The rhythmic sounds of drumming, singing and jingling reverberated within Welsh-Ryan Arena as the third annual Pow Wow, organized by the Native American and Indigenous Student Alliance, took place Saturday.
A record-breaking turnout of more than 1,000 students and community members gathered to celebrate the cultures of tribes and nations from the Midwest and beyond. Featuring a selection of traditional songs, dances and other performances, the Pow Wow centered on the theme of Honoring the Water.
“Deciding to center water today was an easy decision when thinking about the wiigwaasi-jiimaan birchbark canoe in the Segal Visitors Center and our close proximity to Lake Michigan,” said SESP senior and Pow Wow Planning Committee co-Chair Alivia Britton, who is Odawa and Potawatomi. “We are constantly in relation with water, yet rarely take the time to reflect on our relation.”
The Pow Wow began with a grand entry, welcoming a procession of army veterans, dancers and other community members onto the court. University Chaplain Kristen Glass Perez, who is enrolled in the Leech Lake Band of the Minnesota Ojibwe, delivered her blessings and referred to water’s sacredness in Indigenous cultures.
“Water is the lifeblood of us all,” she said. “The land and water can tell stories that we cannot conceive of … we watch the water and let it give whatever it needs to give and we receive it with open arms.”
Northwestern’s Evanston campus sits on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi and Odawa, and the Menominee, Miami and Ho-Chunk nations.
The event featured a round of traditional exhibition dances coupled with drumming and singing. Performers beckoned to the crowd to join in. Several dozen attendees shuffled their feet in rhythm to the drum patterns.
NAISA organizers also said they curated this year’s celebration to also bring dialogue surrounding the ongoing pro-Palestine encampment on Deering Meadow. Performers dedicated a traditional jingle dance to show solidarity with the Palestinian community.
“We think it is essential to acknowledge everything else going around in our world. Colonization is still happening,” said Communication junior and Pow Wow Planning Committee co-Chair Mel McDaniel. “We stand for everyone out there today to encourage community members to think deeply about and engage in the peaceful protest.”
About 30 Chicago area vendors set up stalls lined around the venue’s perimeter selling traditional foods, clothing, art and jewelry. Participating organizations included the California Indian Manpower Consortium, American Indian Center, American Indian Health Service of Chicago and Native American Support Program of the University of Illinois Chicago.
Pow Wow Planning Committee member and Weinberg junior Athena GoingSnake, who is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and Muscogee Creek, said she grew up attending Pow Wows. This year’s celebration however marks the first Pow Wow GoingSnake helped organize at NU with her parents attending, they said.
“This Pow Wow means a lot to me, community-wise, my parents are here for the first time. I have a lot of familial ties and other relationship ties here. It’s very healing for me,” GoingSnake said. “It’s a really beautiful part to see other parts of our culture being celebrated too.”
Weinberg sophomore and Pow Wow Planning Committee member Olivia Bailey, who is affiliated with the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, remarked that this year’s turnout drew many people from all backgrounds, not just of Native and Indigenous.
Bailey said she hopes that Native American presence and visibility will improve at NU with the continued celebration of Pow Wows on campus.
“Spreading the world that the Pow Wow is open to everyone, it doesn’t matter if you are Native, we invite everyone, was an important part of it,” she said. “This one was a special one just seeing how many people showed up, all the familiar faces, it was amazing.”
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