In this episode, Offbeat takes a look at one event the University of Maryland planned for Native and Indigenous Heritage Month. Take a listen to learn about Powwow etiquette, traditions and dance styles.
You can find us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. A full transcript for this episode is below.
Listen to what attendees danced to on Spotify.
AARON WRIGHT: ON A COOL NIGHT IN STAMP STUDENT UNION… A GROUP OF 20-ODD STUDENTS… FACULTY… PARENTS AND CHILDREN GATHERED AROUND A CIRCLE TO TAKE POWWOW INSTRUCTION FROM KOTA HARLEY… A UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND ALUM AND MEMBER OF THE PISCATAWAY TRIBE.
TWO BASIC STEP. YOU GO LIKE THIS. YOU GO LIKE THIS AND MOVE FORWARD. THERE’S A STEP BACKWARDS… WHICH I’M NOT GONNA GET TO BECAUSE I’M GONNA BE FALLING ALL OVER THE PLACE. BUT THAT’S JUST THAT BASIC STEP. ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ROUND DANCE OR WHAT TO DO?
[POWWOW DANCE MUSIC]
AARON WRIGHT: ON NOVEMBER 18… THE OFFICE FOR MULTICULTURAL INVOLVEMENT COMMUNITY ADVOCACY AND THE UNIVERSITY’S NATIVE AND INDIGENOUS STUDENT UNION TOOK A TRIP WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO THE ANNUAL BALTIMORE AMERICAN INDIAN CENTER POWWOW. BUT FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER BEEN TO A POWWOW… YOU’RE LISTENING TO THE RIGHT PODCAST.
[POWWOW DANCE MUSIC]
AARON WRIGHT: HELLO … AND WELCOME TO OFFBEAT BY THE DIAMONDBACK. I’M YOUR HOST … AARON WRIGHT. TODAY WE’LL BE EXPLORING HOW ONE EVENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND TAUGHT STUDENTS HOW TO POWWOW. STICK AROUND TO LEARN MORE ABOUT POWWOW ETIQUETTE … HISTORY AND DANCE STYLES.
[POWWOW DANCE MUSIC]
NOVEMBER IS NATIONAL NATIVE AND INDIGENOUS HERITAGE MONTH. THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND HOSTED MULTIPLE FESTIVITIES TO COMMEMORATE INDIGENOUS CULTURE THROUGHOUT THE MONTH … SUCH AS BASKET-AND-CRAFTS WEAVING… THE OPENING OF THE INDIGENOUS FUTURES LAB … AND A HOW TO POWWOW EVENT AT STAMP STUDENT UNION.
ACCORDING TO INDIANA UNIVERSITY’S FIRST NATIONS EDUCATION AND CULTURAL CENTER … A POWWOW IS A CELEBRATION OF NATIVE DANCE … SONG … CULTURE AND TRADITION. POWWOWS ALSO PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR MANY INDIGENOUS PEOPLE TO SHARE EXPERIENCES AND CONNECT WITH FRIENDS.
JEREMY HARLEY … A UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND ALUM AND FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY’S NATIVE AND INDIGENOUS STUDENT UNION … WAS ONE OF THREE INSTRUCTORS WHO TAUGHT ATTENDANTS ABOUT POWWOW TRADITIONS ON NOVEMBER 8. HE RETURNED TO THIS UNIVERSITY FOR THE EVENT TO PROVIDE CAMPUS COMMUNITY MEMBERS SOMETHING HE LACKED DURING HIS TIME HERE: REPRESENTATION.
