Posted on: Sunday, June 5, 2005
Powwow pulses with proud heritage
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
The organizers of the Intertribal Council of Hawai'i's 13th Annual Pow Wow were happy with the hundreds of spectators who came to Kapi'olani Park yesterday for the start of the weekend event, but were surprised that only 30 or so American Indian dancers showed up.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser Other dancers from Hawai'i who are in the military may be on deployment, Tiger said.
But the dancers who came yesterday, dressed in traditional regalia, took turns following often centuries-old rhythms.
They performed "sneak-up" dances based on hunting and battle rituals; "duck-and-dive" dances dating back "to the days when the cavalry was hunting Indians," said Tiger, who is half Muscogee Creek. There were jingle bell dances, prairie dances, men's and women's fancy and traditional dances and even a few occasions when children in soccer uniforms and tourists in swimsuits were invited to join.
The powwow runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today at the Waikiki end of Kapi'olani Park, next to the bandstand. The dances aren't performed on any schedule. And yesterday, the dancers took a break from the sun and heat. Today, they'll also stop from 2 to 3 p.m. to let the Royal Hawaiian Band perform its usual Sunday concert.
The breaks gave spectators a chance to visit booths showcasing Indian crafts and to taste fry bread covered with refried beans, lettuce and tomatoes — a dish that became a staple for American Indians when they were forced onto reservations and given flour by the government instead of corn, Tiger said.
Loa Simoes took a break from rolling and frying dough. Simoes said it's a dish that she eats just once a year — at the powwow.
Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8085.
Some from the Mainland were deterred by the cost of air travel to Hawai'i, said Bill Tiger, president of the Intertribal Council of Hawai'i. Tiger paid nearly $600 to fly in a drummer from Southern California for the powwow, which concludes today.
Kona resident Holly Baker, an Eastern Band Cherokee descendant, and Moloka'i resident John Thorp, a Muscogee Creek descendant, were among the 30 dancers at yesterday's powwow in the park.
Tiger pounded an elk hide drum he had made and locked into the beat of the drum. "I tell people, 'Listen to the drum, get the rhythm and step with it.' "
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