The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi is having a powwow at the Pine Creek Indian Reservation Saturday, June 20 and Sunday, June 21.
Owyn Zapata is one of the organizers. He said to expect a celebration of Potawatomi culture with vendors, food, song, and dance. Performances will feature visiting drums from tribes around the country.
“When you bring in a drum, it has — say you have six, seven, eight singers that come along with that drum," Zapata said. "That means that there's six, seven, eight families that come along with that drum. And with that drum comes along dancers, members of their communities.”
Zapata brought me to the powwow grounds, where the lawn was being mowed to clear a stage for singers, dancers, and drummers.
“They got to make sure all the grass is leveled for the dancers," he said. "There's like no holes. They're going to mark them out.”
The powwow theme this year is “Honoring Our Elders.” Zapata said it’ll be reflected in all of the weekend’s events, especially considering that powwows were once outlawed in the U.S. The right to hold them was not protected until 1978.
“I'm very appreciative when they talk about honoring our elders," Zapata said. "These are things that we get to do now. We get to honor our elders by doing dance, by singing, by speaking our language.”
In preparation for the powwow, members of NHBP cut firewood to fuel the Sacred Flame. The fire will be lit for four days straight, with community-designated firekeepers tending to it day and night. Attendees of the event can make offerings to the flame in the form of tobacco, cedar, sweetgrass, and sage.
“Those are the four medicines we use to offer up our prayers," said Zapata. "Whether it be different type of prayers, whether it be different type of ceremonies, we use all four of those medicines, but tobacco is the main one. That's the one you can offer up in any community that that will work.”
On both Saturday and Sunday, the event will feature drum and dance ceremonies, artisans selling handmade goods, and food vendors. The Grand Entry – the ceremony that begins each powwow session – will take place at 1pm and 7pm on Saturday and at noon on Sunday. It’s open to the public.
