2 weeks Ago By NICOLE GIRTEN [email protected]
The sound of drums, singing and the metal on jingle dresses echoed throughout the Adams Center Friday night during the Grand Entry for the 56th annual Kyiyo Pow Wow, one of the longest running student-led powwows in the U.S. Dancers from tribes across the country and of all ages from toddlers to seniors entered the arena stage in full regalia in a clockwise circle until hundreds of dancers all made it on the floor.
The event attracts more than 5,000 attendees every year, including vendors selling beaded jewelry, leather belts and clothing. The university held a separate event on native law earlier in the day. Bethalin Scabbyrobe, who is Blackfeet from Washington, said she was going to dance Fancy Shawl — a relatively new style of dance incorporating a beaded adaptation of a traditional blanket.
She said coming to this powwow was special because it was like a family reunion every year. Jeremy Deputee, who is Crow and a Chicken dancer, also said this powwow brought friends and family together — from Canada, Idaho and Arizona — all to Missoula for the event each year. Designer Bill Brien of Bountiful Rei’s drove more than 700 miles from North Dakota to sell his clothing and art prints at the powwow.
He said he started pursuing art and design after his wife died nearly seven years ago of breast cancer. “I found art as a way to grieve,” he said. “Because of the way she lived and loved — she was the key that unlocked something in me.
” Dan Simonds, who co-owns Wampum Wear with his wife Vanessa, drove over from Bozeman to sell their jewelry. He said they attend two to three powwows or conferences per month and have been in business for 15 years. Some of Simonds designs included conch shells from Florida, where he’s from, but said there’s a Montana connection; in old photos from this region you’ll see people wearing shells acquired through trade.
The university on Friday also hosted an event organized by the American Indian Governance and Policy Institute and the Indian Law Section of the Montana Bar Association. The event featured panels on the Indian Child Welfare Act, tribal consultation with the state, a legislative update and a keynote address on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), which requires institutions receiving federal funding to return remains and sacred objects to tribes. Keynote speaker Shannon O'loughlin, lawyer and lecturer at Johns Hopkins University, said there is a strong precedent protecting Native American rights in law.
She said Native nations have been more successful in “arguing we’re not DEI,” she said in reference to the backlash against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs from President Donald Trump’s administration. “We are recognized in the constitution before there was ever a thing called DEI,” she said. University President Seth Bodnar welcomed attendees of the powwow and Stephen Small Salmon led the opening prayer on Friday night.
“Today we’re here to dance, we’re here to grow, we’re here to laugh– laughter is the best medicine,” Small Salmon said. “Powwow is a celebration we’re still going.”.