JEREMY HARLEY : “SO … THE MAIN THING IS … AS BEING PART OF THE NATIVE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY HERE ON CAMPUS FOR THE FOUR YEARS I WAS HERE … THERE ALWAYS KIND OF WAS THIS KIND OF STRUGGLE TO GET THAT RECOGNITION AND THAT IDENTITY HERE. SORT OF TOWARDS MY BACK HALF OF MY TIME HERE AFTER COVID… THAT’S WHEN IT STARTED TO SLOWLY START BUILDING UP AND… YOU KNOW… WHEN I GRADUATED I DIDN’T WANT THAT JUST TO BE THE END OF THE STORY. SO I TRY TO KEEP INVOLVED … TRY TO DO WHATEVER I CAN TO MAKE SURE THAT I CONTINUE TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE NATIVE COMMUNITY HERE… AND IT BRINGS ME BACK HERE IN THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER FOR NATIVE HERITAGE MONTH TO GIVE THIS CLASS… SO … YEAH REALLY EXCITING”
AARON WRIGHT: WITH THAT GOAL IN MIND … JEREMY … HIS BROTHER KOTA HARLEY AND THEIR FRIEND AYDEN ALLSTON … ALL OF WHOM ARE NATIVE AND INDIGENOUS STUDENT UNION ALUM… HELPED PUT TOGETHER THE “HOW TO POWWOW” EVENT AT THE BEHEST OF THIS UNIVERSITY’S MULTICULTURAL INVOLVEMENT AND STUDENT ADVOCACY OFFICE. KYRSHA BALDERAS … MICA’S COORDINATOR FOR NATIVE AND INDIGENOUS STUDENT INVOLVEMENT AND COMMUNITY ADVOCACY … BELIEVES POWWOWS CAN SERVE AS A BETTER WAY TO TEACH ABOUT NATIVE AND INDIGENOUS CULTURE THAN TEXTBOOKS.
KYRSHA BALDERAS: “NOT ONLY ARE PEOPLE DANCING AT A POWWOW … THERE’S USUALLY FOOD VENDORS SO YOU GET A TASTE OF WHAT NATIVE AMERICAN FOOD TASTE LIKE MOST OF THE TIME. THERE’S ALSO ART VENDORS… SO YOU HAVE PEOPLE SELLING CRAFTS … JEWELRY … THINGS LIKE THAT — THAT WAY YOU CAN APPRECIATE THE CULTURE AS WELL AS GIVE BACK TO A SMALL ORGANIZATION IF YOU WANTED TO. AND SO TYPICALLY … THAT’S WHY WE CHOOSE TO USE A POWWOW TO EXECUTE MOST OF THE BIGGER CULTURAL PIECES BECAUSE YOU CAN DO EVERYTHING AT ONE TIME. IT’S KIND OF LIKE A CATCH-ALL.”
AARON WRIGHT: THE POWWOW TEACH-IN ALSO AIMED TO EDUCATE COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO PLAN TO ATTEND THE BALTIMORE AMERICAN INDIAN CENTER POWWOW ON NOVEMBER 18TH… AS WELL AS ANY OTHER POWWOWS THAT THEY WISH TO ATTEND IN THE FUTURE
DURING THE EVENT … JEREMY HARLEY LED THE 20-SOME ATTENDEES THROUGH AN INTRODUCTORY PRESENTATION ON POWWOW ETIQUETTE AND CULTURE.
JEREMY HARLEY SAID SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND DURING A POWWOW INCLUDE BEING RESPECTFUL WITH PHOTOGRAPHY SINCE IT CAN BE SEEN AS DISRESPECTFUL TO TRADITION AND CULTURE IF YOU SNAP WITHOUT PERMISSION.
JEREMY HARLEY: AND ALSO BE AWARE THAT PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS FOR THE PUBLICATION MAY HAVE ALREADY SOUGHT PERMISSION SO IT’S COURTEOUS TO ASK BEFOREHAND … JUST ALWAYS ASK PERMISSION.
AARON WRIGHT: POWWOWS FORM IN A CIRCLE TO SYMBOLIZE HOW NATURE AND LIFE ARE CYCLICAL… SO IT’S IN REVERENCE TO THAT FACT. IN ADDITION… THE CIRCLE IS CONSIDERED SACRED ONCE BLESSED WITH SAGE AND PRAYER… SO TREAT IT AS SUCH!
IT’S ALSO CRUCIAL FOR THOSE LEARNING ABOUT POWWOWS FOR THE FIRST TIME TO AVOID CALLING REGALIA THAT NATIVE AND INDIGENOUS PERFORMERS WEAR A QUOTE EN QUOTE “COSTUME.”
TEACH-IN: “THE TERM REGALIA USUALLY REFLECTS THE GENUINE EXPRESSION OF CULTURE AND TRADITIONS… AS OPPOSED TO THE CONNOTATION OF MASQUERADE OR DRESS UP ASSOCIATED WITH THE WORD COSTUME. SO MAKE SURE YOU REFER TO A DANCER’S REGALIA AS REGALIA.”
