Contest powwow set for Aug. 15-17

 

By Nicole Montesano

Smoke Signals staff writer

The 2025 Grand Ronde Contest Powwow will begin Friday, Aug. 15 and run through Sunday, Aug. 17, at uyxat Powwow Grounds.

Camping is available for $5 with parking. Attendance is free.

Midnite Express will be the host drum. Invited drums are Southern Cree, Hay Creek Singers, Fort Peck Sioux, Iron Swing and Wankinyan Luta.

Howie Thompson (Assiniboine) and Marty Thurman (Sac and Fox Nation/Comache Nation/Absentee-Shawnee Tribe and Delaware Nation) will share emcee duties. The arena director will be Anthony Quenelle (Grand Ronde).

Opie Day (Anishinaabe), will be head drum judge; head dance judge will be Tavian Lasley (Meskwaki/Ojibway)

Prizes range from $1,000 for first place to $300 for fourth place in various dance categories. There will also be a best-dressed drum competition Saturday evening, with prizes ranging from $200 to $500.

Prize totals will be $40,000 for drum contests, $60,600 for dance contests and $6,000 for committee-sponsored specials, according to Powwow Special Event Board Chair Dana Ainam.

Specials include ermine bonnet teen & boys traditional; men’s grass dance for 18 and older and women’s old-style jingle for 18 and older.

Powwow will begin with a royalty pageant at 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 15, at the Tribal Governance Center Atrium, followed by ceremonies for the outgoing royalty and crowning incoming royalty at 5 p.m. at the powwow grounds. Grand entry will start at 7 p.m.

On Saturday, Aug. 16, grand entry will take place at 1 p.m. and again at 7 p.m.

On Sunday, Aug. 17, there will be an Indian auction at 11 a.m., and grand entry at 1 p.m.

The powwow is a clean and sober event. Attendees are asked not to bring alcohol, drugs or weapons, and not to display gang affiliation. Smoking and vaping is not allowed around or in the arena or arbor. Dogs are not allowed in the event area, including the arena, around the arbor and in the vendor areas.

The event is often crowded, so people are advised to arrive early enough to allow time for parking and finding seating.

For more information, visit www.grandronde.org. For vendor information, call 503-879-4533 or 503-879-2037.