Lessons of love and community at a Pow Wow

Many of the stories told of Native Americans, if they make the mainstream news, are bleak recountings of the atrocities they suffered and continue to suffer. Despite that, the Indigenous nations continue to proudly celebrate who they are and share their philosophies of love. 

Nowhere is this clearer than at a ceremony known as a Pow Wow.

On Oct. 14 and 15,  reporters for 14 East Matthew Warakomski and Cary Robbins attended the Annual Harvest Pow Wow in Wheaton, Illinois. The event is open for all and is hosted by persons from tribes as far as the Southern Navajo to as close as the Ojibwe of the northern Midwest and Canada.

Rick Holstin, a military veteran and elder of the Ojibwe tribe, explained what exactly a Pow Wow is.

“A Pow Wow is a gathering of people so they can express their individual tribal identification,” Holstin said. “They come out to dance. They come out to sing. They come out to drum. They come out to participate and interact with one another because Pow Wows, in the old days, only came once, let’s say, every year.”  

Rick Holstin (middle) stands with his sons Nick (left) and Raphael (right) at the Pow Wow event held at the DuPage County Fairgrounds on Oct. 15. They talked of how important the Pow wow is for each of them, with Rick taking the time to share his wisdom. Photo by Cary Robbins.

According to Holstin, a Pow Wow is a time for people to present themselves and their heritage in the best ways possible. Aaliyah Begay, an Ojibwe person and dancer, compared the idea of a Pow Wow to a cookout, where family and friends come together to enjoy each other.

At the Wheaton Pow Wow, family, friends and local community members formed a large circle near the center of the event hall. To the beat of drums and their owners’ singing, men, women and children, dressed in color handcrafted regalia, danced together.

Rick Holstin poses with his shoes and rice mixer. The bells jingle when he walks. Holstin wears these shoes to let others know that he comes in peace. Photo by Cary Robbins.

Some came to show off their moves and had a friendly competition. Others came to show off the hard work they put into their outfits and dance routines. Intertribal dances were called on more than one occasion where the public was invited to  dance alongside the dancers. 

More than just a Party

While the Pow Wow is a time for celebration, it is also a time for critical cultural lessons. Holstin said, the attendants leave the Pow Wow with a newfound understanding of the culture and community around them. Holstin believes that this is a gift which they share with those outside the tribes who choose to attend with them.

According to Negwes White, a youth counselor of Ojibwe and Navajo descent, part of that gift is passing on traditions to the youth of the tribes.

“It’s trying to inspire them to pick this up, because many of them play TikTok and Fortnite,” Negwes said. “I’ll have to teach this to my children because, in our philosophy, we have the Seven Grandfather Teachings and believe in seven generations ahead. So, we’re trying to live our lives in a way that we care for the Earth. So, seven generations from now, our grandchildren will have a place to call home, and it’s healthy.”

Negwes White in his dance regalia partaking in a dance contest. White said that dancing helps bring him back to his Indigenous roots. Photo by Cary Robbins.

Negwes and Holstin stressed the significance of the Pow Wow in connection with nature and Mother Earth. Holstin stated that the human relationship to nature is symbiotic.

“Simply put, we exhale carbon dioxide, and the plants exhale oxygen, and then we inhale that oxygen,” Holstin said. “That’s a symbiotic relationship with the tree. We have the same relationship with all other plants and entities — rocks, stone, fire and air. All those things we, as humans, have forgotten our connection to.”

Comparing the drums to a mother’s heartbeat, Holstin explained how modern man has forgotten what it is like to be connected to the planet. As he put it, humanity has “forgotten what it’s like to be in the mother’s womb.” 

The drums, singing and dancing help remind the audience that humanity is a part of the Earth, not apart from it.

“The dances that go along with this drum heal our people,” said Maritza Gracia, another dancer at the Pow Wow, dressed in a medicine dress. “People that are hurting, that are in pain, get all that energy from us, from the exertion of our energy.”  

Maritza Garcia wears a hand made medicine dress meant to bring about healing. She makes each bead and outfit from hand. Photo by Cary Robbins.

Negwes expanded on the idea of reconnecting with nature. Sitting outside, not long after finishing his dance, Negwes explained that the Indigenous nations liken life to a circle, where everything and everyone is connected.

“If you have a triangle and a circle next to it, if you put bugs, flowers, plants, humans, dogs, cats, bees and everything in the circle, it all works together, and it’s healthy,” Negwes said. “But if you take one of them out, like the bees, that circle collapses. Then, if you look at the world from the triangle perspective, we [referring to the general public] are all at the bottom. Who is at the top — our capitalist friends, right? People promoting fearful ways of thinking versus loving ways of thinking.”

As Negwes gave his interview, multiple people approached him, congratulating him on his performance and the vibrant design of his regalia. Negwes then explained the symbolism behind his regalia, an outfit he continues to improve upon.

