Powwow event a time for honor, celebration

Kapa’a – Kauaians and visitors alike were treated to a luau Native American

Indian style at the Kapa’a ballpark yesterday.

With tepees in the

background, colorfully dressed Native Americans from tribes from across the

nation danced and chanted to drum beats that resounded throughout the northern

part of Kapa’a town.

Native American artwork, furs, paintings, jewelry and

music were exhibited around the grounds as well.

A special dish said to be

an everyday staple for Native Americans – frybread – sold like

hotcakes.

“This is truly like a Hawaiian luau,” said John Sizelove, a

Kapa’a resident who is part eastern Cherokee and was one of the dancers.

It

was all part of Kaua’i Powwow 2000, an event sponsored by the Kaua’i Powwow

Council to help keep the American Indian community in Hawai’i in touch with

their culture and to educate the public about the Native American history and

culture.

The two-day event, which ends today, also offered a way for the

indigenous people of Hawai’i and America to bond and celebrate, said Pamela

Bennett, one of the co-founders of the council.

Four powwows are held in

Hawai’i each year, the biggest of which was held on O’ahu last week. The last

powwow of 2000 will be held next week on Mau’i.

Loretta Burkitt,

co-director of the Intertribal Council of Hawai’i’s Mau’i chapter, said the

powwows tell Hawai’i residents about the important role Native Americans played

in the weaving of America’s history.

“We have local people who don’t even

know what a powwow is,” Burkitt said.

Nathan Kalama, founder of the

Mokihana Festival, a Hawaiian cultural event held for the last 16 years, said

the three previous powwows on Kaua’i have helped Hawaiians to understand the

struggle for self-determination by Native Americans.

For the powwow, Native

Americans came from 50 tribes found throughout the United States. They included

the Yakama tribe from Washington, Apache tribe from Arizona and California, the

Seneca tribe from New York, Otoe tribe from Oklahoma, Blackfeet tribe from

Montana, the Wintu tribe from California and the Metis tribe from Canada.

A

drum performance by the Maneaters, a group of professional Native American

women from California, was among the highlights at yesterday’s

event.

Bennett said tribesman usually perform on the drums, but this group

took that job for this powwow because “they had the courage to do

it.”

“They are special,” she said. “There are probably only three groups

like them in the United States.”

During the morning, more than 200 people

gathered in a circle around the dance grounds as the Maneaters performed, and a

small group – garbed in their regalia – trudged out into the field and danced

rhythmically to the drum beat and chant.

Also giving a stirring drum and

chant performance was Red Thunder, a group of Native Americans who are in the

military and stationed on O’ahu.

Following a blessing in Hawaiian by

Kalama, flute performances were given by Troy DeRoche of the Blackfoot tribe

and Andrew Thomas of the Navajo tribe.

During powwows, different

traditional dances and ceremonies are held. The powwows are a “coming home

time,” a gathering of family, tribal friends and friends from other tribes,

according to the Kaua’i Powwow Council.

Powwows came about as a result of

the nomadic lifestyle of Native American Indians.

Because the Plains

Indians relied on buffalo and other large animals for game, they followed them

for survival.

The game was scant during the winter, but was plentiful

during the summer months, during which came together for large buffalo hunt and

major ceremonies.

Powwows came to be a time of happiness, thankfulness and

honoring elders and friends. Through music and dance, tribes bonded.

The

first powwow was held 120 years ago in Omaha, Neb., by four tribes, including

the Otoe tribe from Oklahoma, said Iola Seymour, 73, whose ancestral line goes

back to that tribe.

Seymour, who is part Native American, one-quarter

Hawaiian and one-quarter Swedish, pulled together the first powwow in Hawai’i

25 years ago.

A powwow was the last thing Paul Johnson from Minnesota

expected to see on visit to Hawaii.

“I thought I was someplace else,” said

Johnson, wearing an Aloha shirt and lei. “But the powwow looks

fun.”

Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225)

and[lchang@pulitzer.net]

Staff Photo by Dennis Fujimoto