"Pow Wow"

today, nothing has died, nothing

Changed beyond recognition

dancers still move in circles

old women are wrapped in shawls...

still, Indians have a way of forgiving anything

a little more and more its memory lasting longer...

By Sherman Alexie, Spokane Couer d'Alene Indian

(Nat'l Geo. pg. 98)

Standing atop the temple mound on a sunny spring day, one sees a green grassy field surrounded by deciduous trees. Across the plaza to the northeast is the Great Sun's Mound. Atop the Temple Mound once stood the temple.

"The temple housed the bones of previous suns and was the scene of funeral rites when a Sun died. The sacred perpetual fire was kept burning in the inner sanctum, symbolic of the Sun from which the royal family had descended. Special attendants maintained the fire; their lives were forfeited if the fire died." (Indian Village brochure.)

"The Great Sun's mound was Described by the earliest French observers as a rounded oval, raised approximently eight feet. Upon the death of the Sun, or chief, his wives and retainers were strangled with due ceremony to accompany him into the next life. His house was burned, and the mound raised to a new height upon which the house of his successor was erected."(Indian Village brochure)

Beyond the Great Sun's mound is an abandoned mound, a small elongated mound, covered with weeds, and crumbling away after centuries of neglect. Across the plaza is a replica of a Natchez Indian dwelling. It is a dome shaped hut covered with a thatch roof. Sometimes in the winter a family of deer will wander into the plaza, only to scatter into the woods, white tails quivering, at the approach of a person. Gravel trails go to the mounds and circle the field. Looking above into the deep blue skies with wispy cirrus clouds, one day I saw a Kite, a kind of hawk, soaring above the trees.

On the eastern edge of the plaza there are 50 foot bluffs covered with weeds. A nature trail goes down the bluffs to St Catherine's Creek. It passes through a thick forest canopy. One can see horsetail, one of the most ancient of plants from before the dinosaurs, wild ferns, honeysuckle, and tiny purple wildflowers in spring. Upon reaching the trail to the creek

There are signs saying "Warning: Sand Bars Unstable." If one chooses not to heed this warning, one can go down to the creek itself. On the other side of the creek are magnificent towering sheer cliffs of red clay. The clear wide swift flowing creek passes through large sand beaches which shine brilliantly in the sun. When a breeze comes tiny sand flurries can develop. Parts of the beaches are covered with mud or gravel. One can find Indian arrowheads, fossils, and sand stone in and around the creek. As a child during the summer my friends and I would swim in the creek. I can recall one overcast freezing winter day hiking in the creek wearing rubber wader boots while looking for arrowheads and fossils.

It is hard to imagine what it must have been like nearly three hundred years ago when the Natchez Indians hunted in these woods, fished, bathed, and got red clay for pots and paint stones for dyes from the creek.

Jean Penicaut a French ship's carpenter who came to the New World with Iberville, records his impressions of the Natchez in his journal:"1703. We paid a visit to the Natchez, one of the most polite and affable nations on the Mississippi. The Natchez inhabit one of the most beautiful countries in Louisiana (as it was then called). It lies about a league from the banks of the Mississippi, and is embellished with magnificent natural scenery, covered with a splendid growth of odiferous trees and plants, and watered with cool and limpid streams. This nation is composed of thirty villages, but the one we visited was the largest, because it contained the dwelling of the Great Chief, whom they called the Sun, which means noble."

