27th Annual Pow Wow draws in American Indian tribes to celebrate culture on campus
A dancer wearing his regalia performs at UCLA’s 27th annual Pow Wow in the North Athletic Field this weekend.
By Stephen Stewart
April 23, 2012 10:44 a.m.
Activities at the pow wow included dancing, singing and a display of traditional Native American crafts. Some dances were competitive and required participants to be American Indian, while others were intertribal and open to anyone to join.
Members of a traditional Native American drum group perform during the pow wow. Organizers said the event aimed to cultivate community.
A dancer wearing his regalia performs at UCLA’s 27th Annual Pow Wow in the North Athletic Field this weekend. The event, put on by the American Indian Student Association, brought together tribes from all over Southern California to participate or compete in dances.
At the Pow Wow, dancing rarely stopped.
As soon as the drums and chanting ended for one song, another would soon begin.
This weekend, the North Athletic Field was filled with the smell of fry bread, rainbow-colored regalia worn by dancers and booths selling a variety of handcrafts.
In the center of the field, a white circle painted in the grass was continually filled with dancers to celebrate UCLA’s 27th Annual Pow Wow, held by the American Indian Student Association.
American Indian tribes from all over Southern California came to the event to participate or compete in dances.
“For native students, an event like this cultivates the native community and helps us feel like we belong here,” said Kenneth Ramos, a fourth-year American Indian studies student and the president of the American Indian student association. “It can be hard to express our native community here.”
Pow wows originated in the early 20th century, said Tyla Va’ai-Letourneau, a second-year Design | Media Arts student and coordinator for this year’s Pow Wow. The events are now essentially social gatherings, but also are a competition for dancers to show their mastery of the dances, said Va’ai-Letourneau, who is of Blackfoot heritage.
UCLA’s Pow Wow is not the largest Clementine Bordeaux has gone to, but it is certainly large for the Los Angeles area, said Bordeaux, the academic coordinator for UCLA’s American Indian Studies and the head woman for the Pow Wow.
“(Pow wows) are culturally important because they are a social gathering for natives and non-natives to be together in a positive way,” she said. “It’s a time and a place for culture to be shared and to have a good time.”
The gourd dance, which is a prayer for protection over the arena, opened the pow wow both days, Va’ai-Letourneau said.
This dance lasted about an hour, and was followed by the grand entry of all the contestants, who filed in based on their competition category. Bordeaux, who is of Lakota descent, and the head man were responsible for leading other dancers in the grand entry along with other songs.
Alex Giragosian, a UCLA law student, heard drums pounding when he was studying near Dodd Hall. Curious, he stopped studying to go investigate, thinking that it was just loud music.
Giragosian spent an hour at the pow wow to take a break from studying. He passed the time watching the dancing and exploring several of the informational booths that had been set up, saying he was impressed by the cultural display.
The variety of dances at the pow wow include men’s traditional, jingle dress and horse thief and women’s fancy shawl.
Each dance features a dancer wearing different regalia ““ from feature bells to feathers to brightly colored leather ““ to represent each dancer’s personal life.
While some dances require the participants to be American Indian and are competitive, others are intertribal and open to anyone to join.
Lara Priest, a second-year psychobiology student, came out as part of her class, Ethnomusicology 106B Contemporary North American Indian Music.
It was her first time at a pow wow, and she was a bit shy to join the intertribal dances.
“If I see people not in regalia, I might join in,” Priest said.
But Savannah Jones, 14, who came to the pow wow with her ninth grade class, didn’t hesitate.
She, her teacher and friends participated in the dancing.
“It was fun because we just followed along,” Jones said. “I just wanted to join in.”
Overall, Va’ai-Letourneau said, the role of the pow wow is to learn about a different community.
“No one is going to charge you to ask them questions as long as you are respectful,” Va’ai-Letourneau said. “It’s a free opportunity to get educated about native culture.”
