Veterans Powwow begins Friday, July 11

If you go

Marcellus Norwest Memorial Veterans Powwow

When: Grand entries at 7 p.m. Friday, July 11; 1 and 7 p.m. Saturday, July 12; and noon Sunday, July 13. Royalty pageant at 11 a.m. Friday with coronation at 5 p.m.

Where: uyxat Powwow Grounds, 9600 Hebo Road

Cost: Free

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By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

The Marcellus Norwest Memorial Veterans Powwow will return to Grand Ronde’s uyxat Powwow Grounds Friday, July 11, and include a Veteran’s Summit, Veterans Royalty coronation, food and lots of dancing.

The powwow will begin at uyxat Powwow Grounds off Hebo Road with a Veterans Royalty pageant at 11 a.m. Friday, July 11, and conclude with a grand entry at noon Sunday, July 13.

Veterans Special Event Board Chair Molly Leno is organizing the event, as she has done for the past few years.

“I feel like the Veterans Powwow is more family-oriented and it’s very near and dear to my heart,” Leno said. “Everyone is there to have fun and a lot of people are first-time dancers. Organizing this is a huge honor and we have a great board that works well together.”

This year will not have a host drum. Drums are day pay only and first come, first serve with $200 per session. Drums must have five singers minimum and sign up by 5 p.m. Friday.

Powwow vendor check-in is at noon Thursday, July 10, at the powwow grounds.

The master of ceremonies for this year’s powwow is Nick Sixkiller (Cherokee) with Carlos Calica (Wasco, Paiute and Yakama) as arena director.

There will be various dance specials including a transitional special in honor of Kalea Liebelt moving into the teen category, contemporary vs. old style jingle teen girls, an outgoing queens special sponsored by the Quenelle family and a Cook family special.

The Veterans Summit will be held Friday, July 11, at the powwow grounds. Registration begins at 9 a.m. and the opening ceremony is at 10 a.m.

The event will include presentations by the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs, a debut of the human library video project, community resources for veterans and various veterans affairs departments.

Navy Veteran Ramona Quenelle (Pit River), who serves as the Tribe’s Veterans Service Officer, is organizing the event, which is co-sponsored by the Office of Tribal Government Relations and the Native Wellness Institute.

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Watch: 2024 Veterans Powwow