In 1704 he wrote: "The Great Chief of a noble family can only marry with a woman of plebeian race, but the children born of this race, whether boys or girls, are noble. The whole nation is divided into nobles and common people, called stinkards." Penicaut was among ,the few Frenchmen who escaped the Fort Rosalie massacre in 1729. (Indian Village bochure)

According to Mark Twain in "Life on the Mississippi":

"The voyagers visited the Natchez Indians, where they found a religious and political despotism, a privileged class descended from the sun and sacred fire. It must have been like getting home again; It was home with an advantage in fact, for it lacked Louis the XIV."(Twain, Life on the Mississippi)

The Natchez culture apparently reached its zenith in the mid 1500's. Between 1682 and 1729 the Grand Village was the center of activities for the Natchez Indians. During this period the French explored and settled the region. Relations between the French and the Natchez deteriorated from 1716 to 1729, when the Natchez massacred the French garrison at Fort Rosalie. The French retaliated, and the Natchez vanished as a nation after their encounter with the French at the Grand Village in 1730.(Indian Village brochure.)

Standing atop the temple mound on a spring day one can experience serenity as birds sing and a cool breeze passes over your face. It is difficult to visualize the carnage, the wailing women and babies, and body strewn plaza that must have occurred here after the French genocide of the Natchez Indians in 1730. This event marked an ending for the Natchez Indian Nation.

Centuries passed before the historical park the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians was opened in the 1970's. Every spring in late March there is a re-birth of Indian celebration and worship at the Indian Village. Indians from all over the country come to celebrate their cultural heritage during three days of dancing, music, food, and crafts. Drumbeats and singing once more reverberate over the plaza and mounds as Indians gather for the annual Natchez powwow. The powwow is organized and led by a non-Indian Dr. Chuck Borum. His interest in Indian culture began during his childhood when he participated in Indian ceremonies in the Boy Scouts. He is now a scout master. He got involved in powwows while working on his M.D. in Oklahoma. While there he went to every powwow her could. In fact he went to so many powwows, it is surprising he found time to finish his M.D. The Indians at the Natchez powwow are deeply appreciative of his efforts in organizing the powwow. He is accepted as one of them. He knows an Indian language and sings, dances, and beats the drums with them. Usually at the end of the powwow they give him a blanket as a token of their appreciation for his work in organizing the powwow.

The powwow is held in the grassy field below the two mounds. People form a circle around the singers and dancers. In the center is the canopy, under which the drummers and chanters sit. Around the drummer's tent is where the participants dance. Around the dancers the spectators sit in lawn chairs or on the benches. Surrounding the spectators are the vendors. They sell their goods in tents, on tables, or laid out on a blanket on the ground. They sell,"a wide variety of Indian paraphernalia: jewelry, clothing, books, audio tapes, compact discs, headdresses, beads, spears, knives, rugs, tomahawks, artwork, rattles, pottery, and dream catchers."(Natchez Democrat)

The powwow is very much a focused as opposed to a bound group. It is held out in the open in nature as opposed to in a building. It is very much an event where personal face-to-face interaction is emphasized as opposed to, for example, a rock concert. In a rock concert people are spectators and the musicians are up on stage looking down on them. The spectators are clapping in awe of the rock stars. However, there is a sense of equality at the powwow. The spectators, during some dances are invited to dance in the ring holding the hands of the Indian dancers. The setting in a place where the Natchez Indians once danced their religious dances adds to the sense of historical continuity between the modern powwow and the ancient Natchez Indian ceremonies. Indeed, it is no accident that the powwow is held at a historical Indian site. As they say, to understand the present one must look at the past:

"The phrase pau wau once meant medicine man or spiritual leader to Algonquian tribes, but Europeans who watched medicine men dance thought the word referred to the whole event. What those Europeans watched, though, did not resemble what happens today. The tradition of Indian dancing is ancient, but today's powwows only developed in the past hundred years. Powwows are gatherings-usually held on weekends-in which Indians of many tribes come, often from far away, to dance sing, gamble, and visit friends and family. The focus is dance- a series of open social dances called Intertribals mixed with competition in several dance categories. The categories such as Men's Fancy and Women's Jingle Dress, are based on traditional dances that were once part of spiritual ceremonies, preparation for war, healing rituals, or celebrations of triumph...Powwows today are far more than a salute to the past. They're not shows. They're not entertainment. Most Indians call them celebrations. (Nat'l