“My personal philosophy is each person should stop chasing butterflies,” Negwes said. “There’s this quote, right, ‘Don’t chase butterflies.’ Work on your garden within yourself, and you will make your garden so peaceful and so beautiful that the butterflies, hummingbirds and bees want to chill in your garden. If they don’t, so what? At least you have peace and beauty and tranquility within yourself. So, that’s what I wanted my outfit to represent: my garden. I have a healthy garden within myself so that the bees, the cute chicas, and all the good vibes want to kick it in my garden. I’m saying that’s what I’m working towards, and that’s where I feel like confidence comes from, a lot of healthy thinking.”

Thorpe Sine dances in his regalia at the Pow Wow in front of a crowd. The dancers and Pow Wow guests welcomed strangers and local community members with open arms. Photo by Cary Robbins.

Celebrating Love

Love in all forms is an essential aspect of the Pow Wow. As seen with Negwes, he partly expresses his love through his regalia and in inspiring the youth of the tribe. Holstin, on the other hand, took the notion of love and turned it outward, taking the time to express the importance of celebrating tradition and each other.

“Instead of seeing it like multiple groups of people coming together, see it as we’re all in the same community,” Holstin said,  referring to the multiple tribes as well as the non-nIdigenous people in attendance. “We all share this Earth together. So, we are the people, all of us. I celebrate you, whoever you are.”

Others express love for their culture by making and selling traditional crafts and foods of their tribes.

In the back left of the gymnasium, Rosa Gaytán, the leader for dancers in Chicago, and Pedro Martinez set up a table of their handmade beaded jewelry. Jewelry of intricate hummingbirds, flowers, butterflies and more sat on display as people came to admire the work. 

Martinez said he has been crafting beaded work since he can remember, and Gaytán talked of how she does this work to bring her Chica Nation to Illinois. Their jewelry business, Xochiltmazalt, was created to share her Aztec culture with people in Chicago. Martinez said the most essential part of beaded work is “the history, because most of the beading has something to tell.” 

“When I work with the beads, it’s like I’m going back with my ancestors,” Gaytán said.

She pointed to an intricate beading of a hummingbird and explained how it is  “the one with the most power,” Gaytán said. It took Gaytán one month to make just the hummingbird, surrounding the jewelry. 

Rosa Gaytán sets up her hand-beaded jewelry at the powwow event in Wheaton, Illinois. It takes her a month to make just the hummingbirds. Photo by, Cary Robbins.

Sam Begay was selling an assortment of dream catchers, jewelry and other items a few booths away from Gaytán. He has been selling dream catchers for over 40 years, and as he grew older, he inherited the business Navajo Sam out of Chicago from his parents to continue the family business. 

Begay handmakes everything he sells and said, “It feels good, because we’re keeping up our tradition in our culture and also spreading out the word for other non-natives who don’t know about our culture.”

Begay and his family also dance with the Midwest Finest Dance Troupe, where he has been able to perform around the world. The group danced in the Marvel Studios television miniseries Echo in Atlanta last year.

Begay’s daughter, Aaliyah, expressed much pride in her ribbon dress, which was the first she made on her own. She also spoke more about why she chooses to dance in the circle, taking the notion of love for her culture and people and turning it outward into the community.

Aalyiah Begay (left) and her mother Glenda Begay (right) participate in an activity at the Pow Wow. They had to move around the gymnasium with a potato attached to their heads. Photo by Cary Robbins.

Wow event held in Wheaton, Illinois, on October 15. They had to move around the gymnasium with a potato balanced between their heads. Photo by Cary Robbins

“I dance for myself, but I also dance for the people that can’t dance,” Aalyiah said. “My mom always taught me that we pray when we’re dancing because there are relatives that have gone on. We’re dancing for them since they’re no longer here, and it’s like that with everything we do,” 

A Message to the Public

As mentioned before, Native Americans are not always viewed or portrayed positively. From media depicting them as savage to history books and the media giving their hardships little more than lip service, Native Americans have had little control over how their stories are told.

As the Pow Wow is a time for teaching, Negwes uses the space to educate the non-Indigenous people and break the stereotypes that have marred Indigenous American cultures.

Raphael (left) and Rick Holstin (right) participate in the flag ceremony at the end of the Pow Wow. Many veterans such as Rick were in attendance. Photo by Cary Robbins.

“I’m not here to win. I’m here to entertain, in a sense,” Negwes said concerning his dancing. “But I’m also here to bring love and positivity towards my culture, not the whole racist idea of Indian drunks and all that crap. I’m trying to demonstrate like, ‘Hey, you know, I’m a healthy human who practices my culture.’”

Negwes also stressed the importance of teaching once more, referencing the idea of teaching for seven generations in the future. Not only is the passing of tradition meant to preserve the land and lifestyles that promote harmony with nature, but it also preserves a culture often overlooked or purposefully erased.

Aaliyah expresses the importance of everyone connecting with their culture as, like for her, it is an inherently empowering facet of life that cannot be taken away.  

“I feel like with me, being Native American is me. Without it, I don’t know what I would do. With the way that I live, I love it because I get to experience things. I get to travel with my dancing. It took me everywhere.”

Header by Rafa Villamar