More than 600 people attended the Native American Student Association’s 25th annual Pow Wow at Carmichael Gym Saturday to celebrate and educate the community about Native American culture.
The goal of the Pow Wow was to be a social education experience and specifically introduce students and people in the community who are unfamiliar with Native American culture.
“The Pow Wow provided a safe environment for people to learn about the culture,” said Karli Moore, a junior studying chemistry and Pow Wow co-chair. “It showed traditions and issues that Native Americans face. People could come and be engaged in the Native American community.”
Activities at the Pow Wow included singing, dancing and drumming.
Ian Stroud, the assistant director of Native American Student Affairs at NC State, said all of the dances were derived from different cultural and tribal dances. The dances featured six categories that were divided into male and female. Some of the dances performed included a traditional, fancy and jingle dance.
The jingle dance, which featured dancers dressed in regalia that jingled as they moved, originated from the Ojibwa tribe, Stroud said.
The story behind the dance says that a man whose daughter was gravely ill came up with the dance and told her if she did it, the evil spirts would leave her and she would be well again. The girl did the dance and recovered from her illness, Stroud said.
Other kinds of cultural demonstrations were also part of the Pow Wow, including hoop dancing and stickball. Stick ball is considered to be the ancestor of lacrosse, and is played by throwing a ball with sticks into a goal.
“The story behind it is the little brother of war,” Moore said. “If two groups were fighting and did not want to go to war, they played stickball. Whoever won, won the war. You go out on the field and play your hardest. When the game is over, you leave all of your negative emotions on the field and you leave in peace.”
Vendors sold Native American artwork, jewelry and other objects.
NC State Native American alumni were invited to the Pow Wow to be honored for their accomplishments since graduation.
No single Native American tribe was recognized at the Pow Wow, according to Moore.
“We don’t necessarily know which tribes they are associated with,” Moore said. “What’s cool about NC State’s Pow Wow is it is not exclusive to any one tribe. We are in a diverse area, so the tribes are diverse, too.”
Considering Saturday’s heavy calendar for events at NC State including the Holi celebration and the Pan-Afrikan Festival Week carnival, Stroud said he was proud of the large number of students who came out for the event.
“We had a great turnout amidst a day’s worth of big events,” Stroud said. “To have all that going on and to still have a great turn out just shows how much support we have.”
Stroud said the amount of student dedication and involvement, along with the alumni presence, were his favorite parts of the event.
“This is kind of a homecoming event for native alumni,” Stroud said. “Just to have them to be there was great.”
A member of an Native America tribe won the Switch Dance competition at the 25 anniversary NC State Pow-Wow in Carmichael on Mar. 21. Switch Dance is dance competition in which competitors dance in the other sexes traditional garb and style.