Geo. pg. 91-94)

As one Indian, Gloria Matthews, said,"Powwows are traditional, but they're not religious,...You just want to share your good times" But there is no separation of church and state in Indian life.(Nat'l Geo. Pg. 108)

Powwows, such as the one in Natchez, are a relatively new folklife event in America. Powwows began in the early twentieth century, at a time when there was a growing sense of common identity and interests between Indians of different tribes. This was called pan-tribalism. Powwows, such as the one in Natchez, involve Native Americans from many tribes across the country. They serve as a means of preserving Native American traditions while at the same time integrating Native Americans into the mainstream of American culture. During the Natchez Powwow, there are traditional Native American songs and dances as well as American flag ceremonies. Children are always present at the Natchez Powwow, participating in the dances and dressed in Indian dress. Therefore, powwows serve the function of carrying Native American traditions down through the generations.

In the powwow the participants dress in traditional Native American costumes. Although many of the costumes are traditional, they have changed over the years. Jingle dresses are a modern adaptation of the traditional Native American dress. They came about in the fifties. Instead of using bones and shells to attach to the dress to rattle as in the old days, they now use chewing tobacco can tops. Jingle dresses are constructed by taking the metal tops of chewing tobacco cans and twisting them to form a cone. The metal cones are attached to the dress. Some of the more elaborate ones have hundreds of these metal cones attached to the dress. When the dancers dances in the dress, the metal tops jingle to the rhythm of the dancing.

Other common dress items at the powwow are beads, feathers, moccasins, bandanas, necklaces of animal teeth or bones. Many of the dancers will paint their faces in different designs. Some will paint their faces dark black or red. Others will put streaks of different colors across their torso and face. Some of the costumes are very elaborated painted designs on the face and body. Others are modest without face paint and with only a few feathers. Some Indian women just wear an old fashioned dress. As David Wright put it in Natchez Democrat:

"The colorful costumes at this weekend's powwow sometime led to conversations with the wearers and told something about Indian lore. Jesse Fenner, a 12 year old boy from Terre haute, Ind., was dressed as a Comanche fancy dancer. Attached to Fenner's upper arms were hot pink feathers arranged in a circle, surrounding round mirrors. Fenner said they were "arm bustles." Fenner's arm bustles moved when he danced, and another participant, Jim Styre of San Antonio, Texas, said that this is significant. "Indian are interested in movement," Styre said. "Everything hangs moves, shows life. That's important." Fenner was also wearing a colorful, elaborate set of feathers on his back, called "feather bustles," that looked like wings. On Fenner's head was a "hair roach," a headdress which was made of porcupine and white- tailed deer hair sticking up. The porcupine hair was its natural color, but the deer hair was dyed pink, orange, and yellow. Fenner was also wearing a choker necklace, a beaded headband with a beaded medallion covering his forehead, a breast plate made out of bones, beads and leather strips, and a beaded belt and harness. His calves were covered with "fetlocks" made of Angora hair. Ordinary tennis shoes completed the outfit. Styre, who was also in costume, pointed to another boy dancer wearing an outfit full of white fringe with red ribbons and trim and a white satin scarf. The boy was wearing grass dance clothing, Jim Styre said. Yarn and ribbon, Jim Styre said, have replaced the scalps and grass of years past. Indians picked up some items of clothing from others. For example, Sherie Keylon of San Antonio, Texas, said of the bandoliers hanging from her shoulders,"Indians picked those things up from Mexican people." Of her purse, an off white leather bag with blue beads and a beaded medallion, Keylon said,"They copied this style from the southern women who came into the territory."

