Heartbeat of Mother Earth

When I was growing up on the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation in Oregon in the 1950s, there were no pow wows — only a potluck at the tribal community center. Old men, dressed in black pants and white long-sleeved shirts, sat around the cafeteria tables. Their large hands pounded the tabletops in unison as their voices sang in Chinook. A few elderly women rose from their folding chairs. They danced, holding their lacy sweaters like shawls. Their feet stepped to each beat of the makeshift drum. My cousins and I hopped excitedly, as if the floor was on fire. And the grandparents all smiled.

Today, pow wows are more than social gatherings.

“Pow wows are a public celebration of native song, dance, and crafts,” says my friend Chris Charlebois, an Abenaki from New Hampshire.

However, pow wows didn’t start out that way.

The word pow wow originated from the Northeast Indian language — Algonquin. Pau wau described the medicine men who danced at the sacred ceremonies. English settlers watching thought pau wau meant the ceremony, not the medicine men. Soon the word pau wau changed to pow wow. Its name has come to mean the event ever since.

Every pow wow is different. Some pow wows, like the “Crow Fair” in Montana, have as many as 50,000 visitors. Smaller pow wows, such as the Native American Pow Wow in Swanton, Vermont, are like family reunions. No matter the size, all pow wows include drumming, dancing, crafts, and food. 

Listening to the Beat

The Native American drum is considered the heartbeat of Mother Earth, a gift given by the Creator. As many as twelve men sit around one drum, about the size of a school-bus tire. The drum is usually covered with animal hide over a wooden base. Symbols may be painted on the hide, or animals may be carved on the wood.

The drumkeeper is responsible for calling out the songs and leading the rhythm. Drumsticks are raised and lowered together. Voices sing at full volume, and everyone moves to the beat.

“When we sing, we’re asking the Creator to hear our prayers,” says Greywolf, drumkeeper of the Megasuwin (“reflections of the sun”) drum in Vermont.

Stepping Out Native Style

Dancing goes with drumming. Most pow wows have intertribal dancing. That means everyone, including non-Indians, can enter the dance circle.

Indians wear jeans and T-shirts or fancy Native American clothing called “regalia” when they enter the circle. Beads decorate the dresses, and ribbons adorn the shirts. One particular dress worn at pow wows is called a jingle dress. It is covered with hundreds of cones rolled from lids of small tin containers. The dancer must move so that all the jingles sound at the same time.

Selling on the Pow Wow Trail

Before a pow wow opens, Indians set up outdoor tents for selling their goods. This activity comes from the days when Indians would meet each other and trade. Some lay down blankets or unfold tables to display or sell turquoise jewelry, clay pottery, and dreamcatchers.  

Buffalo Burgers, Anyone?

Certain foods are often found at pow wows. Fry bread, a dough flattened and cooked in a deep fryer, for one. Children like it with maple syrup or powdered sugar. My husband prefers fry bread topped with ground meat, lettuce, grated cheese, and chopped tomatoes — called an “Indian taco.” Other foods served at pow wows might be buffalo burgers, succotash, acorn soup, or alligator bites.

Over 900 pow wows happen each year in the United States and Canada. Vermont, where I live now, has six pow wows during the summer months.

Pow wows have also come to Grand Ronde. Their first one began in the late 1970s, after my family moved away. It grew from a small gathering and now has more than 15,000 people. Some day I plan to go. I doubt I’ll see men pounding tables or women using sweaters as shawls. But I bet I’ll see children hopping to the drums — and grandparents smiling.