Perry Thompson, a member of the Navajo Nation currently living in Salem, said he likes to come to powwows to see old friends and make new ones, while enjoying the drumming and singing of the cultural event.
But Thompson, decked out in his bright-yellow regalia, said he traveled to the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds on Saturday primarily for one reason.
“I want to dance,” he said.
Thompson and other tribal members from across the U.S. (as well as members of Canada’s First Nations), gathered at the event center for the 19th annual Cowlitz Indian Tribe Pow Wow.
Nathan Hooton, chair of the committee overseeing the annual event, said that the tribe’s powwow was previously held in Toledo, a small town in Lewis County. But he said the tribe needed more space for the vendors, dancers and attendees, as well as the salmon dinner. He said that with an expected 1,000 to 2,000 people this year, they decided to have the event for the first time at the event center in Clark County.
“This is a community event to welcome all the other tribal members and share dance, songs and traditions,” said Abriel Johnny-Rodriguez, the Cowlitz tribe’s spokeswoman. Although she didn’t have a number of how many different tribes and First Nations attended, she said they came from as far away as Minnesota and parts of Canada.
As Johnny-Rodriguez spoke, attendees checked out the clothing and other wares being sold by vendors, visited booths set up by the Cowlitz tribe or chatted with each other.
“Welcome to Indian country,” the announcer’s voice boomed through the room, signaling the beginning of the event’s Grand Entry.
A group of elders and veterans holding flags led a procession of intertribal dancers into the arena. After the flags were presented, the sound of drums and singing filled the room. Bells on the dancers’ regalia jingled as they danced along to the pounding of the drums.
Carolyn Christmas, a member of the Mi’kmaq First Nation in Nova Scotia, said she came down from her home in Federal Way for the powwow. In addition to her purple regalia, she wore a wool bag, a connection to her people, and a cedar rose, to represent the Salish people she’s been living with.
“For me, it’s really a way of healing,” said Christmas. “Whenever I hear the singing and dancing, I feel full of spirit.”
