Earlier today, my family and I made the long trek up to Seattle to attend the 25th Annual Seafair Indian Days Pow Wow. The pow wow is a large one for our area, with representatives from many tribes that attend. It is held at a place called Discovery Park, which is home to the Daybreak Star Cultural Center.
This center is also home to the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, a foundation that aims to promote indigenous culture, ensure continuing tribal sovereignty, and improve the lives of American Indian and Alaskan Natives (AIAN).
My good friend and mentor (she was my supervisor/mentor while I completed my internship at Muckleshoot Indian Child Welfare) sits on the board, and is a passionate supporter of AIAN welfare and rights. Her love for her people is obvious, and she devotes a lot of her time promoting her culture and the rights of her Native brothers and sisters.
Have any of you ever been to a pow wow? If not, I highly recommend it. The air is filled with the smell of burning sage and cedar (usually a dried sage/cedar/lavender mixture in the PNW), the beating of drums, the singing of ancient songs, and the sound of jingle dresses.
Combine that with the scent of smoking or baking salmon, and Indian frybread tacos, andyou have a treat for your senses!
And the regalia (their costumes) are amazing as well....Can you make out the three horse heads on the loincloth (???) of the man on the left? They are on a sky blue background....
And these two (below) looked like they were great friends, often laughing and patting each other on the back. 
And just look at this man's hat (below)! It features a whale and it is all carved out of one piece of wood. I watched him doing a tribal dance and from what I can gather, they were either First Nations/Canadian or from Alaska. Talented work either way though, right?
Now for my favorite dancer....That face paint gets me every time!!!
Here is a closer look....
His regalia and paint was beautiful, was it not?
And these two (below) looked like they were great friends, often laughing and patting each other on the back. 
And just look at this man's hat (below)! It features a whale and it is all carved out of one piece of wood. I watched him doing a tribal dance and from what I can gather, they were either First Nations/Canadian or from Alaska. Talented work either way though, right?Now for my favorite dancer....That face paint gets me every time!!!Here is a closer look....
His regalia and paint was beautiful, was it not?Okay, here is one last shot. I played with the coloring a bit, but I am not sure if I like it yet....
10 comments:
I've never been to a pow wow, but would love to attend one some day. I've always found the cultures so very interesting. Of all the books I've read I'm sure there is nothing quite like being a part of the festivities.
Mellie,
Wow, fantastic day and gathering of tribes..wonderful shots too!
I am Osage..not too much but. Washashe's name stands for "People of the middle waters" Osage tribe.
Yes, to answer your question about trails + future trail challenges...yes..my goal is to do a "Clinic" at the Eugene extreme trail challenge soon. This way I will have someone helping us to be safe and get through the course.
Unfortunately, I have experienced some pretty bad behavior from the mare, since she got away with not having to follow through when I asked something of her that Trail Trial day! She is a smart one...and has tried to buffalo me out of asking more...but she has gotten some pretty surprising responses from me... I should right the ill soon.
KK
I love going to Pow Wows. There is just something about them that brings out the native in me-LOL.
Megan too. LMAO-The first PW the kid went to, she grabbed her bottle and her blankie and walked right out there and started dancing. Hahahaha-Blonde haired, little 'wasichila' got some funny looks, but she sure could step to the beat.
Beautiful pics!!
OMG Gorgous pics Mel and the colors!! WOW!!! I have never been to a PW but always wanted to go. The dress is amazing! They put peacocks to shame:)
Wow, those costumes made for some gorgeous photo's....they look like future Western Art paintings to me! I'm thinking Howard Terpning....anyway looks like a lot of fun!
yes, i think my man and i were there. at least, it was one of their celebrations, and it had lots of booths, one of them had entire wolfskins hanging, waving in the breeze!
we were just geocaching (of course).
now i don't think geocaches are allowed in discovery park cuz it's a protected area.
discovery park was my special place as long as i can remember. i spent the night there lying on the ground, i risked my life against the bluffs, and i remember when the seattle police horses lived there, not quite hidden.
if you saw a huge indian head sculpture, it was taken from a building downtown, one of 16, and it was donated to the park. it was donated by the alhadeff family, and i worked for them. i was so amazed to see that indianhead sculpture there by daybreak star, when i'd seen it in the underground seattle tunnel, and up on the buildings.
thank you for helping me delve into my memories, the enjoyable ones of my home.
~lytha
I think it is wonderful that you could be a part of living history. I am so glad these traditions are there for us to experience.
Wonderful photography.
Sounds like a great event! I hope to attend one some day soon. My boss is a 'singer' and he makes drums. That is quite the Orca headdress!
I've been to several pow wows. I love the fancy dancers!
Thank you so much for your comment on my blog, btw. Sharing your experience with your "rebound" horse really made me think.
Plus the phrase "rebound horse" is now one of my all time favorites.
Beautiful costumes! Especially the orca. hehe!
They look so similar, but yet also so different than our own pueblo indians' costumes and regalia.
~Lisa
Post a Comment