By Julie Espinosa
Dancers and spectators gathered in a boisterous, swirling celebration of dance and music this weekend for the 25th annual Harold A. Cedartree memorial powwow.
It was an opportunity not only to socialize and compete, but also to recognize some 20 graduating BYU students.
'The powwow is our way of being reborn,' said Head Lady Crystal Tewa Begay, a history major with an emphasis in Native American studies. 'It''s a way to have respect for our people and culture and to share our love for our ancestors.'
Nowadays, powwows are a mix of the traditional and modern, but they continue to connect people and to help give the younger generation an identity. Competitors gathered from tribes across the United States and Canada to dance, trade and socialize. Men and women-elders and tiny tots-competed in full Native America regalia to live drumming and singing.
'Powwows are meant to bring all tribes together, not to segregate,' said Dusty Jansen, a BYU graduate of history.
Traditionally, Navajos did not hold powwows, and traditionally women did not sing principal roles in drum groups, but today that has all changed. At the powwow, specific tribal traditions and etiquette are important, but the overwhelming mood is one of sharing.
Head Man Corey Smallcanyon, a senior from Gallup, N.M., said the powwow provides a chance to share their culture.
'There are intertribal dances where everyone is invited-whether they''re dressed up or not, whether they''re Native or not,' Smallcanyon said. 'Everyone is welcome.'
Tewa Begay said today members of all tribes are coming together and learning to let go of bitterness for past wrongs.
'As a society, Native Americans are struggling,' Tewa Begay said. 'We''ve gone through a lot. Many tribes have been almost exterminated; some have been exterminated. Here we come together and mend wounds.'
All of the dances are spiritual in nature, but one of the women''s dances, the jingle dress dance, stands out in particular. For it, the women wear a dress covered in tinkling rolled up tin can lids. According to legend, the dance came in a vision to a medicine man whose village was afflicted by a disease. When a girl first put on the dress and did the steps, people emerged cured from their teepees.
'The dance has great power for the Native American people,' Tewa Begay said.
Every dance serves as homage to the dancer''s ancestors, which is why doing the steps properly and wearing the clothing properly is so important.
The clothing is generally handmade and often parts of it come together from friends and relatives, said Arlene Nofchissey Williams. Each item is symbolic, but has more of a spiritual than materialistic value. When animal parts are used, such as porcupine quills, eagle feathers or buckskin, the wearer remembers his or her stewardship and connection to the land.
'How you take care of regalia shows your personality,' Nofchissey Williams said.
Nofchissey Williams co-wrote the song 'Go my Son,' which has been performed by Living Legends, formerly Lamanite Generation, for the group''s 35 years of existence. The song serves as a sort of anthem for Native Americans at BYU. The lyrics deal with urging a young boy to seek education.
'I was just amazed to think I was a part of it,' Nofchissey Williams said. 'We wanted people who heard it to get educated in two ways. To be educated as they climb through the grades, but first to build a spiritual foundation.'