​NDSU CELEBRATES HERITAGE OF THE FIRST AMERICANS

Anyone who has lived in the Dakotas for an extended period of time is aware of the long history we have with the original inhabitants of this land. It has been a tumultuous time for the Ojibwe, Sioux, and other tribes in this part of the country. Only a few hours’ drive can take someone from Fargo to the site of Wounded Knee, where Sitting Bull lost his life. But despite all these hardships, the Native Americans have been able to keep their cultures alive. And one way this has been done and continues to be done is through the pow wow.

Every year for the last 27 years, the Native Student Association has been holding pow wows, cycling each year between North Dakota State University, Minnesota State University Moorhead, Minnesota Tech, and Concordia, with this year’s taking place in the Student Union Ballroom at NDSU. For anyone who hasn’t had the privilege of attending a pow wow, it is a cultural event where several Native American tribes come together to not only celebrate their own heritages, but to entertain and educate others concerning them. There’s song, dance, and more.

I had the privilege of interviewing Michael Gabbard, one of the Buffalo River Singers, a group of drummers and singers that will be performing at the pow wow this year. It’s a longstanding tradition for Michael to attend these events. His wife and he have been performing at them for the ten years they have been married and beforehand, and they have passed it on to their children.

Given the part of the country we live in, the majority of the performers at the pow wow will be Ojibwe and Dakota, but there will be performers from all around the country. Michael, for example, is from the Delaware tribe and originally lived in Oklahoma. There will also be representatives of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and more. In all, there are going to be over a hundred dancers and at least thirty or forty singers.

The songs can cover a number of subjects, like nature, history, and the changes of the seasons, but not all of them do. “The songs don’t always necessarily have words” said Michael. A number of the songs forgo words in order to utilize the voice as an instrument. “Some of these songs are vocalizations done in set patterns that have been passed down for generations.” Not all of the songs at the pow wow are traditional, however. New songs are written all the time in the original languages of the tribes, to be performed at these events.

“It shows that even though we have kept our culture alive all these years, we still continue to evolve,” said Michael. The new songs may deal not only with perennial concerns, but with some of the hardships currently faced by Native Americans.

That is not the only way in which these events have evolved. “We use new materials in our clothes sometimes,” said Michael. “For example, we might use mirrors in a traditional costume now, when hundreds of years ago shiny shells were used instead. We use the materials that are available to us.” But even though this may be the case, not for one moment does it mean that the long-­lived spirit behind the dances and songs is betrayed.

This pow wow is split up into two sessions of about 3 to 3 1⁄2 hours. It starts at 1 p.m., then during the break people can eat on campus, go out to eat, or partake in some traditional Native American foods; and then proceedings continue into the night. “The event is open to anybody who wants to come,” said Michael. Not only is this a way for the performers to embrace their roots, but an exciting new venture for non­-Natives to become educated about the first Americans.

“We’re not gone or extinct,” said Michael, “and I don’t think people appreciate that we have been able to keep our heritage alive for hundreds of years.”

IF YOU GO

27th Annual Woodlands and High Plains Traditional Pow Wow

NDSU Student Union Ballroom, NDSU Campus

April 2, 12 noon ­ 10 p.m.

Cover charge $5, $3 for 6­18, 55+