The Importance of Powwows on Native America

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Sydney Matheson Professor Shannon English 101 16 October 2014 The Importance of Powwows in Modern Native America The best time of the year is when the sun is beating hot down on you, you see all the teepees up in the air, and you can smell delicious fry bread everywhere. Sure, it’s summer, but what’s more important is that it’s powwow season. Friends that I can only see in the summer come out, food that I can only get at powwows gets devoured, flows that I can get only when the drums are being hit hard and when the singers sing at the top of their lungs. What is powwow season? What is a powwow? Well, a powwow is a Native American gathering where many different tribes display their style of dance, song, and regalia. The season, typically in the summer, is when there are back to back powwows every weekend. What is a Native American? Powwows will answer this and take us out of the dark. More than a couple times have I been in a public space where my ethnicity has been questioned. “Are you Latino? Are you Eskimo? Are you Asian? What are you?” When I tell them I am Native American, more interrogation takes place. “Indians still exist? Do you live in teepees? Do you smoke out of a peace pipe?” (Yes I’ve been asked this.) The stereotypical comments and remarks do have an effect on people, but I know who I am, I can look past the racism and ignorance. I have met many people from different countries that traveled afar just to attend a powwow, like the Omak Stampede. Some didn’t even know that Native Americans still existed until they attended a powwow. The ones that did know of us, had strong opinions on “Indians.” A few months ago I had gone to Oregon for a powwow. I had stopped at a gas station for snacks, drinks, and of course gas. The clerk had bluntly asked me, “Are you Eskimo? No offense to you if you’re not. Your cheek bones are prominent, like an Eskimo.” I

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