AARON WRIGHT: AFTER THE PRESENTATION … KOTA HARLEY LED THE GROUP TO THE MAIN EVENT: PRACTICING POWWOW MOVEMENTS.
KOTA HARLEY STOOD IN THE MIDDLE OF A RING OF ATTENDEES IN STAMP’S ATRIUM AS THEY WATCHED HIM AND TRIED TO EMULATE THE DANCES HE TAUGHT.
KOTA HARLEY: WE’RE GOING TO DEMONSTRATE A QUICK… A QUICK DANCE RIGHT TO RIGHT… LEFT TO LEFT. AND YOU’RE GOING LIKE THIS. YOU’RE MOVING FORWARD LIKE YOU’RE ROLLING AND MOVING AROUND … AND YOU MAY DO SOME SPINS … AND THERE MAY BE SOME OTHER STEPS THAT WE INCORPORATE INTO THE DANCE.
AARON WRIGHT: WHEN GOING THROUGH POWWOW MOVEMENTS … IT’S IMPORTANT TO STEP IN TIME TO THE MUSIC … KOTA HARLEY SAID. THE DRUM CONTROLS AND DICTATES THE RHYTHM OF THE MOVEMENT.
[POWWOW DANCE MUSIC]
HERE’S KOTA HARLEY:
KOTA HARLEY: ALL THE DANCES WE LEARNED TONIGHT ARE DANCES THAT YOU CAN GO OUT AND DANCE YOURSELF. THEY’RE NOT CATEGORY DANCES … THEY’RE NOT CERTAIN TYPE OF DANCES THAT ARE SPECIAL TO DANCERS ONLY. ALL OF THE DANCES WE LEARNED TONIGHT — THE TWO STEP … THE ROUND DANCE AND YOUR TRAVELS ARE ALL WELCOME TO ALL OF THE PUBLIC. SO YOU’RE ABLE TO DANCE WITH THE PEOPLE IN REGALIA AT ANY GIVEN TIME AS LONG AS YOU’VE GOT PERMISSION FROM THE EMCEE. SINCE WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF EXTRA TIME … WE CAN DO A COUPLE OF ROUND ENDS OR INTERTRIBAL SONGS. SO NOTHING TOO SPECIFIC AND WE CAN DO THIS QUICK AND EASY. SO IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE… PLEASE FEEL FREE TO PARTICIPATE. IF YOU’RE DONE AND YOU’RE TIRED AND YOU’RE READY TO GO HOME… [AUDIO LOWERS TO TRANSITION]
[POWWOW DANCE MUSIC]
PAULINA MARTINEZ … A SENIOR ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SPECIAL EDUCATION MAJOR AND PRESIDENT OF THIS UNIVERSITY’S NATIVE AND INDIGENOUS STUDENT UNION … ENJOYED CATCHING UP WITH FRIENDS DURING THE EVENT AND LEARNED A LOT ABOUT POWWOW PROCEEDINGS.
AARON WRIGHT: MARTINEZ SAID IT’S IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO USE APPROPRIATE … CULTURALLY RESPECTFUL LANGUAGE WHEN TALKING ABOUT POWWOWS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE IN DIFFERENT INDIGENOUS CULTURES.
PAULINA MARTINEZ: I TOOK AWAY THAT THERE’S SO MUCH MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE AND SACREDNESS BEHIND A POWWOW THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE DON’T SEEM TO UNDERSTAND AT LEAST … LIKE I FEEL LIKE THE GENERAL PUBLIC BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE SAY LIKE… OH … AS A… EVERYDAY TERM… THEY’LL SAY LIKE… “OH… LET’S GO DO A POWWOW” BUT THEY DON’T ACTUALLY LIKE MEAN LIKE A… LIKE AN INDIGENOUS POWWOW BUT PEOPLE HAVE USED IT IN LIKE… EVERYDAY TERMS TO JUST DESCRIBE LIKE… YOU KNOW… ANYTHING.
ONE CROWD FAVORITE DANCE WAS THE COUPLE’S DANCE. THE MOVEMENTS INVOLVED TWO PEOPLE HOLDING HANDS AS THEY DANCED IN STEP. MARTINEZ PARTICIPATED IN THE COUPLE’S DANCE WITH CO-EVENT ORGANIZER AYDEN ALLSTON … SHE SAID.
