Posted on: Sunday, October 6, 2002
Hawai'i hosts another native culture
By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Tawny Hale of Pico Rivera, Calif., whose heritage includes Dakota Sioux and Navajo, performs in the Fancy Shaw Dance competition at the 28th Annual Powwow at Thomas Square, which drew American Indians from Hawai'i and the Mainland.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser |
Hundreds showed up yesterday for a celebration featuring the music, dance, art, crafts and food of Native American Indians at the 28th Annual Powwow at Thomas Square.
The event, hosted by the American Indian Powwow Association, featured representatives of numerous tribes dressed in stunning feather regalia.
Announcer John Dawson, an Apache from the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona, travels to numerous Powwow events around the country.
"I've been to this Powwow five times now," Dawson said. "This one does pretty well compared to others I've been to. Next weekend we'll be in Kaua'i."
Wendy Schofield-Ching, who operates Native Winds Gift Gallery & Craft Supply on Koko Head Avenue, said Hawai'i has more people of Native American ancestry than some might realize.
"The census says there are between five and six thousand Indians statewide," said Schofield-Ching, who has done legal work for Native Americans and is knowledgeable on the subject.
She said a state Department of Health study found 21,000 people in Hawai'i who self-identified as having Native American ancestry, including 14,000 on O'ahu.
"So there is a diverse community here," she said, noting that Hawaiians and Native Americans can learn from each other.
"Hawaiians can look to the Indians to see how they've regained control over their own natural resources — their water, their land. There is quite a bit of cultural exchange going on between Hawaiians and Native Americans."
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser An example is the 3rd annual Native American Flute & Storytelling Concert at the Center for Hawaiian Studies tomorrow at 7 p.m., free and open to the public.
"Culturally, there is a lot of mutual respect between the two cultures," Schofield-Ching said.
One person at yesterday's Powwow who understands that cultural connection better than most is Ke Aloha Alo, Miss Indian World of 2001-2002. Although she lives in Arizona, she said home for her would always be Kahuku.
"My mother is full White Mountain Apache, and my dad is half Hawaiian and half Samoan," Alo said during a break in the festivities.
"I've been living in Arizona for two years now, but I'm from Kahuku. I spent my whole life there. I went to elementary, junior high and high school there. Then I went to BYU in Utah. I was crowned Miss Indian World shortly after that."
Alo, one of the judges at the Indian dance contests yesterday, said winning the Miss Indian World title gave her an opportunity to serve the people of both cultures.
Returning to Hawai'i for the Powwow was a special experience for her. And she is especially proud to be the first person from Hawai'i ever to hold the title.
Native Hawaiian Kaimi Orr said she was fascinated by Native American culture because she went to graduate school in Flagstaff, Ariz.
"In the mid-1800s, there was a large number of Native Hawaiians who went to the Northwest Coast," Orr said. "And there are huge communities of people there now that are part Indian and part Hawaiian."
The Hawaiians who settled in the Pacific Northwest between 1811 and 1875 joined the fur trade. Today, communities in the region are home to people of both Native American and Native Hawaiian heritage. One such town is Kalama, Wash., population 4,669, named for John Kalama.
The free Powwow will continue today at Thomas Square from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Mike Runningwind of Fresno, Calif., a Marine currently based at Camp Smith, danced in the powwow yesterday. He is a descendant of the Seneca, Chiricachua and Apache tribes.