The dancers form a circle around the center of the area, where the singers sit under a tarp around a large animal skin drum. To someone unfamiliar with the music, the songs may seem the same, but each one is different. The dancers dance to the singing. There are gourd dances, war dances, Hopi snake dances, rain dances, and other sacred dances. At every powwow there is a master of ceremonies who announces the dance, says prayers, tells jokes, talks about and praises the dancers, and announces lost children. In addition to preserving Native American traditions and promoting an pan-tribal Native American unity, the powwow is an opportunity for non-Indians to experience Indian ceremonies. Many, if not most of the spectators, other than the dancers and singers, are non-Indians. The powwow is an opportunity for non-Indians to see and appreciate the beauty of Indian traditions. This could help diminish the stereotypes many non-Indians have about Indians. I, through attending the Natchez Powwow, have had the opportunity to develop a greater sense of respect for the dignity of Native Americans and their traditions. Alcohol is strictly forbidden at powwows. You won't see the stereotypical drunk, disenchanted, and alienated Indian you hear about on the reservations at the powwow.

Many non-Indian Americans have a sense of collective guilt over the history of our country's repression and genocide of Native Americans. In the late 19th century and early 20th century Indian children were sent to boarding schools where they were forbidden to speak their language or practice their native religion. Now they are celebrating and preserving their culture with the help and interest of non-Indians. The powwow can serve as a way of building understanding and healing old wounds for Native Americans and non-Indians alike. Many non-Indians find comfort in Native American spirituality in today's materialistic exploitative world. Many feel that ironically, after our attempts to destroy Indians, we may find our salvation through Indian spirituality. Their respect for the land, traditionally cooperative style of political organization, and respect for each other and the sacredness of all life, may, if we take heed and learn from Indians, save us in the end. It is not common knowledge that the United States constitution was modeled after the constitution of the Iroquois Confederation of upstate New York.

Indeed, American flags are prominent at the Natchez Powwow, as at most powwows. The dancers wear them as part of their dress, tucked into a pocket or on their shirt. At the Natchez Powwow there are solemn ceremonies for raising the flag at the beginning of the powwow and taking it down at the end during which picture taking is usually forbidden. It is ironic that although Indians have been so repressed by the American government, they have served in large numbers in our armed forces starting with WWI. During WWII the Navajo soldiers, in the Pacific arena, communicated vital military information in Navajo. The Japanese couldn't translate it and many American soldier's lives were saved. At the Natchez Powwow there is always a veterans's dance for all veterans of war and all our soldiers serving overseas. Veterans of all ethnic backgrounds are encouraged to dance.

These patriotic ceremonies could be expressing the hope of Native Americans that America will finally live up to the ideals stated in the constitution of respect for the dignity of all people. Perhaps finally, after years of broken treaties and broken promises, we will keep our word. Indeed many non-Indians are beginning to learn a new respect for Native Americans. After years of negative stereo-types of Indians in western movies, we now have more empathetic and accurate portrayals of Indians in such movies as "Dances With Wolves" or "Black Robe".

The film maker Ken Burns, who makes documentary films about the West and the American

experience, talks of the American dialectic. He points out that those who are cynical about American history and criticize such figures as Thomas Jefferson for owning slaves are not seeing the whole picture. Although Thomas Jefferson did own slaves he provided the anti-dote for his own failing. The Declaration of Independence was present in Tiananmen square in China when the students were demonstrating. Therefore, it is out of the conflict between the good and bad in Jefferson that his character is defined. Indians are aware of this inherent dualism in the American character. They see the virtues as well as the shortcomings of the American way of life and embrace patriotism, identifying with the ideals of America.

The powwow also gives Indians and non-Indians an opportunity to worship. Many ceremonies at the Natchez Powwow are tied in with Native American spirituality. Prayers are made to the Great Spirit. Songs are sung for the dead. The dances are energetic and emotionally expressive. The dancers lose themselves in the songs and movements. They appear ecstatic. The dances are reminiscent of the Quakers or Islamic whirling dervishes when in a state of religious ecstasy. The prayers are made to the Great Spirit, but God could easily be used to replace the Great Spirit in the prayers. Indeed, many Indians have a syncretic religion, combining Christianity with traditional Indian religion, although most call themselves Christians. At the Natchez Powwow non-Indians and Indians alike pray to the Great Spirit. This serves as an opportunity for them to have a sense of communitas or fellowship.

