PowWow aims to preserve culture

PROVO — Students and community members will dance — and compete — this weekend at the 29th annual Cedar Tree PowWow. The two-day event will feature Native American food, music and dancing.

Representatives from nearly 200 tribes will attend, making it the largest gathering of its kind in Utah. "Even though we have different backgrounds, traditions and cultures, we can all come together and be one at PowWow," said Shelby Willie, a BYU student from Arizona.

The PowWow is the final event of Heritage Week at BYU. Unlike the other dance showcases, however, the PowWow is a dance competition. Starting Friday contenders will be eliminated until the winners are announced Saturday night.

The dance competition is broken into categories of men, women, teens and seniors. Each group performs a variety of dances, including grass, jingle, fancy and traditional.

The majority of the dancers will be local, but contenders will come from different states to compete in the PowWow. All participants wear a number and must be ready to perform at any time. Drummers are called to play at random and dancers must follow the beat and show off their style. "Your dance expresses who you are," Wille said.

Competitors are judged on style, beat and creativity. "Every dancer has his own style and it varies from tribe to tribe," said Shantel Talk, president of the Tribe of Many Feathers. "That makes the PowWow really unique."

Judges also watch for outfits, or regalia. "Every person's regalia means something to them," said Talk. While the basic regalia is the same, the colors and symbols differ according to tribe.

Each dance has a meaning. The grass dance originated as "The Hoop Dance tells the story of the creation," hoop dance instructor Jerad Todacheenie said. "In the end what we create (with the hoops) are called worlds." The dance was traditionally used for special healings and blessing ceremonies, but is now used mainly for entertainment.

"We enjoy coming together to eat and listen to the beat of the drum," Willie said. Booths will sell traditional food, arts and crafts. "If you're going to PowWow, you have to have the fry bread and Navajo tacos," she said.

More than just a competition, the PowWow is a way for the tribes to unite and celebrate their culture. "All the natives are forgetting their culture," Todacheenie said. "This is one of the things we do to keep it alive."

The PowWow will run Friday and Saturday, March 26-27 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Once guests have purchased their tickets they are free to come and go as they please throughout the day. Tickets are $5 for students, seniors and children and $6 for the general public. For more information call 801-422-4313 or visit www.multicultural.byu.edu.

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