Woodlands and High Plains Powwow, Saturday, April 26
This year is the 25th anniversary celebration of the Woodlands and High Plains Traditional Powwow sponsored by Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM); Concordia College; Minnesota State Community and Technical College Moorhead (M State); and North Dakota State University (NDSU). The powwow will be held April 26, 2014, in the Nemzek Fieldhouse on the MSUM campus in Moorhead. This year’s theme is “Many Nations, One Community.”
A traditional powwow is a time to celebrate and renew friendships. In addition, this powwow celebrates the educational experiences of American Indian higher education and the sharing of tribal cultures in the FM area.
The powwow will feature many styles of dance and drum songs from the area tribes. The community will also enjoy the overall cultural experience, including the many vendors that will display and sell their wares and perhaps enjoy a delicious Indian taco.
A new edition to the powwow will be the First Annual Hand Games tournament. The hand game is a Native American guessing game. There are many variations of the game, we will be hosting the intertribal style. This will take place throughout the day.
Grand Entry will be at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. and a meal will be served during the 5:00 p.m. break. The doors will open to the public at 12:30 p.m. This year’s head female dancer will be Quinne Goodwin-Chaffee, member of the White Earth Nation in Minnesota; she is attending M State. Our head male dancer is Brandon Adams, member of the White Earth Nation in Minnesota; he is attending MSUM.
The emcee is Mickey Hodges, member of White Earth Nation in Minnesota, and the Arena Director is Tom Mason, member of Rainy River First Nations Band of Ojibwe in Ontario, Canada. The Spiritual Advisor is Dr. Clifford Canku, Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe and the host drum Creekside of Pine Ridge, South Dakota. The Honor Guard is from the White Earth Nation in Minnesota.
Admission for the event will be children five and under, free; children ages six to eighteen, $3.00; adults nineteen to fifty-four, $5.00; and adults fifty-five and over, $3.00.
Quad-College Students (from MSUM, Concordia College, M State and NDSU) are admitted free with a valid student ID.
Day money will be paid for all registered dancers who remain in regalia until payout. Registration for dancers and drums (first ten registered drums only) is from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. No admission charge for dancers in regalia and registered drummers.