Powwow offers something for everyone

 

By Nicole Montesano

Smoke Signals staff writer

Several families held dance specials at the Marcellus Norwest Veterans Memorial Powwow, held Friday to Sunday, July 10-12, at the uyxat Powwow Grounds.

Among them was the family of 1-year-old Ivory Squetimkin, which held a tiny tot special Friday evening, with Ivory’s big brother, Hawk Squetimkin, 19, and big sister Willow Squetimkin, 10, acting as judges. Ivory stood near her brother among the hopping and twirling young dancers for a bit, before toddling toward the sidelines.

“We hosted this special event to commemorate the introduction of Ivory into the powwow circle—a significant milestone that we honor by giving back to the community. For our family, the powwow is more than an event; it is a way of life. We travel across the U.S. to participate in these gatherings, upholding our traditions and celebrating our heritage as a family,” her mother, Halona Butler said.  

The powwow this year was marked by perfect weather, plenty of community and dancing, and the presence of more than 100 student athletes, along with their coaches and administrators, from the Big Ten Conference. The athletes attended powwow Saturday to learn first-hand about Indigenous culture, as part of the conference’s “Big Life Series: Pacific Northwest,” program.

Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy, Vice Chair Chris Mercier, Secretary Jon A. George and council members Lisa Leno, Kathleen George, Tonya Gleason-Shepek and Matthew Haller participated in grand entry Friday evening, as host drum Northern Blackhorse pounded out the rhythm, followed by co-host Bad Soul.

Chet Clark (Navajo), gave the invocation on Friday.

“This powwow’s been going on for many, many years, and I love to see all the people here, and especially our veterans,” Kennedy said.

She reminded attendees that the Tribe has a veterans service office, to help with any needs.

On Saturday, Mercier, Jon A. George, Kathleen George, Gleason-Shepek and Haller participated in grand entry.

Dwayne Medicine Cree (Blackfeet) gave the invocation for the noon grand entry.

The Veterans Royalty Pageant took place Friday morning, with the winners announced Friday evening.

The 26-27 Veterans Royalty Court includes Tiny Tot Warrior Legend Rimer, Tiny Tot Warrior Milo Murphy, Veterans Little Warrior William Craig, Veterans Junior Warrior Brendyn Smallwood, Veterans Little Miss Queen Elizabeth Ulestad, Veterans Little Miss Princess Aiyana Woodward, Veterans Little Miss Princess Elesia Crawley, Veterans Junior Miss Queen Ila Mercier and Veterans Senior Miss Queen Memory Leno.

The outgoing 2025-26 Veterans Court consisted of Tiny Tot Warrior William Craig, Veterans Warrior Brendyn Smallwood, Veterans Little Miss Princess Elesia Crawley, Veterans Little Miss Queen Elizabeth Ulestad and Veterans Junior Miss Queen Ila Mercier.

The annual Veterans Summit was held Friday at the uyxat Powwow Grounds, before powwow began. The focus this year was on aging and brain health. It included a veterans sweat, fly fishing demonstration, Pilates mini classes, necklace-making and other activities, as well as resource tables, presenters and lunch with live music.

Dancers and vendors enjoy the day

Grand Ronde Tribal member Bryanah Lopez, wearing a jingle dress that she had sewed herself, said she had also brought three other dresses so she could change her regalia periodically. Lopez is serving as Miss Naimuma from Portland State University, and said she plans the annual PSU Naimuma Powwow, held in May.

“I like going to other ones, like, just seeing it from the perspective of someone who has planned them,” she said. “It’s a lot of work.”

Lopez dances old-style jingle and said her favorite part of powwow was “probably just community.” But as visiting royalty, she was also advocating for higher education.

“I’m just trying to represent higher education for Native youth and let them know that there is space there and they should pursue it, and there’s many opportunities waiting for them if they’re wanting to pursue anything higher,” she said.

Vendor Lola Larson, who lives outside of Eugene, said she attends the powwow every year.

“I started coming up when this powwow was over by the Tribal offices,” she said.

Larson, who attends between 12 and 15 powwows a year, said she began beading as a child and got back into it while living in Montana.

“The usual; it was Christmastime, I was broke, wanted to figure out Christmas gifts and I started back beading again,” she said. “From there, people started seeing my stuff and saying, ‘Oh, I want a pair of those, and I collected a bunch of beads, so I started selling. I had to come home to take care of my mom and sister, so I kept it up here.”

Student athletes learn about Indigenous culture

On Saturday, Big Ten college students were invited to join in grand entry and then in several dances, which they did enthusiastically, if with little understanding of the format, forming a conga line at one point and gathering in a circle around several children offering an impromptu dance demonstration, at another.

Omar Brown, the Senior Vice President of Community and Impact for the Big Ten Conference, explained that “for the last five years, the Big Ten has created educational trips for our student athletes. We’ve gone to Alabama to learn about civil rights; we went to Iowa to learn about farming. And so, we’ve come out here to learn about Native American culture and the Pacific Northwest culture. And the impetus, I would say, is that with Oregon and Washington joining the Big Ten, this is now Big Ten country.”

The group visited Multnomah Falls and the Oregon Historical Society, where they learned about some of Oregon’s uglier history, including treatment of Black residents in the state’s earlier years, and the treatment of Japanese Americans, particularly during World War II, as well as treatment of Native Americans. On Saturday, the members came to Grand Ronde, where Tribal Council members talked about termination and Restoration, and gave them lunch in the Tribal plankhouse before powwow.

“It’s been amazing, honestly, just to be able to see different cultures,” student athlete Caia Elisadez, who plays women’s basketball, said. “I was talking to some of the other student athletes and the way that we see things today, just knowing the history behind the way things came to be, has been really interesting to find out. It’s really nice to cultures that we don’t know as much about, to be integrated into them, to understand more, so we have more respect for one another. Also, it’s really gorgeous out here.”

She added, “I think my part’s just been the people I’ve met so far. Everyone’s been super nice. The people in the conference. But also, learning the history, going to the historical society and then being able to explain everything. They’ve been so informative and it’s also been really interesting to see, like, how much they care about the topic too, so that makes it even more fun for us to learn.”