In addition to carrying on tradition and serving as a bridge between cultures, the Natchez Powwow serves an economic function for Indians. The craft booths sell Indian items. Some of the items are more pseudo-Indian crafts, some made in places like Japan. Posters are sold, many showing romanticized images of Indians. At the powwow, so-called, Indian food, such as Indian tacos, a piece of fry bread with meat and beans, are sold. Once at an Indian powwow I saw a non-Indian new age group passing out books and brochures. Some vendors have been excluded, according to Chuck Borum, because they are selling less authentic cheap merchandise.

During the powwow there is a raffle. Indian crafts such as hand woven blankets and woodwork are raffled. One year they raffled a live Turkey. The master of ceremonies leads the raffle and continually calls for people to buy tickets. Usually at the end of the powwow a child from the spectators pulls the winning ticket from a paper bag. There are times during the powwow when contributions to the dancers and singers are solicited. Usually blankets are spread out in the dance area. Spectators are called to participate in the dancing. Sometimes the women dancers go out to pick a man from the spectators to dance with. If the man refuses to dance he is supposed to put money on the blanket. As in a church all contributions are voluntary. In past years the cost of admission to the powwow was only one or two dollars. This past year it was free.

The Natchez powwow is held outdoors unless it rains hard, in which case it is held at the gym of a local school. During one powwow it began to sprinkle lightly in the middle of a prayer by an Indian woman. The rain was brought into the prayer by the Indian woman who said it was holy water which would bless us.

Sometimes during the powwow I climb the Great Sun's mound to get a view of the whole arena. Below me I can see the circle of different colored vendor's tents surrounding the dancer's arena. People mill about, some buying from the vendors and others watching the dancing. The dancers in their colorful costumes, stomp and turn, dancing around the singers. The singers beat their drums and chant. As large cumulous clouds pass over patterns of shadow and light form over the scene. From up on the mound the noises of the powwow are distant. The powwow appears as a harmonious village of people celebrating life. I imaging how many peoples throughout history have gathered for festivals like this from time immemorial. I can visualize the circle of yurts of yak herders on the vast steppe of Asia; the Peruvian Indian's tents scattered in a lush green valley in the snow capped Andes; or the Aborigines dancing around a fire in the cool outback night. The powwow is part of the circle of life or the sacred hoop of life, as Native Americans put it. The great plains Indian, Black Elk, stood at the top of Harney Peak in the Black Hills so many decades ago, and raised his hands to the sky saying,"Oh let my people live." Black Elk's and the ghost dancer's vision of a resurgence of Native American culture is coming true to some extent. Indian religion is no longer outlawed, but is encouraged. Indians are now sharing their world-view with non-Indian many of whom are embracing it.

At the end of the Natchez Powwow every year prayers are said for a good year ahead for all the spectators. The master of ceremonies calls for the flag ceremony. Indians dressed up in bonnets, moccasins, many with faces painted gather on the east side of the arena. Then the drummers begin drumming with a slow, but steady beat. They begin singing,"Hey yah yah." The Indians form a line with one person leading the others. They slowly, with measured steps, proceed toward the flag. There is silence as the flag is lowered from the pole and people salute the flag. The flag is carefully folded in a triangle and carried under the leader's arm off the arena with the other dancers following behind in a curved line. All the participants are thanked for their help. Then people begin to disperse back to their separate lives and their workaday worlds. However, perhaps something of the spirit of the powwow is carried on throughout the year and incorporated into the participant's lives. Many of the dancers will dance in other powwows many times throughout the year. For them the powwow road can be a way of life. For all the powwow is an extraordinary as opposed to and ordinary time and space. It is a place to step back and reflect on life, seeing the sacred, or extraordinary in the ordinary.