For the board members of the Native American Alliance (NAA), hosting a powwow at UP has always been a goal of theirs. A powwow is a gathering of Native American dancing, singing and celebration, and according to NAA Faculty Adviser Alejandro Santana, the last time a powwow was hosted at UP was in 2013.
NAA Co-presidents Keisha DeSheuquette and Amaya McMillan and Vice President Damian Tegreeny, all seniors, were driven to end their time at UP by making these plans a reality.
“We were just these little res kids looking for community and UP didn't necessarily offer that,” DeSheuquette said. “[The powwow] was just a goal starting out the academic year — we were gonna make it happen.”
On April 5, NAA will be hosting its first annual powwow in the Quiet Side of Commons. The event is free and open to members of the UP community and the general public. According to DeSheuquette, while many powwows include competition events, the event is set to be a social powwow.
MexicaTiahui Danza Azteca will be performing at 2 p.m. Grand Entry, the traditional beginning to a powwow, will begin at 3 p.m. Throughout the event, various indigenous vendors will sell items such as jewelry and artwork. Meal vouchers are currently available to purchase for $10 online.
During a Grand Entry, dancers, veterans, elders, dignitaries and drum groups enter in a procession to create The Circle — a dance arena and sacred space that represents the cycle of life — and signal the beginning of a powwow. Traditionally led by flag bearers who carry flags from Indigenous nations, the procession is set to the beat of the traditional Grand Entry song, played by drum groups. During this time, attendees are asked to remain standing and avoid talking, eating or taking photos.
At a powwow, there is a Host Drum, the group that performs the Grand Entry song and other songs in a powwow, and the Invited Drum, the group invited to also participate in the event.
Four Directions family drum will be playing the Host Drum, and Northern Blackhorse will be the Invited Drum.
“I think hearing the drum and feeling it is such a big factor,” Tegreeny said. “It just feels like a heartbeat, and it's like the living entity of whatever the ancestors have going on. For me, it's a time of relaxation and healing — I can come out of that place and just feel rejuvenated and not have to have the stresses I had before.”
The forced migration of people from the Northern Plains and the Southern Plains resulted in intertribal exchange and solidarity among members of the Plains tribes. Precursors of the modern powwow are the Drum Religion, a sacred drum ritual that strengthened peace and friendship, and the Grass Dance, an adapted form of warrior dances.
Now, dancing and drumming are the heart of powwows.
“Seeing the joy that comes from dancers, because everyone’s gonna be in the regalia, and just watching ribbons fly and how the community really comes together,” DeSheuquette said. “Watching people dance is so healing. It's healing to see how much effort and love that they put into these routines that they learn for powwows.”
For food, attendees can choose either a traditional red chili stew from the Pueblo Tribes, which contains meat, potatoes and red chilis, or Indian tacos, which is fry bread with toppings like beans, meat and cheese.
According to DeSheuquette, while powwow culture is linked but not limited to Plains, Woodland and Pacific Coastal Nations, the menu also aims to incorporate Southwest tribal culture. The Menu also recognizes the impacts of colonization on indigenous cultures.
Fry bread, one of the dishes being served, originated in the 1860s during the “Long Walk.” This was the 300-mile journey Indigenous people unwillingly took when the U.S. government forced them to relocate from Arizona to New Mexico. Since the land could not support growing crops, like vegetables and beans used in traditional food, people were at risk of starvation. To prevent this, the U.S. government gave them rations of canned goods, white flour, sugar and lard, which are ingredients used to make fried bread.
“We were given these limited ingredients, and it was a form of subsistence for our people to be able to survive with such limited food sources,” DeSheuquette said. “That was the way that our people survived the Long Walk and The Trail of Tears — we had to find a way to use our resources to be able to keep our bellies full and to survive all these harsh conditions.”
For DeSheuquette, hosting a powwow at a Catholic institution is a form of resistance.
Historically, the Catholic Church has played a role in the colonization of the Americas. One way they have done this is through Indian boarding schools, operating more schools in the U.S. than other religious groups. From 1819 to 1977, Indian boarding schools forced Indigenous children to assimilate into white American society and convert to Christianity. Many children resisted by refusing to cut their hair and continuing to speak their native languages.
However, they were also subject to extreme physical punishments and abuse.
“It's an act of resistance to the frameworks of the Catholic Church on Native communities,” DeSheuquette said. “There's a lot of trauma surrounding the Catholic Church in Native communities. By having this event, it's allowing for an alliance and a collaboration between the school and the Native community to promote not only culture, but also just appreciation.”
The Portland metro area, and UP’s campus, currently rests on land of the Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Chinook, Tualatin Kalapuya, Molalla and many other tribes.
NAA Treasurer Aubrey Lee sees the Powwow as an opportunity for Indigenous community members to uplift their presence at an institution where less than 1% of the student body identifies as Native American or Alaskan Native.
“I think it exposes us more because coming [to UP], people I meet assume I'm a different race,” Lee said. “When I tell them that I'm Native American, they're like, ‘Oh, you're the first Native person I met,’ or, ‘Oh, I didn't know you guys were still here.’ It's really important to be seen and let everyone know that we still exist.”
Tiffany Marquez Escobar is the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Editor for The Beacon. She can be reached at marqueze25@up.edu.