PAULINA MARTINEZ: I LIKE HOW LIKE YOUR HANDS ARE CROSSING OVER EACH OTHER. AND LIKE HOW YOU’RE BOTH FOLLOWING THE SAME LIKE STEP FORWARD WITH EITHER LIKE YOUR RIGHT OR YOUR LEFT LEG… LIKE IN THE FRONT AND YOUR LEFT OR YOUR RIGHT… LIKE FACING BACK. SO I REALLY LIKED THAT. AND AYDEN WAS ALSO EXPLAINING TO ME HOW SOME PEOPLE DURING THE COUPLE’S DANCE THEY LIKE TWIRL AND LIKE CONTINUE THEIR STEP. SO I THINK THAT’S REALLY COOL.
ALYSSA GILMORE … A SOPHOMORE AT THIS UNIVERSITY ENROLLED IN LETTERS AND SCIENCES WHO ATTENDED THE EVENT … SAID HER FAVORITE DANCE TO LEARN WAS …
ALYSSA GILMORE: PROBABLY THE COUPLE’S DANCE. I JUST THINK IT’S FUN. I LIKE HOW LIKE IT CAN BE ANYONE … LIKE BROTHER AND SISTER OR LIKE FRIEND OR AN ACTUAL COUPLE. AND ALSO JUST KIND OF … I DON’T KNOW … THE MOTION WAS COOL. I LIKE ALL THE DANCES BUT THAT WAS MY FAVORITE.
AARON WRIGHT: JUNIOR ANTHROPOLOGY MAJOR ABBY HARDY SAID EVENTS LIKE THE HOW TO POWWOW DEMONSTRATION PROVIDE A GREAT WAY FOR THIS UNIVERSITY TO ACKNOWLEDGE ITS NATIVE AND INDIGENOUS STUDENTS.
ABBY HARDY: I THINK IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE UNIVERSITY TO KIND OF LIKE YOU KNOW … TALK ABOUT THIS AS AN EVENT. I FEEL LIKE IN A WAY … SOMETIMES THE UNIVERSITY DOESN’T ALWAYS RECOGNIZE LIKE … NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDENTS. SO I FEEL LIKE THAT THIS IS GENUINELY A REALLY NICE WAY TO KIND OF BRING AT LEAST SOME PART OF THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER TO KIND OF GET TO KNOW LIKE OTHER PEOPLE.
AARON WRIGHT: GILMORE … WHO IS ALSO A COMMUNITY ORGANIZING STUDENT INTERN … OR COSI … FOR THE NATIVE AND INDIGENOUS SECTOR OF MICA … THOUGHT EVENTS LIKE THE POWWOW TEACH IN CAN HELP BRING NON-NATIVE STUDENTS INTO NATIVE AND INDIGENOUS CULTURE.
ALYSSA GILMORE: I THINK IT WENT VERY WELL … I THINK THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT EVENT TO HAVE … ESPECIALLY SINCE WE ARE HAVING A POWWOW IN THE SPRING. JUST BECAUSE I DON’T WANT PEOPLE TO BE SCARED TO COME BECAUSE THEY DON’T KNOW LIKE … HOW TO BE A PART OF IT AS A NON-NATIVE PERSON. SO JUST TEACHING KIND OF THE INS AND OUTS AND ALSO THE DANCES SO PEOPLE CAN STILL BE A PART OF IT I THINK WAS REALLY COOL.
AARON WRIGHT: THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO ANOTHER EPISODE OF OFFBEAT: A PODCAST FROM THE DIAMONDBACK. I’M YOUR HOST … AARON WRIGHT. REPORTING WAS DONE BY OFFBEAT ASSISTANT EDITOR FATIMA YAZDI AND ME … WITH MUSIC TAKEN FROM THE EVENT. FOLLOW OFFBEAT ON TWITTER AT @DBKOFFBEAT AND FOLLOW THE DIAMONDBACK ON TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM @THEDBK. YOU CAN FIND A TRANSCRIPT OF THIS EPISODE AT DBKNEWS.COM. IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE SONGS POWWOW ATTENDANTS DANCED TO … THE PLAYLIST IS LINKED BELOW. IF YOU LIKED THIS EPISODE … TELL YOUR FRIENDS. AND TAKE CARE … AS ALWAYS.
