NDSU is set to host the 33rd annual Woodlands and High Plains Powwow on May 4 at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex. The theme is “May the Four Directions Guide Me.”
“People can expect to experience from this powwow a presentation of culture rooted deep in Indigenous history,” said Vanessa Rabitaille-Kinney, Tribal Initiatives Coordinator at NDSU. “The dance styles, songs, and traditions that will happen at the powwow have been passed down from early Indigenous communities that root Indigenous peoples to their culture. People also can experience traditional items that different Indigenous vendors put up for sale to showcase techniques and art styles from different Indigenous tribes. The powwow provides an opportunity for individuals to connect to the Indigenous community. More now than ever, Indigenous tribes and communities are looking for ways to bring back cultural aspects that have been fading or lost over the years and hosting powwows and other cultural events is a way of doing so. The more people that attend and join these festivities, the more the culture is shared into the world.”
Grand entries are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Feast time is set for 5 p.m.
Powwow participants include:
• Emcee – Mickey Hodges
• Arena director – Chris Peltier
• Host drum – Maanomin Singers
• Head female dancer – Delores Gabbard
• Head male dancer – Spirit Mason-Bluestone
• Honor guard – White Earth veterans
• Spiritual adviser – Allen Hardy
Admission is $3 for Veterans, youth ages 5-18 and elders 55 and up and $5 for adults 18-55. The event is free for students from NDSU, MSUM, M State and Concordia College with student ID. Children 5 and under are admitted free.
Volunteers can sign up for a slot online.
