On May 3, the fifth annual DU Pow Wow was hosted on Driscoll Green. A Pow Wow is a Native American tradition where people get together to join in dancing, singing, visiting and forming friendships. Pow Wows use dance and music to honor the resilient cultural history of Native American peoples and traditions, according to the event’s flyer.
The Pow Wow was organized by the Native Student Alliance (NSA) and attended by DU students, community members and members of many different Native American Nations from Colorado and other surrounding states.
Viki Eagle, Inclusive Excellence Fellow for the Center for Multicultural Excellence and the Native American Initiatives and president of NSA, has helped organize the DU Pow Wow since the event began in 2011. Eagle, who is originally from Denver, is a graduate student at DU in the second year of her program at the Morgridge College of Education.
“We strive for a Pow Wow that will continue a legacy of humility, love, compassion, happiness and healing by coming together for reasons larger than ourselves,” said Eagle.
Danella Hall has thoroughly appreciated her involvement in NSA.
“It [being in the NSA] helps a lot,” said Hall, a first year gender and women’s studies major from Santa Fe, New Mexico.“Just connecting with people from the same race who understand you. It helps a lot.”
The Pow Wow started with a performance of traditional gourd dancing and gourd dancing singers. Gourd dancing involves dancing and shaking a gourd rattle while drummers drum and sing in the background. Many different groups of singers also attended the event. Each group sat around a large drum and played it while singing.
After the gourd dancing, a long procession of dancers formed a circle on Driscoll Green and danced to the rhythm and song provided by a group of singers.
The procession of dancers included groups from a variety of different Native American Nations. The dancers wore elaborate and colorful Native American outfits that frequently incorporated bells that rang as the dancers made their way around Driscoll Green.
After the initial dance and song had ended, there was another dance in which DU students and community members were invited to participate.
The Pow Wow included many different vendors selling Native American souvenirs and clothing items. Gathering Grounds and OG Burgers, two Denver food trucks, also supplied food and drinks for the event.
Eagle summarized the Pow Wow as an event for DU community, for the Native American community and for the community at large to come together in a meaningful way.
“The DU community and the native community have always been a part of each other and the Pow Wow is for DU students,” said Eagle. “It’s for us, it’s about coming together, it’s about feeling, it’s about moving forward and it’s about education.”
Looking towards the future, Chancellor Chopp announced at the event that the university is forming a task force on Native American inclusivity to help the university better support Native American students, alumni and faculty.