Tradition, color dominate at Fall Powwow

By Kelly Mayo
Managing Editor

November 8, 2012

Photo by Sherry Jacobs

Former SGA presidents, Chancellor Kyle R. Carter and other guests prepare to cut the ribbon on the SGA Presidents' Wall on Oct. 24.

About 200 people filled the UC Annex for the Native American Student Organization Fall Powwow on Nov. 1.

Dancers from the Lumbee, Waccamaw Siouan and other local tribes dressed in traditional Native American regalia performed the dances that have been passed down over hundreds of years.

Pembroke State University Class of 1993 alum J.D. Moore emceed the powwow.

NASO President Nick Richardson acted as arena director. Patrick Green and Mardella "Sunshine" Costanzo acted as head staff of the event.

Thunder Voice sang and played traditional songs.

Distinguished guests included the Lumbee and Waccamaw-Siouan Princesses and members of the Waccamaw-Siouan tribe.

Students from the American Indian Studies department and Rowland Middle School attended the powwow.

The powwow began with Richardson burning incense to bless the dance floor.

The Grand Entry featured Jamie Locklear and Sherry Jacobs carrying the American and North Carolina flags while all of the dancers circled the floor behind them.

Moore honored veterans in the Annex with a special dance to the "Veteran Song."

"I ask the question, could you leave them…and fight for our freedom?" Moore said.

Powwow performances were organized according to age, gender and costume.

"Tiny Tots" aged 5 and under, including Little Miss Lumbee, danced first.

They were followed by Little Girls Traditional, in which girls dressed in buckskin or cloth danced.

The next dance was Girls Jingle, in which girls performed the "healing dance" in bell-covered clothes originating in the Great Lakes and southern Canada.

Following that, Junior Boys Traditional and Boys Grass and Chicken featured boys dressed in feathers and grass.

Moore said that in the old days, Native American men prepared grass fields for activities by stomping on them to flatten the grass.

The Girls Fancy category featured girls dancing the "Butterfly Dance" with colorful shawls draped around their shoulders.

Teens and adults performed these dances also.

Local vendors set up tables in the Annex to sell handmade jewelry, clothes and other crafts during the powwow.

Representatives of Mary Livermore Library also sold calendars to commemorate UNCP's 125th anniversary. Fat Ab's Barbeque sold food to guests.