WAILUA — Several schools took advantage of the opportunity to chat with Native Americans that are here to participate in the Kaua‘i Pow Wow, Friday. Led by John Dawson, emcee for the Pow Wow, of the San Carlos Apache, students
WAILUA — Several schools took advantage of the opportunity to chat with Native Americans that are here to participate in the Kaua‘i Pow Wow, Friday.
Led by John Dawson, emcee for the Pow Wow, of the San Carlos Apache, students and teachers were given a hands-on lesson in the different cultures of the Native Americans.
Rose Sampson of the Yakama Nation in Washington state is no stranger to Kaua‘i, having been the Head Woman Dancer for the previous Pow Wows, and offered the bridge between the Native Americans and the Hawaiian cultures.
Members of the Kaua‘i Pow Wow Council took advantage of the opportunity to don their respective regalia as they worked with the students during the educational outreach program at the Lydgate Park Main Pavilion, Friday.
The educational and cultural outreach has been an integral part of the Kaua‘i Pow Wow since it was first held in 1997.
The Pow Wow is held in October of each year with the exception of 2001 when there was no pow wow, here.
Online sources state that a pow wow is a gathering of North America’s Native people, the word derived from the Narragansett word “powwaw” that means “spiritual leader.”
The Kaua‘i Pow Wow will be open free to the public on Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Kapa‘a Beach Park.
Visitors to the drug- and alcohol-free family event can visit art and craft booths, many of whom visit the island just for the pow wow, enjoy the diversity of Native American dances, storytelling, and food booths that offer frybread.
Head Man Dancer for this year’s event is Joe Hacker of the Lakota nation, Sampson is the Head Lady Dancer. The Wildhorse Singers is the host drum for the intertribal dance and Oyate Ki is the guest drum.
Dawson is the event emcee and Danny McDaniel-Choctaw is the Arena Director.
The purpose of the Kaua‘i Pow Wow Council is the promotion of cultural and family values through exchange and education in an alcohol/drug-free environment, to provide an educational outreach program to Kaua‘i’s school students and teachers, and the exchange of Native American Indian cultures and traditions with the Native Hawaiian culture and population along with other local cultures.
The Kaua‘i Pow Wow is sponsored by the Kaua‘i Pow Wow Council, the County of Kaua‘i, the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, Ali‘i’s Motorcycle Club, Kaua‘i Chapter.
For more information, visit www.kauaipowwow.com.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
