpler designs, depending on which tribe they represented.

More than 100 dancers of all ages, representing various tribes from across the nation, paced back and forth to the music.

Angelo Isaac Sandoval, president of the American Indian Student Association, said that the event was a celebration of Native American culture and that the tradition dates back to the 1970s, when the powwow began as a response to a sense of loss of culture among many Native Americans.

“It’s a way that native people have coped with the acculturation. … This is their way of surviving ““ to adapt and still be native,” said Mattie Varner, one of the codirectors of the powwow.

After the blessing, special dances took place throughout the two days. Tents were set up around a large circle, in which the dancers competed.

Sandoval said the circle has cultural significance, representing varying cycles of life and continuity. He said he liked one interpretation in particular ““ an elder once described the circle as reflecting the community and its ability to expand infinitely, a responsibility he said all Native Americans share.

Sandoval said the event could serve as an introduction to a new culture for many, but only if they understand the historical reasons for the powwow.

“This can be a major step to be fully immersed in another culture, within another’s heritage. … But it’s only if their mind is ready for that,” Sandoval said.

Sandoval, who is half Navajo and half Apache, said his grandmother was listed as Caucasian on her birth certificate and refuses to this day to recognize that she is Native American.

“Her mother had wanted to put that down because there was something deeply shameful about being American Indian at the time. … You just didn’t want to acknowledge it, you wanted to deny it, and you wanted to do everything you could to get to the white society because you couldn’t succeed otherwise,” Sandoval said.

He added that he has heard of other grandmothers who were left emotionally scarred from the boarding school era, when young Native Americans were prevented from practicing native customs and were forced by the government to attend boarding schools. As a result, Sandoval said, those grandmothers now only whisper their native tongue.

“It’s been beaten into them, and it’s such a social trauma. … They had to silence themselves in order to adapt,” Sandoval said.

Events such as the powwow are ways in which Native Americans can once again take pride in something that for a long time was shameful, he said.

“In order to get past all of that self-hate, that internalized hate that’s forced upon you by society, first you have to turn it to self-love. … For generations we were having shame in something we couldn’t control,” Sandoval said. “Powwows themselves are the swinging back of the pendulum in terms of all the natives silencing themselves.”

He added that while other major cultural movements in the U.S. have been for equal rights, the Native American struggle has been one for sovereignty.

“We want to be sovereign nations. Recognize that. Allow us to rule as we have historically,” he said.

Though the Native American student population is less than 1 percent of the student body, many saw the event as critical in helping to preserve the culture.

“You have native students. There should be a day when they can celebrate and show off their tribal pride,” said Alyssa Tanewasha, a dancer representing Sherman Indian High School in Riverside, Calif.

Carlos Zaragoza, a fourth-year English and history student, said events like the powwow are critical in understanding American history.

“They’re a part of the history of this nation,” he said. “Come experience this beautiful culture. Keep it alive.”